"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." ~ Philippians 4:8 {KJV}
Plot: It's Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and the monks of Medieval St. Alcuin's Abbey are going about their daily routines, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new abbot, John, who was formerly the abbey's infirmarian and had just spent a year at Cambridge preparing to take up the role of abbot. His return was expected any day now and Brother Tom, the abbot's esquire, has been keeping busy getting the abbot's rooms ready for him. On the road, John - still an infirmarian at heart - helps many of the people he meets; one of the men he comes across on his journey is an Augustinian monk from St. Dunstan's Priory which, he is shocked to learn, has recently suffered a catastrophic fire in which many of the monks perished. Troubled by this news, John continues on his journey after helping the man as much as he could. His safe arrival causes relief and joy to fill the abbey, and John begins to settle in his new role as abbot.
When William, the former prior of St. Dunstan's, shows up on the abbey's doorstep a few days later bruised, burnt and hungry, discord and tension spread rapidly among the brothers - fueled by Tom's keen memory of William's cold-hearted cruelty to their former abbot. John, with the burden on responsibility on his shoulders now and being a kindly person, tries his best to keep the peace. But winning forgiveness and a place in the abbey will be a hard battle for William, even with the abbot's goodwill. In fact, it will be the hardest thing he has to do.
Likes/Dislikes: I liked all the characters, how they all interacted with each other and grew in this story. It was amusing to be reading their conversations and find out what each one considers to be the hardest thing they have or had to do. I also especially liked how Tom and William grew throughout the course of the story. It was very interesting to read a book set primarily in a Medieval abbey without having knights, damsels in distress and all the glamorous figures one thinks of from that time period popping in and out of the tale. All in all, a very enjoyable, highly recommended read.
Rating: PG-12 and up for reading level although not necessarily a children's book.
Date Report Written: February 11, 2012.
I received this book free from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.
Plot: Teenage military brat Ivy Thorn has moved again. She and her mom have spent most of her life moving – doing the same routine over and over again; settling down, sending out roots and then ripping them up again to relocate. Ivy really feels the stress of this latest move. Her first night in their new house, she searches for her picture of her father. When she can’t find it, she decides to call it a day and goes into the bathroom to brush her hair. A face not her own peers back out of the mirror at her and the next thing Ivy knows, she’s no longer in the bathroom.
Now stuck in a fairy tale – Beauty and the Beast no less – Ivy, with her sarcastic outlook on life, has to find a way around various annoying {or sometimes helpful but mostly annoying} spells, an enchanted forest, an idiotic prince, roses with sharp thorns, and a pixie with a bizarre sense of humor in order to get back home. When making a crucial decision backfires horribly, Ivy realizes she’s in over her head. With no idea how she got into the fairy tale in the first place, how is she to get back out?
Likes/Dislikes: Mrs. Casey has taken a creative spin to the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast and run with it as only she could. Giving her heroine a sarcastic tough-girl character with a soft center paired up with Beauty, the usual heroine of the tale now demoted to sidekick, was a new twist on the tale. The addition of Prince Ferguson is a hilarious one! I highly enjoyed the lively banter between Ivy and the obnoxious pixie. All in all, a very enjoyable book. Highly recommended for teens and up.
Rating: PG-12 and up for content and reading level.
Date Report Written: January 30, 2012.
I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.
Author Interview!
Welcome, Mrs. Casey, to my library! How are you this fine winter day? It’s winter? I live in Florida, so I’ve got the back doors open. It’s about 72 degrees!
Do tell us a little about your latest writing project! I’m finishing up Cinderella and Zombies (which is new territory for me) and I should start the sequel to The Fairy Tale Trap later this month!
What made you want to become a writer? I guess the most honest answer is that I love writing stories. But I didn’t realize it until I read a book on writing. It had some writing exercises and I wanted to try them all! After that, I couldn’t wait to plan my first novel.
How do you get inspiration for your stories? It’s different every time. With The Fairy Tale Trap, I had the character first, then threw her into something she’d struggle with, but that I wanted to write about. Fairy Tales were a natural choice (because Ivy doesn’t do ball gowns and she definitely would never kiss a frog).
Are your characters inspired by real-life people, your imagination, or a mix of both? A mix of both. Ivy is her own character, but some of the details from her life were taken from personal experiences and friends’ experiences.
Which area would you say you’re strongest in as a writer? {Plot, dialog, description, action, characterization, showing vs. telling, etc.} It changes with every book. I think Ivy is a really strong character with a great voice. But sometimes the plot will just take off and I struggle to keep the characters center-stage.
Which area are you weaker in? It’s difficult to show the reader WHY a character does what she does. I know as a writer (most of the time) but sometimes I forget that my characters are strangers to the reader on page 1.
What do you do when you hit writer’s block? Write by hand. Poof! It’s gone.
Do you have a favorite spot to write? The library. My inner nerd takes over and the words fly onto the screen.
Do you work best in peace and quiet or surrounded with background noise and action? I like it quiet. My brain can work at a problem from several angles if it’s not distracted.
What kind of music {if any} do you prefer to listen to while writing? Before I sit down to write first-draft material, I do housework while listening to a playlist of Muse, Enya, and the How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack. Weird combination, I know.
How do you decide which story to work on next? Whichever one I’m most excited to write. Burnout isn’t fun. Neither is working on a book that you don’t love.
Which genre do you prefer to work with? Young adult fantasy, all the way. I love the magic and writing from inside the head of someone who doesn’t care about rules.
Who has influenced your writing the most? I answer this question differently every time. Honestly, I think it’s just a mixture of everything I’ve read, of all the writing classes I’ve taken, and my own personality. The “mental compost” that J.K. Rowling talks about is pretty accurate.
Who are your favorite authors? Shannon Hale, Patricia Briggs, J.K. Rowling, Gail Carriger, and Maria V. Snyder to name a few.
I understand you’re a stay-at-home mother of two young children, how do you balance writing and motherhood? Nap time is sacred writing time. If I don’t do it when the kids are asleep, I have no excuse for missing my word count goal.
What is your advice for other aspiring authors out there? Practice. A lot.
Where can my readers go to find out more about your books? I just put up a new page on my blog called Will You Like My Books? It goes through some of the pros and cons of my stories so readers can decide whether the books are for them.
And for a random question, what is your favorite color? Purple.
Thank you, Mrs. Casey, for taking a few minutes of your valuable time to share with us about your books. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Mrs. Casey's book, you can do so here at Amazon.com. To read the next review in The Fairy Tale Trap blog tour, check out Coranne's blog tomorrow. To read an excerpt from this book, check out Wednesday's post. To watch the epic movie trailer for this book, click Play. *grins*
1. Favorite childhood book/s? The Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women, Jo's Boys, The Mother West Wind Series, Pilgrim's Progress.
2. What are you reading right now? The Hardest Thing To Do by Penelope Wilcock, Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters, and Ranger's Apprentice: The Lost Stories by John Flanagan. Oh and The Better Part by somebody-or-other.
3. What books do you have on request at the library? At the moment, some computer books for my man. *winks*
4. What do you currently have checked out at the library? Seeing a Large Cat, The Curse of The Pharaohs, Children of the Storm - all by Elizabeth Peters, and a computer book.
5. Do you have an e-reader? No but I'm thinking I might have to reluctantly get myself a Kindle after all.
6. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? Well, I'm currently reading three {the one by Wilcock is almost finished} and that is about my limit as to how many I can read at one time.
7. Can you read on the bus? Never tried before.
8. Favorite place to read? In the winter by the fireplace, in the summer out in the shade somewhere, in the spring and autumn curled up in the greenhouse or some other cozy outta-the-way place. I'll read most anywhere actually.
9. Do you ever dog-ear books? Good grief no!
10. Do you ever write in the margins of your books? No. The only book that has notes in the margin {and everywhere else} is my Bible.
11. What makes you love a book? A well written and well thought out plot that makes sense and flows well without giving everything away at once or boring me, strong often sarcastic and humorous characters, a fair number of random occasionally-unconnected-to-the-plot scenes and/or conversations, action and adventure!
12. What will inspire you to recommend a book? If I think it appropriate for my siblings to read and I liked it then I'll probably recommend it.
14. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? Heck, if I don't like a book I'll say so but in a polite usually non-confrontational manner - unless it was really bad.
15. Favorite Poet? Emily Dickinson.
16. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Five or six. Why do you ask?
17. How often have you returned books to the library unread?
*sigh* More often than I care to say. And it's usually because I get the books and then life gets super busy and then people put holds on the books and then - well, never mind.
18. Favorite fictional character? King Tirian, Meg March, Dan {from Little Men}, Reepicheep, Susan {from Chronicles of Narnia - there's hope for her yet!}, Mr. Knightly, Mr. Darcy, Jane Bennett, Elinor Dashwood, Halt and Gilan {from Ranger's Apprentice}, Ramses {from Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody Mysteries Series}, and a great many others that I've forgotten.
19. Favorite fictional villain?
Umm, I don't recall any favored villains.
20. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation? I don't take vacations.
21. The longest I’ve gone without reading. Oh, probably three weeks. About as long as I can go without having chocolate. *grins*
22. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Well, there have been a few I would not finish because they were awful, and I keep trying to finish Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence and a book on the Sahara desert but since I keep getting them from the library, I'm just gonna buy them so I can read at my own pace.
23. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? Nothing unless there's an earthquake, someone screaming "Fire!" or a certain someone being obnoxious in order to get my attention. *glares* You know who you are.
24. Favorite film adaptation of a novel? The epic A&E six-hour long version of Pride and Prejudice. That movie is so grand!
25. Most disappointing film adaptation? The wimpy 2005 Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice. So lame. And probably a few others I haven't seen in awhile.
26. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through? A new book or that obnoxious person mentioned above. *grins*
27. Do you like to keep your books organized? Umm, well most of them are currently in a box right now so they're not exactly very organized but yes, I tend to keep them organized in my own fashion. 28. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? I collect books {except library books - I wish I could collect some of those} so I keep most of my books save the ones I didn't like or well, didn't like. *grins*
Well, that was fun! Now it's your turn! Have at it folks.
Beast’s eyes stay glued to Beauty. His tail lifts up.
And I do the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.
I kick Beast in the mouth. My foot connects with his teeth. I brace myself, expecting pain to shoot across my foot, but Beast whimpers. I stare down at my feet, baffled. “These shoes are awesome!”
“Ivy, run!”
Beauty’s already at the bushes, picking her way through the thorns.
“Oh, right.” I dash after her as Beast gathers himself together. He snaps at me and I give him another one, a swift kick backward with every bit of power I can put into it.
Crowley nodded. "It sounds like a good idea to me. Well done, Gilan." Then he frowned. "I'm surprised that Halt didn't reach the same conclusion. He's usually pretty quick on the uptake."
"I thought the same thing. But remember, Halt was distracted worrying about Will. And he tended to concentrate first on the cases closet to Araluen."
"Which gave him plenty of opportunity to put his case to me and Duncan," Crowley said. "If he was off in the west at Highcliff, he wouldn't have been able to nag at me every second day to let him go."
"Whereas I have no reason not to head for Highcliff Fief and leave you to your paperwork," Gilan said.
Crowley's mouth turned down in an expression of distaste. "Ah yes, the paperwork. You wouldn't consider trading places? You stay and fill in the forms and requisitions. I'll go chasing after Foldar."
Gilan raised one eyebrow at him. "You're right. I wouldn't consider it."
"I could order you to do it, I suppose," Crowley said wistfully, and Gilan thought he was only half joking.
"You could. And I'd probably insult the King in public and have myself banished," he replied.
Crowley shook his head. "I sometimes wonder if it was a good idea having Halt train apprentices. He seems to teach them no respect for authority."
"Oh, he teaches us to respect authority," Gilan said innocently. "He just teaches us to ignore it when necessary. I'll get going this afternoon," he added, and Crowley nodded agreement.
"The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll be back," he said. It was the Ranger way, after all. No sense letting grass grow under your feet if there was work to be done.
"There's that. And besides, I should get going before you decide to order me to stay."
~ Ranger's Apprentice Book 11: The Lost Stories by John Flanagan.
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