Finding the Magic/ A Review

Belle is sent to the countryside to escape the London bombings during WWII. She knows she will miss her mother and worry about her father, who is away fighting in the war, but she has no idea what awaits her in the manor where she is to live. She finds friends with the staff, but the mysterious master of the house frightens her. Can she teach him to find the magic in a world where all magic seems to be long gone?



Review

This was such a sweet story! I was a bit skeptical about a historical Beauty & the Beast. I'm not a big historical fan, but since it was B&B retelling I thought I would give it a shot. The idea also gave me a bit of a Narnia vibe. This is a light and endearing read. I love that Belle is young in this and it wasn't a romance by any means, it had more of bedtime story vibe, something that leaves you on a light and happy note. Chip was probably my favorite character, he brought a whimsical and childlike wonder to the story.  It's simple and I mean that as a compliment, like the way the Hobbit is a simple story. There is no convoluted plot. It's a domestic story, one that is relatable and inspiring.

It's a lovely Christmas read! 

Jack is an Author who has disillusions of grandeur that she will someday write the perfect book.
She's not impossible, just a bit unlikely.

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Finding the Magic Reveal

I should have made this a fairy tale series or something. I just keep stumbling across these awesome sounding retellings. This one is a Beauty & the Beast retelling. I don't know if all of you are aware but I am a bit obsessed with that one. Just a bit...

So yeah, I might have flailed a bit when I found out Jack's new book was a retelling of my favorite tale. She is a brilliant writer, I especially love her characters. 

Here is the lovely cover!

Isn't it lovely!

I am ecstatic for this story!

Finding the Magic. 

Fifteen-year-old Belle is sent to the countryside to escape the London bombings of WWII. She knows she will miss her mother and worry about her father, who is away fighting in the war, but has no idea what awaits her in the manor in which she is to live. She finds friends in the staff but the mysterious and elusive master of the house frightens her. Can she teach him to find the magic in a world where magic seems to be long gone?

 Author Bio:

 Jack is an author, which is why she spends much of her time writing and little of her time editing. She likes to follow characters around and tell their stories even if they don't tell her everything they know about their stories.

She lives alone in a Hobbit hole and spends her spare time with her nose stuck in a book. When she isn't doing that she is busy baking bread and annoying her neighbors with bagpipes. 

You can follow Jack here: http://www.jacklewisbaillot.com/

I promise to have a normal post next week. Then I have some tags, and I think a few blog tours. We shall see what happens.

Beautiful Books 2017

I was going to skip this one, because I'm not doing Nano. It gives me an excuse to talk about my Snow White retelling, so I thought why not.

 Beautiful books is one of my favorite link ups created by the ever fabulous duo Cait and Sky

On to the lovely questions.

1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

I created this for the Roogle Wood Press contest, so it was inspired by Snow White, and I have had the idea when the contest was announced, so sometime in June.

2. Describe what your novel is about!

It's about Snow, who is a circus clown in a fae ran circus. She wants to become a trapeze in order to eventually leave. She finds herself wanted by an evil queen and caught up in a deadly game with two enigmatic fae Princes.

3.What is your book’s aesthetic? Use words or photos or whatever you like!

Dark, grungy, with a wee bit of fantasy. I have a pinterest board for it  Falling Snow

4. Introduce us to each of your characters!

Snow- Tenacious and tough, was raised by a bunch of circus midgets and has never been handed anything in life.

The Queen/Madame

Beautiful and powerful, owns the circus and her workers. A fae queen, one should never trifle with. Doesn't mind getting her hands dirty.

  Chayse/Huntsman- The Queen's son, lion tamer, and fire dancer. Also some sort of were-cat, an enigma at it's finest.

Cynfael/ Prince Charming- A northern fae Prince with questionable motives and morals.

 Midgets/ dwarves

Moe, Lenny, Ted, Sean, Ben, also two unnamed ones who may or may not be included. A bunch of chain smoking, cursing circus clowns.

5. How do you prepare to write? (Outline, research, stocking up on chocolate, howling, etc.?)

Wallow in self doubt and pity for a couple hours, then type until I have to stop for a snack break which is every five minutes.

6.What are you most looking forward to about this novel?

The contest feedback and my readers feedback, as for writing it probably the end.

7. List 3 things about your novel’s setting.

Bleak

Bloody

Hostile

8. What’s your character’s goal and who (or what) stands in the way?


 Snow's goal is just to find a better life, that changes towards the middle to just staying alive.

 9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

Her whole life is turned upside down, and she sees the world in a different light.

10. What are your book’s themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over?

wistful and hopeful. The only theme is probably overcoming fear, and fighting back.


Well hope somebody enjoyed this.

Wendy Darling: Seas

I need to start doing reviews, I am notorious for reading a book, then picking up another one with out missing a beat. Which would be fine, but when it is time to review them, I forget things, names, important plot points, and titles. I also lose a lot of the emotions good or bad, that I had towards each book.

Anyway onto the review. I read these out of order, which was not intentional. I had requested a whole bunch of books off of  Netgalley, I have learned since doing this. I am alot more selective now considering I had to read quite a few horrible books, and because I am a perfectionist I couldn't just leave them unfinished.

I found 'Wendy Darling- Seas' after reading a string of really awful, not even worth 2 stars books. I had no expectations, I was just trying to get through my ebooks.

I loved it! I have read an alarming amount of Peter Pan retellings this year, that and Beauty & the Beast were my obsession. Most of them were disappointing for one reason or another. A lot of them had a darker version of Pan and since OUAT's take on him. I was really loving it.

So I read 'Seas' not knowing it was a squeal to 'Stars'.

'Seas' starts with Wendy waking up on Hook's ship the Sudden Night. It's quite a ride from there. I finished 'Seas' in a day. I was completely entranced, I loved the slightly more mature take on it. Might have something to do with the fact that I'm supposed to be an adult. This wasn't the Disney version of Pan, there is violence, innuendo, attempted sexual assault and language. It wasn't graphic, at least to me. It was there, but it wasn't trying to be shocking or overdone. Colleen handled all of these topics really well.

Wendy is young lady, aboard a pirate ship of murderous cutthroats and the book was very plain about how this was not a very good idea. I think Hook sold this book for me, he was not at all what I was expecting. I have read books like this where Hook is the love interest, and to be honest I don't like it. Since Pan was maniacal and  evil, I thought that was the turn this book was taking.

I was relieved to find that Hook was not the least bit interested in Wendy. Right off, he tells her to give him a reason to keep her and her brother Micheal alive. She tells him that Peter Pan is in love with her, from there the two of them form a unlikely partnership to take down Pan.

I loved this. I like when two unlikely people join up, out of sheer need. It worked great, Wendy and Hook's scenes are the strongest in the book. I loved the character development, we through Wendy's eyes go from hating and despising this band of rogues, to them all becoming a strange family dynamic. (with the exception of Barnabas) who I hope the fish eat his flesh and his eyes.

The visuals were really good, the writing was crisp and clean. I really liked how Colleen developed the world. It came to life, the characters were all very unique and well developed.

In other words I would give this book five stars.

Oddly enough, my thoughts on the first and third book are completely different. That will be another post.