A Book Reviewer's Book Of the Month "The Gathering Storm"by Kelly Kizer Whitt
I am always pleasantly surprised when I come across an author who has the ability to spin an entertaining yarn and modern day Victorian, romance - that reminds me of Dickens, Dickerson, and Richard D. Blackmore's "Lorna Doone" - with a mastery of prose and with such ease. I would have thought I was taken back to the nineteenth century were it not for the silver Rolls Royce parked on the burial grounds.
THE GATHERING STORM is both refreshing to read (it takes you back to your youthful dreams) and entertaining, because of the unique main characters (a seventeen year old girl, and three young brothers) who demonstrate their wit, charm, and humor in remarkable ways, and never weigh you down with gut wrenching agonies of love and deception. I think it has something to do with being real and unpretentious, which is evident throughout the work. It also shows another side of wealthy people we never hear or speak much about, their vulnerabilities. As if money could do away with the fact we are all mortal souls with issues.
Seventeen and a half year old Evelyn has just buried the source of her life, her (literally poor) mother, after a long battle with death. Because she is a minor she must stay with very... very distant relatives, "The Ashcrofts," until her eighteenth birthday. Evelyn learns of the arrangements made by her mother,(before her death), from her mother's clergy prior to the burial. Evenly is the daughter of Mr. Thomas Ashcroft's dead brother. With much reservation and no other resources Evelyn agrees to the arrangement. Her first encounter of the Mr. Thomas Ashcroft family, minus Mr. Thomas Ashcroft, (away on business), is at the funeral.
Slowly, Evelyn begins to accept that her life has changed, and that she must adapt to new people and a new world. Exhausted and in mourning, she is badly in need of sleep, and when awake, a strong loving and guiding hand to teach her about her new world.
Instead she finds the mischievous shoulder of strength, in her roguish, eccentric and non conformist cousin, Ervin, the most likely to be called the lazy Prodigal Son.
In her search and struggle to find a new place in the world, Evelyn also uncovers, the inevitable hidden family secrets, that inspire hatred, confusion, and guilt from different members of the Ashcroft clan. A near death incident in the family pool, after a drunken lesson in the family winery with the matron of the estate leaves Evelyn lost in a maze of confusion and love. She escapes to the gardens - a place of solitude, beauty, and reflection where she can lose her anxieties, and explore her feelings.
THE GATHERING STORM is a romantic tale about a young girl, three brothers and a remarkable group of supporting characters that make for a very compelling story full of intrigue and revelations. THE GATHERING STORM, by Kelly Kizer Whitt is a book Reviewers, Book of the Month. We Read It and We Recommend It.
Genre: Romantic Fiction ( Middle School & YA).
Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a professional writer for more than a decade. Her writing topics cover science based articles and do-it-yourself home decorating. She received her degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in English and a minor in science - astronomy.
She published Badger Brain Twisters ( trivia, games, and puzzles) in November 2007, and worked for Astronomy Magazine, editing and writing articles. www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/Kkw
The Gathering Storm is available on Kindle @ Amazon.com, http://amzn.to/l3yC7c
Max Nightjar, Book Reviewer
www.kidsmartbooks.blogspot.com/
KidSmart Books, is a subsidiary of the KidSmartFdn. Registered (TM) KidSmart, The Children's Workshop/Craftshop. Illustrations by A.McK.(P)2002-2011 Copyright(s) 2002-2011, GACM, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
I am always pleasantly surprised when I come across an author who has the ability to spin an entertaining yarn and modern day Victorian, romance - that reminds me of Dickens, Dickerson, and Richard D. Blackmore's "Lorna Doone" - with a mastery of prose and with such ease. I would have thought I was taken back to the nineteenth century were it not for the silver Rolls Royce parked on the burial grounds.
THE GATHERING STORM is both refreshing to read (it takes you back to your youthful dreams) and entertaining, because of the unique main characters (a seventeen year old girl, and three young brothers) who demonstrate their wit, charm, and humor in remarkable ways, and never weigh you down with gut wrenching agonies of love and deception. I think it has something to do with being real and unpretentious, which is evident throughout the work. It also shows another side of wealthy people we never hear or speak much about, their vulnerabilities. As if money could do away with the fact we are all mortal souls with issues.
Seventeen and a half year old Evelyn has just buried the source of her life, her (literally poor) mother, after a long battle with death. Because she is a minor she must stay with very... very distant relatives, "The Ashcrofts," until her eighteenth birthday. Evelyn learns of the arrangements made by her mother,(before her death), from her mother's clergy prior to the burial. Evenly is the daughter of Mr. Thomas Ashcroft's dead brother. With much reservation and no other resources Evelyn agrees to the arrangement. Her first encounter of the Mr. Thomas Ashcroft family, minus Mr. Thomas Ashcroft, (away on business), is at the funeral.
Slowly, Evelyn begins to accept that her life has changed, and that she must adapt to new people and a new world. Exhausted and in mourning, she is badly in need of sleep, and when awake, a strong loving and guiding hand to teach her about her new world.
Instead she finds the mischievous shoulder of strength, in her roguish, eccentric and non conformist cousin, Ervin, the most likely to be called the lazy Prodigal Son.
In her search and struggle to find a new place in the world, Evelyn also uncovers, the inevitable hidden family secrets, that inspire hatred, confusion, and guilt from different members of the Ashcroft clan. A near death incident in the family pool, after a drunken lesson in the family winery with the matron of the estate leaves Evelyn lost in a maze of confusion and love. She escapes to the gardens - a place of solitude, beauty, and reflection where she can lose her anxieties, and explore her feelings.
THE GATHERING STORM is a romantic tale about a young girl, three brothers and a remarkable group of supporting characters that make for a very compelling story full of intrigue and revelations. THE GATHERING STORM, by Kelly Kizer Whitt is a book Reviewers, Book of the Month. We Read It and We Recommend It.
Genre: Romantic Fiction ( Middle School & YA).
Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a professional writer for more than a decade. Her writing topics cover science based articles and do-it-yourself home decorating. She received her degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in English and a minor in science - astronomy.
She published Badger Brain Twisters ( trivia, games, and puzzles) in November 2007, and worked for Astronomy Magazine, editing and writing articles. www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/Kkw
The Gathering Storm is available on Kindle @ Amazon.com, http://amzn.to/l3yC7c
Max Nightjar, Book Reviewer
www.kidsmartbooks.blogspot.com/
KidSmart Books, is a subsidiary of the KidSmartFdn. Registered (TM) KidSmart, The Children's Workshop/Craftshop. Illustrations by A.McK.(P)2002-2011 Copyright(s) 2002-2011, GACM, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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