Happy #bookreview day everyone! Today I'm looking at a whole series instead of just one book.
Months ago I stumbled across this series in a thrift shop. I had a few books from the Sookie Stackhouse series (i.e. True Blood) by Charlaine Harris, and there were several there I picked up. Buried in the piles was also this whole series. A series with Shakespeare in the title? Heck yeah.
Today I'm going to touch on each of the five books in the series. But first, an overall description. Lily Bard is a young woman who cleans houses in a small town called Shakespeare in Arkansas. (Get it? Bard? Shakespeare? hehehe...)
She's there to keep quiet and to hide from her dark, violent past. She cleans and works out and keeps to herself. Or at least, she tries to. But of course, this is a book series, and things happen, and Lily always happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Book #1: Shakespeare's Landlord
In this first book in the series, we are introduced to Lily Bard and the story of where and how she got her terrible scars, and why she trains as hard as she does. As she is walking one night, she witnesses someone dumping a dead body. As a witness, and someone "not from around these here parts", particularly someone who is so secretive, suspicion falls on her. So her reaction is, of course, to solve the murder.
The series is both fun and dark, and this book sets that tone right away. Lily isn't exactly likeable, but she is human enough that you want to keep reading as she deals with the terrible trauma of her past.
Book #2: Shakespeare's Champion
In this second book in the series, Lily's secret is out. There is a new man in her life, and she seems settling into quiet Shakespeare. But of course, it isn't all that quiet. This book focuses on race. There is a racial attack, and Lily comes to the rescue of a black man being attacked by a group of supremacist white boys. Then there is of course a murder, and Lily becomes aware that all is not right in her adopted town.
Lily bugs me a fair bit throughout this series, and this book was the height of it. If you don't mind the long descriptions of cleaning and working out, if you don't mind the odd jumping-around in regards to love interest, if you don't mind the slut-shaming and issues Lily takes with other women, then maybe it won't matter. Certainly the racial issues, so prevalent now and recently, are worthy and important for discussion, and the best parts of the book raise related questions.
The mystery component is less mysterious than some of the other books; things are, quite frankly and unfortunately given the phrase and subject matter, black and white.
Book #3: Shakespeare's Christmas
In this third book, Lily heads home for the holidays and to attend her sister's wedding. She is uncomfortable, awkward, and almost estranged around her family. Of course, her past trauma has affected all of her relationships, her parents very noticeably. Her new boyfriend, private investigator Jack, shows up in town to investigate a child abduction.
I liked this one fine. It's quick and a light read; all-around fine. I did like the dynamics with her family, as it made her more realistic, and setting it all against the holidays was an effective choice, both for Lily's character development and the child abduction storyline.
Book #4: Shakespeare's Trollop
Oy, that title.
In this fourth book in the series, Lily finds Deedra Dean, a local woman well-known for her promiscuous lifestyle, murdered in her car. The murder is gruesome and grotesque, and Lily doesn't want to get involved. But of course she is drawn into the investigation, and again has to play the role of amateur detective to help solve the murder.
After this book, I stopped reading for a few months, and for good reason. I have a really, really hard time with Lily's victim-blaming, and this was absolutely rampant throughout the book. This book did touch on her examining these attitudes, but it was less an examination and more of a subtle glance. I had a hard time with Lily in this one, but I wanted to see justice for Deedra, so I kept reading.
Book #5: Shakespeare's Counselor
After a few months I came back to finish this series; I figured one more short book would finish off the series, and while I wasn't particularly concerned with what happens with Lily, I was a tad curious and, if nothing else, figured it was a quick read I could cross off my list.
Lily has strengthened her body to help her deal with the physical trauma of her past, and now has finally decided to seek therapy to help her deal with the emotional trauma as well. Of course, she does because it is affecting her relationship with Jack, her man. She chooses a group therapy session, and it turns out that a whole lot of women in sleepy little Shakespeare share similar experiences.
I like this element, as it takes Lily out of herself a bit and causes her to think of others around her, including some she judged harshly.
However, they find a woman dead at one of their meetings. She is caught in trying to uncover the murderer, the message, and the secrets all tied up in this woman's death, and in so doing, she deals a bit more with her own thoughts, her nightmares, and her relationships.
This was probably the best book from the series; we see a bit more growth from Lily, and the elements in her personal life, particularly surrounding the tragedy that happens in her personal life in this book. This was all done very realistically, and I think that this whole book was overall more realistic in terms of character. The mystery itself was, well, okay; it definitely wasn't the focus as much as Lily as a character, and this was perhaps the strength of this particular book.
Overall, Lily's Counselor ended the series pretty effectively. It isn't a happy book, but there was a sense of finality to it, and it all fit Lily as a character, and her situation. In this book, Lily has grown as a character, and though she isn't necessarily likeable, she is more realistic and complex.
Overall, I did enjoy the series overall. It is fun, quick, pure escapism, and kind of shoulder-shrug worthy, there were elements that were well-done, and I like the overall idea. It is spurring me to go complete the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse series, to perhaps see more modern pieces from this author. Overall, I like having an imperfect, dark protagonist, and am curious to see what else Harris does.
What kind of "escapism" books do you like? Comment here, or via my contact page, here. And while you're there, don't forget to subscribe to my (very occasional) newsletter!