regshoe

It is about farms as ecosystems with humans as a keystone species, and applying the principles of ecology to that.

That is a fascinating idea, thank you for the rec!

I have finally got JSMN from the library, though annoyingly enough as a paperback and not in hardcovers, and I'll tackle it soon.

Yay :D Hmm, is that because you dislike paperbacks in general, or just because it's so long that a hardback would be more convenient?

In which way?

Hmmm... So one of the things I like about JSMN is it really doesn't feel at all distractingly modern; and yet it doesn't really feel like a nineteenth-century book either, and there are a few places where it's kind of knowingly self-conscious about the portrayal of major historical figures (particularly the Lord Byron bits, I think; not so much the Duke of Wellington) in a way that pulls me out of the historical world a little. Also the framing device kind of falls apart if you think about it for too long, and while I really love some of the footnotes there are others that I think are unnecessary and have some of same self-consciousness.

You are right that I like a slow-burn romance :) and I can also like the characters working out problems—but I think I need that basic assurance that they can trust each other and are, as I sometimes put it, 'each other's people', before I can get really invested in a pairing, and I didn't get that sense here.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the Lochiel book!