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The Tale of Emma Ott
Emma Ott is a quirky girl, who lives a simple life with her family in London, a recent move from her American upbringing. While wandering thru a London booksellers, a mysterious book draws her in, where the enchantments and spells are directed at her. Quickly pulled through time, to a place she could never have imagined, Camelot, but this Camelot is not the one of legend. In searching for the author of her book, Emma is taken on a journey, which is more like a nightmare; at least it feels that way, until Thomas comes along. She finds the author of her book, claiming to be her many times over great grandfather, the wizard Merlin. He wants to prove the existence of King Arthur, and Emma’s task is to bring forth this proof, in an item of King Arthurs, to present-day. The old wizard, vowing to right a wrong, is determined fix a mistake in history, but in trying to do so, history itself is changed. Merlin understands too late that he has altered history, and now Camelot is not as anyone remembers. Spells go awry, and they find themselves trapped in the seventh century, in a world that holds unique challenges for them, and for a much younger Merlin. Now evil rules and death reigns, where not every fairy tale has a happy ending and there is always another monster. In Camelot, a usurper occupies the throne, a resurrected being, one who is tyrant and evil sorcerer, wielding black magic to control and rule. As plans proceed to right history, Emma and Thomas explore magic, develop strategy, and hunt clues that guide them closer to home, even if home may be unreachable. Friendships grow, as does the dawn of love, but love cannot bloom if it further pollutes the timeline, and only time will tell if the path they walk is the right one.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 14, 2011
5 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Wynema Taylor
3 books1 followerWynema Taylor lives in Hawaii with her husband on an acre filled with animals.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 21, 2017
Why I chose to finish this book I do not understand. The idea behind the story is good (YA time travel back to the days of Merlin), but it is lost with poor development. I often thought I was on the wrong page since the writing was so, so, so repetitive! Did I say it was repetitive? Ah, yes, I did. That was worth repeating. The book has 28 chapters: 26 from the main character's point of view, and 1 random chapter from the point of view of Thomas and 1 other from the point of view of Merlin. That was odd.
And the editing? Wait, what editing? I have never ever read a book that was this poorly edited. The mistakes became glaring and annoying very quickly. Why a writer would publish before the text was ready makes no sense to me.
So many sequels today. This is one story that I will not be tempted to continue.
I'm just about ready to wrap up my round of YA reading, and I really hate that this one was so disappointing.
And the editing? Wait, what editing? I have never ever read a book that was this poorly edited. The mistakes became glaring and annoying very quickly. Why a writer would publish before the text was ready makes no sense to me.
So many sequels today. This is one story that I will not be tempted to continue.
I'm just about ready to wrap up my round of YA reading, and I really hate that this one was so disappointing.
August 27, 2012
I couldn't get into this book. The stuff with Merlin didn't make sense and the love story was just flat.
May 4, 2012
It has potential…but that's about all. It was rather annoying to read, though. The author apparently has the meaning of the words "to" and "too" backwards.
Read
August 15, 2012Got about three paragraphs into this one and had to drop it. The author doesn't know how verb tenses work.
May 21, 2013
Had to stop reading.
August 22, 2013
this book is everything that is wrong with ebooks. just because anyone CAN write a book and put it out there for the world to read, does not mean that anyone SHOULD. don't get me wrong, i love my nook and my free ebooks. i have found many good series and some of my favorite authors that way. but for every one amazing book i read for free, there are ten others that make me want to tear my eyes out and throw them at the author. this is one of those books.
i was literally in pain while reading this book. it gave me headaches. and stomachaches. i had to stop reading every 30 minutes to give myself a break.
i don't even know where to begin with the things that are wrong with this book. in no particular order, here are the worst things about this book:
1. the "slang." apparently this book starts out in 2011. when i first started reading it, i thought it was in the 1980s, possibly 1990s. obviously it has been decades since this author was a teenager as she has absolutely no idea how they speak. it was so horribly forced. "I'M GOING TO USE EVERY SLANG WORD I CAN THINK OF IN ALL THE SENTENCES THEN I'LL SOUND YOUNG." no. just no.
2. random facts that have nothing to do with nothing. apparently the main character lived in hawaii at one point. does this have anything to do with the plot? nope. but she talks about it for a couple pages.
3. rambling descriptions of crap and then skimming over the actually important plot points. she'll spend pages and pages and pages going on and on and on about the scenery or emma's hair or emma's conflicted feelings about thomas or the color of the sky. and during these endless pages, she'll reuse the same phrases over and over and over again until you start to panic because you think you're caught in a never-ending loop of horrible metaphors. eventually the cycle breaks and you actually get excited because something is happening and hey, maybe the author will choose to ramble about something important! nope. not even. "we fought against the evil creatures. we won. we walked back home." WHAT.
4. the horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE typos. there is just no excuse for them. here's a couple of my favorites:
"This had become scared ground." REALLY? that ground is scared stiff!
"He cried out his innocents." NO! NOT THE INNOCENT CHILDREN!
5. historical inaccuracies. really, if you're going to write a story about time-travel, TAKE THE FREAKING TIME TO DO YOUR RESEARCH.
6. the fact that the entire time emma was stranded in a completely different century, instead of having a complete mental breakdown like a normal teenager, she's all "oh, well, i just won't think about it. OHEMGEE LOOK AT THE CUTE BOY."
7. no 18 year old boy i have met would fall in love with a 15 year old girl. especially not after knowing her for 2 weeks. just...no.
8. just the really, really awful writing. let me share some of my favorite passages.
+“Umm, you smell rather tasty this morning,new fragrance.” I asked as we walked down the hallway corridor to
the south wing of the residence.
‘Ahh no, why?” he said as he sniffed the sleeve of his jacket.
“No reason, I just thought you smelled nice, kind of yummy, but that must just be you. No offense.”
+“Just curious, I guess. I know so little about your world, how people live away from your family, you know, I just want to know more, about you for instance. What do you like to do, who you are beneath that ruggedly handsome face."
+I gathered the nerve again, asking my earlier question. I could not help myself “Thomas, tell me about you. I know so little. I‘d like to know your likes, your dislikes, just stuff, about your education, plans for the future. I mean, what interests you in a girl. What you think of someone, I mean, me, for instance, coming here and staying for so long, you know, that kind of thing.” I felt like an idiot the moment the words left my mouth. I flushed a deep scarlet that Thomas saw, but I continued, “Aren’t the men of this time married young? So, what can you tell me?” He chuckled, agreeing to fill me in with regards to his life so far. I felt even stupider; but the feeling would pass as I listened to his answers.
+Thomas rolled over, grabbing for me, tickling me, like he might his kid sister Anne. I moved around, laughing with Thomas, playing our little game, when he kissed me again and that time it tackled me, smacking me in the middle, my feelings.
that last may be my favorite. IT SMACKED ME RIGHT IN MY FEELINGS.
please, don't waste your time. don't read this book. for the love of all good literature, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
i was literally in pain while reading this book. it gave me headaches. and stomachaches. i had to stop reading every 30 minutes to give myself a break.
i don't even know where to begin with the things that are wrong with this book. in no particular order, here are the worst things about this book:
1. the "slang." apparently this book starts out in 2011. when i first started reading it, i thought it was in the 1980s, possibly 1990s. obviously it has been decades since this author was a teenager as she has absolutely no idea how they speak. it was so horribly forced. "I'M GOING TO USE EVERY SLANG WORD I CAN THINK OF IN ALL THE SENTENCES THEN I'LL SOUND YOUNG." no. just no.
2. random facts that have nothing to do with nothing. apparently the main character lived in hawaii at one point. does this have anything to do with the plot? nope. but she talks about it for a couple pages.
3. rambling descriptions of crap and then skimming over the actually important plot points. she'll spend pages and pages and pages going on and on and on about the scenery or emma's hair or emma's conflicted feelings about thomas or the color of the sky. and during these endless pages, she'll reuse the same phrases over and over and over again until you start to panic because you think you're caught in a never-ending loop of horrible metaphors. eventually the cycle breaks and you actually get excited because something is happening and hey, maybe the author will choose to ramble about something important! nope. not even. "we fought against the evil creatures. we won. we walked back home." WHAT.
4. the horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE typos. there is just no excuse for them. here's a couple of my favorites:
"This had become scared ground." REALLY? that ground is scared stiff!
"He cried out his innocents." NO! NOT THE INNOCENT CHILDREN!
5. historical inaccuracies. really, if you're going to write a story about time-travel, TAKE THE FREAKING TIME TO DO YOUR RESEARCH.
6. the fact that the entire time emma was stranded in a completely different century, instead of having a complete mental breakdown like a normal teenager, she's all "oh, well, i just won't think about it. OHEMGEE LOOK AT THE CUTE BOY."
7. no 18 year old boy i have met would fall in love with a 15 year old girl. especially not after knowing her for 2 weeks. just...no.
8. just the really, really awful writing. let me share some of my favorite passages.
+“Umm, you smell rather tasty this morning,new fragrance.” I asked as we walked down the hallway corridor to
the south wing of the residence.
‘Ahh no, why?” he said as he sniffed the sleeve of his jacket.
“No reason, I just thought you smelled nice, kind of yummy, but that must just be you. No offense.”
+“Just curious, I guess. I know so little about your world, how people live away from your family, you know, I just want to know more, about you for instance. What do you like to do, who you are beneath that ruggedly handsome face."
+I gathered the nerve again, asking my earlier question. I could not help myself “Thomas, tell me about you. I know so little. I‘d like to know your likes, your dislikes, just stuff, about your education, plans for the future. I mean, what interests you in a girl. What you think of someone, I mean, me, for instance, coming here and staying for so long, you know, that kind of thing.” I felt like an idiot the moment the words left my mouth. I flushed a deep scarlet that Thomas saw, but I continued, “Aren’t the men of this time married young? So, what can you tell me?” He chuckled, agreeing to fill me in with regards to his life so far. I felt even stupider; but the feeling would pass as I listened to his answers.
+Thomas rolled over, grabbing for me, tickling me, like he might his kid sister Anne. I moved around, laughing with Thomas, playing our little game, when he kissed me again and that time it tackled me, smacking me in the middle, my feelings.
that last may be my favorite. IT SMACKED ME RIGHT IN MY FEELINGS.
please, don't waste your time. don't read this book. for the love of all good literature, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
August 9, 2016
I did not care for the way this book is written. It could have been really good but it needs a really good editor and at least 1/4 of the book, mainly the whining, drooling over a boy and entirely too much repetition, deleted.
December 4, 2012
Looking forward to the next one.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews