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Review: Lady Eve's Last Con
I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to reading Rebecca Fraimow's first published novel! I managed to get an ARC through NetGalley and I read it today and I'm so happy! What fun this was!
And it's always excited when someone you like so much as a person also produces art you like! Yay!
Here's my GoodReads review:
Everything of Rebecca Fraimow's that I've had the pleasure to read has worked for me, from short stories to novelette to novella, so I had high expectations going into this one and it did not disappoint.
It's a rollicking good art deco space opera on a lovely intimate scale. A small-time conwoman from a hardscrabble background infiltrates the upper crust of a rich planet for money, revenge, and--most importantly--love of her sister. She's very, very good at what she does, but of course things get complicated when she starts to develop feelings for a very inconvenient person.
This is an established kind of plot that depends entirely on style and characterization to work. Because it's Fraimow, it has both. The worldbuilding is fun and colorful with loads of delightful details, and our main characters are lovable with just enough rough edges to lend some weight to what might have been pure fluff.
There's a ton going on here that I love: identity porn, protective older siblings, hot girls on motorcycles, plotting, disasters in zero-gravity, fashion, kosher ducks, and a compelling central romance.
From here on I'm going to get into some thematic spoilers, so read no further if you want to avoid those.
The whole thing works because our lead is the perfect mix of justified and wrong. We get why she's doing what she's doing, we understand how she's justifying it to herself, and we understand how a person with her background and experiences would come to this place. Thankfully, the reasons she's wrong are less "it's bad to con rich people" (is it, though?) and more "sometimes you have to let your little sister grow up." I love a storyline about codependent siblings learning how to be less codependent while still loving each other, and that's what's going on here: Ruthi has spent her whole life protecting her sister, and she was right to do that, but she has to come to terms with the fact that "protecting" and "controlling" often end up being the same thing, and once your sister is an adult, too, you have to relinquish your desire for control.
As for the main romance, I'm a hard sell for romances. I love them when they work for me, but 90% of the time they do nothing for me. This one works: I believe that these two people like and admire each other, that they could make a go of it in the future. Fraimow also understands that nothing is more romantic than actually being able to trust someone, and it takes real skill to make me as a reader believe that Ruthi and Sol *can* trust each other despite the layers of deception. I buy that these are two people from different backgrounds who sense a commonality of soul and really *want* to be honest with each other.
All in all, a very fun time. I can't wait to see what Fraimow publishes next! (No pressure, Becca!)
And it's always excited when someone you like so much as a person also produces art you like! Yay!
Here's my GoodReads review:
Everything of Rebecca Fraimow's that I've had the pleasure to read has worked for me, from short stories to novelette to novella, so I had high expectations going into this one and it did not disappoint.
It's a rollicking good art deco space opera on a lovely intimate scale. A small-time conwoman from a hardscrabble background infiltrates the upper crust of a rich planet for money, revenge, and--most importantly--love of her sister. She's very, very good at what she does, but of course things get complicated when she starts to develop feelings for a very inconvenient person.
This is an established kind of plot that depends entirely on style and characterization to work. Because it's Fraimow, it has both. The worldbuilding is fun and colorful with loads of delightful details, and our main characters are lovable with just enough rough edges to lend some weight to what might have been pure fluff.
There's a ton going on here that I love: identity porn, protective older siblings, hot girls on motorcycles, plotting, disasters in zero-gravity, fashion, kosher ducks, and a compelling central romance.
From here on I'm going to get into some thematic spoilers, so read no further if you want to avoid those.
The whole thing works because our lead is the perfect mix of justified and wrong. We get why she's doing what she's doing, we understand how she's justifying it to herself, and we understand how a person with her background and experiences would come to this place. Thankfully, the reasons she's wrong are less "it's bad to con rich people" (is it, though?) and more "sometimes you have to let your little sister grow up." I love a storyline about codependent siblings learning how to be less codependent while still loving each other, and that's what's going on here: Ruthi has spent her whole life protecting her sister, and she was right to do that, but she has to come to terms with the fact that "protecting" and "controlling" often end up being the same thing, and once your sister is an adult, too, you have to relinquish your desire for control.
As for the main romance, I'm a hard sell for romances. I love them when they work for me, but 90% of the time they do nothing for me. This one works: I believe that these two people like and admire each other, that they could make a go of it in the future. Fraimow also understands that nothing is more romantic than actually being able to trust someone, and it takes real skill to make me as a reader believe that Ruthi and Sol *can* trust each other despite the layers of deception. I buy that these are two people from different backgrounds who sense a commonality of soul and really *want* to be honest with each other.
All in all, a very fun time. I can't wait to see what Fraimow publishes next! (No pressure, Becca!)
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