Marissa Adams grew up in the beautifully rainy Pacific Northwest. She has been creating stories since before she knew how to write her letters. Most of her days are split between spending time with her family and friends, reading, playing video games, and hanging out with Ivy, the most adorable Havanese on earth. Wetherholt is Marissa’s first novel.
Wetherholt Synopsis:
When Lissie Dairton heads to New York City to visit her aunt and uncle, her only regret is that her older sister Nett can’t come along. Her remedy is to write witty and insightful letters keeping Nett informed of her adventures in the big city—from dealing with their beastly aunt and refusing advances from a ghastly suitor to attending plays with heiresses and falling in love with a dashing Mr. Elwood.
From afar, Nett replies with her usual practicality as she tries to keep her flightier sister’s feet on the ground. But soon, Nett is swept up in her own adventure as she meets the brother of Lissie’s prospective beau. Levelheaded, caring, and sensible, the elder Elwood brother seems like the answer to all her dreams. But what at first seems like happiness becomes confusion as Nett’s almost-suitor begins acting stiff and distant.
Lissie remains convinced that she and her sister will marry the Elwood brothers, but Nett is uncertain. With family disapproval and the seeming disinterest from the elder brother, how can there possibly be a satisfactory end for everyone?
Here I am, backatcha with another book review! I know I just did a book-related post last week, but what can I say? We all need more books to add to our never-ending “To Be Read” list, right?
I recently was reccomended The False Prince by a few different people (THANK YOU SAWYERMARIE AND JACINDA!), and while I was on vacation in May I finally got to read it! Since then I have read the second one as well, and both are (SPOILER!) Incredibly amazing, so I thought I’d share a review with you today!
Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
Pages: 342
Reading level: 8yrs and older. Even though younger readers would enjoy this, I think this is one of those books that appeal to a very wide range of readers.
Synopsis:
In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.
As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.
My review:
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen blew me away. The entire book is full of excitement as to what will happen next, and Sage is now one of my all-time favorite characters. He was that even before I was blown away by the awesome ending.
It’s.
Just.
That.
GOOD.
I love the time period they’re in, with swords and rulers and kingdoms, although I do like how the author didn’t make it all about that.
I also thought the characters were extremely well written, which makes the story even that much better. Sage is especially well written that the story just wouldn’t be the same without his personality and the way that even though the story is coming from the first person, you still are surprised by the mind of the character. There’s things the character knows that the reader doesn’t know until different parts of the book, when different events take place. Usually I wouldn’t like that, as I would feel like the story shouldn’t be written in first person without knowing their (in a way) complete thoughts, but Jennifer A. Nielsen did it perfectly. So well in fact that if I had different lists for different things I liked about a book, The False Prince would probably be one of my tops for the best writing style.
Another thing I enjoyed about this book is it was clean! It’s hard to find books that appeal to older readers that aren’t filled with garbage, and The False Prince was just that! I didn’t feel like I was reading a children’s book (not that I don’t love those too, although sometimes I do like reading something a bit more for my age), I could relate to the characters, the inner conflict made the book extremely addicting to read, annnnnd I might have read the book in one day.
While sitting around a pool.
In extremely hot weather.
On vacation.
So that’s gotta say something if I’m too glued to the book to not be in the pool all day! Seriously though, it was amazing.
All that to say, The False Prince exceeded my expectations and will definitely be getting a spot on my Top Favorite Books Ever shelf in my room. The False Prince is book one of a soon to be five book series, and I am currently on the third one and so far the others are just as awesome as the first!
Have you read this book before? If so, how did you like it??
What’s up my friend?? Today I am SUPER excited because I get to welcome Hannah Wright to the blog! Hannah released her first full-length novel, Hope In The Dark, on MAY 25! Today I will be sharing with you some questions I asked Hannah that’s related to her writing as well as tips for other writers out there, and I also am so excited to share with you a GIVEAWAY! But before we get to that, let me go ahead and introduce the book to you, as well as welcome Hannah Wright to the blog!!
Here is a blurb of Hannah’s novel, Hope in the Dark:
Moving into the great unknown of Featherlight, Idaho, was a huge change for Elizabeth Matthews. But while Asheville, North Carolina was comfortingly familiar, it had left her with a broken heart and a determination to never trust a man again.
Hard working Samuel Bryson is honor bound to provide for his widowed mother and siblings. Determined to live up to his own expectations of being just like his father, he will let nothing get in his way. And that includes marriage.
Serene and cozy Featherlight has taken a turn into something much darker. Newly hired school teacher Elizabeth and Samuel find themselves desperately searching for answers to the suspicious criminal activity around them. They find themselves thrown into facing their worst fears… and each other. In the midst of many unknowns, will they find the courage to do what God is calling them to?
And now some questions I asked Hannah! It was so fun asking these questions and I LOVED her answers!!
When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
Ever since I was little I’ve enjoyed writing stories. I loved creating characters and writing about them in their worlds. As I got older I started writing longer things than short stories and I started thinking that it would be fun to write more seriously. A few years ago, I was just feeling really discouraged about the lack of clean and pure fiction and God put a desire in my heart to write books that honor Him and that’s when I really started working on writing more.
What inspires you to write?
God’s Word is such an inspiration to me. The Lord often lays ideas on my heart from His Word about what to write about. I also love going on Pinterest and I also enjoy researching the setting and time period of what I’m working on and can often get ideas from there! Also conversations I have with others or things that I hear people say can often inspire me too!
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Hmm… I would say never lose the fun of writing. Don’t worry about making a perfect story, just write because you enjoy it!
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Well, for Hope in the Dark it took me a little over two years because I did not write consistently and I would work on it on and off!
Are you a planner or a panster?
I was definitely more of a panster for Hope in the Dark! I tended to just write as ideas came to me. But for me, I definitely saw how helpful it would be to be more of a planner for my writing so I probably will plan a bit more in the future!
If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?
Ooh that’s such a fun question! I would love to go to Ireland and stay in one of their castles and maybe write a book about a princess from Ireland, I think that would be so much fun!
How many drafts do your books generally go through before publication?
Hope in the Dark went through about four drafts before it was finished! I went through it a second time after I finished writing it and then my amazing beta readers went through and then my editor!
What was the highlight of writing this book?
I would say one of the highlights of writing this book was getting to research one of my favorite time periods and coming up with the names for all the characters! I also loved when I finally finished writing Hope in the Dark over quarantine last year, it felt so crazy and amazing to finally finish it!
Who is the most supportive person in your life when it comes to your writing?
My parents are definitely both really supportive. They have always encouraged me in my writing and I’m so thankful for them!
Do you have any suggestions to help myself or others become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Well, I definitely need suggestions too! I really like the quote “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” If I had one suggestion, I would say pray about your writing and ask God to help you craft the stories that He wants you to tell. Have fun and really enjoy the writing process. Write stories that you would want to read. Also, try not to be too critical of yourself on your first draft, just write!
And now, THE GIVEAWAY!!! The rules to enter are SUPER simple, and don’t forget to let any friends or family know about it so they can have a chance to win too!
Hannah Wright is the author of Hope In The Dark and Keeping Faith. She desires to write pure fiction that glorifies God. She is a graduate of Houston Baptist University, and in her free time, she loves reading, spending time with her family and friends, and listening to music and podcasts. To stay in touch with her, you can visit her blog at https://peaceinthechaos.org or follow her on instagram @_hannahsbooknook_
That’s it for todays post! Don’t forget to head over to Instagram to enter the contest, and just a heads up, because of this post there will be no post Tuesday. But, I’ll be back with another post Tuesday the 8th so keep your eyes peeled, and if you haven’t already, you can subscribe to this blog via email so you can get my posts delievered straight to your inbox the moment it’s published!
Five Shekels 