Haven (Chronicles of Warshard #1) is the 2nd place winner of World's Best Story!
Princess Haven was never meant to be Queen.
Her immortality has saved her time and time again, but when the last of her royal family dies at her feet, she is next in line to rule a nation on the brink of war. With no formal training on how to be Queen, Haven must rise to the occasion with the help of her best friends, and personal guard, or risk losing everyone she has ever loved.
With war to the West, and no escape to the East, the evil tyrant Kadia sets her sights on the six kingdoms. Haven's neighbors are quick to fall under the swords of Kadia's shadow soldiers, leaving a sea of bodies and a clear path to Haven's only home. Haven must make a choice; take her people and flee to the foreign Republic across the sea or lead a last stand against a powerful dictator.
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(I received this book free from the author in exchange for my honest review)
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
It's been a time since I've read a period fiction piece. I was excited because there be some black magic kicking about and a queen that never dies. I dove into this book expecting excitement, grand battles and blood. I did get some of that, just not right away.
To start this book is just over 200 pages, so a quick read. Normally with these reads, the story picks up fast as there isn't much wiggle room. But Haven, is slow, the build up is slow, and made it boring. To many mundane things, to much info dumping and not enough grit and plot moment. The opening is amazing, well written and captivating. It gets to the point, and right away the queen is placed in a very difficult position.
But after that, it slowed down, sloth slow. There was filler, after filler, oh a letter comes and .. I write back... lalala.... so yeah it didn't get my reader engines going.
Over half way everything picks up with a bang, and I got what I wanted. It just took a bit to get there and in truth, made me not want put this beauty down. But I'm glad I stuck with it. Because this is a short read I won't give anything away. But, I'm definitely going to be reading the next book.
The writing is good, the flow was smooth event he filler flowed and wasn't awkward.
In all I highly recommend this book, as I said, it is slow at the start, but it's worth your wild to get passed that and see this one to the end. You're heart will be pounding, eyes will be glued to the paged and leaving you wanting more.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
Was writing your first love?
My first love was a huge jerk,
unlike writing who’s always treated me gently. Writing was definitely my first true love and will always be my happily
ever after.
Where do you like to write?
I typically like to write at my
desk with minimal distractions, but over the years it has gotten a bit easier
to write out and about, such as at Nanowrimo get togethers and coffee shops.
Being out of the house and people watching while you write can be surprisingly
inspiring!
Is writing everything you thought it would be?
Writing far surpasses everything
I thought it would be! It is challenging, fun, inspiring, keeps me busy and
gives daydreaming a whole new meaning.
Who is/was your favourite character to write about?
My favourite character to write
in Haven was definitely evil Queen
Kadia. She is such a psycho in so many different ways, which was extremely fun
to write.
Who was your last book boyfriend / girlfriend?
That’d have to be Safiya from Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. She was
such a badass, and I love me some kick ass ladies!
Do you like warm or cold days?
I’m partial to cold days for the
bundling and kitty cuddles! Hot days make it hard for me to get anything done
and drain the life from me.
Tea, coffee, or rum?
Coffee, unless it’s a special
occasion. Then I’m definitely partial to silver spice rum in particular!
Do you like scary movies / stories?
I LOVE horror! It is my
favourite movie genre, and always will be. Though I haven’t read a lot of
horror, I have been partial to Stephen King, and really enjoy reading the “no
sleep” portion of reddit.
Finally
Do you write in one sitting or in bursts?
Definitely in bursts! I’ve never been
able to write 10k or so in one day. I prefer to really think through the next
scene/chapter, which leaves me writing some, then taking a pause to decide what
exactly I want to be said, how things should be worded, etc. I’m big on
outlining, but there’s nothing like just sitting with your story for a while.
Katherine Bogle's debut young adult novel, Haven, came second in the World's Best Story contest 2015. She currently resides in Saint John, New Brunswick with her partner in crime, and plethora of cats.
Thank you so much for having me on your blog!! :) I appreciate all the time that went into this, and I'm glad you liked the book!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview!! Thank you for the share. I always love period pieces, so this is definitely on to-read list. :)
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