Keely Knightley's Blog, page 4
August 11, 2013
* Review: Creatures We Dream of Knowing: Stories of Our Life Together by Andrew Marr
Creatures We Dream of Knowing: Stories of Our Life Together by Andrew Marr
Cover Rating: ★★★☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆
My Favourite Chapter: “Korniel: The Colt with Purple Diamond Eyes”
Would I recommend? ★★★☆☆
“The moon shining on it made it’s branches look like silver fingers reaching up to the moonlight…The humming in my body felt like an electrical current. I was sure the humming was coming from the tree.”
Available to purchase from Amazon
About
“Creatures We Dream of Knowing” is a compilation of seven heartwarming stories that probe the wonders of creation through the eyes of creatures who ask those they encounter to open their eyes and hearts to their wisdom.
When a young boy receives a plea in a dream from a frightened colt with purple diamond eyes, he embarks on an unforgettable adventure that leads him from the warmth of his bed to a dark horse pasture where he must learn to use his hands and his heart to rescue the abandoned foal. As the collection of short stories continues, a band of unique characters will meet a creature from the depths of the ocean previously unknown to humanity; travel into an oriental carpet with the creatures who live in it; discover a butterfly who wants to end a war; share a dragon’s story; find out what happens when someone rubs a genie’s bottle with the wrong hand; and perch in the branches of a tree unlike any other.
“Creatures We Dream of Knowing” encourages others to simply imagine what would happen if such beautiful creatures truly existed in our universe.
Review
It’s not very often that you find a book full of spiritual and mythical ideology that’s suitable for both children and adults; with no other motive behind it other than the willingness to make the reader connect to the stories and creatures within. This is what first captured my attention and kept hold of it throughout.
With a book such as this, it would have been very easy to fall into the trap of ‘same-ness’ within the stories; this was completely avoided, each voice and each story remained strongly individual, making it an easy transition between each of the stories.
Despite the strong theme of spirituality, there are messages within each story that you can take away and apply to your day-to-day life. These messages aren’t forced upon you, and they’re not alienating in the slightest; they are, however, there for the reader to find should they wish to.
It would be very easy for a book like this to be ‘same-y,’ but it skilfully stayed away from falling into that trap. My only qualm would be that I found there to be a lot of detail that I didn’t feel was necessary, and instead distracted away from the stories themselves. I found that the ‘sense’ the stories gave you were strong enough and it often felt like the reader was being spoon fed every small detail. My personal opinion is that when discussing spirituality or spiritual creatures, it’s important to allow the reader to build their own ideas and sense of story, but this was taken away by (what I felt was) unnecessary details and parts that simply acted as a ‘filler.’
Having said that, that can be changeable from reader to reader as the way an individual reads can completely change the story. What I may take, another person may not and vice versa. For some, the abundance of detail may be a positive thing; so it’s certainly not something that should put someone off reading this.
Overall
I’m in two minds over this book, there were some truly beautiful moments within in the book; and I fell instantly in love with the first short story. As I carried on, I felt as though some of the magic was lost; I found that some of the beautiful imagery was lost between unnecessary detail. I would have liked to spend more time with these creatures, and less with the real world.
Despite this, the sentiment behind the stories remained strong and it was made incredibly easy to fall in love with the idea of with the creatures we dream of knowing.
* Book was sent for free in exchange for an honest review.
August 8, 2013
6 days until release!!
Wow, 6 days until “I Haven’t Lived At All” is officially released, until I can officially drop into conversation “oh yeah I’ve released a book,” and for that sentence to be true. That’s pretty crazy, right?
I realised earlier that a few weeks ago I began Vlogs…and then I think after filming two of them, I sort of just stopped. This was mostly due to lack of time; working full-time and then returning home to bad lighting/feeling like I just wanted to get straight into my pyjamas was too strong of an urge to resist. However, I DO have a week off work next week, so I’ll be posting a couple of videos then (and hopefully I can get a couple of friends to help me out with this.)
I’m just thinking out loud really, sorry.
As the release date gets closer, I feel my need for caffeine rocketing up. I’m hoping this means that I’ve planned the release date well, and this is when it’s SUPPOSED to be released. I also hope this means that I allow myself a day or two to just sit back and (attempt to) relax and try to feel good about the fact that my book is out there etc.
I’m kind of excited about being able to look at back at this in a few months and to see how far (if at all) things have come, being able to take my focus back on to writing and perhaps feeling a little less terrified of this entire process.
I currently only have 5 copies left ready to send out in time for the release date, so if you want yours by 14th August place your order now!
After these 5 have gone, they will still be available for purchase but there will be a slight delay as I wait for more to be printed.
Look out for a complete list of places you can buy the book, this will be posted on the 14th!
In the mean time, head over to my BigCartel order store and place your order now.
I also just wanted to share a photograph with you, this was taken by the incredibly talented Roxanne Elizabeth Photography for a magazine article that will be coming out soon.
Just to re-iterate-
6 DAYS!!
Pre-order now 
-E
x
p.s 4 days left to enter my giveaway!
August 6, 2013
August 4, 2013
* Review: Pegasus- A Dragon’s Tale by Gina LoBiondo
Pegasus- A Dragon’s Tale by Gina LoBiondo
(Illustrations by Stephanie Zuppo)
Cover Rating: ★★★★☆
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Would I recommend? ★★★★☆
“So, it was a sad parting for the little dragon and his friends. Pegasus was taken high into the mountains where there was plenty of water and the fruits he’d grown to like.”
Available to purchase from Amazon
About
For hundreds of years tales of dragons have been told and cherished. What child hasn’t wished to have his or her own dragon or to fight the great fire-breathers? Pegasus – A Dragon’s Tale is the delightful, heartwarming story of two young bear cubs and the dragon they find that changes their lives forever.
Review
This is a delightful book for children that will making the reading experience for parents enjoyable too and opens up many topics of conversation for both child and parent.
This is a beautiful story of bravery, friendship and acceptance of differences, accompanied with lovely illustrations along the way. I can really imagine a child being eager to find out what happens in the story.
Overall
It’s hard for someone without a child to test how enjoyable this is for a child, I can only assume (and comment how my inner child enjoyed it too!) I’ll be sure to pass this on to a friend and their child in the hope that they will enjoy it as much as I think they should!
* Book was sent for free in exchange for an honest review.
August 2, 2013
* Review: Maven Fairy Godmother- Through The Veil
Maven Fairy Godmother: Through The Veil by Charlotte Henley Babb
Cover Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆
My Favourite Chapter: Chapter 4 ‘The Test’
Would I recommend? ★★☆☆☆
“Which tree do you remember?”
Maven thought of several- a maple where her dad had made her a swing, the pine seeping yellow rosin like a sticky gem, and the peach tree. Her legs stung in her memory. When Maven disobeyed, her mother would make her cut a new branch from the peach tree in the back yard and switch her with it.”
Available to purchase from Amazon
About
Maven’s new dream job–fairy godmother–presents more problems than she expects when she learns that Faery is on the verge of collapse, and the person who is training her isn’t giving her the facts–and may be out to kill her. Will she be able to make all the fractured fairy tales fit together into a happy ending, or will she be eaten by a troll?
Review
Maven, as the lead protagonist of this book, is a character that is impossible to dislike. She keeps you in the story and you can’t help but root for her during every step of her journey. Maven’s voice feels so real, and she stands for sentiments that any person can appreciate. The strongest point, and a key theme throughout, is the idea of highlighting the disadvantage certain groups of people experience within fairytales. This idea is injected with associations to circumstances that are found in the real world of ‘Mundane.’ Maven fights the corner of disadvantaged, and I can’t help but feel delight when I sense some undertones of feminist sentiments (why should a young girl wish for the love of a Prince, when she can earn herself the full package; career included!)
Whilst the start and end of the story felt perfectly planned and had a great sense of direction; keeping the reader enthralled and eager to carry on, I feel like this was lost a bit during the middle. I found that at times there was a bit too much going on, too many stories and a lot of assuming that the reader knew what certain things were; for example when introducing the names of different locations or people. It was not always immediately clear what these things actually were- meaning a lot of story time was lost due to confusion or not fully following what was happening, especially in a story as fast paced as this.
At times, I felt like this really captured my attention but it was disjointed by other parts that felt like ‘fillers,’ which needn’t have been necessary because there’s a lot of great material included that I would have loved to seen expanded on and have been able to spend more time with.
I would like to point out how brilliant I found the pairing of Maven and Tulip, two incredibly well crafted characters who, whilst incredibly different from each other, complimented each other so perfect. I really enjoyed the dialogue between those two, and the contrast of Maven’s wisdom and Tulip’s innocence and eagerness to learn was a definite highlight for me.
Overall
I really struggled to give this a rating, it’s not that I disliked it; quite the opposite- I just struggle to see who the audience for this book could be. I love a fantasy book as much as the next person, it has a nice dash of adult humour in there but not enough to class it as a fairy tale for adults. It felt as though it was torn between trying to include adult content whilst still keeping it clean enough for a younger audience and I’m not too sure how well that worked.
There really were some excellent undertones to this book, and they acted as a strong driving force throughout the book and this kept my attention. It was more these aspects that kept me reading, and less so the fairy tale edge itself. Personally, I would have liked to see more accentuation on these parts and less time floating between different stories. It was packed full of excellent ideas, and I found myself frustrated at times when these weren’t followed through.
* Book was sent for free in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2013
14 day countdown.
Hi Guys!
Apologies for my silence over the past few days, I’ve been incredibly busy and it’s suddenly hit me that despite spending the past 2/3 weeks thinking I’m ready for the book to be out NOW, I have since since decided that actually I would like another year or so to prepare. Still, you know what they say, the show must go on! Everything is ready to go, it’s just nerves creeping in.
Although (the small amount of) feedback has been positive so far, far more positive than I could have expected, I’m now constantly plagued by thoughts of things I think I should have done, things I’d change and an overwhelming dislike for the entire book. I’m taking this as a positive thing, I think if I were too happy with it then it leaves very little room for improvement and no drive to continue with the next book. Hopefully, when the nerves disappear, I’ll grow to have a small fondness for “I Haven’t Lived At All,” maybe.
In other news, response to my offer of reviews has been overwhelming. I have a brilliant pile of books next to my bed ready to get started on and I can’t wait to begin posting regular reviews. Of course, this relies heavily on having spare time- of which I have very little at the moment! It’s been great to return to reading though, I’ve allowed myself to become too caught up in the release of this book and many of my simple enjoyments in life have been neglected and this is helping me change that!
My 200 ‘like’ give away is still running, don’t forget to enter and share!
If you want to receive “I Haven’t Lived At All” by the release date, be sure to place your order soon!
Click here to go to the store!
Ebooks are also now available for pre-order!
Don’t forget to come say hi over on Facebook and Twitter (company and kind words would be most appreciated right now!)
I’m going to go hide in bed for a short while now to get over the feeling of being completely overwhelmed (I’m officially a fish out of water!)
Speak soon
-E
x
July 23, 2013
’200 like’ Giveaway!
Hi!
I did keep saying that once my facebook page hits 200 likes I would launch a give away, of course I’m keeping to my word; here we have it!
To be in the chance to win a complete package of:
1 x Paperback “I Haven’t Lived At All”
1 x ‘Beat’ Poster
2 x Quote Postcards
Just follow the instructions below!
The winner will be selected at random by Rafflecopter.
Open internationally!
Don’t forget to tell everyone about this giveaway too, the more the merrier!
(Unfortunately wordpress doesn’t support embed codes so I can’t add the widget to this post- sorry!)
THANK YOU for all of your support,
and good luck!
-E
x
July 20, 2013
Review: Empty Roads & Broken Bottles; In Search For The Great Perhaps
Empty Roads & Broken Bottles; In Search For The Great Perhaps by Charlotte Eriksson
Cover Rating: ★★★☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★★★
My Favourite Chapter: “They all wanted me to shrink”
Would I Recommend? Yes!
“This was a turning point, a crossroad, and things would change from now on. And all I could do was to either ignore it and keep running blindly on that never-ending road, or I could embrace this change and see where it could lead me, I could follow my heart and simply trust my story.”
Available to purchase from Amazon or Bigcartel.
About
Charlotte begins her story, somewhere in England, having moved from Sweden in order to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. This is important for you to know, as this book is a memoir of sorts, a gritty telling of her own story and her search for greater things.
There is no plot, there are no main characters other than Charlotte, her guitar and great writers to keep her company. If you’re looking for something fast and full of action, you’re looking in the wrong place. However, if you’re like me; also in search of something greater, in need of some honesty, in need of reassurance about your life choices, a few words to make you feel less scared about your life- this is the right book for you.
This isn’t a piece of literary perfection, because it’s real, there are gaps and pauses and pieces that seem insignificant at the time; much the same as real life. If you pull this all together, you’re left with an inspiring story of one woman on her own journey in life.
Review
This is a book that many people are going to take in a very different way, and all I can do is tell you how this inspired me. Charlotte’s story is a rare one, but the sentiments behind every motive and action is something we all feel at some point in our life.
This is uniquely beautiful, every word breathes honesty, pain, struggle and lust for life. Soaked with Charlotte’s own inspirations in life, it’s natural that this pours into your own life. This was certainly the case for me. Very few people take the time to look backwards into their lives, even fewer would write so honestly about it. This is how a journey is made. Yearning for life oozes out every word and it becomes easy to understand why a person would choose to live a life in the way Charlotte has done, it’s easy to admire her choices and struggles.
There are aspects that are painful to read, but this is reflective of real life. Each dark part is counteracted by the small but beautiful things in life, highlighting why it’s important to live the life you wish to.
This isn’t a story of climbing to the top of the game, it’s a story of fighting to stay floating above the surface. When you have any kind of dream or ambition, that really is all you can hope to do. There’s no suggestion of an idyllic living, it’s gritty and dirty, but it’s bearable; it’s maintained by art. Some people will get that, some people won’t.
There’s something that everybody can see, it takes a special kind of person to take these risks and to take on what feels like the entire world. It doesn’t matter who you are, but this will leave you reflecting on your own life, wishes and choices.
This isn’t a phrase I often use, perhaps never before. This is a book that has the potential to change your life. It’s certainly helped me on my own journey.
Is this something that’s about to become a classic novel? Certainly not, but that isn’t the intention. It’s so much stronger than that.
Overall
For me, this book is something cloaked around inspirations found in life, I like that about it. Some of you may not, some of you my find it a bit too cliché. I would disagree. Everybody has a story to tell, very few tell theirs. Charlotte has, and I’m glad she has.
Perhaps I’m biased, as I consider Charlotte a friend of mine and have nothing but pure admiration for all of her hard work and willingness to face failure straight on. I can offer but nothing but praise for a person who puts themselves out there, wounds, scars and everything not so pretty included.
This was never intended to be a fairy tale, this is one person’s life available for you to hold in your hands.
25 days!
Hi All!
Saturday updates seem to be becoming a bit more of a regular thing (can we guess what my day off from the full time job is?!)
I’ve had a bit of a busy morning, and you may or may not notice that I’ve had a bit of an update of this blog! I wanted to add more content but keep it as user friendly as possible, I hope I’ve achieved this, what do you think?
You may also notice that a new section has been added, titled ‘Reviews.’ I’ve been debating this for a while, and the idea of it has been really appealing but I’ve had to weigh up if I physically have the time. I’ve decided I will make time, so I am now offering reviews for books! As a writer, I’ve discovered just how hard the whole process of getting your book out there can be so I can think of nothing better than helping other writers in any way I can.
If you’re interested in having me review your book, take a look in the review section for details!
I’ve also made a few changes to my main website; evelynknightley.co.uk I just wanted to simplify it even further and hopefully it’s more visually pleasing as a result!
If you’ve visited my store, you’ll know that I’m offering handwritten & framed poems, the other day I worked on creating the first one and though it’s not perfect and some things will be slightly changed (such as the type of wax seal used) here is the finished result!
You can order this here
Use code FREESHIPPING
A few more little updates;
I’m nearly at 200 likes on my facebook page, don’t forget I’ll be hosting a giveaway when I reach that mark, so get liking!
I did something pretty exciting this week, and I can’t wait to share this with you!
You can now follow this blog on bloglovin’
25 days until “I Haven’t Lived At All” is officially released, oh my!!!
-E
x
July 19, 2013
Every word that comes out of your mouth will not be beautiful and poignant, infinitely quotable
—
Letters From Nowhere
