Thursday 30 July 2015

#455 - Call of the Kiwi


Call of the Kiwi (In the Land of the Long White Cloud saga Book 3)

Call of the Kiwi by Sarah Lark

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

















The conclusion to the 'Land of the Long White Cloud' Family saga by Sarah Lark. Although I have to admit I took the easy way out and listened to the audio version that came along with my Kindle Unlimited copy.

I had at first thought that it was an electronic voice, but realised eventually that this was an incorrect impression. There were little things with it that I found annoying, such as 'said' pronounced 'sad' and sometimes no the correct intonation. However, on the whole it was enjoyable, and meant that I could bust through it quite quickly.

As far as the writing was concerned, it was probably the most harrowing of the three books. Although with the writing of Miss Lark I do find that whilst it's generally a good story told fairly well, the characters lack a little in texture and depth.

I do believe, however, that they are translations, and am perfectly willing to accept that this be a consequence of not reading it in the original, and thus authentic, voice of the writer themselves.

Apart from that I haven't any real criticism; thus, 4 star rating.

Hugs

Kay

xoxo

Tuesday 28 July 2015

A perfect property

can often form what you find pleasing as an adult, such as this house:



This house is pleasing in so many ways, in fact it fits the almost to the letter the ideal of the place to live.  It needs a Victorian Wooden Conservatory with a patterned tiled floor to the left-hand side, but apart from that it's perfect.

Close to the church with the bells ringing on a late summer evening, the heady smell of Coxes Orange Pippin Apples and a tough naughty pony trotting by.

That could well be because it actually is the house I remember from my childhood, minus the Victorian Conservatory that seems to have gone now.

xoxo



Sunday 26 July 2015

#454 ~ Song of the Spirits



Song of the Spirits by Sarha Lark


My Rating 4 out of 5


This is the second book in the saga of 'Land of the Long White Cloud'

Overall, it was really enjoyable and the characters stories moved on.  At times though, it is a little mechanical and lacking texture, but it could well be that its a translation of the original.

That having been said, it's still well worth a read, and I have just downloaded the third book in the series.

There was probably the odd mistake in there too, but I'm so pleased to be back reading for pleasure again after my degree module last year has taken up so much of my time with all the academic reading I needed to do.

 I have cracked and gone down the Kindle Unlimited route, and am looking forward to taking advantage of the audio track.  At least this way I can listen to it at work and not feel I am drowning in an academic sea.

Have a good day, and happy reading.


Thursday 23 July 2015

Freya Thorne, Author

Hi all

I thought I'd share some of my scribblings here on the blog ..., Toodles Book Club has kindly let me move in as a roomie until I get a home of my own.

First though, let me introduce myself.

I'm Freya Thorne and am undertaking the A215 Creative Writing Module with this Open University this coming academic year in the hope that it will kick start the many novels hanging around in my head.  My favourite genre is historical romance, but it's going to be all about extending myself with this module, and so it could well be anything from crime to chicklit to poetry that will be coming to a keyboard during my year.

Some of my free writing I can share, and some has to wait until the module has finished. I'll also try to share extracts from the novel as I go along.

A writer's lot is not always a happy one with words sometimes insisting on being dragged slowly and painfully from the depths, and at other times springing fully formed with no apparent assistance from me ... hopefully it will be an entertaining journey.


Hugs

Fraya

xoxoxox