I don’t often place book reviews on my website anymore (check my blog for those), but I just reread this one and knew I should share this review today.
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Teen Romance
ISBN: 0399243895
208 pages
2006
Ages 12 and up
Enthusiasm is a downright charming book. I don’t know how else to describe it. It is a young adult romance, but any romantic with a sense of humor (from 12 to 92) will enjoy this straightforward and sweet story.
Julie is 15 and about to start her Sophomore year of high school. It is her friend Ashleigh who is the Enthusiast. When Ashleigh finds her new “thing,” she enters it heart and soul. This has included things from candy making, reptiles, favorite rock bands, the Little House books, and now Pride and Prejudice. Now Julie’s friend will wear only long skirts and speaks in the archaic language of Georgian England. She even has devised a plan for the two of them to crash the fall dance at the local all boys private school to find their Darcys.
In the process, they do meet two nice boys – one of which is Julie’s Mysterious Stranger who she had been seeing around town all summer. By the end of the night, Julie is swept away by him, and the next morning she finds out that her friend, Ashleigh, has found her Darcy too. The problem is that Julie and Ashleigh have chosen the same guy to play their Darcy, Charles Grandison Parr. So, now Julie is bound to keep her mouth closed as loyalty to Ashleigh. As the story progresses, the girls are thrown into the path of the boys even more as they become involved in a play, which the two guys wrote the songs and lyrics for, at the all boys school.
This is a book of comedy as well as romance and other issues of family, friendship, and first loves. It was very well written and interesting especially finding all the Jane Austen and other literary references. The author has depicted teen age relationships extremely well. And her poetry is terrific. (Parr is a poet). I found myself really starting to feel everything that the heroine of the story was going through. As Parr would walk into the coffeehouse where Julie was enjoying a beverage, my heartbeat sped up just like the heroine’s. It is a clean, sweet story that I would recommend for pre-teen girls and up.
See the author’s website at http://www.pollyshulman.com/ I read this book a couple years ago and I keep hoping she’ll write another YA novel soon. Maybe if we send her enough fan mail she’ll go ahead and do it.
How? By joining our scavenger hunt. Each Saturday two to three new author’s web-sites will be added to the White Roses blog. Your job is to locate the WHITE ROSE PUBLISHING cup hiding somewhere on their site. Jot down the author’s name and what color cup is on their web page and e-mail the correct answers to carolann.erhardt@gmail.com (Please place in the subject line WRiB Contest) Each Saturday, starting September 19th, a winner’s name will be drawn and your prize will be awarded.
But that’s not all, each time that you send in an entry—regardless if you win that week or not–your name goes into a larger kitty for the grand prize drawing October 31st! (That prize consists of: seven e-books, a box of White Rose Organic tea, your very own beautiful White Rose mug, and a little basket of Arbonne skin care products.)
Get going today. The first two web-pages were already posted so you can start your hunt. There will also be a listing of the books which will be awarded.
Hope you can join us!
Well, we’ve hit the Fall season. I know this because the weather here in NC has cooled considerably. I can actually go outside and enjoy my wooded yard. I love it! I also know it because I’ve now received both book covers for my winter releases.
Coming November 6th from White Rose Publishing
Today is one of those days Logan Reilly wished he’d stayed in bed. Not only does he have to deal with the annoying Winter Wonderland Carnival but his close friend, that whimsical lover of snow, Holly Armstrong, is leaving town forever. The question is why didn’t she tell him and why today, of all days, does he realize she might be more than a friend?
Holly can no longer stay in town knowing the man she loves only sees her as a friend. It’s time to move on; besides she has other career prospects.
As the carnival unfolds, watch God work in amazing ways. Can He change Holly’s mind and make her stay? Can He help Logan see beyond the friendship? Only time can tell.
Coming December 1st from Champagne Books
Best Friends or True Love? Only Santa Knows.
Kathryn Graham hates Christmas. She hates the snow, the decorations, the whole nine yards. Nick Pringle on the other hand can’t get enough of the season. He may be her best friend and fellow writer at Redburn Weekly Magazine, but sometimes his exuberance gets on her very last nerve. Now they’ve been assigned to cover the orphan toy drive story. It’s just a puff piece not the serious journalism Kathryn hopes for, but maybe—as Nick says—there are no old stories just new angles.
Nick Pringle has been in love with Kathryn practically since the day they met. When he realizes that she’s lost her Christmas spirit, he figures he’s just the guy to help her find it again. He enacts a plan to send her anonymous gifts from Secret Santa, but will any of this really make a difference in her? Will she ever see him as anything more than her smart-aleck partner even after their passionate kisses? Then again maybe he’ll get what he wants for Christmas after all.
You can read excerpts over on the right under ‘Books.’
I’d like to encourage everyone to come to a book chat at Long and Short Romance Review’s yahoo loop with the White Roses in Bloom blog group. We are authors of sweet and Inspirational romance and would love to have you join us. We’ll be introducing our September contest which you will not want to miss.
When: Saturday, September 5th
Where: LSAR –http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LongAndShortRomanceReviews/
Time: All Day Long!
At the end of the year, I have two releases coming. They are new and yet they aren’t. They are the revival of two of my now OUT OF PRINT titles from By Grace Publishing who went out of business at the end of last year.
In November, Snow Kissed will release with White Rose Publishing. This was first published in the BG anthology, Winter Wonders, as a short sweet romance. I rewrote it, doubling the length, and turned it into an Inspirational.
In December, my very first ever published book, The Spirit of Christmas, will release brand spanking new as All I Want for Christmas from Champagne Books. I tirelessly rewrote this book from word choices, sentence structure, deeping POV, adding a character and twisting the plot. It is almost a new book.
I’m very excited about these two winter releases. I’ll share more about them as we move closer to release.
Take care and Happy July the 1st!
After you’ve read the review of Linore’s wonderful book, come on by my blog later today to see the spotlight on her latest release. See you there.
Before the Season Ends
By Linore Rose Burkard
Publisher Description:
In her debut novel of what she calls “spirited romance for the Jane Austen soul,” author Linore Rose Burkard tells the intriguing story of Miss Ariana Forsythe, a young woman caught between her love for a man who doesn’t share her faith and her resolution to marry only a fellow believer in Christ.
Trouble at home sends the young woman to her aunt’s townhome in the fashionable Mayfair district of London. There she finds worse troubles than those that prompted her flight from home. Ariana is soon neck–deep in high society and at odds with Mr. Phillip Mornay, London’s current darling rogue. Then a scandal changes Ariana forever. Her heart, her faith, and her future are all at stake in an unexpected adventure that gains even the Prince Regent’s attention.
Will Ariana’s faith survive this test? And what about her heart? For it’s Ariana’s heart that most threatens to betray the truths she has always believed in. When she finds herself backed against a wall, betrothed to the wrong young man, how can it ever turn out right?
Jane Austen readers and fans of Regency romances everywhere will love Before the Season Ends.
Review:
Jane Austen fans beware. You will not be able to put this book down. Before the Season Ends is one of those books with a permanent place on my bookshelf that I intend to read over again.
Ms. Burkard is a talented author. Her writing style is that which pulls you in and doesn’t let go until you’ve reached the end. And even then you wish there to be more. Thank goodness there’s a sequel. Indeed, I was quite astounded at the aptitude of the author not that I discounted Ms. Burkard before reading, but that she is just so very good at writing Regency. You might even believe you’re reading a period novel. Her writing stays in tune with the time period to the extent as to even match the spelling of certain words like–connexion– for connection. The same way Jane Austen spelled it.
The writing does resemble that of Jane Austen if not in style than in technicalities. Just like Jane the POV (point of view) does switch from head to head in certain places within a scene while primarily staying with the heroine. There is even a hint of the narrator just like Jane at times. For those certain comments could not come from the heroine but an all-knowing narrator.
The author’s description of Regency England and especially London is so detailed that you would have thought she slipped back in time to take down notes. There are also such stunning descriptions of places and homes and the things within the home. Being a historian myself, I appreciated this side of her book as well. Very well researched. As one who loves classic literature of the Regency and Victorian era, I thought her book fit right in with the likes of Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens.
The heroine, Ariana Forsythe, starts out seeming quite young and naive at the onset of the book. As we aren’t allowed into her POV much in the 1st 3 chapters, I wasn’t quite sure of want kind of character she would turn out to be. She is a young woman of great moral fiber who loves God and in following His commandments receives the desires of her heart. Ariana is such an endearing character. I enjoyed her very much. What an example she is to all young women even today in their Christian walks. The reasons that the unattainable Mr. Mornay falls in love with her are the very same reasons you will find her delightful.
Mr. Philip Mornay is called the Paragon. Every lady wishes to attract him and every man tends to emulate him. From fashion, wealth, and society he is at the peak of the swell. He’s very proud and at times seems angry. He can be brusque and rude and everyone allows it because he is the Paragon. Then he meets Arianna and his heart and behavior begin to change. For every action there is a reaction and Ariana soon learns the reasons for the behaviors in the man she has come to love.
My one qualm with the book is that I wish there had been more time spent in the POV of the hero, Mornay. Of course, the same could be said of Jane Austen which of course has resulted in all those modern written spin off novels.
Before the Season Ends was simply enchanting from the first page to the last. It is very romantic and yes even passionate at times. Such a sweet romance and one that got my heart to pounding to see these characters get together. The Christian message is quite transparent from the very first chapter. No watered down Christianity here. It was wonderful to see the plan God had in the lives of these two people. I look forward to reading the sequel.
Available at Amazon and booksellers everywhere.
I will be in the Book Roast all day today. This time I’ll be roasted over my sweet Inspirational historical—Dilemma of the Heart. This is how it works:
We slice and serve one author a day for fun and prizes and a good, old fashioned roasting. First, we whet your appetite with a short excerpt from the author’s book, followed by a question loosely related to the passage. Some questions are silly, others are straightforward and the rest are plain crunchy. For dessert, the author picks the winner who answers the question correctly – or the most creatively. We like spice, but some authors prefer things sweet, which makes Book Roast deliciously unpredictable.
The prize: a free copy of the author’s book (and an occasional surprise!)
Best of all, authors will pop into the blog throughout the day to answer questions, share a laugh and toss out some insider tidbits.
http://bookroast.blogspot.com/
So make sure to visit me at the Book Roast today.
I’d like to invite all my readers to a Live Chat at the Romance Junkies tomorrow 4/7/09. This will be a fun Historical chat. I will be joined by three other White Rose Publishing authors:
Laurean Brooks, Ashley Ludwig, Janelle Ashley
Please join us at 9 pm EST in the Chat Room at The Romance Junkies. The chat will be one hour and each one of us will be giving away one of our historical titles.
http://www.romancejunkies.com/chat.html
Hope to see you there!
I’m pleased to say that my out of print short sweet story–Snow Kissed–has been contracted by White Rose Publishing (the new imprint of The Wild Rose Press). I rewrote the story as an Inspirational and doubled the length.
Today is one of those days Logan Reilly wished he’d stayed in bed. Not only does he have to deal with the annoying Winter Wonderland Carnival but his close friend, that whimsical lover of snow, Holly Armstrong, is leaving town forever. The question is why didn’t she tell him and why today, of all days, does he realize she might be more than a friend?
Holly can no longer stay in town knowing the man she loves only sees her as a friend. It’s time to move on; besides she has other career prospects.
As the carnival unfolds, watch God work in amazing ways. Can He change Holly’s mind and make her stay? Can He help Logan see beyond the friendship? Only time can tell.
Click on the link to the left to read an excerpt