Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A cross between Victoria Holt and early Kallmaker, April 15, 2002
Divorced and in the process of redefining her life, Anna Reid, an early 30-something woman in a graduate program for Landscape Design, needs a place to live and, at least, a part time job. She finds both when she answers a classified ad for a housekeeper. She's surprised to find that she will be more of an administrative assistant to the enigmatic Graham Yardley. The famed master pianist and composer, Graham has locked herself away at Yardley Manor for more than a decade, since a tragic accident took her sight. She bears her blindness as a kind of penance and uses it to keep anyone from coming too close. Graham is not prepared for the energy of life and love of nature that Anna brings to Yardley. Love's Melody Lost is the story of these two women on their path to love each other. An old fashioned gothic romance of the kind written by the late Victoria Holt, Love's Melody Lost is almost so cliché as to be amusing. -- The beautiful, vibrant, young woman brings life to a fading, historic estate by the sea and sparks the possibility of salvation through love for the mysterious, reclusive, heartbroken estate owner. -- However, Radclyffe gives the cliché a new life. She depicts two interesting and well drawn female leads with unapologeticly lesbian content. Her plot is fast paced with several touching moments. And the romantic encounters, when they finally occur are explicit and, to this reader, powerfully erotic. Radclyffe uses sight and the lack thereof, in an interesting manner. Previously heterosexually experienced, Anna is aware of Graham's physical attractiveness from their first encounter. She describes the appearance of the tall, dark haired, musician with increasing detail as she falls in love with Graham. Yet, the reader is not given a description of Anna until Graham, in a very touching scene, asks the housekeeper, Helen what Anna looks like. There are a few mildly annoying inconsistencies in the story. The setting's time frame and age for both lead characters seems to change. Anna's height also appears to fluctuate. Radclyffe glosses over Anna's coming out process as well as the question of Graham's being out professionally. And finally the angst is almost too much. "Pig-headed" is one of the nicest ways to describe Graham, exceptional talent notwithstanding. Having said this, Love's Melody Lost is a charming gothic lavender romance. Other readers have compared this novel to those of the wonderful romance writer, Karin Kallmaker. This reader feels a comparison to Chris Anne Wolfe's romantic fantasies is more accurate. Or perhaps, specifically, it is more like early Kallmaker novels. Love's Melody Lost provides more than enough promise for this reader to look for other Radclyffe titles and will be curious to see how Radclyffe continues to develop her craft.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An experience, as all great novels should be, November 10, 2001
Love's Melody Lost was the first lesbian romance I ever read and to date, I have yet to find its peer. I found it at a time when, unaware that such love stories existed, I was merely looking for writing that moved me in a way that only eloquence in style, characterization, and plot could.And find it I did. Radclyffe creates a world that is passionate and intense, fantastic yet real, dark yet triumphant. The story is not so much told as painted in words and characters and moods that draw the reader in and bewitch them with breathless wonder. At the story's core is the turbulent relationship between Graham Yardley and Anna Reid. Radclyffe takes the archetypes of dark and light and imbues them with a depth of character that makes this a love story less about the consummation of physical attraction and more about the unique way in which two lost and damaged souls can come together. Of course, as is the Radclyffe hallmark, the love scenes are exquisitely crafted to capture the desire and intensity of two passionate women united. But what is truly unique and wonderful about Love's Melody Lost is the blending of style and form. That Graham is a brooding composer living on a barren clifftop mansion is reflected in the lush drama of the prose. The beauty of the writing makes reading a pleasure on multiple levels: the engaging and page-turning plot, as well as the vivid and lyrical descriptions. It is an experience, as all great novels should be. It comes with my highest recommendation and I encourage everyone to experience it for themselves.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An acquired taste, July 20, 2002
I have a guilty fondness for LOVE'S MELODY LOST, although in too many places its narrative is so over the top in earnest melodrama and painful plot cliches that I found myself laughing rather than being moved. Yet it's that very excess which marks this book as a turning point in Radclyffe's long career of writing pulp romances. Her earlier books were, in comparison, more flat, almost timid in their expression of emotion between the characters. Then something broke loose in LML, a florid outburst of passion that was rawly expressed, but definitely not timid. In subsequent books, Radclyffe pulled back to less flamboyant emotional levels, but there was a subtle shift forward rather than a retreat to earlier habits. She emerged a more controlled writer, one with a firm confident hand on the turbulent love life of her characters. They could encounter heartache without the violent violin passages crescendoing in the background. My decided preference is for understatement rather than overstatement, but I recognize that tastes vary in this regard. For readers who love the emotional swells of Romance, you'll adore this book. For readers who are less inclined to appreciate the resoundingly obvious, try Radclyffe's ABOVE ALL, HONOR instead. And finally, for those who, like me, find the journey of the writer as fascinating as the journey of her characters, don't skip this novel. I've read all of Radclyffe's books (many more than once) and this title is a fascinating step in her progress as a writer. She's a delight to read.
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