Tag: reviews

Editing

Why it’s so important to show and not tell

Cayla

Show don’t tell is a phrase authors and writers hear constantly. Whether it’s from writing coaches or reviewers, it’s almost always at the forefront of any analysis of writing. What does that phrase even mean though?

Showing your reader involves putting the reader into the situation. The author describes feelings, sounds, sights. The author effectively plays to all of the reader’s senses. When telling is involved, the author will state exactly what is being conveyed.

When the author shows instead of tells, the reader feels what is happening. The reader is able to come to the correct conclusion of the emotion being felt by the character or the idea being portrayed. In the above example, a thriller author is going to have a better chance of creating that eerie setting and feeling with the first description. The second sentence doesn’t give nearly enough of an emotional connection to it to evoke the chills on the reader’s spine.

Take out those feel words. The “heard,” “smelled,” “tasted,” “saw.” The character is happy, sure, but how can the writer describe that? Did she have tears streaming down her face, her stomach aching from laughing so hard? Did her cheeks feel as though they were ready to split in two from grinning? Was there a lightness in her chest that wasn’t there before?

Choose an emotion or a scene and write! Go back and look to see how many of those feeling type words are used and then rewrite those bits.

A fun exercise I like is to select a scene from your favorite movie or show and try to write it out. Convey all the emotions and feelings without just simply stating what they’re experiencing.

Happy writing!

ARC Reviews, Book Reviews

Book Review: Just This Once – Lena Hendrix

Cayla

I love all of Lena’s main male characters. Whip King was no different. I had the distinct pleasure of being sent this book as an ARC, and let me tell you, I was so thrilled to get my grubby paws on it.

I have been dying for the King’s side of the feud and more of their back story. This initial dive into their nuances left me wanting so much more. I cannot wait for this series to continue. As always with interconnected series and standalones, we get glimpses of other characters we’ve met before. Seeing Whip’s relationship with Lee in the fire house and the secret soft spot they all seem to have for Duke.

Back to Just This Once.

Hendrix gives us a spicy, sweet, cocktail with a piercing bite to it. Yes. Piercing is emphasized right there. One of my favorite things about Lena and her writing is her ability to give me just enough spice without compromising her incredible plots. Plus, she writes a killer feud that I’ve been hooked on finding more about for what six books now?

If you haven’t picked this one up yet, it’s available on KU—Here!

Happy reading, bookworms!

Book Reviews

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Cayla

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Overall Feelings: I ordered this book without the second book….or the third….or fourth…you get the picture. By the time I was a few chapters in, I ordered the entirety of the series. At first, I was a thrown a little off kilter, as you usually are when diving into a completely new book world where the first 100 pages are world building.

The beginning also gave me serious Beauty and the Beast vibes with Tamlin being so mysterious and broody, but slowly warming to Feyre. Lucien was a favorite of mine, with his snarky quips and fox-like behavior. The build to the climax that I thought was going to happen changed wildly. I love and hate that Tamlin sent Feyre home after their relationship built so much, and I pulled my hair our when she refused to say she loved him. Killed me a little inside to read that.

Then, her struggles to free Tamlin from the Queen only showed her growth more and made me love Lucien so much more also. Also….also. The twist at the end!

Overall, I cannot wait for the next book to arrive.

Characters: Feyre: She was easy for me to enjoy early on. I felt like Maas easily conveyed Feyre’s emotions, and I felt that when we meet Feyre, you can tell that she has been hardened by a rough few years. Her family has shown her little kindness despite the fact that she puts the food on the table and goes without so her sisters can enjoy the money she brings in.

Sometimes she drove me up a wall, like disobeying Tamlin and going to the Fire Night ritual…..but she met Rhysand that night, and isn’t he just delicious? However, we’ll come back to that. Feyre showed great strength and loyalty after Tamlin sent her away and she returned. I almost think that the last bit of the book where she is locked away awaiting her trials is my favorite part of the book.

Tamlin: He is a character I’m sure that the next book will show me that I was a fool to love. I was totally sucked in by his “mercy” that he showed to Feyre. I thought, “oh, how kind he is to offer her a place in his palace in exchange for Andras’ life.” Ha! What a fool! I appreciated his similarities to the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, his uncontrolled rage, his tentative romance with Feyre, and his friendship with those that are stuck in his palace.

I got more and more frustrated with him as time went on and he sat quietly by, and it seemed that Lucien was more interested in helping Feyre than Tamlin. I think Tamlin could have done a great deal more to woo Feyre and break his curse. It was also kind of meh thinking about his Fire Night ritual and how he sleeps with one Fae then turns around and expects Feyre to open up and be willing? Negative.

Lucien: I loved him. I can’t wait for his role in the next book. He was mischievous and playful. He was snide and sarcastic and just a great character. Lucien time and time again risked so much for Feyre that I almost wanted her to fall for him because he seemed like a much better character than Tamlin. Lucien “protected” Feyre from Rhysand when he burst in while they were sharing a meal.

He basically offered himself up on a platter while Feyre was facing the trials. He risked himself time and time again, saying it was on behalf of Tamlin. I don’t buy it though. Maybe a bit was on behalf of Tamlin, but I think Lucien is a better person than Tamlin.

Rysand: I mean duh. He had to be in here. I hated him at first, but I grew to love him. He’s interesting and complex. I wasn’t sure about him, but he’s obviously drawn to Feyre and did some level of protecting her during her time Under the Mountain. Was it a little self serving? Yes. However, he’s meant to be a villain….ish?

Moving on. The whole sex thing. I saw a review on amazon call this erotica……uh. Ma’am you would be horrified by actual erotica if that were the case. In any case, I don’t think they even have sex more than two or three times and it is not as exciting as some reviewers make it out to be.

I also didn’t think there was a lot of violence or language like other reviewers thought either, have you seen today’s movies and video games?

Next read….as I wait for the next in the series to arrive: Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova

Until the next chapter, bookworms,

Cayla