Monday, July 28, 2014

Bout of Books 11

That's right guys I am back and doing Bout of Books again! After a not so good writing month for July .... lets just admit it I was doomed from the get go. But now I am back and ready to dive into those fantasy worlds and forget about reality yet again! There is still plenty of time to sign up.


Bout of Books

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog- From the Bout of Books team

I will be adding goals later on since it is still a little ways away. But I can't wait to do this read-a-thon, I had so much fun last time I did this and hope to read even more for this Bout of Books. 

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Happy and Sad all the Same


 I first want to start out by saying I have had a very busy month. Even with having a vacation at the start of the month, coming back from that long trip I felt like I need another one just to recuperate from that one. I did get a massive amount of books. (about 23 books) Had lots of fun with setting off fireworks for the fourth of July and a great time with my Aunt. We also got to pet some horses which I am in love with and hope to ride some time in the future when we do move there.

At this point I haven't gotten any writing done but I am still determined to get something in. I wanted to finish my edits but I might have to scrap that idea and just continue on writing on one of my stories I have already started. We will see I am hoping to start writing once I catch up on some other things.

When I got home I did have a couple of packages waiting for me and one of them was my books
I ordered through createspace. Again I still have to fix the last three chapters but up till then I think it is pretty good. I am going to be sending it to my Aunt who we visited this month and see how she likes it.

This has really been a tough month with just trying to motivate my self to accomplish things. I usually would have spent July 4th with my grandma but she is no longer here to do such things. Since she just passed earlier this year all the holidays I had spent with her specifically are going to be hard months in general. I miss her terribly and hope once the pain is a bit easier to deal with that I can write the story I have planned to dedicate to her.

Trying to stay positive even if I don't get everything accomplished for this month like I wanted to.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Porcelain Child (Book Two in The Broken Line series) by Jessica Dall

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: 5 Prince Publishing
Release Date: July 3, 2014
Pages: 252
Source: The book was given to me from the author for an honest review.
Synopsis: With less than a decade of stable rule behind them, Lord Protector Richard Seymour has passed away leaving the country once again in turmoil. With her connection to the old regimes, seemingly on all sides thanks to her mother, Adela, Mary might find herself pulled into the heat of battle whether she wants it or not.

Book 2 of The Broken Line Series, The Porcelain Child picks up with the next generation thrown into the mix.






Review:

When I was asked to review the second book of The Broken Line series I was highly intrigued to find out what happened to Adela when she left the country. This book isn't about Adela but about her daughter Mary who is left with her aunt to be raised. Shortly after starting this book I began to love Mary's character and how different she was from Adela. I ended up giving this book a 5 out of 5 stars on goodreads.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am excited about the many more stories to come from this series. Mary is a very serious character and she seems to always be on alert around others. She has learned to be suspicious of others due to her mother. Even though Adela, her mother didn't really raise her, Mary was still able to learn things from her. Even though she sometimes was confused about life or where things were headed she dealt with them head on. Making no excuses for herself. She could have let the Royalists walk all over her when they were trying to make her queen but she stood firm in wanting peace, not war. 

Of course she wouldn't have been so strong if not for some of the people that helped her along the way. Again it seems the maid has a big part in helping things along. Like Adela had Lettice, Mary has Abigail who she can talk to and trust. They seemed to me to have a pretty good friendship regardless. Abigail is always there for Mary whether it be running from the guards, helping her escape, or trying to keep Mary away from people she don't really care for. 

Another character who is of strong importance is Will, who is friends with Mary. They grew up with each other so he is the one that knows Mary sometimes more than she knows her own self. I love how patient and kind he is. He also isn't afraid to stand up and do something when someone he cares about is in trouble, regardless of if he isn't good with guns or fighting. 

I loved how this all wraps up and glad there were more than one happily ever after at the end of the novel. The plot of the story moved well throughout, never a dull moment. When Richard Seymour dies his son takes over. Adela has played a risky game with not telling everyone exactly who Mary's father is. She only says who her father is when it helps Adela with something. Since Mary's father is an unknown variable Seymour's son tries to eliminate the problem by bringing her in. From beginning to end it was full of action and confusion with all the games people were playing. Makes one really rethink going into any sort of politics. 

Information:

Other information about this series is I found out there will be a book 3 and it will be available this winter some time. The title of the book will be The Paper Masque. She also has two novella's coming out as well. The first one is The Copper Rebellion and will be out in August. This will be about Adela and what happened to her after she left the country. So this book is in between book 1 and book 2. There will be a second novella set after book 2 called The Porcelain Queen. I am not sure when this will be out. For more information pertaining to The Broken Line series please check out her blog. http://jessicadall.com/about/the-broken-line-series/