Shannon C.’s review of Liquid Crystal (Department 57 Series) by Lynne Connolly
Paranormal erotic romance ebook released by Loose ID 1 Sep 08

Some reviewers — some even on this site — are capable of reading every book and loving all of them unreservedly. They are capable of looking past personal no-nos in order to judge the book on its own merit. Sadly, I am not one of those reviewers, and despite the fact that I adore Lynne Connolly’s writing, I can’t ignore the fact that the latest in her Department 57 series really didn’t work for me. To explain why will require spoilers, so don’t read beyond this point if you’re squeamish about such things. 

We learn right away that Crystal’s boyfriend Jeff has some interesting obsessions. He believes mermaids are real and he’s determined to see them for himself. He’s convinced that Crystal’s friends, the very hot Bryn and Kai, are mermen, and he uses Crystal as the bait to lure them to reveal themselves by dumping Crystal into the Thames. (Her boyfriend is, indeed, a charming bloke.)  Naturally, Bryn and Kai, who are in fact mermen and who also work for Department 57, an agency that protects paranormal creatures (called Talents) from bigoted humans who are out to expose the Talents, rescue her and bring Crystal into a life she never imagined, and show her a hot, wet, good time, in more ways than one.

I will say that as of this writing it’s been about three weeks since I finished this book, and the plot is fresh in my mind. I haven’t needed to consult the text or the author’s site to figure out what I’ve forgotten. And I did tear through this book in a couple of hours, which is something considering what a slow reader I am. I was engaged, too. Sometimes, when I read, I find my inner critic reading along offering up snide commentary. Not so with Ms. Connolly’s books. It was only once I realized the direction the story was going that I knew I was going to have problems.

First, I didn’t really get a sense of who Crystal was. I liked what I saw of her, but she was fairly bland. I felt that a lot of her characterization was told to us rather than shown, and in particular I never understood why it was that she was drawn to Bryn and Kai, except they’re both hot. I would have liked to have seen a few quiet scenes that would have actually established their friendship. I also felt that she ended up accepting everything much too easily and quickly, going from a skeptic to asking Bryn to turn her into a mermaid at the end. And, of course, she did the requisite TSTL thing that requires her men to rescue her.

The men are not much better. I’ve always liked Ms. Connolly’s men, as they are closer to my ideal than the uber-alpha types. But she’s written better characters than Bryn and Kai, who were unremarkable other than that I thought they were hot. And yet again, I just didn’t feel the chemistry between the two men. I wish Ms. Connolly would actually write a full-fledged M/M sex scene instead of teasing us with foreplay, because then, at least in this case, I would have accepted the chemistry of the two guys for each other.

But my real problem was the way the ménage was resolved. This is one of those stories where two of the three decide they want to be monogamous and the third steps away voluntarily. I didn’t like that at all. In fact, it’s the thing about ménage stories in general that’s the biggest turn-off for me. I can accept that two men want to share one woman, but as soon as it becomes clear the ménage isn’t going to last, I find myself wondering about the guy who’s left out. Ms. Connolly states that the guy in this case feels incapable of love and he wouldn’t want a long-lasting relationship with anybody, but, geez, this is a romance novel. Heroes *always* say that. My reader expectation is that the author isn’t going to let them get away with that crap. But Ms. Connolly did, and I ended the ebook with a sense of disappointment. I felt she’d let me down by not at least hinting that she was going to pair her spare.

Despite all the negatives I’ve just ranted about, I would like to point out one thing I really loved: I absolutely adored the setting. This story takes place in London, and it felt very British. (It probably helps that Ms. Connolly herself is British and thus can provide a sense of authenticity to her British characters.) But it was really nice to read a story with such a clear sense of setting, and to feel like I was actually reading about real Brits.

Will I keep reading Dept 57? Yes. This series is pure fun, and the fact that Ms. Connolly has inspired a rant from me is definitely an indication that something works in her writing. Not every author can have a winner every time, and I’m hoping that I’ll like the next installment of the series better.

Grade: C+

Read other reviews and information about this series by following the Department 57 series tag.

Summary:

When an unsuspected enemy rises up to threaten Crystal’s life, her old friends, Bryn and Kai, rescue her from a nearly fatal plunge into the Thames. Later, they share a bed, and their bodies. The passion they wake in each other is as incredible as it is inevitable.

But Bryn and Kai have a secret. They are mermen. Crys is intrigued, so they introduce her to the pleasures of underwater loving, and the passion they release steams up the water.

Yet their enemy still chases them, and they’ll have to defeat him before they can give in to love’s demand.

Publisher’s Note: This book is a re-edited revised version previously released by another publisher, and contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices, ménage (m/m/f), sex while in shifted form, violence.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: