Customer Reviews

Hope's Folly

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Hope's Folly is the third book in her Dock 5 series. And I will tell you that in order to understand her world and get the true sense of what Hope's Folly is all about, you MUST first read Gabriel's Ghost and then Shades of Dark. The hero in Hope's Folly is the ex-husband of Chasidah "Chaz" Bergren, the heroine from the first two novels. Philip received a bad wrap because in Chaz's eyes she thought Philip to be cold, stiff and disapproving. Where as Chaz could let loose, Philip was buttoned up and lived his life to a higher standard. He wouldn't dare break the rules. In Shades of Dark we see a glimpse of the man that is in Hope's Folly. Philip is still recovering from the wounds he received while saving Chaz and her lover, Gabriel in Shades of Dark. He is a man in his prime at forty-five who has a limp and must walk with a cane. Lately Philip is feeling pretty run down and old. He was a former Imperial Admiral. He has joined the newly formed Alliance of Independent Republics. The former Imperial Fleet was destroyed by Darius Tage who wants to rule the universe. Philip is now on the side that wants to defeat Tage. Philip also has a personal vendetta against this insane, power hungry man because has harmed many people Philip cares about.

Philip is called to lead a ship into battle. The ship in question is Hope's Folly, named after a young girl who survived an attack by Tage. Her name is Hope and her pet cat is named Folly. Philip is not amused by with the name of the ship that is also a run down bucket of metal. But Philip has no choice in the matter since the Alliance doesn't have many ships to go around. He also feels so out of place and wishes he could have Chaz by his side because even though they were far from being the perfect married couple, they are close friends. They have a lot of history together and Chaz is a woman Philip has always admired. Philip now thinks he is on his own. What he doesn't know is that a woman from is past is about to come into his life again and pull him even more off center than he already is.

Rya Bennton was part of the Imperial Fleet Security Forces and has almost five years of experience under her belt. Rya's father, who she had a great deal of respect and love for is dead. She has some residual guilt over his death because she couldn't save him. As Rya makes her way to her dead father's ship, she comes in contact with Philip. Philip doesn't recognize Rya at first, but she certainly knows Philip. When Rya was a little girl, she met Philip who came to her house. Rya's father, Captain Cory Bennton was a mentor to Philip. As most young girls Rya's age, she had a bad crush on the much older male. Philip is fifteen years old than Rya, but regardless of their difference in age, Rya finds Philip magnetic and the only man she has ever dreamed about for more than just sex. He is her perfect man, the one she could be with and grow old with. But in her mind, she thinks Philip wouldn't give her a second glance. Rya is a "big" girl, or so she believes. She feels she is too curvy in all the wrong places. Plus, the age factor as well as Philip being her superior does hinder any romance between the two. Fate intervenes and Philip takes Rya on his mission where she becomes a crew member on Hope's Folly.

When Philip first meets Rya, he is impressed by the way she can handle herself and a gun. He is even in for more of a shock when he figures out that this gun totting woman is the former little girl who used to annoy him. He even nicknamed her, Rya the Rebel, and the last time he saw her was when she was ten and he was twenty-five. It may have been twenty years since they last saw each other, but Rya made quite the impression on Philip. Now as a grown woman, Philip appreciates her in a whole new way. Rya will become his security expert on Hope's Folly and make sure she stays out of trouble. Rya will keep watch over Philip so no harm can come to him.

It seems Hope's Folly is in worse shape than originally thought. Plus, there is a saboteur on the ship who wants to take them down and perhaps get rid of Philip. It is up to Rya and some of Philip's most trusted crew to find the person responsible and get Hope's Folly into working condition. Philip also has to control his growing attraction to his adorable rebel.

In Linnea's past books, the action was not so contained as it is in Hope's Folly. There is no jumping from planet to planet or extensive battles in space. I felt this was more a mystery if anything. A mystery set in space where no one can be trusted and everyone had a gun pointed at each other's back. Things are very tense on Hope's Folly as well as the undercurrent of another type of tension all together. The other tension I am talking about is the growing lust that the much older Philip has for the much younger Rya. Both are so far gone over one another, but both tip toe around their attraction for each other because of the situation they have been placed in. How can they act on their love for one another when the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket?

Philip beats himself up over his feelings for Rya. He feels like a dirty old man, and as a man in a position of great power, he doesn't want to abuse it. He tries to be the constant professional. He also has a bit of a self confidence issue from his scars and limp. He thinks that Rya wouldn't look at him twice. It was too funny to be privy to Philip's thoughts about Rya and how he would argue with himself on why he couldn't have anything with her. As for Rya, her internal thoughts are a great joy to read. Her issues are much like those of a woman unsure about herself and dealing with the man she so wants to love. Rya is not some innocent woman in the ways of sex. She proudly admits to herself that she has had many men and has enjoyed them. That was a bit refreshing since it is the heroine, and not the hero who has had a great deal of fun in bed. Rya is also at odds with her own appeal. She doesn't seem to care for her body, but also at the same time she realizes she has generous curves and has to live with it. Of course Philip loves Rya's curves, and everything else she embodies.

One thing I noticed in Hope's Folly was that there was more of an importance on the relationship of Philip and Rya and how it grew from two co-workers who respected each other to a true loving bond. From the moment Philip and Rya meet, they are so in sync with one another. It was great to see these two people find each other in the vast universe during a time of great unrest. Philip and Rya became a true team who were able to save the day in the end, as well as find a great love with one another. There is passion between the two, but their love was more of a deep abiding one of respect.

Hope's Folly may not have too many twists and turns, but it is a great story with great characters. There were some funny moments, especially with the way Philip tries to deal with the ship's cat. I also let out a chuckle or two as Philip tries to come to terms with his feelings for Rya.

Linnea Sinclair constantly impresses with every story she writes. For the longest time I was so stuck on her hero, Gabriel "Sully" Sullivan. I can now say that Philip almost gives Sully a run for his money. Sully may always be my favorite Sinclair hero, but Philip comes in a very close second.

Katiebabs

Gabriel's Ghost
Shades of Dark

First things first: HOPE'S FOLLY is a terrific book. Philip Guthrie and Rya Bennton are a terrific pair. Romance fans couldn't ask for anything more.

But what about science fiction fans? Some of you may have been disappointed by crossover sf romances that didn't deliver the goods. HOPE'S FOLLY delivers the goods. Roger Zelazny once contrasted "world vision" with "stage vision." In stage vision, there's nothing outside the story itself -- if the hero took a right turn instead of a left at some point, he'd end up out in the wings with prop men scurrying out of the way. In a story with world vision, he'd find himself in another part of the imagined world.

In HOPE'S FOLLY, you always have the feeling that you're in a real world, whether it's at Kirro station or a planetside shipyard or on the fixer-upper warship of the title. This is the third book in the Dock 5 series, so like David Weber with his HONOR HARRINGTON series and Elizabeth Moon with VATTA'S WAR, Linnea Sinclair has a created space opera universe going for her. She's mapped it out; she knows where every place is in relation to every place else. She knows how the Folly is designed, and how its weaponry compares to that of the enemy -- an interstellar empire that has gone toxic, touching off a rebellion that needs every competent man, every competent woman and every ship it can get.

Philip is a competent man and Rya is a competent woman. They know what they're doing and they're good at it. They'd better be, because the survival of freedom and justice is at stake, and even if this were straight space opera, they'd make HOPE'S FOLLY a good military sf story -- there's plenty of mystery and intrigue and a victory in space over tough odds worthy of Honor Harrington. But because they are what they are, there isn't any mystery about what they see in each other. There's nothing arbitrary about their romance, or even about their personal demons -- both have traumatic pasts, rooted in the events of previous novels -- that threaten to derail it. Philip isn't a cardboard hunk and Rya isn't a cardboard babe: these are believable people, people you're going to root for as you get into their story.

HOPE'S FOLLY is full of energy; energy that comes from the synergy of sf and romance. You can trust me; I've been an sf fan more more than 40 years, and I'm telling you you can trust Linnea Sinclair.

I wanted to really love this book. I really did. I loved the characters a great deal. They were real, funny and as a couple they are great but the rest of the book was boring. I thought this story could have been told with in 200 pages, maybe 300 pages..but almost 500? I felt it took far too long to get to the meat of the story and just not enough action.

In this third entry in the Gabriel's Ghost universe, Linnea Sinclair offers up a tightly written, fast paced, engaging novel. I've been looking forward to Philip's story. Philip gets better with every outing. He's a career military man with a heart and an impeccable sense of honor. His new chief of security, Rya, is a good match for him, as they both balance out the rough losses they've both had in the last few years. Hope's Folly, the ship they're trying to operate, represents the end of the Empire and the building of the Alliance. Certainly, if Philip and Rya can get their rattletrap of a ship to get them through some nasty spots, there's hope for the bigger picture.

Oh, and the cat, Folly, was right on. He wasn't sickeningly cute or annoying, and actually advanced the story. A huge improvement from the cats in Games of Command.

Linnea Sinclair's book "Hope's Folly" is the story of two lovers, Philip Guthrie and Rya Bennton; their relationship is complicated by several issues. Guthrie is an Admiral who's been forced to rebel against the corrupt people in power, and now is the captain of the ship "Hope's Folly" (named after a cat, not after the common phrase); he also is injured from recent battles, now walks with a cane, and is wondering why the rebellion can't seem to do any better (the folks he rebelled against are quite awful, as you already know if you read "Gabriel's Ghost" and "Shades of Dark," though you don't need to read those books to understand this one; it just helps the backstory a bit to know that). While Rya Bennton is the daughter of his best friend, now deceased; she's much younger than Guthrie, she's a security officer (which Guthrie finds intriguing; he's not sexist) and is in much better physical shape in every way than is Guthrie. And she's been madly (albeit secretly) in love with Philip Guthrie for years, through his previous marriage to Chasidah "Chaz" Bergren, and now sees a possibility she is hesitant to grasp.

Falling in love in the midst of wartime is a challenge, but these two do so realistically and intelligently -- the sex scenes are obligatory in the genre (nothing wrong with that), but what makes them work is the strong romance underlying it all. And the complications that arise are real ones, that ring true -- this book is fast-paced, intelligently and thoughtfully written, and is both heartwarming and realistic when it comes to the horror even a just war can bring.

Ms. Sincair's writing is effervescent; her characters glide across the page, with their dialogue flowing effortlessly into descriptions of space stations and spaceships and drive problems, etc.; it all works to near perfection.

This book works on every level, and the only question I have for Ms. Sinclair is -- when is the sequel? Because I must have more!

Five stars, highly recommended.

Barb Caffrey

P.S. Out of the many other good to excellent books Ms. Sinclair's written, I recommend not only the previous two in this series ("Gabriel's Ghost" and "Shades of Dark,") but "The Down-Home Zombie Blues" and most especially "An Accidental Goddess. You can't go wrong with _any_ of her books, but those are my favorites.

The only problem that I ever have with Linnea Sinclair's books is putting them down so that I can eat, sleep, etc. This book was no exception, once more the plot, characters and non-stop action served to keep me up way past my bedtime! I love the smart, independent heroines and Chaz's ex came across as real, human, flawed, yet heroic. I simply cannot get enough of her books. I will catch up on my sleep until her next book and hope the new baby doesn't mind my reading while I feed her!

Also, I plan on having my girls read these books when the are teens, I think her heroines are amazing role models and that her heroes are worthy of their affections.

(Bookaholic's Review Note: Make sure to read Gabriel's Ghost and Shades of Dark before reading this one. That's a must!)

Admiral Philip Guthrie finds himself now aboard Hope's Folly, what was once part of the Imperial fleet. Converted to a fruit carrier, the ship was sold to the Alliance under a few conditions: that the ship retain its name, and the cat, Captain Folly, is to remain onboard. Now Philip is in command of the ship, and they are trying desperately to get it in working order to fight against the Imperial fleet. Philip, still recuperating from a shattered hip and leg (Shades of Dark), was attacked before getting onboard. It seems the `law' wants him alive. Philip can well imagine why, but he'll do whatever it takes not to end up in the enemies' hands.

Rya Bennton had been an Imperial Assassin before her father had been killed. Seeing what is happening to the Empire, she is now on the other side of the law, wanting revenge. Now aboard the Folly, she wants in on the action to bring the Empire down. Philip asks her, if she was ever in the same room with the man who took her father's life and handed a gun, would she kill him? She answers she would, without a doubt or hesitation. But when Philip hands her his gun, Rya the Rebel is confused. While Philip didn't actually kill her father, he puts the responsibility on his own shoulders, and Rya won't shoot him, for she's been in love with the man since she was a kid, when her father brought Philip home to meet the family.

After the attack on Kirro Station, Rya has put herself in the position of guarding Admiral Guthrie against any more attacks. It seems that, at every turn, their efforts to get the Folly functioning, something happens to set them back. The more Rya looks into it, the more she's convinced their have a saboteur on their ship. And now she's determined, not only to keep the man she loves alive, but to find the person who doesn't want the ship to fly.

**While I liked the book, I sort of found it predictable. Philip believes himself a man who can't love, and yet, even though he refuses to, his feelings for Rya grow. A strong man, he's determined to thwart the enemy. It's his knowledge and determination, his personality and inner struggles that readers will love.

Rya - I loved her. She's just as strong and determined as Philip. I liked her `action first, think later' attitude, and how she'll do whatever is necessary.

What bugged me a little was how predictable the romance part of the story was. Woman is in love with the man - man falls in love with the woman - believes it's his responsability to protect her and is determined to put her out of harms way. Once, just once, I'd love to read the romance part of any book where the male keeps the female with him, no matter what. For once, I want the man to hold her there without the female having to fight to stay there. Just once, I want the male's chauvinistic pride and arrogant attitude to either take a backseat or not appear at all in a love story. Will I ever get my wish? *eyeroll* I'll let you know if and when it happens. But then again, I guess most lead male characters have to have a little alpha male attitude. *shrug*

However, besides my romance rant, I loved the action and mystery in the story. The author writes it all so well that it's as if you're aboard the ship, watching it all unfold in front of you. Her descriptions put you in the thick of it. I loved the characters' inner battles. I loved the tension you feel between characters, primary and secondary. Way to go, Ms. Sinclair! Can't wait for the next installment in the Gabriel's Ghost universe.

This novel takes place in a universe established in earlier Linnea Sinclair books, but it works fine as a stand alone. The characters are both strong and enjoyable to read about, and they are the main reason this gets five stars from me. I love that the author made Rya a little chunky and body-conscious as one gets tired of all the gorgeous female leads out there. The male lead, Philip, would be the typical hunky catch but he's a little older and he's injured so wielding a cane in this one. It was easy to root for these two to hook up.

The story itself is OK though not a page-turner. One could boil the plot down in a couple of lines and it did feel a bit thin for a 400+ page book. There was enough going on to keep the characters busy though and there were some fun scenes where the author's humor shines through.

4.5 overall.

Also it's been a while since the last book in this series came out. I would definitely enjoy reading more of Ms. Sinclair's space opera romances.

It's been too long since I let myself slip into Linnea Sinclair's Dock Five universe. Way too long. I love science fiction. I love space opera. And this series is just one of the best out there. I read the first book--Gabriel's Ghost--a couple of years ago now and I've read several of Sinclair's other non-Dock Five books in between then and now and thoroughly enjoyed each of them. Games of Command is still my favorite. That Kel-Paten. Gets to me every time. But when I finally picked up HOPE'S FOLLY the other night in desperate need of some good action and romance, I wasn't prepared for how quickly the world would suck me in again. This installment follows a side character from the earlier books--Chaz's ex-husband and confirmed lifer Admiral Philip Guthrie. I love getting the real story on what's going on with a character we've previously only seen through other characters' eyes. And I wasn't disappointed with Philip's story.

Having lost pretty much everything that kept his highly structured life together, Admiral Philip Guthrie isn't exactly comfortable on the other side of the fence. Once an esteemed fleet official and member of one of the most revered (and loaded) families around, Philip now finds himself pulling together an unlikely and undisciplined band of rebels in a last ditch effort to hold off the ever-expanding Imperial fleet. With a wounded leg as a souvenir to remember them by, Philip is older and slower and more thoughtful than he used to be. None of which particularly please him, but all of which endear him to his new crew. And sub-lieutenant Rya Bennton is no exception, though she'd like to be. Rya actually knew Philip as a kid, when she was a wild tomboy and he a handsome soldier with a knack for weapons and strategy. She's idolized him ever since, never thinking she'd actually see him again after her father was killed and Philip disappeared off the map. But suddenly they're on the same beat up cruiser ship together--Hope's Folly--, he's her commanding officer, and he certainly doesn't remember one young girl he once taught how to shoot. Determined to put aside her reservations, Rya ignores her personal feelings in favor of helping keep Admiral Guthrie safe and uncovering what really happened the day her father died.

Delectable. That's what this book is. I read it in two large gulps and felt happily sated afterward. Philip and Rya are the kind of protagonists Ms. Sinclair excel at--essentially noble (if slightly reckless) individuals who put duty before personal desires and are drawn against their formidable wills to the other person for their strength, courage, and taste in weapons. I wondered just how I would like Philip after being slightly prejudiced against him from reading Chaz's version of events. Turns out I like him just fine. Better than fine. He's a gem and he totally deserved his own story and at least a chance at a happy ending after everything he went through. Rya was a different kind of heroine from Sinclair's others. Full-bodied and fully capable of keeping herself safe and dismantling a weapon or a man as needed, I liked the way she took on Philip and his forceful personality. There was less focus in this one on the greater conflict between the Alliance and the Imperial Fleet, though it certainly hangs over every step they take. But I guess I felt as though the relationships between the various people on the Folly took precedence. And wouldn't you know that's exactly what I was in the mood for. The age difference between these two didn't bother me either. They complemented each other so well that other things faded away in the wake of my enjoyment of their antics and halting steps toward understanding. Definitely recommended for fans of space opera and the Dock 5 universe.

I think time mellows one's expectations or there's a dearth of GOOD books out there, so after reading John Scalzi's Old Man's War trilogy, and Kay Kenyon's Seeds of Time, I went looking for other sci-fi books and really couldn't find any that were what I wanted, so I went to my books I've kept over the years that take up one wall of my room and found Linnea Sinclair's Accidental Goddess and then I took up her Gabriel's Ghost with the blue guy (Ren) on the cover because I have the old version of the book that's not sanitized to take out anything interesting and then came the 2nd of the trilogy and finally Hope's Folly. As soon as I opened it I remembered reading the mainly negative reviews about how it wasn't a romance, and that Sinclair had lost her ability to write interesting stories, that the book was rushed to meet a contract deadline, etc. and I was about half way through the book, mainly wanting Chaz and Sullivan back, when I put the book down and shoved it in my "keep it collection" because it was the conclusion to the trilogy and I wasn't going to get rid of it no matter how bad I thought it was. MANAGE EXPECTATIONS! That was back then. This is now. I have a whole new respect for the book in its own right. Yes, it is more military, more sci fi, less romance than "romance" category books normally have but it was a SOLID finish to the trilogy - and now there is a new book out that continues the Guthrie family storyline, which I can't wait to read. I think Philip got short shrift as everyone loved Chaz and Sullivan that they didn't want to "switch over" to Phillip and let go. I'm sorry that Linnea Sinclair took so much heat when Hope's Folly first came out for this book because from 2011, its a good book and she should be proud of it. Could it have used some editing to whittle down the redundant military scenes and kept the pacing on an even track without stalling out? Yes, but that's the EDITING/EDITOR'S fault, not the writer's. Sinclair could have written 6 chapters on space manoeuvrings of battleships and the editor should have narrowed it down to 6 pages so put the blame where its due. That there was SUCH a big deal made about the 16 year age difference when Philip was 45 and Rys was 29 should have been stated and then left behind in the first chapter. Again, editing problem, not writer and if the editing would have been better by cutting and slashing most of the writer's superfluous paragraphs and then making Sinclair do what she does best: WRITE story.