Book Review: The Golden Link

The Golden Link by Keira Moyer
Arianna grew up with an overprotective legal guardian on the bad side of town... until she learned she's the believed-dead twin sister of the princess.

Click the cover to buy

This book was very conflicting for me.  On the one hand, it's an amazing plot and very well thought out story.  On the other, there's a lot of unrealistic elements and not-so-great writing.  So I've decided to break down this review into two parts.



The Good: The premise was amazing.  I mean, it sounds pretty cliched - girl grows up in small town, finds out she's a princess.  But the magic elements, the danger and secrecy, and the crucial back story we as readers are given in the prologue really strengthened the story.

The magic is pretty well-explained.  The descriptions - of scenery and clothing, in particular - were clear, colorful, and the right length. Verb usage and action scenes were strong.  Actually, the prologue - with all its action and danger and high stakes - was probably my favorite scene.  My favorite aspect of this book overall was how well I could visualize everything in my head.  It would translate well into a movie.

While you'll see below that the characters could use work, I did love some of the relationships.  Sam (who's often overlooked and a bit confusing sometimes), Kain, and Ash made a very realistic family unit.  They protected each other while at the same time strongly disagreeing or annoying each other.  I loved old man Mosby and really wish there was more about the Mosby/Ary dynamic.  Maybe next book?

The Bad: The characters were, a lot of the times, one of two types: 2D (given a few traits that alone defined them); or unbelievable (one minute chipper and friendly, the next scowling and grumpy, then suddenly mysterious).  I felt like Kain, Ary, Lita, and minor characters were more 2D while Ash and Tristan were more unbelievable.

The love triangle was all wrong.  Both Kain and Tristan seemed almost to have dual personalities; they're all caring and protective of Ary.  Then they're forcing her to do something/bossing her around.  And suddenly they're throwing each other through walls in jealousy!  If they were real people, I would advise any friend of mine to get rid of them both.  (Which is sad, because I had really high hopes for Tristan at the beginning of the book.)  Then there's a bit about destiny and soul mates... making a clear "right" and "wrong" choice here is just not good, in my opinion.

When the word choices weren't bland, words like "flow" or "stain" were used very strangely.  There were some misspellings that bothered me, like peek/peak.  In several minor spots someone would move their hand, or put something down... and then do it again in the next paragraph.  Example: Boy puts hands on girl's shoulders.  Lines of dialogue.  Girl jerks out of boy's grasp and steps back.  Another line or two of dialogue.  Girl steps out of boy's hands... didn't she already do that a few minutes ago?

Finally, the setting.  Arg.  The setting!  This was the first problem that showed up and the one that continued to irritate me the most.  We have a palace, and magic, with spells, healing spheres, special forests of trees, et cetera. There are royals, lavish gowns, open-air markets full of vendors' booths, magic animals, secret villages with weapons training, and colorful, Tangled-reminiscent houses.  This all goes beautifully with the story line.  But what's this about dishwashers?  And traffic lights, sleeping pills, sundresses?  Excuse me?  Um, no.  Not working at all.

Conclusion: As you can see, there's a lot of amazing and awful in this book.  To be honest, I would love to tell Miss Moyer to take it off Amazon and do some serious edits and rewrites - my feedback on "the bad" seems to match some GoodReads and Amazon reviews I've seen.  Once she's put this book back through the wringer a time or two, I can really see her writing career taking off with this series.

I give this book two point five stars, and hope to see improvement with the next book - which, yes, I will be reading!

I downloaded this book at the author's request during a buy-it-free promotion that the author ran.  I wrote this review in response to her request for a review.  All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The Deed Is Done {My Very First Vlog! Sort Of}

I didn't post about this because I still had party stuff to take care of, plus lots of new OneWord365 posts to share with you.  So this actually happened two weeks ago.  But regardless of when it happened, I did it.

I got a second ear piercing.

When I chose to live out dream this year, I knew I'd want to keep an eye on my bucket list and see what dreams of mine I could complete.  As my birthday came up and I couldn't think of anything I wanted, I decided to pick a couple activities that would cost a little money and would make good birthday presents.  One of these was "get a second ear piercing."

I have one set of regular holes from when I was a few months old.  One thing you, my lovely readers, should understand is that I'm not a normal girl when it comes to jewelry.  I can't wear any earrings that aren't pure yellow gold for more than a few hours.  I get lucky if they last all day without itching, redness, possibly even gross allergic-reaction-type stuff.  I can't wear watches at all, even sports watches, because the metal backs of the actual watch piece irritate my wrist.  Bracelets and rings sometimes give me problems, too.

So I went back and forth a lot on whether to go through with this. Another factor: I have no pain tolerance.  None.  Also, Claire's doesn't have pure 24K yellow gold, only 14K, and with stainless steel backings.  I was so afraid of infection, of pain and irritation, of removing my earrings and letting the holes heal and having it all be a waste.  Right now that still could happen.  But I went through with it anyway.

before

getting 'em done

reactions

after

my new holes (one of them, anyway)

The Pinterest Report: Homemade Pumpkin FroYo

Week Ten: Homemade Pumpkin FroYo

{all photos linked to source}

The Pin:

four ingredient pumpkin fro-yo



The Link:

Skinny Halloween Treat: 4-Ingredient Homemade Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

The Test:

You'll Need: one cup nonfat vanilla yogurt, one cup pumpkin puree, one tablespoon sugar, one teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, large mixing bowl, freezer and timer or ice cream maker

What to do: Mix the ingredients.  Pretty simple.

Now, either give it a few minutes in the ice cream maker, or stick it in the freezer.  I went for the freezer option since my family doesn't own an ice cream maker.  If you choose to put it in the freezer, be sure to set a timer for thirty minutes and stir every half an hour until the yogurt is frozen enough for your tastes.

Now eat!

Personally, I didn't care for the texture, but it was the best that could be expected without a proper ice cream machine.  As for taste, this was definitely a flop in my family.  I love pumpkin stuff if it's not pie, but I didn't like this.  Out of the four kids, only one likes pumpkin pie, and after a few bites he decided he didn't like the froyo either.

The Grade:

Cool idea, but would probably be better if we had an ice cream maker and/or really liked pumpkin pie.

Why I Love One Word 365

A note: since I changed my blog name and address, I had to create a new Facebook page.  Please go like the new page here: http://www.facebook.com/EmilyRachelleWrites


As you, my lovely readers, know, this month I celebrated my seventeenth birthday.  Therefore, birthdays and the things associated with them are forefront in my mind.  (I promise this is going somewhere one-word-related.  Hang with me.)

{via}

Kids a few weeks before Christmas or birthdays start to spend a bit less time outdoors or in a book or on a video game and instead sit quietly in bedrooms or on sofas, studying glossy photographs of the latest and greatest in the toy industry.  They dog-ear pages to come back to, circle or star favorites, write numbers to help themselves prioritize.  Once they've memorized the color options and included accessories of all their favorite toys, they pull out a piece of paper and carefully record the best of the catalogs in their neatest handwriting.


When the big day rolls around, the anticipation of which presents they got and the excitement and glee upon unwrapping is evident.  You can't help but be happy for them and even laugh at some of their extreme, exuberant reactions.

But you're older now.  You've outgrown the days of toys and impatience.  And most likely, your Christmas and birthday presents are ones you've chosen yourself, with some gift cards for those who just weren't sure.

That's not to say Christmas and birthdays aren't still special.  But I'm sure teenagers and adults alike can all agree that the excitement and joy of these events is no longer centered on the presents most of the time.

When Christmas and my birthday are coming up, each year I find it harder and harder to know what I want. I try to make wishlists and realize just how much I already have and just how little more I would actually use.  My parents take me shopping and often ask me to choose my presents myself, wanting to make sure I get the things I prefer.  While I understand this and might do the same thing myself in the future, I've never been a big fan of this.

I like surprises.  I enjoy the anticipation, the not knowing, the mystery and secrecy of it all.  I was never the kid who would sneak into her parents' room in search of the Christmas presents - and if my brothers ever found any, I would refuse to hear a word they said.  I love the build-up.

That's why I love OneWord365 so much.  Traditional New Year's Resolutions, with lists or categories or "This year I will..." sentences feels to me a bit like choosing what you're going to learn or how you're going to grow that year.  But with OneWord365, you tune in to God and the areas in your life that need changing - and then spend the entire year discovering all sorts of wonderful things you didn't see coming.

It's hard to completely explain, but I like to think that living out OneWord365 is a bit like having several birthday presents from God spread throughout the year - the anticipation and surprises are never entirely over.

Hydranencephaly; Or, The Bees

A note: since I changed my blog name and address, I had to create a new Facebook page.  Please go like the new page here: http://www.facebook.com/EmilyRachelleWrites


Recently I shared information about a website called Wish Upon a Hero.  One of the wishes I discovered there was actually for the wisher's friend, a woman with three kids.  Her three-year-old son has hydranencephaly and the wisher wanted to spread awareness about this rare disease.

NINDS, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, has an information sheet on hydranencephaly.  Here's their explanation of what hydranencephaly is:

Hydranencephaly is a rare condition in which the brain's cerebral hemispheres are absent and replaced by sacs filled with cerebrospinal fluid. An infant with hydranencephaly may appear normal at birth. The infant's head size and spontaneous reflexes such as sucking, swallowing, crying, and moving the arms and legs may all seem normal. However, after a few weeks the infant usually becomes irritable and has increased muscle tone. After a few months of life, seizures and hydrocephalus (excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain) may develop. Other symptoms may include visual impairment, lack of growth, deafness, blindness, spastic quadriparesis (paralysis), and intellectual deficits. Hydranencephaly is considered to be an extreme form of porencephaly (a rare disorder characterized by a cyst or cavity in the cerebral hemispheres) and may be caused by vascular infections or traumatic disorders after the 12th week of pregnancy. Diagnosis may be delayed for several months because early behavior appears to be relatively normal. Some infants may have additional abnormalities at birth including seizures, myoclonus (spasm or twitching of a muscle or group of muscles), and respiratory problems.

 Alicia is the name of this wisher's friend, and she founded the Global Hydranencephaly Foundation.  You can visit the website, stop by their Facebook page, and read the Journey of the Bees blog.

On the website, you'll also notice the logo of the Global Hydranencephaly Foundation:

Have any of you ever studied flight facts about bees?  (Or, perhaps, seen The Bee Movie.)  A very interesting fact about bees is that, according to physics and their anatomy and all that scientific stuff, they shouldn't be able to fly.  At all.  It is literally impossible.

But bees don't know science.  They just know that God intended them to fly and pollenate and make honey and keep the world alive.  (Also illustrated by The Bee Movie.)  The bees don't know they can't fly, so they fly anyway.

Hydranencephaly children don't have many options.  They generally don't live beyond their first birthday, if they make it that long.  But several hydranencephaly children, including Alicia's son, live to be three or older. So she decided to take the impossibility of bees, and the impossibility of hydranencephaly children's survival, and use that as her inspiration.

Check out the website for tons of information - hydranencephaly facts, other websites for hydranencephaly family assistance, foundation merchandise, blogs by families living with hydranencephaly.  You can even print an information packet.

One Word 365 Journal (A Mini-Post)

See my previous OneWord365 blog posts.

A note: since I changed my blog name and address, I had to create a new Facebook page.  Please go like the new page here: http://www.facebook.com/EmilyRachelleWrites

I recently created a OneWord365 tab for a separate page here at my blog, with links to advice and ideas from my blog and others.  I may also do a regular end-of-the-month update - still undecided.  You'll have to wait and see!  Anyway, on to the journal I wanted to share with you:

From my first entry:

When, a little over a week ago, I announced my participation in OneWord365 and my choice of the word "dream," I never expected my first month to be so flooded with opportunities, blessings, and ideas.  In order to chronicle and track my year of dreams, I've started this OneWord365 Journal.

I'm participating in Melanie's Monthly One Word Linkup Party.  Join us!

The Pinterest Report: Sock Bun Hair Curling

Week Nine: Sock Bun Hair Curling

{all photos linked to source}

(Sorry this is late!  I suppose moving, even when it's just a virtual move, still messes life up a bit.  This was scheduled to go up today but then was switched to draft during the move yesterday.)

The Pin:

sock bun hair

The Link:

A Spotted Pony: How to Use a Sock to Get Beautiful Curly Hair Without Heat

The Test:

You'll Need: long sock without a mate, scissors, hair band, brush or comb, water spray bottle (if your hair is dry), blow dryer (if your hair is wet), hair net and bobby pins (optional - if you need these to keep regular buns in place, you'll need them here)

What to do:  First, cut off the toe of the sock.

Then, roll the sock into itself completely - the way you roll together a pair of socks when you're folding laundry.  Just keep rolling until there's nothing left to roll and it looks like a plush donut.

Now, pull your hair into a ponytail.  If it's wet, you'll need to dry it until it's just a bit damp.  If it's dry, you'll need to spritz it just a little to dampen - not wet! - it.

Then the hard part: put the sock-donut around the ends of your ponytail and roll it down the ponytail, wrapping your hair around it.  I tried this a few times... and then my mom tried to help me a few times... and my dad finally got it on his second try.  The video makes it look a lot easier.  Maybe it is for different hair types - my hair is super-thin and sort-of-layered and I have a lot of it.

Mine before sleep:

Use your hair net and/or bobby pins if necessary.  Now just sleep on it! :)

After sleep:

In the morning, when you take out your bun, you should have natural-looking curls.  My results weren't quite as good as some of the pinners and the original lady, but it did give my hair some body and volume for Sunday morning church service.

After taking out and styling:

The Grade:

I probably won't do this again, not because it didn't work, but because it's not the best option for my hair type.

Moving Day!

Hello, my lovely readers!  It's a beautiful morning here in Georgia today.  I won't take up much of your time; I simply have an update to give you.

I told all of you in It's Official! that I'd be changing my blog name and address as soon as I figured out what I'd change them to.  Guess what?  Today's the day!  It's moving day!

Spread the word!  Blog of a (Maybe) Teen Author is no more!  Instead, I give you...

Emily Rachelle Writes!

Wish Upon a Hero

My real-life friend Kathryn blogs at SingingThroughTheRain.net; she's a military spouse and special needs mom who blogs about family, marriage, parenting, special needs, military life, and Christianity.  I was actually interviewed about life as a military brat (the actual term for a child of a service member) a while back.

Recently a guest poster on her blog mentioned a website called Wish Upon a Hero.  It's a bit like the Make a Wish foundation, except it's independently run and anyone can make or grant a wish.  (Which also means there's not an actual foundation granting the wishes; individual members do that and thus become the wisher's "heroes.")



When I chose my one word for 2013, I didn't just want to focus on my dreams for this year.  I also wanted to become more aware of the dreams of those around me and find ways to help other's dreams come true.  So when I found Wish Upon a Hero, I realized that this was the perfect opportunity.

I don't have very much money at any point as a teenager without a 'real' job.  Most of the wishes are wants or needs for food, gas money, clothes, baby formula, diapers, rent money, and a million other things that require financing.  But if you look long enough, you'll find a wish or two that you can grant with little to no monetary cost on your part.  It could be as a blogger, like in my case.  Or it could be that someone living near you needs child care, car maintenance, or used clothes that they can't afford.  Are you a babysitter?  A mechanic?  A mom whose kids have outgrown some jeans?

This month I'll be doing my best to help grant two wishes here on my blog, but until then I encourage you to go check out the wishuponahero.com website.

The Grand Finale

Today brings our second annual blog bash to an end, my lovely readers.  We had a lot of fun.  There were plenty of great gifts, a few wonderful guest bloggers, and several new author interviews.  Plus, your numbers, lovely readers, actually doubled!  So to all my new lovely readers, welcome to my blog!  Here's the link list of all guest posts, my posts, and author interviews during the party, in case you missed anything.

You Should Try NaNo If... {guest post}
Eggless Banana Muffins Review
Rachel Coker Interview
Holiday Break To-Do: Watch These 5 Classic "Going to College" Films {guest post}
Cidney Swanson Interview
Daring and I {guest post}
4 All Humanity Jewelry Review
What Christmas Means for Me {guest post}
Christmas in Apple Ridge Book Review
One Word 365
Worst Photos of 2012
Gail Carson Levine Interview
Connection Book Review
Stephanie Morril Interview
Maple Syrup Candy Fail + Candy Kick Caramel Recipe
Interrupted Book Review
Jill Williamson Interview
My Christmas Party
A Change of Fortune Book Review
It's Official!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... the winners of this year's Super Girls' Giveaway!

The winner of the Planets & Stars pack is...

*Drumroll!*

Brenda Sheline!

The winner of the Fairy Tale Fancy pack is...

*Drumroll!*

Lydia!

And the winner of the Secrets & Sleuths pack is...

*Drumroll!*

Rhonda Burton!

Congratulations to our winners!  I'll be in touch about mailing your prizes.

To all my lovely readers, thank you so much for another wonderful party and year of blogging.  Here's to year number three!

It's Official!

I have huge news.  First, though, I want to just remind everyone of this post and ask you to read my big news in light of the word I chose to live out this year: dream.

On January 7, 2013, two big things happened to me:

I came home from the homeschool drama and speech class at the library, opened my email account, and in the very big stack of virtual envelopes saw TIME SENSITIVE.  So, naturally, I opened it first.
The Huffington Post - a real news report! - wanted little old not-even-published-yet me to webcam in their 20-30 minute HuffPost Live video interviewing teen author Anna Caltabiano of All That Is Red.  (I haven't read it, but they wanted me to talk with them/her as a fellow teen writer.)  I was shocked and amazed and very, very nervous, but you can see my first official appearance in video on the web.  I have a small bit mostly in the middle.  But still.  The News!

Not even two hours later, even more good news heralded my inbox.  Lo and behold, the same day A Real News Report invites me to their video, I win a poetry contest!  My poem, "Reasons," was one of about one hundred to be chosen for publication in an anthology coming out in March entitled Inside of Me - entirely written for teenagers, by teenagers.  As if that wasn't amazing enough, my poem was also one of about twenty to thirty poems that went on to the scholarship contest (which was the original reason I entered).

That all leads me to the title of this post, "It's Official!"  Because as of this month, this year, January 2013, I can no longer hide behind insecurity or the odds or even the fact that technically, I'm now an official poet, not a "real author."

As of my seventeenth birthday, I. Am. A Teen Author.

To all my wonderful, amazing, lovely followers and readers - thank you, first of all, for getting me to this point.  Trust me, you were very important in my writing journey the past two years, especially during this time.

I plan to reflect this change in my life by changing my blog address and title.  Maybeteenauthor.blogspot.com will redirect old readers, but I will be blogging at a new site from now on.  Please pass the word on!  AND - I need help choosing a new title and address!  Ideas and feedback are appreciated!

Book Review: A Change of Fortune {ARC}

A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano
Comedy of manners meets comedy of errors.

Click the cover to buy

This book was highly praised by a friend of mine, and the cover looked beautiful and very high-end and professional.

Before I start being a Debbie Downer, let me point out that there were moments when this book had me laughing out loud.  So it's not all bad... just mostly.


The story premise was good.  The writing was not.  Everything felt choppy and confusing, and there were several times when I had to take a break or reread something just to understand what was going on.  I really struggled with visualizing the story.  It felt like I was reading a first draft, where just the bare bones are scribbled down and explanation or description is lacking.  The parts that did contain explanation or description came across as ridiculous, info-dumping, or both.

The characters didn't seem realistic.  There was way too much jumping around - one minute Eliza's blinking back tears, and then one sentence later she's grinning, and two paragraphs later she's furious with someone.  (Repeat. And again. Another time. Let's go backwards now!)  The dialogue felt forced, pretentious, extravagant.  The language was flowery and old-fashioned, but to the point where it seemed ridiculous.  As the quote goes, there were several places where a ten-cent word was used and a five-cent word would be better.  (Something like that.)

The time setting was odd and imbalanced, too.  There was a huge amount of snorting, hissing (she's not a cat!), quirking brows, muttering, and rolling eyes, which felt all wrong for both the writing and the time period.  Then there were other points that were written fine but didn't fit the characters or society.  Instead of listing those myself, I'll direct you to two other Amazon reviews that put it exactly right:

"I think the author was trying to keep things high-spirited and fun, but it only made the characters seem too modern, both in speech and actions (such as the overuse of `snorting,' eye-rolling, and under-the-breath muttering in supposed women of refinement - and I couldn't imagine any high society woman of that era having trousers on, even under a skirt)!" ~Stephanie

"There is so much about our time, and our way of thinking in this story that one can almost imagine it taking place in the 1950s or 1960s, especially the part about the girls being arrested for prostitution. While I am sure that this could be possible, the horror of it happening to two young women who were more used to the parlor than the seedy part of town is not fully explored. The surprise of harlots being on the corner is just short of shocking to the reader given that the house the young women are going to is supposedly of very high caliber. The reader must untangle from the incongruence before jumping back into the story flow." ~ Gina Burgess

Basically, I feel like this was a great idea that was published before its time.  I think it could have been so much better with revision and maybe a tad more research - like it had great potential but wasn't edited to its best.

I give it 1.5 stars.

I received this book for free through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for a review.  All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Cidney Swanson Giveaway Winner

The entries have been tallied, the lot cast, and the winner of either Saving Mars or Defying Mars is...

*Drumroll!*

Rhonda Compton!

Congratulations Rhonda!  I'll be in touch about claiming your ebook. :)  Everyone else, don't forget - you can still enter the Super Girls' Giveaway for three more chances to win!

My Christmas Party

Hello everyone, and happy Saturday!  Have you enjoyed the party so far?  This year's celebration is drawing close to the end, but we can still enjoy these last few days.  (Especially the final presents in the Super Girls' Giveaway!)

This year, not only am I hosting my second annual blog party, but I also hosted a real-life Christmas party with some girlfriends of mine.  This wasn't my first time hosting a Christmas party... but let's just say it's my first successful Christmas celebrating endeavor. *ahem*

While words are usually my medium of choice, everyone knows that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I've decided to let the photos from my party tell their own story.  Enjoy!

A note: since my party skills have grown much this year, I've decided to join Hostess with the Mostess and post my favorite parties I've planned/hosted!  Right now only my brother's pinata birthday and my Christmas party are up, but I plan to add other parties I've done.  You can see my new profile here!

(Following photos are from a White Elephant gift exchange and Christmas charades game.)