Ami Blackwelder
Author of She Speaks to Angels
About the Author
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Works by Ami Blackwelder
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Common Knowledge
- Short biography
- Ami Blackwelder is a forbidden romance writer in the paranormal and historical romance genre. Growing up in Florida, she went to UCf and in 1997 received her BA in English and teaching credentials. She travelled overseas to teach in Thailand, Nepal, Tibet, China and Korea. Thailand is considered her second home now. She has always loved writing and wrote poems and short stores since childhood; however, her novels began when she was in Thailand. Having won the Best Fiction Award from the University of Central Florida (Yes, The Blair Witch Project University;), her fiction From Joy We Come, Unto Joy We Return was published in the on campus literary magazine: Cypress Dome and remains to this day in University libraries around the country. Later, she achieved the Semi-Finals in a Laurel Hemingway contest and published a few poems in the Thailand's Expat magazine, and an article in the Thailand's People newspaper. Additionally, she has published poetry in the Korea's AIM magazine, the American Poetic Monthly magazine and Twisted Dreams Magazine.
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Reviews
Even from the beginning, it was obvious to me how much research had been put in to this book and the way the story is told. You don't need to have read the comments at the beginning in order to discover this. The book also isn't the typical story of life in the camps and the focus isn't entirely on a couple torn apart by the events in a Nazi occupied area. The book is about the couple, that is true, but the focus is more on the change of mindset of the average citizen. Power is shifting in show more the government, people are starting to talk and believe what they hear. Prejudice is growing and that changes things.
I also found the descriptions as moving as the events themselves and they continued evenly throughout the story, adding to what was being spoken, thought, or described. Because the quality of writing was just so beautiful and the story was overwhelmingly touching, I found that this was a difficult book to put down. Will the family survive? Will the couple find acceptance from their families? The end is heartbreaking, but keeps true to life as it was. This is a must read. show less
I also found the descriptions as moving as the events themselves and they continued evenly throughout the story, adding to what was being spoken, thought, or described. Because the quality of writing was just so beautiful and the story was overwhelmingly touching, I found that this was a difficult book to put down. Will the family survive? Will the couple find acceptance from their families? The end is heartbreaking, but keeps true to life as it was. This is a must read. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways.
This story speaks to you, instantly, with a unique and captivating voice. Blackwelder’s language flows and ripples beautifully through this tale of a woman named Sobha who is stuck in a marriage, and in a society, that does not value who she is or what she wants. Only her obedience has value, and she must obey religion, tradition, and ultimately her husband.
There is exquisite detail here both in the descriptions of the world itself: spices, food, places, weather, towns, sky, and earth; and show more in the descriptions of Sobha’s emotions.
Blackwelder paints with her words, making you feel part of Sobha’s inner world, as well as her outer world – the environment and the characters feel close and real. And throughout the story there is a mounting sense of dread and desperation, with Blackwelder building carefully and skillfully towards the ending. show less
There is exquisite detail here both in the descriptions of the world itself: spices, food, places, weather, towns, sky, and earth; and show more in the descriptions of Sobha’s emotions.
Blackwelder paints with her words, making you feel part of Sobha’s inner world, as well as her outer world – the environment and the characters feel close and real. And throughout the story there is a mounting sense of dread and desperation, with Blackwelder building carefully and skillfully towards the ending. show less
Rebecca is a lovely, independent German woman determined to create a life of her own apart from her wealthy, domineering parents. She is attending nursing school in Munich and paying her own living expenses. Everything seems to be going according to plan, until she meets Eli that is.
Eli is sweet and charming. He is a lawyer, comes from a good family, and treats Rebecca as she should be treated. The only problem is that Eli is Jewish, and they are living in the Germany of the 1930s.
As Eli and show more Rebecca’s relationship progresses so does Hitler’s influence over the country. Rebecca and Eli fear for their friends, themselves, and each other as the Nazis slowly take control of the country and persecute the Jewish citizens of Germany.
But the Nazis aren’t the only ones who oppose Rebecca and Eli’s love for one another. Eli’s family refuses to accept Rebecca into their lives unless she converts to Judaism, and Rebecca’s family threatens to disown her unless she breaks things off with Eli. Will their love be able to survive the opposition they face? More importantly, will they?
Blackwelder does a great job staying true to historic detail. She combines fiction with historical fact and gives readers the opportunity to see the world from the perspective of a Jewish family trying to survive the horrors of the holocaust.
It is a daunting task to try to balance historic accuracy with captivating fiction. And in this case, I felt like the fiction suffered a bit. While there was a lot of fascinating detail and information I had never read before, the story felt forced.
There was a lot of telling in the writing and not nearly enough showing. I wasn’t able to really lose myself in the story or genuinely care about the characters, because I felt that I wasn’t able to become intimate with them. While I read what their emotions were, I wasn’t able to feel the character’s emotions along with them.
Despite that, I did enjoy reading this take on a World War II romance. And while I wouldn’t recommend it to those looking for a fictional novel that will sweep them up and keep them captivated, I would recommend it to history buffs and those interested in reading more about the second world war. show less
Eli is sweet and charming. He is a lawyer, comes from a good family, and treats Rebecca as she should be treated. The only problem is that Eli is Jewish, and they are living in the Germany of the 1930s.
As Eli and show more Rebecca’s relationship progresses so does Hitler’s influence over the country. Rebecca and Eli fear for their friends, themselves, and each other as the Nazis slowly take control of the country and persecute the Jewish citizens of Germany.
But the Nazis aren’t the only ones who oppose Rebecca and Eli’s love for one another. Eli’s family refuses to accept Rebecca into their lives unless she converts to Judaism, and Rebecca’s family threatens to disown her unless she breaks things off with Eli. Will their love be able to survive the opposition they face? More importantly, will they?
Blackwelder does a great job staying true to historic detail. She combines fiction with historical fact and gives readers the opportunity to see the world from the perspective of a Jewish family trying to survive the horrors of the holocaust.
It is a daunting task to try to balance historic accuracy with captivating fiction. And in this case, I felt like the fiction suffered a bit. While there was a lot of fascinating detail and information I had never read before, the story felt forced.
There was a lot of telling in the writing and not nearly enough showing. I wasn’t able to really lose myself in the story or genuinely care about the characters, because I felt that I wasn’t able to become intimate with them. While I read what their emotions were, I wasn’t able to feel the character’s emotions along with them.
Despite that, I did enjoy reading this take on a World War II romance. And while I wouldn’t recommend it to those looking for a fictional novel that will sweep them up and keep them captivated, I would recommend it to history buffs and those interested in reading more about the second world war. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways.
This is book 1 of the Shifter Evolution Series.
I received this book from LibraryThing free for an honest review. A couple years ago, Ami sent me about 7 books to review. I'm afraid I have been a little laxed at finishing the reviews, so I will be taking care of that now.
When alien beings made of light photons come to earth, they are seen by many people in many countries. This book concentrates on the group that landed in Alaska.
All the "shifters want to do is live here in peace because their show more planet is no longer habitable. Of course that is impossible. The US military tries to hunt them, kill them and experiment on them. One man makes friends with a shifter, despite his anger and fear.
The story is good. Although there are times that are contradictory. When aliens arrive one makes a statement "Let's head to the forest on the other side of the lake." Later when speaking of the lake "What is this substance? We've never seen it's like before."
The alien names are not very imaginative: a purple strobe is "Purple Hue", a golden strobe is "Golden Beam", a silver strobe is "Silver Tip".
I did enjoy the book despite these issues. I will be reading the rest of the series. I believe there are 6 books. show less
I received this book from LibraryThing free for an honest review. A couple years ago, Ami sent me about 7 books to review. I'm afraid I have been a little laxed at finishing the reviews, so I will be taking care of that now.
When alien beings made of light photons come to earth, they are seen by many people in many countries. This book concentrates on the group that landed in Alaska.
All the "shifters want to do is live here in peace because their show more planet is no longer habitable. Of course that is impossible. The US military tries to hunt them, kill them and experiment on them. One man makes friends with a shifter, despite his anger and fear.
The story is good. Although there are times that are contradictory. When aliens arrive one makes a statement "Let's head to the forest on the other side of the lake." Later when speaking of the lake "What is this substance? We've never seen it's like before."
The alien names are not very imaginative: a purple strobe is "Purple Hue", a golden strobe is "Golden Beam", a silver strobe is "Silver Tip".
I did enjoy the book despite these issues. I will be reading the rest of the series. I believe there are 6 books. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways.
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- 39
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