Shades of Milk and Honey

De: Mary Robinette Kowal

Narrado por: Mary Robinette Kowal

The fantasy novel you’ve always wished Jane Austen had written, Shades of Milk and Honey is exactly what we could expect from Austen if she had been a fantasy writer: Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It is an intimate portrait of a woman, Jane, and her quest for love in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality.

Jane and her sister Melody vie for the attentions of eligible men, and while Jane’s skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face.

When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right—and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.

©2010 Mary Robinette Kowal (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Great if you love speculative fiction and Austen

I was a little worried that I wouldn't like this book, but overall I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not a complete Austen fangirl, but I love her writing enough that I would have been entirely put off if the characters, setting, etc, had seemed fake or over the top. The characters were familiar, but this was mostly a positive and only occasionally distracting. I liked the addition of glamour to the world, which was a relief as that could have easily ruined everything if not done well.

The author's reading was great, although the accent was a little distracting occasionally. I could tell when she'd had a break and started again, but she soon settled into the voices and I would forgot about it until the next time. Overall it gets better as you go along.

I listened to this recording all in one day, with only a couple of breaks. It was exactly what I needed that day, as I pottered around the house doing odd jobs and a bit of drawing. To begin with it was a nice backdrop to my other activities, but by the end it had drawn me in so I was sitting by the computer with my stomach in a knot, wanting a good outcome for my favourite characters.

Overall the author has taken on a concept which would have been very easy to do wrong, and has delivered an entertaining read/listen. I'm looking forward to her next book in this series being released on Audible, and hope she will be reading it herself.

OK Story, Not Ok Narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Given it to a stronger editor. This book basically felt like a really good second draft. Lots of interesting ideas, but a very underdeveloped romance and characters that never really clicked.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Just given it more time in the oven, really. It needed a lot more story editing. The romance not being fleshed out is a big one I mentioned above. It never felt like it built properly. They just kind of...didn't like each other, then were in love. OK? I guess?

The author also didn't do great at researching the regency period, in ways that were occasionally obvious and drew you out of the book. For example, declaring someone was experiencing "not simple melancholia, but depression!" This ignores the fact that melancholia WAS depression at this time; not some separate, lesser disorder. In fact, it's extremely unlikely the term depression would have been used to refer to a mood disorder at all in the early 1800s, let alone by a lay-person. Nit-picky? Yeah, totally. But blunders in historical accuracy like that are exactly the kind of thing that pull you out of a text, and should be caught before publication.

What didn’t you like about Mary Robinette Kowal’s performance?

The accent was forced. The voices were often poorly distinguishable or kind of annoying, particularly the baby doll voices given to young women. She did a poor job of conveying emotion and nuance. A few times, at critical moments, she mixed up voices for characters in a way that made things confusing.

Do you think Shades of Milk and Honey needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I might be interested to see what happens next; but if I decide to I will absolutely (barring a change in narrator) be reading the physical book rather than listening to the audiobook.

Any additional comments?

Despite my kvetching, it's not a terrible book. A lot of the writing is solid enough, and the idea of glamour is intriguing. It's entertaining enough that I don't totally begrudge the credit spent on it. But I do still really recommend anyone interested in reading the book buy a physical copy rather than listening.

You become more invested as story goes on

I’ll be honest it took me a little while to warm up to the story but once I got into it I could not stop listening

Delightful

That was wonderfully adorable and fluffy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The light touch of magic. The main character. Her eccentric family. The awful antagonists.

Very good. 7/10

Not for me

This was not what I thought it would be at all. At first I thought glamour was some sort of Regency art form I wasn’t aware of and looked it up. Then discovered it is just some made up form magic. Although everyone seems to be enthralled with it, it’s strange thrown into a Regency novel, as if magic were an everyday art form all young ladies should be pursuing.
Just too weird for me and off putting. I tried to keep going, but the stranger it got, and I felt I couldn’t waste my time with it.

An amusing story! Third time listening.

There are at least 3 different Jane Austen books I found referenced in this story. (Not just Pride and Prejudice). See if you can find the similarities.

Cute little story

I was about an hour into this story before I realized there was magic involved. It’s very Jane Austinesk with a hint of magic. The only part I wasn’t wholly sold on was the narration. The performance was ok and her voice was fine, it just sounded a bit like a fake British accent which I can’t account for because there are so many good British voice actors. I enjoyed it.

Delightful

Just what I was craving. Jane was painfully naive at times, but the plot, setting, and atmosphere was all excellent.

Lovely store, wonderfully read

This is a lovely, sweet story that was a joy to listen to. There is a wonderful sense of setting, and the characters are delightful. There is something special about having the author narrate the book - you know that you are going to hear the conversations the way they were imagined. (And it helps that Kowal is a very talented narrator in her own right.)

I highly recommend this, especially to fans of Jane Austen and the lighter fantasy romances.

Jane Austen with magic

Jane Austen with magic, but don't let that put you off - this is not Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, it is its own unique story.

In addition to painting and music, a young lady is expected to have mastered the art of glamour, to entertain guests and to decorate their home. In a plot owing a lot to Sense and Sensibility, yet having enough originality to keep it interesting, Kowal has woven a nineteenth century tale of love, talent, and manners. Jane is a plain spinster of 28, talented yet convinced that she is unlikely to ever find a husband, and resigned to this. Her sister Melody is everything she isn't: pretty, untalented, headstrong, and not very bright. Melody attracts trouble like bees to honey, and it is up to Jane to sort out the trouble while staying as proper as possible - and maybe finding her own happiness.

Mary Robinette Kowal does a good job of narrating, if you are concerned (as I usually am) about an author narrating their own work, put your concerns to rest: Kowal narrates professionally as well. I would give five stars for narration, except that she does not have a native English accent, and it sounded a bit forced at times - but it was consistent and easy on the ear, and she did a good job differentiating the characters.