For those of you that stopped by and checked out my critique of the first chapter of Rachel Rossano's "Word and Deed" and loved it, you are in luck. It is now availiable on Amazon on Smashwords! For those of you who haven't read the critique, do so here and here. It's basically a free taste. (Which you could probably get at Amazon anyway. And on Rachel's blog ...) So the more important part of this post is my review.
Basically Believable: *****
I've told Rachel this, and probably others, but I usually go into self-published books a bit prejudiced. Not that I have anything really against them, since I've read and liked plenty, just that they usually tend to contain some of my bigger grammatical and content pet peeves. Rachel pleasantly surprised me. When I edited "Word and Deed" for her, I put in very few remarks on grammar, and I honestly don't remember putting anything in for content believability as far as historical accuracy went. Rachel had all those little tiny things that readers (except OCD people like me) hardly notice are there, but lend to making the story credible.
Charismatic Characters: *****
I liked Verity right off. She's a medieval girl with fire, but she doesn't push the historical bounds as I often see historical authors trying to do. Of course the hero, Bryn, is wonderful. Verdon is a very believable villain. As with many short stories, I wished I could've had more from him.
Yay or Yuck, The Final Word: ****
Definitely yay! When I did Rachel's edit for this short story, I finished it in one night because I had to know how it ended! I've read more of Rachel's short stories, and I feel the same about "Word and Deed" as I do about all of them--I wish Rachel would develop them into full novels so I could know EVERYTHING!! :)
Favorite Quote: From Nurse Ealdine, “Child, words spoken in anger are rarely wise.”
Buy "Word and Deed" here. Check out more from Rachel at her blog, Rachel Rossano's Words.
But if I told you everything, there would be nothing to keep you coming back for more. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the review and the editing. I can't wait to work on the next story with you.
I clicked on over and bought WORD AND DEED, and within the next few hours had devoured the whole book! Loved it. Loved the writing! Very reminiscent to Jane Austen in style. Thanks for reviewing and bringing it to my attention. My historical romances are quickly piling up!
ReplyDeleteDang, that's a beautiful cover! *drools*
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