Daughter of Time by Sarah Woodbury

 

 

 

RATED 4.5 STARS

 

 

 

Meg’s abusive husband is dead, leaving the young woman with a 21/2 year old daughter to raise and living at home with her mother and sister.  When she takes her little girl, Anna, for ice cream one evening, Meg’s entire world is turned on its ear.

She loses control of her car and when she wakens, she has been saved by a man on a horse wearing a chain mail shirt.

How Meg adjusts to life in the 13^th century and how she falls in love with the Prince of Wales, Llwelyn ap Gruffydd is the subject of this time travel novel.
Meg is a modern woman thrown back into a very different time from her own yet she makes remarkable adjustments and accepts her fate.  She cares deeply for her little girl and keeps her by her side as much as possible.  When she decides to “marry” the Prince, her life becomes one of concern for her husband and strategic planning to keep the kingdom together.
Llwelyn is a very open minded 13^th century man. He is skeptical of Meg’s story of being from another time but he can’t deny the strong attraction he has for her and his growing love for the little girl, Anna.
All Princes and Kings are surrounded by a circle of men, some who are loyal and some who are false and Llwelyn is no exception.  Trying to figure out which men were going to betray him made for an intriguing part to the story. ,
The romance was straight forward and there was not a lot of sex making this story acceptable for young teens as well as adults.
My one criticism would be that there should have been a glossary of pronunciations for the cast of characters. The pronunciation guide that the author gives us is not very helpful.
All in all, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the series.

 

Sarah Woodbury bio:

With two historian parents, Sarah couldn’t help but develop an interest in the past. She went on to get more than enough education herself (in anthropology) and began writing fiction when the stories in her head overflowed and demanded she let them out.  While her ancestry is Welsh, she only visited Wales for the first time while in college.  She has been in love with the country, language, and people ever since. She even convinced her husband to give all four of their children Welsh names.  She makes her home in Oregon.

 

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Divergent by Veronica Roth *Spoiler Alert*

 

  Rating 4 1/2 STARS

 

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprise everyone, including herself.

 

 

Beatrice Prior doesn’t belong.  In her faction of society, everyone is selfless and Beatrice feels like she is missing something in this way of life.  So on her Choosing Day, she opts to become a Dauntless, the faction she has admired from her schoolyard for their bravery and freedom.

Becoming Dauntless is not a walk in the park.  As a matter of fact, it is quite the opposite.   Since there are only some openings in the Dauntless, the trainees have to fight for their places.

 Beatrice changes her name to Tris and is beat up in competitive fights with her peers, learns to use weapons and becomes strong and agile.  She is strongly attracted to Four, her trainer who runs hot and cold towards her unlike Peter, her sworn enemy who even goes so far as to try and eliminate Tris from the competition.
After facing her worst fears in a simulation, Tris is accepted into the Dauntless faction and the next morning all hell breaks loose.

 

Tris is brave and clever and smart.  She is fearless in her determination to become a Dauntless.  I liked that she kept some of the traits of her former faction and her ties to her family because of it.  I could just imagine her, a tough little thing, fighting for her place and figuring out who she really was.

Four is an enigma that any young girl would want to investigate.  He is dashing and brave and seemed totally fearless.  His relationship with Tris is intriguing from the beginning.

Her fellow trainees are believable teens and I liked the bond some of them formed through their trials during training.  I also understood the enmity that was bred with some of the other trainees since violence is such a part of their world.

I would have liked to learn more about Tris’ parents, who are both mysterious in their own ways.  I would have liked Tris to get a chance to investigate her parents’ past.

*I felt disappointed that Tris didn’t get the opportunity to really be a Dauntless for a short while.  I felt like we all got cheated when war broke out the very next morning after Tris became Dauntless.

Sometimes all the violence got to me but under the circumstances it was inevitable.  Nobody wins a war without it.

If you don’t mind the violence of war, Divergent is a good read.  You should try it. 

Review of Waiting for Dusk by Nancy Pennick

 

 

 Waiting for Dusk by Nancy Pennick      Rating: 5 STARS

 

Read a book. Fall asleep. Meet a boy. Is it real or just a dream? Katie's everyday life suddenly turns exciting when she travels back in time and meets the boy of her dreams. Thinking of nothing else, willing to leave the real world behind, she's determined to find out if it's all a dream or not. Returning again and again, Katie almost has her answers until one day her precious book goes missing.

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One of my favorite author's premiere book is the book I chose for my new blog.  Nancy has put a new slant on the romance of two young people.  Enjoy!

Show lesWaiting for Dusk is a lovely romance about a boy and girl.  They have one problem though.  Katie thinks that Andrew may just be a dream.  Oh, he is a wonderful dream and she has lost her heart to him but should she stay in a dream world or live her life as a modern teenager among family and friends?

I loved Katie as a heroine.  She is inquisitive and perceptive yet she suffers from the same confusion most teenagers suffer.  She is torn between loving Drew and having a relationship with her long-time friend, Tyson.  She also feels like her parents are keeping something from her.  She thinks she may have travelled back in time but was it only a dream?

Her friends, Lindsey and Jordyn try to be understanding and helpful.  I liked the way they are friends in the true sense. 

Tyson is an obsessed teenage boy who, after years of friendship with Katie, decides she is the love of his life and he won’t take no for an answer.  I found him a little frightening and I worried for Katie’s safety.

Drew is a perfect love interest.  He is handsome, kind, genuine and his love for Kate is apparent and given unconditionally.

The setting of the Grand Canyon was unique and well described.  I also enjoyed the touches of Swedish language.  I liked that the reader was exposed to a language not readily found in most books.

Although this book is considered a young adult novel, I think readers of all ages will appreciate the story and love the characters.

I know there is a sequel to this book and I look forward to it with great anticipation.

You should pick up a copy of Waiting for Dusk and catch up before the sequel is released.  It is available at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=waiting%20for%20dusk and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/waiting-for-dusk-nancy-pennick/1114286882?ean=9781612355238in paperback or as an eBook.