Thursday, February 7, 2013

VBT: Giveaway and Review ~ To Dance in Liradon by Adrienne Clarke



 BLURB:

Seventeen-year-old Brigid O'Flynn is an outcast. A chance encounter with the Faerie Queen left her tainted in the eyes of the villagers, who blame the Faerie for the village’s missing women and children. Desperate to win the village’s acceptance, Brigid agrees to marry her childhood friend: Serious, hardworking, Connell Mackenna. But when Connell disappears before their wedding, Brigid's hopes are shattered. Blamed for her fiancé’s death, Brigid fears she will suffer the same fate as the other village outcasts, the mysterious Willow Women. Lured into Faerie by their inhuman lovers, and cast out weak and broken, the Willow Women spend their lives searching for the way back into Faerie. When Connell suddenly reappears, Brigid is overjoyed, but everything is not as it seems. Consumed by his desire for beauty and celebration, Connell abandons his responsibilities, and Brigid soon finds herself drawn into a passionate, dangerous world of two.

When Brigid discovers the truth behind Connell's transformation she’s forced to choose between two men and two worlds. Brigid’s struggle leads her into glittering, ruthless Faerie, where she must rescue her true love from a terrible sacrifice or lose him forever.


Purchase Links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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Kobo


Excerpt:


The Faerie Queen raised one eyebrow so that it disappeared behind the gold circlet she wore around her head. “Another favour? I’m afraid this one shall cost you.”

Brigid nodded. What good was the flower if she couldn’t find her way back again?

“Close your eyes,” the Faerie Queen commanded. “What do you hear?”

“Nothing.”

“Still your breath, and let the pictures in your head slide away. Listen to what’s underneath the silence.”

She tried, but it was hard to do. And then she heard it, the gentle trickle of running water.

“Follow the sound. It will bring you back to the path and your father. But hurry, the forest is no place for a child.” And then she began to laugh, the sound surprisingly harsh and deep.

Brigid ran towards the sound until she saw the sky peeking through the trees, and felt the path beneath her feet. When she saw her father, she ran into his open arms, the Faerie Queen’s laughter still ringing in her ears.

“We thought we’d lost you forever,” her father whispered into her hair.

“But I’ve only been gone a short time,” she said.

“Nay, my sweet. The sun has risen and set twice since we came into the forest. Your mother and I have been searching everywhere.”

She showed her father the flower. “The Faerie Queen gave it to me so I could give it to Mother.”

Her father smiled, but fear spread across his face like a stain. Three days later he was dead.


AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

I think I became a writer because the world inside my head was so real and vivid, sometimes more so than the outside world. In some sense I have lived parallel lives, present in my real and imaginary lives in different ways. Because much of my childhood was spent searching for faeries or reading about them, it is natural that my work encompasses fairy tale themes and other magical elements. In the words of Tennessee Williams, forget reality, give me magic!

Adrienne has previously published short stories in The Storyteller, Beginnings Magazine, New Plains Review, and in the e-zines A Fly in Amber, Grim Graffiti, Les Bonnes Fees, The Altruist, The Devilfish Review, and Rose Red Review. Her short story, Falling was awarded second place in the 2008 Alice Munro short fiction contest. To Dance in Liradon is her first published novel.

An avid reader of fairy tales and other magical stories, a thread of the mysterious or unexpected runs through all of her work. When she’s not writing Adrienne can be found searching for faeries along with her daughters Callista and Juliet.

Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

*Adrienne will be awarding the winner's choice of a Kindle touch, Nook Simple Touch, or a $100 Apple gift card, and one crystal Faerie necklace similar to what Brigid wore to the Faerie ball to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.*

As always, the more comments you leave on the tour, the better your chances of winning are! You can find the Tour Schedule here.

My Thoughts:

I really like the cover. It almost looks magical.

This was a tale of Faerie. I both liked and disliked parts of it. The fact that I have such strong feelings says that Adrienne Clarke did a good job writing this enchanting book.

When Brigid was eight years old she was essentially ostracized by the town. You see, she was lost in the forest for a few days. While lost, she spoke to the faerie queen and lived to tell about it. Three days later her Dad died, the rains would not stop for a long time, and a few others were taken from their homes and never returned. The town blamed her. As she grew and became an adult the town still feared that she was cursed. This was one of the things I really disliked about this story. Why do they have to be so mean????

Her mother announces one day out of the blue that she should marry Connell. She wants to wait and marry for love but she agrees to marry him to ease her mother's mind. I admire Brigid's sense of loyalty to her mother but at times I felt like I had whiplash because she would go back and forth about her feelings or decisions. Connell was good, loyal, and caring not just to her but to everyone.

I had quite a few get real moments. Things happen and I was shaking my head saying yeah right, as if.

I don't want to spoil anything so let me just say that the fair folk get involved in the story again about now and the twists and turns, deceit and lies get pretty deep.  This story was pretty entertaining. 
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I honestly thought it was an entertaining adventure.

Question: How long could you live in a town where everyone hated you?





I'd love to know what you're thinking. Please leave a comment!

35 comments:

  1. +JMJ+

    I think I understand why the villagers would be mean to her: if they believed she brought a curse upon them, they'd want her to leave them in peace. And there's nothing like the force of dislike to push people away. Not that that makes it right.

    Which brings me to my answer to your question. I would not be able to live in a town like that for very long. =( I don't know how other people can brazen it out! Sometimes it's hard for me just to read about it. I remember trying to get through the novel Rambo and feeling so terrible at how the townspeople treated him. So I understood his point of view as well and why he snapped.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thanks for your comment! One of the ideas I was trying to communicate in To Dance in Liradon is that people often behave badly out of fear of the unknown. This is true of many forms of discrimination. People tend to fear what they do not understand.

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  2. If I was hated, I could not stay. I need happiness and get very tired of negative vibes so I would not last long.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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    1. I know how you feel, Debby. I think for Brigid thought (the heroine of To Dance in Liradon) her experience in the village ultimately made her stronger person which helped her to survive the greater challenges ahead.

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  3. Your question rings a little to right for me today i guess... poeple love to hate someone, to be able to put the blame on someone and the weaker that person is the better ( less risky for them to see thing backfiring at them)as a child you don't get to choose where you live though so it's even harder however being send away even if it's to be protected feel like a punition too because you leave what you know, what was conforting for you and you know it's unfair.

    Now i don't think i could live long in those condition, i'm not strong enough and i would be emotionnaly destroyed too quickly.

    I'm curious as to know if her mother tried to protect her or was blaming her too.To know if she had at least a little support.
    I can understand why you were feeling angry that she just follow her mother order as to who she must marry. ithink i would get several time really angry while reading this book but the cover is really magical, lovely that's for sure

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Your comments are all very interesting, and I hope you give To Dance in Liradon a try. Even if parts make you angry I think that's a good thing. My favorite books are those that have inspired strong emotions and made me care about the characters. One spoiler: Brigid's mother is a wonderful, caring person.

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    2. Miki,

      Her mother tried to shield her.

      And yes, I felt many different emotions including anger while reading it, but that is the goal is it not? I like to feel things when I'm reading. That usually tells me that the book was worth reading! :-)

      Delete
  4. Sounds like magic! Love a good story about fairies!

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    1. Thank you for your comment! I hope you give To Dance in Liradon a try.

      Delete
  5. If you have strong ties to a place, it's not that easy to leave. Besides it makes for great reading.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    Replies
    1. I agree, Mary. Also, in this time period it would be very dangerous to try to venture out on your own.

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  6. I love journals but mostly do my writing on my computer. How about you, are you still using a paper notebook for notes or writing stories down?

    galaschick78 at gmail dot com

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  7. It's funny how the creative process works. I find I still need to write the first draft of my stories on paper. However, I write reports and other non-creative writing directly on the computer.

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  8. I would have to leave, I couldn't handle living like that. The story sounds wonderful.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was good. :-)

      I couldn't stay with all those meanies either!

      Delete
  9. It would be hard to leave your hometown. Still, it would be difficult to stay and face all the discriminations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. I've lived in the same small town all of my life and I can't imagine moving.

      I don't think I could handle all of the meanness though, I'm not as tough as Brigid is!

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  10. Do you have a favorite author whom you admire?

    jibriel.o(at)web(dot)de

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    1. Thanks for your question! There are so many authors I admire for different reasons, but some of my favorites are Alice Munro, Martine Leavitt, Neil Gaiman and Patricia McKillip.

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  11. This sounds great! Ive always loved fairytales. :) Thanks for sharing!
    -Amber
    goodblinknpark(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

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    1. Thank you for your comment! My passion for fairy tales were a huge inspiration for To Dance in Liradon. I hope you get a chance to read it. I'd love to know what you think.

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  12. Hi Ami! I love that idea. It would have to be just the right person reading it though. I'm very sensitive to voices - they need to evoke the right mood for the story.

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  13. I probably wouldn't stay long. However the town I live is so large I can't imagine everyone hating me. But if they did I'd be leaving :)
    Thanks,
    lorih824 at yahoo dot com

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  14. After reading your review, I'm torn on whether or not I should add this to my TBR. The excerpt and description of the book sounded pretty good, but one of my pet peeves in books are those characters with the wishy-washy attitudes that keep them from making a commitment to their decisions and feelings.

    As for your question, how long was I in school? Isn't school, especially high school much like a town in it's self. You have your rulers and outcasts (students), the law enforcers (teachers), the jobs (classes). Basically, I think you stay until you find the way out.

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    1. I also wanted to add, that it is human nature to not trust that which we don't understand. It is also human nature to want to explain those things that scare us, so that they can be overcome. The villagers didn't know how this one girl over all of the others could return, what was special about her, and then her father died. Based on the history of human nature (witch trials and the like throughout history) I am not surprised by the villagers reaction. As for her mother wanting her to marry, I would figure it was to protect her long term, her mother wouldn't be there forever. Brigid probably didn't have any other options for marriage since the whole village was scared of her.

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    2. Oh no! I don't want to talk anyone out of trying the book, I was just sharing my thoughts.

      If the book sounds good to you, I would suggest seeing if you can get a sample from Amazon before completely dismissing it because of my opinion.

      As for your school as a village comparison, you have a very good point as usual!

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    3. Thanks for the compliment. ;)

      As for me thinking it wouldn't be up my alley, the issues you had with the book are similar to issues that I have had with other books which is why I think maybe this one isn't for me. However, I am willing to give any book a try ;) Thanks.

      Delete
  15. Maximum a year. I could not handle all that hostility around me for long


    xo_veronica16[at]hotmail[dot]com

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  16. I don't think I would last long. I'm a very social person, I need to be around others. To be around hostile and hateful people...I couldn't do it.

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  17. I live in a very small town. Well, it's actually not even a town. It's referred to as a Village. If everyone here hated me, I think I would try to get a few to like me first before I even considered moving. I don't give up easily. : )
    lcminer at windstream dot net

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  18. I don't think I would like to live where a bunch of people hated me! That would suck.
    This book sounds good, and the cover is very FaerieTale princess like.

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  19. Thanks for the chance to win!

    andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete