2/5 Stars. To be frank I am giving this 2 stars instead of 1 because I think that author has potential. As for this book it’s a mess. The entire thing is unnecessarily long. I’ve seen people describe the writing as lyrical and poetic but it is just over written.
“A storm was rolling in from the west; heavy rain bombarded Pine Hill Forest as autumn introduced itself with pride, unapologetically blowing the bright, colorful leaves off the muted gray branches; a mundane lattice of emptiness bound to prevail. Red foxes were hopping into their caves hurriedly, shaking their wet coat in the process. Chirping black squirrels were climbing up birch trees, and wrapping their bushy tails around them to shelter themselves from the rain. A herd of mustangs was nuzzling each other underneath a tall pine tree, keeping warm, staying together in a circle ready to fend themselves from predators — timber wolves being the most common in Pine Hill. It was a peaceful forest for travelers to set up camp and plan their next route. Their horses had plenty of land to graze on, fresh creeks that slashed through the lower meadows, and a vast variety of wild game to hunt.”
Getting through this book was a chore. I felt at times like dnfing which I never do. But there were so many problem. From the characters being completely foolish to us getting entire chapter of nonsensical sub plots. The beginning had me just rolling my eyes constantly. On more than one occasion Charlotte tells multiple show more men that she is traveling alone even though she states repeatedly how dangerous her situation is. She tells the first man she encounters, the crazy sheriff, the store owner and the bartender, all in the first 5% of the book.
““You’re travelin’ alone?” he questioned her, watching her swirl the liquid in the glass. “Y…yes…” she hummed tentatively, as she suddenly remembered why she was in the saloon to begin with — supposedly to rob this man’s kindness and hospitality.”
On top of that random things happen without contributing to the plot at all. Again this happens multiple times. A big example again happens within the first 5% of the book. The shop owner just randomly give her jeans and it seems the only reason is so that she can gain sexy pants.
“He supported his weight with his hand on his leg, and stood up slowly in awkward silence. “Ma’am, I would like to offer you a welcome gift — it’s a…it’s customary of my store to do so, with new visitors — yes, it is.” he spoke to convince himself, and walked past her to the corner of his shop where all sorts of pants were hanging. A selection of saddle pants, made with a rugged denim cloth to last for an eternity and withstand any hard work. “Levi’s jeans! All the way from Mon Louis’s renowned tailor! These are a new addition to our shop, and our customers have been quite pleased with their quality! Here, pick one!” His big smile returned to his aged lips.…You could hardly see Charlotte’s head while she was carrying them to the room — in subtle but great excitement as she went. After a while of him waiting in great anticipation to see Charlotte’s reaction, she walked out, shutting the door behind her as she did, with her new pair of jeans on — embracing her fine waist and accentuating her curvy hips. “That looks excellent on you!!” he exclaimed enthusiastically, trying to lift her spirits, and her cheeks crimsoned. “Thank you…so very much, sir.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it in hers, trying to hold back any emotions, as she was left in awe with the unexpected kindness she received from a mere stranger.”
Additionally the author is constantly contradicting herself in the same paragraph. She’ll describe a town as being dangerous and then talk about normal people casually roaming around without an ounce of fear, or she’ll talk about dangerous wolves terroring the forest and then call in serene in the same sentence.
Overall Charlotte is a total Mary Sue and reading this book was like trudging through mud. The other characters had basically zero development and were overall unbearable. The writing was nonsensical. I wish I had more quotes to share but I stopped highlighting after 7% because I would have been reading this book for a year if not.
Now all of that being said. I do think this author has potential because her writing wasn’t horrendous. She needs better beta readers and editors. She needs to read some craft books and really understand that every scene needs to lend to the plot. She needs to understand that sometimes useless things need to be cut. 2/3 of this book needed to be cut. If she can work on her craft and her understanding of story I think she will do much better. show less
“A storm was rolling in from the west; heavy rain bombarded Pine Hill Forest as autumn introduced itself with pride, unapologetically blowing the bright, colorful leaves off the muted gray branches; a mundane lattice of emptiness bound to prevail. Red foxes were hopping into their caves hurriedly, shaking their wet coat in the process. Chirping black squirrels were climbing up birch trees, and wrapping their bushy tails around them to shelter themselves from the rain. A herd of mustangs was nuzzling each other underneath a tall pine tree, keeping warm, staying together in a circle ready to fend themselves from predators — timber wolves being the most common in Pine Hill. It was a peaceful forest for travelers to set up camp and plan their next route. Their horses had plenty of land to graze on, fresh creeks that slashed through the lower meadows, and a vast variety of wild game to hunt.”
Getting through this book was a chore. I felt at times like dnfing which I never do. But there were so many problem. From the characters being completely foolish to us getting entire chapter of nonsensical sub plots. The beginning had me just rolling my eyes constantly. On more than one occasion Charlotte tells multiple show more men that she is traveling alone even though she states repeatedly how dangerous her situation is. She tells the first man she encounters, the crazy sheriff, the store owner and the bartender, all in the first 5% of the book.
““You’re travelin’ alone?” he questioned her, watching her swirl the liquid in the glass. “Y…yes…” she hummed tentatively, as she suddenly remembered why she was in the saloon to begin with — supposedly to rob this man’s kindness and hospitality.”
On top of that random things happen without contributing to the plot at all. Again this happens multiple times. A big example again happens within the first 5% of the book. The shop owner just randomly give her jeans and it seems the only reason is so that she can gain sexy pants.
“He supported his weight with his hand on his leg, and stood up slowly in awkward silence. “Ma’am, I would like to offer you a welcome gift — it’s a…it’s customary of my store to do so, with new visitors — yes, it is.” he spoke to convince himself, and walked past her to the corner of his shop where all sorts of pants were hanging. A selection of saddle pants, made with a rugged denim cloth to last for an eternity and withstand any hard work. “Levi’s jeans! All the way from Mon Louis’s renowned tailor! These are a new addition to our shop, and our customers have been quite pleased with their quality! Here, pick one!” His big smile returned to his aged lips.…You could hardly see Charlotte’s head while she was carrying them to the room — in subtle but great excitement as she went. After a while of him waiting in great anticipation to see Charlotte’s reaction, she walked out, shutting the door behind her as she did, with her new pair of jeans on — embracing her fine waist and accentuating her curvy hips. “That looks excellent on you!!” he exclaimed enthusiastically, trying to lift her spirits, and her cheeks crimsoned. “Thank you…so very much, sir.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it in hers, trying to hold back any emotions, as she was left in awe with the unexpected kindness she received from a mere stranger.”
Additionally the author is constantly contradicting herself in the same paragraph. She’ll describe a town as being dangerous and then talk about normal people casually roaming around without an ounce of fear, or she’ll talk about dangerous wolves terroring the forest and then call in serene in the same sentence.
Overall Charlotte is a total Mary Sue and reading this book was like trudging through mud. The other characters had basically zero development and were overall unbearable. The writing was nonsensical. I wish I had more quotes to share but I stopped highlighting after 7% because I would have been reading this book for a year if not.
Now all of that being said. I do think this author has potential because her writing wasn’t horrendous. She needs better beta readers and editors. She needs to read some craft books and really understand that every scene needs to lend to the plot. She needs to understand that sometimes useless things need to be cut. 2/3 of this book needed to be cut. If she can work on her craft and her understanding of story I think she will do much better. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.