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Liked It “This was the first book I read by Judith Ivory, and at first I found it a bit hard to read. She is an intricate writer, very descriptive in her scenes, so it takes a while to get used to her style. Having said that, I was soon captivated by her writing. Graham and Submit are not characters that...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Awful. I hated the "heroine" and the "hero".” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“This was the first book I read by Judith Ivory, and at first I found it a bit hard to read. She is an intricate writer, very descriptive in her scenes, so it takes a while to get used to her style. Having said that, I was soon captivated by her writing. Graham and Submit are not characters that are easy to like. Graham is kind of debauched. You get the impression that his hard-living has had an effect on his looks. His moral compass is fairly flawed. Having said that, he really grew on me and I started to like him. I liked that he didn't take himself too seriously, or pretend be something that he wasn't. It was refreshing.
gatadelafuente wrote this review Friday, June 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Submit is a stuffy prig at first glance. She had a much older husband who almost squeezed all the life out of her, and pretty much molded her into what he believed was the perfect wife and she's showing the effects of living under his sanctimonious thumb. Submit has settled down into virtuous widowhood, not expecting anything more from her life other than being the widow of her deceased husband. You wonder how this couple managed to fall in love. Well it was lovely to watch their courtship unfold. Graham seemed to delight in teasing Submit, and bringing out the 'bad girl' in her. Submit seems shocked and perturbed at most of the things Graham does and says, but at the same time, she is surprisingly attracted to the jaded reprobate. He has a spark that her husband was missing. He brings life into her boring, colorless existence. I can't say that she really reforms him, but caring for her brings something deep and meaningful in his empty life. I found the love scene very touching, yet sensual. It was perfectly written and occurred exactly at the point it should have in this story. Again, this is probably not a romance novel that would appeal to everyone. But if you want to read an exceptionally well-written story (that you have to invest in reading), about two people who are a little older (heroine is late 20s, hero is late 30s), and who are polar opposites and should not have fallen for each other, but did anyway, I'd suggest giving this book a try. ”
“Let me state that it is difficult to summarize Black Silk without doing it an injustice, because this book, this story, these characters and their interpersonal relations are so unusual, so remarkable, and so complex that the whole is near nigh irreducible. I mean, is it possible to admire the Mona Lisa a square inch at a time?
Sherry Thomas wrote this review Friday, July 4 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Reading Black Silk is like going to a five-star restaurant for the first time. You fidget a little in your chair, admire the ambience and the elegant waiters doing their nightly ballet. The kitchen is taking its time. A little plate of nibbles arrives, compliment of the chef. You munch, you ooh and aah. It's fabulous. But it's only a little plate. You wonder a little anxiously whether the rest of what is to come can measure up. And then the appetizers arrive - and then the first course. You half-swoon. Then comes the entree and you can hardly comprehend how you came to be in such heaven. Then the dessert which ends your experience with a bang (well, almost literally in this case, if I may be pardoned for a little risqué pun). You cannot believe the evening is over since you wanted it to go on and on and on.
Pardon the gustatory analogy, which in this case is apt. Judy Cuevas is a master of sensual description. Her writing has flavor, succulence and substance. It has that indescribable something that can only be called literary "fat", a quality that makes her particular confection of words deliciously tangible.
But her talent goes far beyond mere linguistic sumptuousness. Ms. Cuevas creates memorable characters. Graham Wessit, the hero of Black Silk, could probably be labeled a bad boy, a Victorian bad boy if you will. But unlike so many other romance novel bad boys who seem to copulate their way from one end of the country to the other and in doing so, generate nothing but good-willed envy from all men and trembling desire in all women, Graham has troubles. He is the defendant in a false paternity suit. His current mistress is thinking of divorcing her husband to marry him - a big scandalous deal in 1858. And on top of it, there is a popular newspaper serial that has its root material in the deeds, mistakes, and peccadilloes of his life, all exaggerated and ridiculed for the entertainment of the masses. Lest we forget, those were far more puritanical times. Even men paid for their transgressions.
Submit Channing-Downes is a virtuous widow, still in mourning, clothed in black - hence the title - for almost the entirety of the book. Her late, much older husband Henry had been Graham's cousin and one-time guardian. Submit loved and still loves Henry. Graham despised and still despises Henry. From their vastly different experiences with Henry and their intertwined present predicament, (thanks to a nasty posthumous bequest from Henry to Graham) arises what surely must be the most intriguing triangle of human relations in romancedom.
Graham is indolent and indulgent, but as the story unfolds, we see his honesty, kindness, and sincerity. He is also vital, exciting, and young at heart. Submit is equally complex. She is intelligent, thoughtful, and serious. And it is Ms. Cuevas' great accomplishment that this woman of true gravitas is also endowed with a subtle yet potent carnal allure. The two of them are a wonderful match because she needs his energy and vigor and he needs to be anchored by her rationality and cool-headedness.
The late Henry, of course, was one of a kind. Read and marvel. This book is perhaps not to everyone's taste. I'll admit, it took me a while to get hooked. Black Silk is not exactly a comfort read, and does not offer instant gratification, meaning, no kisses until half-way through, and no hero/heroine love scene until the last fifty pages or so. But those readers who stick with it will be richly, splendidly rewarded. And that is a promise.
Note: I wrote this in 2002 as a reader-submitted Desert Isle Keeper review for All About Romance. Juey Cuevas, of course, is none other than Judith Ivory.”
“Very brainy for a "trashy romance novel." It actually had a lot of good historical stuff in it at some good symbolism etc. Great character depth. The ending was a bit of a cop-out, but hey, it's a love story.”
Sonja Foust wrote this review Friday, April 25 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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