#468 ~ The American Lady

The American Lady by Petra Durst-Benning

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

#Book 2 in the Glassblower Series



I was a little disappointed with this second book in the series. It felt like the author had drifted along with no real purpose, or indeed, determination with the development of the characters.

It was humdrum, just telling, not showing, ordinary lives that had nothing remarkable in them. Whereas the plot did have things going on, and would have lent itself to the coming together of the two. There were also a strand from the first book (the wholesaler), which could have been expanded upon and brought a lot to the party.

The Good ... the Bad ... and the Ugly

I'm looking forward to the next book, which is due out in September 2015 and praying that the author kicks the plot up a notch.  I strongly feel that the ability is there to provide a truly brilliant read, and have got all my fingers crossed.

The 'Bad' element, as always was "gotten" rearing its ugly and useless head.

As far as 'Ugly' goes, there simply isn't enough of that in the text as a whole, it needs menace and suspense.

Happy reading.

Kay
xoxo

#9 ~ Scribblings of Freya

I started reading 'How to Write Poetry: A resource for students and teachers of Creative Writing' by Cynthia Sharp; another Kindle Unlimited Download.

In the chapter of two she talks about building an imagery file, which is actually something that I have done in a quite haphazard way for a few months.  I think I now need to go through my notebooks, and pull out the relevant bits and put them in one specific place.  She then went on to provide some imagery to use for either a Haiku, or 3 line poem.

'The diamond splatter of winter rain'

I used it to come up with a proper Haiku - that is to say, not one that is just 5:7:5 syllables, but that has a natural context.

Leaf

The diamond splatter

on winter rain on green leaf

jewel of nature free

(c) Freya Thorne 

31/8/2015

United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved

I then went on to play with it a bit further for a 3 line poem, it's quite freeing to not have to worry about syllable length.

Splatter

The diamond splatter of winter rain on green leaf

Heavenly bounty displayed with majesty

A gift from on High to lighten the burden of my soul

(c) Freya Thorne

3/8/2015

United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved

I'm really pleased with how the development has worked out, and now I can feel something even longer bubbling away in my cauldron of creativity.

It's a bit disturbing where the poet in me sprang from.  I could understand it a bit more if A215 had actually started!  So, perhaps it is just something in me anyway ... my place, my calling, my destiny.

Happy rainy Bank Holiday Monday all.

Freya
xoxo


Bibliography

Sharp, Cynthia, 'How to Write Poetry: A resource for students and teachers of Creative Writing' 16 November 2014 Published by David Carlyle (Country Unknown) on Amazon UK and downloaded as a Kindle Unlimited book from HERE.

#467 ~ The Magpies

The Magpies by Mark Edwards

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was surprisingly good. It went along at a reasonable pace, and the characters were quite believable. Although the author could have really ramped up Lucy's chilling side a bit more, which would gave got a further star from me.

Overall, the text was imaginative and proved to be a decent psychological thriller.

The Good ... the Bad ... the Ugly

Having lived next-door to a weird creep who did everything possible to ruin our lives, I have a deep appreciation of how living in close to proximity to a destructive and evil being can play on your mind, and drive you to do extraordinary, and out of character things.  Therefore, you won't really find anything but praise for book within this section, which I am sure you will agree makes a pleasant change!

Happy reading.

Kay

xoxox

#8 ~ Scribblings of Freya

Watching Monty Don this morning on Gardener's World, cocooned in the quiet before family life begins, I had the inspiration for a Haiku from a phrase he used.

Autumn

The velvet season

Glorious colours spill forth

Winter looming near

(c) Freya Thorne

30/2/2015
United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved

I like it so much, I think it might work in a longer piece, so I will mull over the possibilities.

Still no books from Open University, although to be fair to them, they aren't due for delivery yet.  It's just last year they arrived in July.  The two modules I'm doing are not due to start until early October, but I just need to get ahead, purely because I'm doing two modules this coming year; a huge amount of work.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Freya

#466 ~ The Earl and His Tiger

The Earl and His Tiger Special Edition: Regency Romance by Elizabeth Moss

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I am afraid it was lacking the essentials. It felt like a facsimile of Georgette Heyer's 'These Old Shades'; and not a good one. Just like it is wrong to try and sing a Celine Dion hit, so it is wrong to try and undertake a Georgette Heyer'esque book without the talent to pull it off. It takes a brave and talented writer to do that.

It would have scored a 3 star rating, but "gotten" reared up and bit this books's rating on the bottom and knocked it down to 2 stars after some thought.

I don't think I will be in a hurry to read more by this author, when there is better and effective writing out there.

The Good, The Bad and, The Ugly

A moderately constructed book; it left me wanting though.

Badly done was the use of 'gotten'.  This writer should be perfectly capable of steering away from its use.  EDITED TO ADD:  FOLLOWING THE COMMENT BY THE AUTHOR I AM GOING TO RE-READ THIS AGAIN IN CASE I HAVE MADE A MISTAKE ABOUT "GOTTEN", IN WHICH CASE I WILL BE PERFECTLY WILLING TO APOLOGISE.

Now for the ugly bits:

'... rubbing down his forehock' (Moss, E (2015) Location 1055).

The hock of a horse is at the rear.

'... his immaculate riding habit ...' (Moss, E (2015) Location 2474).

I'm not thoroughly sure, I must confess, but I am not certain a gentleman would wear a riding habit.  It is a untidy phrase in any event.

'...'Knox, where are my pistols kept?' (Moss, E (2015) Location 3804).

Wouldn't a gentleman know where his own pistols were?  I don't believe that they would have been entrusted to a servant.

'... I shall take up to visit your father.' (Moss, E (2015) Location 4163).

There appears to be a word missing.

Bibliography

Moss, Elizabeth 'The Earl and His Tiger' 8 January 2015 published by Thimblerig Press on Amazon UK.  I downloaded as a Kindle Unlimited title.

Happy reading

#6 ~ Scribblings of Freya

Having had a conversation with a new friend recently, I have come to realise that what can be revealed as a slightly flippant remark about something, can lead them to assume something quite different than perhaps is the actual bread and butter truth of a situation.

It got me to thinking, and a Haiku popped out:

A simple word said

Can oft' be misunderstood

Shielded truth lies under

(c) Freya Thorne

22/8/2015
United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved

Muhhhhh, it's not an exemplary example of the art form, but it tells it how it is.  

The conversation, did get me started on a bigger picture of that truth though, and a new poem has started to struggle into life.  So far I'm really quite pleased with the 2 verses, or stanzas, or whatever they are.  I will develop it further; it most definitely has legs for a TMA for OU A215.

#465 - For Love of Sarah

For Love of Sarah by Hazel Statham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am without a shadow of a doubt a Hazel Statham fan. She is such an easy an entertaining read.

This book didn't, therefore, disappointing. Clean, efficient and endearing to the end. As always from Hazel, there language is period appropriate and delightfully put together.

Another lovely offering.

Happy Reading

Hugs

Kay xoxo

#464 ~ Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts

Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts by Mary Gibson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the end it was a simple choice to give this 5 stars. Not because of the amazing prose or rhetoric, but for the simplicity of the work.

A solid, down to earth, good old fashioned story of a Bermondsey girl and the enduring love she found for her family, and her Sam.

It was simply written well, with no added flourishes, that would have diminished its power. Beware it had me bawling like a little babe at the end.

I loved it, and a worthy 5 stars.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I loved it all; no mistakes that I picked up on and not a "gotten" in sight.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Kay

xoxox 

#5 ~ Scribblings of Freya

Snivelling bitches, dirty little witches

How dare you ... talk behind a body's back.

Quick to point the finger, just horrible little mud slingers

How dare you ... be so false and go on a sneak attack

Snivelling witches, dirty little bitches

Have the courage of your convictions 

Don't sneak, don't peak ... 

be upright, ready for a fight

And discuss it without a disgusting malicious yellow streak.

Snivelling bitches, dirty little witches

Oh how you make me want to weep ... 

and bury you six foot deep.

(c) Freya Thorne

17 August 2015
United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved

#4 ~ Scribblings of Freya

Over-arching Summer boughs all now cut and gone

Echoing the dreams of WI women singing Jerusalem

Farewell to flower arrangements, jam and cake

Fierce competition, cricket teas and double-face.

Your fulsome, blousy, heady dreams of youth now gone

Bracts faded purple, grey and green where life once shone

Farewell to possibilities, a life so full of youthful grace

A face time worn, and yet ready still, to stand another dawn.

A season of life, and love and time 

a never ending paradigm.

(c) Freya Thorne 

16th August 2015
United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved

#463 ~ The Glassblower

The Glassblower by Petra Durst-Benning

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

#Book 1 in the Series



I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, I don't usually pick foreign authors with translations.

The cover originally drew me in, and as I do the odd bit of glass lampwork there was no harm, I thought, in giving it a go - after all I could just use the 'Return' button if this Unlimited Kindle offering and I didn't get on.

It was a little sluggish at the beginning, but after that turned into a delightful offering. It isn't all light stuff contained in this book, there were dark under-tones; it certainly wasn't as clear as the glass the girls work with. The author has also left strands behind to be woven (or better still embroidered) into future work, which I am very much looking forward to picking up.

The subject matter is a worthy one, that of the empowerment of women; the author dealt with it well, but there was still room for a little bit of growth and playing around with the darkness offered, especially with the strand about the wholesaler. I am hoping that she will play around more with this more in the coming books.

I docked-off 1 star for the use of 'gotten' throughout the book. If you can write well, and this author certainly can, then there is no excuse for using it. That word is a disgusting plague on the written word. A shame, as that took the score to 4 stars rather than 5.

The good, the bad and the ugly

Apart from "gotten" there was nothing truly ugly in this book, and there didn't appear to be an blatant errors.

The good, though were things like this passage:

"... they called them "plum-cake days".  All summer long the songbirds had trilled in the pear tree outside the kitchen window but they were gone now.  The only sound these days was that of a blackbird chirruping or the high piping of a lark, and soon the mists would fall and silence even these."  (Durst-Benning, P (2003 - translated version 2014) Page 7).

The cover image, was also beautiful, which I believe was designed by Marc Cohen (see link below to Amazon page if you require more details on this).

Bibliography

Durst-Benning, P 'The Glassblower', 2003 Ullstein, Germany (2014 Translated from German by Willcocks, S AmazonCrossng, Country Unknown

Book was purchased via Kindle Unlimited HERE.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Kay 

xoxo

#462 ~ Merely a Mister

Merely A Mister by Sherry Lynn Ferguson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

#Book 3 in Regency Trilogy



Finally, my wait and see attitude to this author has proved vindicated.

Yes, there is no doubt that her writing style still remains changeable within a work, but there were only a couple of times in this current read.

I was, additionally, delighted that she ramped up the content. I really loved the progress of true love with Myles and Anne, and it was a very pretty scene at the end between the two ... it brought a tear to my eye (and I am a fairly hardened reader!).

On my blog under 'The good, the bad an the ugly' I have done into a little more detail about things that annoy me about her style, if anybody is interested.

Other than that, I still believe that she does hold promise of a higher rating. What I require from her are more baddies, twists and turns and conflict. Not everybody is capable, but I strongly feel she really is. O look forward to furthering our writer/reader relationship in the future - I would love to say great things of her.

For now, a very solid 4 star rating.

The good, the bad and the ugly

For those who are perhaps of the English persuasion, it might be difficult to comprehend what I mean by style with regard to this author's writing.

She does really well to stick to an authentic historical language, without tending towards the Ye Olde Worlde, but dips in and out of it at times with Americanism.

I don't tend to cite many examples of this, but as examples here a couple:

Query:

"Anne dear, you do look tired," Vera said in the light of the entry" (Ferguson, SL Location 1091).

Reasoning behind my query:

I would strongly argue that 'entry' is not really appropriately used here, and feel that it would be more commonly used in the North American language, rather than Regency England.  It would have been better to express this as hallway rather than entry.  

It may feel a really small criticism, but it can - and certainly does in my case - grate against the nerves.  Easily solved by solid and authentic research.  Given this might prove problematic, but there are always other to discuss this with by email.

Query:

"Mr Myles stood outside by the tiny front gate, just steps from the stoop."

Reasoning behind my query:

'Stoop' is another North American term, it is a 'door step' her in England.

These examples (and many others throughout the book) may feel a really small criticism, but it can - and certainly does in my case - grate against the nerves, and spoils anything with promise.

They are easily solved by solid and authentic research.  Given this might prove problematic, but there are always other to discuss this with by email.

Bibliography

Fergusion, SL 'Merely a Mister' October 2013 Montlake Romanc, Country of publication Unknown

Kindle Unlimited HERE.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Kay xoxo

#461 ~ Major Lord David

Major Lord David by Sherry Lynn Ferguson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am beginning to realise that this author has a decent approach, but is inconsistent with style.

I am fairly sure that with a it more work on staying in a consistent style and language, and a little bit further conflict for characters, she could easily develop to a solid 4, or even 5 star writer.

She's playing safe, and it is annoying. I grade this read, a 3 star, could try harder.  I keep reading, and praying at some point she will pick up the gauntlet and run with it.

The good, the bad and the ugly

See the above, if nothing else this author is consistently inconsistent.

#460 ~ Quiet Meg

Quiet Meg by Sherry Lynn Ferguson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am afraid that it was fairly mediocre overall. 

There were mistakes in punctuation. It also dipped in and out of the slightly more formal language, just like the previous book I reviewed by this author.

However, I did like the ending. It rounded off at a decent pace, and was satisfactory; it warrants three stars due to the ending, otherwise it would have only reached two.

The good, the bad and the ugly:

Too hot today to be bothered to complete this section for this current read.

Something that has occurred to me for future reviews is the fact that I should make sure I reference the quotes differently.  In future I will change the layout, but inevitably it will make the section longer.

Click HERE for link to book on Amazon.co.uk.


Happy reading.

Hugs

xoxox

#459 ~ Lord Sidley's Last Season

Lord Sidley's Last Season by Sherry Lynn Ferguson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a reasonable attempt at fairly accurate historical writing, a la Georgette Heyer, but failed somewhat in its attempt; a bit like the Curate's egg, it was good and bad in places. I hasten to add not all the time, it seemed to go in fits and starts, especially it seems around 80 to 90% when the pleasing set of the language took a nose dive. After that, it seemed to go up a notch or two. However, the ending was going along fairly well, but then just seemed to finish, and then was rushed right at the very, very end.

I therefore deducted 1 star for the erratic behaviour. I was delighted to find that 'gotten' did not appear to the best of my knowledge, and therefore no stars lost for that. Additionally, there was a matter of the 'House Guard' which felt a little uncomfortably expressed (more details on my blog) which coloured my view of the overall rating.

I have downloaded some of the author's other titles to see how they measure up, and for this title I have awarded 3 stars; give it a go and see how you get on with it.

The good, the bag and the ugly:


Loc  1535:  I am by no means an expert, but I do have a little knowledge of the Household Division, and was not really sure about the expression  'House Guard' at this location.  I would be fascinated to find out if I am wrong about it being incorrect to express it thus.  Even better, I would delighted to be proved wrong.  I haven't the time to do the research now, but if anybody can put me right on this please get in touch.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Kay
xoxox

#3 ~ Scribblings of Freya

I've been playing around with Haiku again:

Fill Your House for Free

Kirstie A's style on our TV

Junk to style devine

(c) Freya Thorne

I will need to do a lot of them over the coming months, so bear with me whilst I hone the skill.

Freya

xoxo

#2 ~ Scribblings of Freya

This time it's a Haiku (published on Facebook 6/8/2015)

Travel Haiku:

When train door slams shut

Town dust flies away with green peace

My heart has come home

(C) Freya Thorne

#458 ~ The Reluctant Lady

The Reluctant Lady: A Regency Historical Romance by Kate Morrell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

:

Book #1 of the Gentleman of Chirstopher's Series




I was expecting a slightly trashy romance novel, like so many on Amazon, but was pleasantly surprised. There wasn't a 'gotten' in sight, which is in itself a lovely and refreshing change. No need to deduct any stars therefore for lack of imagination the the side of the writer. I did deduct one for one or two slight grammatical errors around the family retainers', Mr and Mrs Cope and Mr and Mrs Coley, it was a silly mistake, especially given that two editors' have also been given credit. That having been said, on the whole it was a well written piece of work.

Apart from that it was of a decent length, with decently written characters and quite a taking plot. So, minus the deduction of 1 star above (see my blog for details), it was a four star read. I will be looking forward to other titles by this author. I did wonder if she was English or American, but think perhaps the standard, and fact that she has a very natural Heyer'esque style, the former is probably true.

Errors and Annoyances

Loc 1579: "The next morning the Coley's rose ..." - Coleys'.

Loc 1587: " ... with the Coleys ..." - Coleys'.

Loc 3570:  "The Cope's they sleep". - Copes'.

Loc 3581:  " ... to prevent the Cope's from interferring". - Copes'.

Loc 3609:  "... what had happened to the Copes, ..." - Copes'.

Loc 6848:  "... that he might savour her sweet scent one more, before ..." - is there a word missing?

Series title:  The Gentlemen of Christopher's series? - not sure that is correct all.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Kay xoxo

#457 - The Soul Conductor

The Soul Conductor by Clair Susann Evans

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was really interested to read a debut novel from a fellow Open University Student, who had done the Creative Writing Module, and I wasn't disappointed at all with the quality of the writing.

It was, apart from one or two teeny tiny errors in the text that I cam across (detailed below) of a really high quality. The plot was original and kept my interest right to the very end. There was a conclusion, but it wasn't an outright happy ending ... in itself that is a refreshing change, as quite a lot of authors feel the need to wrap it up with a big bow, which can detract from the work as a whole.

There are still left questions unanswered, and hopefully there will be a follow up novel to move it on. Although I feel that Clair has it in her to really ramp up the writing and add more layers of twists and turns to create a truly stunning read.

High recommended.


I did stumble across the following errors on the Kindle file:

Loc 265:  As his body convulsed with of pain from ...

Loc 943:  ... pulled him along behind one of armoured horses ...

Loc 1331:  ... but the water for him bring up.

Loc 1737:  ... stayed in such good spirits and talk about it in such a carefree ...

Loc 1839:  ... trickled back his throat and ...

Loc 4772:  His heart leaped in expectation (I'm not sure about this one, I think it should be leapt).

Loc 5260:  ... Kilora agrees me very much.


As I said, they are minor, minor things, and definitely do not detract from a superb reading experience.  It is truly heartening to find an author that does not feel the need to use 'gotten', and for this alone I would have added a further star if the quality had not, in fact, been as exceptional as it turned out - it was a full on 5 star read.


Hugs, and happy reading


Kay

#456 - The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

My rating: 

4 of 5 stars

Recently in my Uni group there was a discussion about whether some books have narration that specifically sets out to deceive the reader. This book was one on a list of 5 that it was felt did just that.

I had never read it before, but was aware of an Opera based on the book, which although I had not seen I had heard discussed.

Although I was aware that the narrator may try to deceive me, I was a little dubious that I would, indeed even notice that that was what was happening.

The book is skilfully written, and at the finish I did indeed have the strong feeling that the narrator did not only seek to deceive, but probably was fully aware of much, much more of the circumstances, and deliberately set out to side-track, divert and subvert my understanding of the whole, and there fore certainly stands up to its reputation.

Happy reading.

Kay