Customer Reviews

Standish

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Standish is not "stand-out-ish," but it's a pretty good story, though often black and dark beyond redemption. The characters, especially Rafe, Ambrose and Fleury, are well-drawn, unique and interesting. The settings are diverse (England, Paris, Venice and a horrible British prison), and probably are accurate and mostly believable. Erastes' take on history seems passable. Isn't it interesting that our basic view of these overwhelmingly important eras in history are almost always exclusively brought to us from the perspective of the rich and privileged? Really, it's only during the prison scenes in this sotry where we gain a truer picture of real life in the 1820 in Europe.

This is a gay story with lots of gay male sex, gay male talk, gay male musings, and gay male dilemmas. For the most part, the author gets the sexual episodes nearly right, if a bit overdone. This soft male porn isn't always a realistic rendition of what sex really looks/sounds/smells/feels like. But the love, the intimacy, the closeness and the need for physical attention and affection are indeed well-portrayed. The sex really does spice up the story.

The story itself is less believable, frankly, than the sex, but it is an engaging tale. Too bad so may people are so badly damaged and so badly damage each other throughout. Sometimes, in reading stories like this, I yearn for the normal people who actually populate my life. They are every bit as interesting as these fictional ones and never quite so tragic. This story follows one disastrous episode after another in the lives of these sometimes pitiful but interesting characters.

Make no mistake. This is not literature. It is a soft porn romantic tale, a snapshot into the lives of some seriously flawed homosexual men trying to live "normally" in a hateful, repressive time in Europe.

My one complaint is this: For the life of me, I could not, and cannot figure out the ending. As a voracious reader of all kinds of novels, I detest the cute "style" employed here by Erastes of demanding that you conclude for yourself what happened at the end -- not a satisfying conclusion at all!! I thought I deserved better after wading through the whole book.

If you don't want to read graphic, detailed, several-pages-long episodes of erotic sexual encounters between men (some midly brutal, I might add), then don't read this story. If that's all you want, don't read it either. But if you want a mix of an 1820's man-to-man romance with gay sex and a good view of the life of the privileged class at the time, then by all means read it.

I'm not a big reader of regency romance, but was intrigued by the idea of the romance in the story being between two men. But novelty isn't the only thing Standish has going for it. This book is also beautifully written, well paced, and researched with an attentive eye to detail.

I found the characters very sympathetic and refreshingly multidimensional. Society's intolerance of homosexuality can't help but be a major theme--it was regularly punished by death in Regency England--at the same time, the issue is explored with such delicacy and consideration, that I didn't feel preached to or hit over the head with it. I also found it refreshing that the two representatives of religion in the story were sympathetic to the protagonists, and struggled to understand and befriend them, despite their strong objections to homosexuality.

The sex is graphic and frequent. At the same time, it is so beautifully described, that one would be hard pressed (no pun) to be offended by it.

But most of all, this is an excellent, excellent story. Once I started, I couldn't put it down.

Highly recommended.

Poised to hate the man whose father made off with the title to his ancestral home, the young Ambrose Standish gets in over his head when his loathing gives way to first love and naive passion. Rafe Goshawk, a rake of a man, comes to claim more than the prized estate. He wagers a secret bid to win and eventually possess Ambrose. Without a prayer of hope in resisting, Ambrose is overtaken by the wealthy and sophisticated Rafe, and by tragic circumstances that spin them wildly out of control. Set in Georgian England, Standish brilliantly delivers in the quite eloquent language of the era a story of love between two men, their tale built upon the innate peril of opposites joined and the grave threat of social prejudice against homosexuals.

Ambrose is set to be a delicious sacrificial lamb from the beginning, his innocence and humility glittering jewels in the eyes of a cad like Rafe. Ambrose's fall is inevitable. That foreshadowing drives the plot well, though the pace moves slowly in some places. Author Erastes still manages to sustain the expected sympathy for Ambrose, also revealing hidden heart-soreness in Rafe along the way. Unraveling the complex tangle of Rafe's feelings and Ambrose's insecurities Erastes shows how Rafe's wounds fuel his utter lack of self control, which precludes his ability to confide in Ambrose about his tormented past or to root honestly into their bond. Feeling sympathy for Rafe is unexpected though it is a significant facet of his character and nuance of their journey together. Factor in an unlikely foil to both Ambrose and Rafe, and Erastes creates tangible tension through the novel's end.

Despite it's familiar arrangement of romantic archetypes this story is no boy bodice ripper. No one begins defiantly pinned on his back only to end up clawing at buttocks and begging for more. There is no mixed intent in the hearts of these men. No, these characters are genuinely madly in love from beginning to end. Theirs is the lesson that abiding love does not conquer all, particularly in such a sexually stifling culture, where they are left to repeatedly assess how to move on.

I spent all of middle school, high school, and the greater majority of college reading regency romance. This novel falls far short of ever matching those standards, in my opinion.

The model is one I've seen before, and actually is one of my favorites, and why I decided to give the book a chance. I enjoy regency, I love regency, and here was one with the added bonus of male/male romantic content. A shame the book so fell flat.

Why this insistence on "excellent writing" exists, I don't know. I found none. For one, the author switches POV every third paragraph. It came off to me as an attempt to write third-person omniscient by mixing and meshing multiple third-person limited. It made getting into the story and following it difficult for me.

The character and romantic development were rushed, I thought. Especially Ambrose, whom I felt was not allowed to develop enough. He is given over as a frail, sickly, sheltered, and largely naive character, and yet only in the span of a few pages he comes to terms with and accepts his lust and growing feelings for another man? Given the environment and the society, a character like this needs more time to come into that role, and to wave it away as "several months pass within those few pages" does neither the character nor the author credit.

Rafe was a detestable character to me. On the one hand, he is sorely sick of his current paramour and freely acknowledges to himself wanting/desiring something more with Ambrose. And yet, the whole time he goes about his "seduction"--which is not more than a couple overzealous love-letters--of Ambrose, he is sleeping with his weaselly paramour with seeming no qualms or hints of wanting someone/something else.

Rape. Why must all male/male romances introduce rape as some kind of plot device? Why must the final development of relationships and characters' feelings occur only after one has been raped? It isn't sexy, and it isn't thrilling, and I do not believe the rate of recovering or even the initial coping are believable.

I find it a poor showing of the author's innovation and imagination that the plot must eventually devolve into rape in order to carry the story further.

This is not Regency; this is Travesty.

I anticipated this novel with some satisfaction as the genre is rare enough. It is not literature (as another reviewer comments) as are, for example, the Diane Gabaldan Lord John novels. Comparisons may be invidious, but they are necessary in this case. It would be simplistic to say the reason the sexual episodes in this novel seem wrested from another medium than the balance of the book is because the author is a woman, but then so is Gabaldan. Gabaldan handles the homoerotic component of man to man love with a defter hand. This is largely because here,the author's delineation of the novel's protagonist, Ambrose Standish, fails to offer a convincing romantic lead. I suppose I have met men who are as petulant and emotionally immature as he, but they figure nowhere as figures of romance. Standish reacts to his rape as though he were Elizabeth Bennett. The historical apercus are
sufficient to place us in Regency England convincingly, but the author should know that Ambrose could not have been reading Dracula in 1821. It was published in 1897.
I take exception to the nom de plume of Erastes, as it is misleading. The word, with its definitively, classical Greek male lover provenance, is not one to be miscast for commercial purposes. Still, despite these essential quibbles, it is probably a better novel than most in its genre. Erastes must stay her hand and reflect. Her novels can be better,as this novel shows real promise. And,she must abandon those open-ended conclusions. She betrays the reader when she offers no satisfactory denouement.

Based on the reviews, this one looked like a keeper. I have tried to get through it twice, and I just find the characters and their motivations to be very unbelievable. The sexual relationship just didn't ring true, and the reasons they started to have problems (understatement) didn't make sense to me either. Maybe Frost Fair (another book by Erastes) is better!

Never does the phrase 'don't judge a book by it's cover' apply more aptly than here! An innocuous title written by an enigmatic name. Onlyafter reading previous reviews did I finally succumb and buy the book. What a story! True love never does run smoothly in this rich novel of murder,rape,infidelity, sorrow, hate and love, brutality,etc. - in the extreme. Ambrose Standish whose family originally owned the house becomes a tutor to Rafe's son (the current owner). Ambrose feelings of hate and resentment toward Rafe grow from a lifetime of looking at the estate house that should have been his. But they fall in love. Then through misinterpretation, miscommunication and misunderstandings the beautiful love between Rafe and Ambrose is gone but not destroyed. The story revolves around the love they had but through a series of unfortunate events is lost through misinterpretation, mis-commincation, etc. I couldn't put the book down because I needed to know if they were ever going to find their love for each other again. Therein, lies the crux of this extraordinary novel. There love for each other was never enough to bring them together because of circumstances whirling around them. Well-developed characters, and such a great descriptive narrative of Standish, the prison and the secondary characters. The brutality of Rafe's upbringing in the lap of luxery combined with the beautiful, innocent Ambrose and their love for each other was nothing short of one of the best love stories I have read in a long time. Everyone loved Ambrose. Totally unpredicatable. Am looking forward to Erastes next book Transgressions.

Standish is a well conceived historical gay novel set in England during the Regency. It is evocative of a Bronte novel and reading it, I felt like I was part of a Merchant-Ivory production with the addition of sex.

Ambrose Standish and his elder sisters are nearly destitute living in the cottage next to the Standish mansion which was lost in a bet by their grandfather before any of them were born. He dreams of regaining his heritage when the current heir to the mansion, Rafe Goshawk comes to live there with his young son. Rafe offers Ambrose a position as his son's tutor and Ambrose accepts despite the contempt he feels for this arrogant, wealthy man. Rafe is immediately drawn to Ambrose and vows to eventually seduce him. Before that can happen, he suffers a tragic riding accident and Ambrose becomes his nursemaid during which he falls hopelessly in love with the unconscious man. Upon recovery a romance ensues and the two of them with Rafe's son go on a tour of the continent. Complications arise that I won't go into, and their relationship is destroyed, sending them along separate paths. The rest you will just have to read for yourself.

As I've said in other reviews, I'm not partial to erotica per se, but I have no problem with it if it is integral to the plot, (I'm not a prude, really!) If it is realistically portrayed and essential to the story, I'm fine with if, but if not, then I find it to be obtrusive. Standish walked a fine line for me, but in the end I'm coming down on the side of its being integral and realistic.

One area where I must be forgiving is the language. Writers of historical fiction with an erotic element have a unique challenge in describing explicit sexuality in historical terms. This is because frank sexuality was not openly discussed in 1820 and certainly not present in the literature of the time. So modernisms tend to pop up here and there in the erotic sections of the book and usually in phallic references such as "rod" or "member."

It's also refreshing to come across a couple of characters who are Christian in the true sense of the word and not relegated to villainous roles.

So, overall I was swept up in the high drama and experienced moments of agony, triumph, and joy. The final chapter was especially rewarding. As I closed the book, I just had to sit quietly and contemplate on it for a while. Four and a half stars.

I should have done this review ages ago, but honestly, I have trouble finding the words to express how much I enjoyed this book. Erastes manages to take the traditional elements of the Regency genre and make them fresh. Everything that makes good Regency drama is here - high society, duels, romantic locations, and of course, a look at the underbelly of the Regency world, including a very harsh and realistic look at Newgate prison.

Ambrose and Rafe are not cardboard cutouts, not stereotypes. They're fully rounded characters. Both men, though very different men, and the love between them is plausible and real, not some idealized, fairy tale of happy ever after. The secondary characters, especially Fleury, add incredible depth and dimension to the story.

The setting is beautifully drawn. It's clear Erastes has done major research, but you're never bludgeoned over the head with facts. The historical details are integrated into the narrative with skill. Too many authors of historical fiction either treat authenticity as dispensable or tend to lecture. You won't find either extreme here.

Highly recommended if you love Regencies, gay fiction, or just plain romance.

This book is truely worth the read. It took me just a day to read it because it was so freakin' good. Erastes out did himself with the plot and characters.

Even the lesser characters will take you for a ride as you see how they play out. Its so very easy to fall in love with Ambrose and to want everything for him to be happy and good. He's an innocent when it comes to the world around him. Yet, by the end of the book you know that everything that happened has only made him stronger and makes you love him more.

Rafe has his ups and downs, he's not the normal perfect hero, he makes mistakes. Thus making him seem far more human and as you move with the story with Ambrose it makes you both love him and hate him at times.

This book is one of those books that you laugh, moan, and cry with. If you are looking for a really good romance story that has both ups and downs, that shows love & life in the wonderful detail that it is. Well, then you'll find it in Standish.

Truely wonderful.