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Lemonade Nina Pennacchi Scott P Sheridan 9781503944404 Books

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Lemonade Nina Pennacchi Scott P Sheridan 9781503944404 Books

I received an advanced copy of this for review several years ago. Unfortunately, I don't remember what I said about LEMONADE that first time, only that I gave it three stars and was disturbed by the rather brutal rape scene that takes place about 1/3 of the way through the book. And yet, despite only giving it three stars, LEMONADE has haunted me for two years. I kept thinking about Anna and Christopher and their doomed-before-it-even-began romance (if you can bring yourself to call it that). I wondered if perhaps I had been too harsh on the book, because if something can stay with you for that long, it must be good.

LEMONADE was originally published in Italian and then was translated into English. It is written in a very unique way that is difficult to explain - random asides in parenthesis to emphasis certain emotional moments for various characters; some very colorful and strange analogies and metaphors that sometimes fit and sometimes don't but are always unusual; and a charmingly stilted style of writing that is almost anachronistic, but smacks of 80s over-the-top sensationalism.

The heroine, Anna Champion, ends up catching the hero's attention over a misunderstanding with a glass of lemonade. He wounds her pride and she seeks revenge. It is a small, petty revenge, but Christopher is so damaged that his ego cannot stand even that small of an insult, and the next 450 pages consist of the two characters drawing to draw blood, figuratively and literally, any way they can. Some people will not like this because Christopher is such an awful character. He truly is a villain. And yet, it's impossible not to feel sorry for him at times because of everything he went through. Anna is very much the same way. At times I found her to be a very strong character, but she would buckle at random times, too, and sometimes she would be so stupidly petty. They both had issues, and in the end, I feel like the author was suggesting that they deserved one another.

In some ways, LEMONADE reminded me of that Japanese manga/anime, Hana Yori Dango. Christopher is just as cold and impulsive as Tsukasa Doumyoji. I enjoyed the beginning of the book, but after a while, LEMONADE started to feel very repetitive. I still enjoyed it, but I feel I would have enjoyed it more if the pacing had been tighter and it ended about 100 pages earlier. If you're a fan of vintage bodice rippers (and Hana Yori Dango), you should check out LEMONADE. Even if you absolutely hate it, it's highly unlikely that you'd read another book like it published in this day and age.

3 out of 5 stars


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Lemonade Nina Pennacchi Scott P Sheridan 9781503944404 Books Reviews

Good read 😊 I would like to know what happened to the rest of the characters in the book. Book 2 maybe 😀
I have never before written a review on for anything, ever. But this book so disgusted me that I felt compelled to save others the time and energy of reading it. This was an appalling book that featured a "meet cute" by way of an extremely violent rape and assault. Of course, Anna made him do it because really, he loved her and she was rude to him. How dare she! But it all turns out ok because even though he never redeems himself or even acknowledges the awfulness of what he has done, she falls in love with him too. There is constant emotional, verbal and physical abuse in this book, and it is all somehow justified because Christian had a crappy childhood? Save yourself the outrage, put this one on the delete pile.
Beautiful, rich, and dark. A wonderful diversion from typical HR fluff.
...a completly new man, lovely and adorable.

NO.

If you want to read the story of a tortured man who is born and lives appalling circumstances, but when he meets the heroine falls madly in love, behaves like a gentleman and forgets his desire for revenge, changing radically because of love ... You better looks elsewhere.

***SPOILERS***

This is the version of an antihero who has a horrible past with lurid events that marked his perception of the world. And Anna has the misfortune to cross his path and humiliate him (an unpardonable offense from the point of view of Christopher). So it begins an slightly tug-of-war, where Anna in her innocence believes there will be no serious consequences, but Christopher is a man who has no scruples to manipulate, deceive, be cruel, selfish; ruining and passing over whatever necessary (including Anna itself) just to get revenge.

Christopher lacks deep emotional understanding, because during much of the book he is unable to comprehend it was experienced and developing noble feelings (including his—already existing—brotherly love toward his cousin Matt, or the passional love he has for Anna or the protective love he has toward her family, or the craving and needs than Anna's warm, loving family enviroment fulfil in him. Along with the selfless desire to help them), probably because his negative emotions (such as hate toward his father, resentment and envy toward his half-brother Daniel, its vivid desire to avenge his mother, the shame, humilliation and intense rage toward his own circumstances at birth and during his childhood) surpasses him.

The rape scene is negatively and frightfully shocking, but subsequently the scene when, after they married, Christopher tricked Anna and makes love to she is equally shocking (but in a positive sense), because in his own way he is trying to "efface" the horrific sexual violence he had previously inflicted toward her, and much to his way, he shows patience and some kind of sweet consideration that until then seemed unable to possess. Maybe, at that moment, he began his way into redemption—or not— It is open to interpretation, because a person emotionally so damaged like him hardly could change its ways from one moment to another (especially because at that time there weren't psychiatrists or psychologists to help him), so it has to be an slower and tortuous process. And in that regard the writer keeps coherent and consistent in the evolution from the male character.

***END SPOILERS***

The author tries to give us a dark romance with elements of historical realism and as such should be understood. At the time period this book takes place women were considered the property of men, incapables to exercise own sexual and personal self-determination or minimal autonomy. A sexual attack (with or without violence) had serious social consequences for the woman, because always she was to blame, was ruined and shunned after all her ordeal, even if the man was sentenced for rape.

This book is NOT like one of the hundreds of thousand of historical romances cluttering the current romantic novel market. So much of those books are poorly and lazy written, ludicrously anachronistic, inaccurate, lacking in character development, minimal plot and basic research. Most of those books are immediately forgotten, because they drown in the disposable rosy sea of the romantic and euphemistic fluffiness than has become the "historical" romantic books from todays.

But not this one.

A recommended reading, without a doubt.
I received an advanced copy of this for review several years ago. Unfortunately, I don't remember what I said about LEMONADE that first time, only that I gave it three stars and was disturbed by the rather brutal rape scene that takes place about 1/3 of the way through the book. And yet, despite only giving it three stars, LEMONADE has haunted me for two years. I kept thinking about Anna and Christopher and their doomed-before-it-even-began romance (if you can bring yourself to call it that). I wondered if perhaps I had been too harsh on the book, because if something can stay with you for that long, it must be good.

LEMONADE was originally published in Italian and then was translated into English. It is written in a very unique way that is difficult to explain - random asides in parenthesis to emphasis certain emotional moments for various characters; some very colorful and strange analogies and metaphors that sometimes fit and sometimes don't but are always unusual; and a charmingly stilted style of writing that is almost anachronistic, but smacks of 80s over-the-top sensationalism.

The heroine, Anna Champion, ends up catching the hero's attention over a misunderstanding with a glass of lemonade. He wounds her pride and she seeks revenge. It is a small, petty revenge, but Christopher is so damaged that his ego cannot stand even that small of an insult, and the next 450 pages consist of the two characters drawing to draw blood, figuratively and literally, any way they can. Some people will not like this because Christopher is such an awful character. He truly is a villain. And yet, it's impossible not to feel sorry for him at times because of everything he went through. Anna is very much the same way. At times I found her to be a very strong character, but she would buckle at random times, too, and sometimes she would be so stupidly petty. They both had issues, and in the end, I feel like the author was suggesting that they deserved one another.

In some ways, LEMONADE reminded me of that Japanese manga/anime, Hana Yori Dango. Christopher is just as cold and impulsive as Tsukasa Doumyoji. I enjoyed the beginning of the book, but after a while, LEMONADE started to feel very repetitive. I still enjoyed it, but I feel I would have enjoyed it more if the pacing had been tighter and it ended about 100 pages earlier. If you're a fan of vintage bodice rippers (and Hana Yori Dango), you should check out LEMONADE. Even if you absolutely hate it, it's highly unlikely that you'd read another book like it published in this day and age.

3 out of 5 stars