Danielle’s Comments (group member since May 19, 2014)

Danielle’s comments from the Danielle L. Jensen's Reader Group group.

When I signed with my agent, Stolen Songbird had a prologue, which was swiftly removed, the details transferred to other parts of the novel. If you haven’t read Extra #8, you should do so before reading this. Also, as this prologue predated an IMMENSE amount of editorial work, it doesn’t exactly tie with the novel as it is today. So ignore any inconsistencies ☺ Like the fact that it uses Canadian spelling...


The ball of power slammed into the King, sending him flying backwards and out sight.
I stepped back from the battlefield and smiled with satisfaction. The dead lay all around me, on the floor, under the furniture, and scattered across the table. Picking up my long forgotten glass of wine, I plucked out a golden figure and examined it. A human – both fragile and expendable, they were always the first to go in a game of Guerre. War. The soldier wiped clean with the corner of my coat, I placed him carefully in the box, or coffin, as I preferred to call it.

“Another game, Aunty?” I grinned. “Or has your pride taken enough of a beating for one afternoon?”

The duchesse smiled in a way indicating everything had gone as she had planned. “My pride is not diminished by your successes, boy; I’d have thought you’d have learned that by now.”

I flopped down in a chair, examining her expression and considering her choice of words. “You let me win, didn’t you?”

Sylvie Gaudin, Duchesse de Feltre sipped her tea and said nothing.

“Bloody stones,” I swore, and proceeded to run through my repertoire of favourite curses. Aunt cackled merrily at a few of them, then gestured to the game boards, which floated away into the darkness, settling on their racks with a faint click. Her silver pieces followed suit, arranging themselves in their coffin by rank. Feeling urge to move, I picked mine up by hand, admiring the warmth and weight of the gold. I usually preferred to put the soldiers away as they died, but there was never the chance in games against my aunt. “You must learn to think quickly,” she always told me. “There will often be times you have only a moment to strategize; a heartbeat to make a decision.”

“You’ll need to make your move soon, Tristan,” my aunt said, as though sensing my thoughts. “If you wait any longer, he’ll start to expect it. Never underestimate the value of surprise.”

My eyes flickered up, and I felt a flash of concern that we’d been overheard. I watched Mother’s reflection in a mirror on the far wall, her eyes staring vacantly at the gold coin in her hands. I’d given it to her earlier to keep her quiet while my aunt and I played. She wasn’t listening – she rarely did – but the last thing I needed was her innocently parroting our words back to my father.

“Or underestimate the honour of a forthright attack,” I said softly.

My aunt grimaced. “What is honour? A word. And the dead neither feel nor hear it.”

“Do not quote dead poets at me,” I retorted, but her point was a valid one. “I’ll proceed when it is prudent to do so.”

“My fear,” she said, blowing on her steaming tea, “is that when the time comes, you will have ceased to be the correct man for the task.”

A frown creased my brow. Moments ago, she’d called me a boy, now a man. It would not be a mere slip of the tongue. With my aunt, every word counted.

“You’ve played this role for a very long time, Tristan,” she said. “But how long must an actor play a character in fiction before he becomes the character in truth? In both his heart and in those of his people.”

I shrugged. “I’ll so offend to make offence a skill / Redeeming time when men think least I will.” I could quote the dead just as well as she.

“You’re nearly seventeen – the time for your redemption has come.”

“No,” I said, rising to his feet and crossing the room. “Not yet.” My light drifted over to illuminate the painting in front of me, but I stared blindly, not seeing. Not yet, but soon, and the very thought of the actions I’d take brought fear to my heart. And sadness: whether I succeeded or failed, I would lose a great deal. I wasn’t ready, not nearly ready enough.The only warning was the sound of a gold coin bouncing against the marble floor. Spinning round, I saw mother clinging to the edge of a table, her face filled with terror. Aunt’s body jerked and spasmed, her eyes rolled back so far only the whites showed. I bounded across the room and took hold of my mother’s hand, trying to calm her until my aunt’s fit subsided. The bones of my hand ground together beneath her grip until one snapped, sending a flash of pain down my arm. I ignored the discomfort, my attention locked on my aunt, listening for the foretelling I knew would come.

Sure enough, aunt spoke, her tone hollow and emotionless.

“Eyes of blue and hair of fire
Are the keys to your desire.
Angel’s voice and will of steel
Will force the dark witch to kneel.
Death to bind and bind to break
The sun and moon for all our sake.
Prince of night, daughter of day,
Bound as one the witch they’ll slay.
Same hour their first breath they drew,
On her last, the witch will rue.
Join the two named in this verse
And bring an end to the curse.”

I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. I might not be ready, but it seemed fate was about to force my hand.

“Well?”
My aunt had regained her senses and was staring at me now, her silver gaze narrowed. They widened as I repeated the foretelling back to her. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this, Tristan. Nearly five hundred years.”

The sound of heavy boots pounding down the hallway caught both our attention. He must have sensed mother’s fear. We exchanged glances right before the door flew open and my father dashed into the room, moving with surprising agility for one of his bulk.
“Matilde? What’s happened? Tristan?” He touched my mother’s hair gently and then turned to me. “A foretelling?”

Stall.

“She spilt hot tea on my new coat,” I grumbled. “Dark tea – the whole thing will have to be laundered.” I proceeded to ramble on at length over the difficultly in removing tea stains while my mind searched for a way to avoid telling my father the contents of the foretelling.

“Tristan.” Anger turned his voice into a growl. “What did she say?”

Deflect.

“I really don’t understand how you expect me to focus on what anyone is saying with boiling hot water soaking through my clothing.” I made a face and crossed my arms, mind whirling.

“Sylvie?” He looked at aunt.

“You know I can’t remember.”

Everyone stood in silence; I stared sadly at my sleeve and plucked at the damp fabric.

“Eyes of blue and hair of fire,” my mother whispered, breaking the hush. She proceeded to repeat the entire foretelling, verbatim. Apparently she’d been paying attention after all.

“Are her words accurate? Tristan?” My father scowled. “Yes or no.”

Not for the first time in my life, I supremely wished I had the human ability to lie. “Yes,” I admitted.

The blow came hard and fast, a whip of magic across my cheek. I saw it coming, could have stopped him if I’d wanted, but I didn’t need my father knowing that.

He must believe you are weak.

I howled in pain and clutched at my face, not bothering to hide the loathing from my eyes. Another blow; this time it hit my upraised hand, breaking the finger bone that had just finished healing. I forced myself to cower on the floor despite every instinct telling me to fight back. Not yet, not yet.

“Leave him be, Thibault,” Sylvie snapped. “He’s only a boy. Besides, it would seem you need him if you intend to break us free of this curse.”

The blows ceased and my father snorted in disgust. “So it would seem. And a human, too, of all things.”

I picked up one of my game pieces – their coffin had fallen open during my father’s rage – and studied one of the human soldiers with only a sword and shield for defence. A red-haired, blue-eyed girl with the voice of an angel. I rested my forehead against the cold floor.

My worst nightmare was about to begin.

Fun Facts

Chapter 25 – In earlier drafts, when Cécile fell into the pool of sluag poop, she gave up. She sat there and waited to be rescued. Whenever I read the scene when I was self-editing, it always rubbed me the wrong way that she’d do that. Cécile isn’t a quitter, so it felt out of character. And it also bothered me that she *needed* to be saved by the hero. So needless to say, that scene got rewritten so that she only wallows in despair (and poop) for a moment before finding the strength to keep fighting.

Chapter 26 – How many of you noticed that Tristan did a bit of manipulation of the truth when it came to Anaïs? He says, “Anaïs and I are only friends… We have never been anything more and we never will be.” To a certain extent, that’s true. They were never lovers, and he never loved her as anything more than a friend. But he sure as HELL made out with Anaïs a time or two, although he clearly doesn’t think Cécile knowing that particular tidbit of information is going to improve the situation.

He’s not perfect, our Tristan. Far from it ☺

Chapter 27 – The King’s reaction when he thinks Tristan is dying, and he shouts, “Roland is not Tristan”… That’s one of the very few moments in this novel where he shows honest emotion. One of the only moments when he is not in control.

Chapter 28 – In this chapter, I start a plot arc that becomes very important in Warrior Witch. A quote from the back cover: “Both Cécile and Tristan have debts, and they will be forced to pay them at a cost far greater than they had ever imagined.”

Chapter 29 – In love triangles, the two potential love interests tend to represent two different paths the protagonist can take. Often, one represents the safe, known path – he/she is typically someone the protagonist has known for a long time. The other often represents the risky, unknown path, and the protagonist usually meets him/her during the events of the novel. My trilogy doesn’t have a love triangle, but Chris and Tristan still represent that choice for Cécile.

Chapter summaries for those who need them!

Chapter 25
Cécile tries to follow the route Luc used when he brought her to Trollus. She comes upon a pool of water and recalls Marc telling her that the labyrinth is always changing. She tries to wade through, but there is a cave-in that prevents her from passing. The only other path has markings indicating sluag, but her alternative is to go back to Trollus. She decides to press on.

She makes her way down a slope and loses her footing. She lands in a pool of sluag excrement, her light breaking in the fall. Grasping about in the blackness, her fingers find first a skeleton and then something metallic and heavy. It is the golden duck Luc took as payment, and she realizes it’s his corpse.

She feels helpless now with her broken light, and considers giving up. But she finds new resolve and searches the pool for Luc’s lantern. As she starts to search the corpse for a flint, she senses Tristan coming her direction.

Chapter 26
Cécile finds Luc’s flint and is about to use it when Tristan arrives. They bicker, and she accuses him of coming only to stop her escape, or if not that, then because it was his duty. Her words provoke Tristan into telling her that he came for her – that he couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to her.

She accuses him of wanting to be with Anaïs, and he tells her that his relationship with the other girl is only a ruse that allows him to meet with his followers. He explains the dynamics of the situation with Angouleme, and she realizes that in falling for the Duke’s ploy that she’s put all of Tristan’s plans at risk.

Tristan tells her that they are near the edge of the rock fall – and freedom – and that he’ll take her the rest of the way if that’s what she wants. Cécile struggles with the decision, then tells him she needs to know how he feels about her before she makes it. He takes out her mother’s necklace from his pocket, and tells her that he never her faked her death, because it was better her family had hope she’d one day return. He tells her that he saw her wearing the necklace when she sang in the glass gardens and that he thought she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. A flame in the long dark night. He wants her to stay, but is afraid staying will only bring her misery. He is about to kiss her when a sluag attacks.

The sluag’s magic nullifies that of the trolls, yet they manage to fight it off and flee. But Tristan has been stung, the sluag’s venom deadly to his kind. Cécile tries to suck out the venom like she would for a snakebite, but it doesn’t work. They continue to run, but Tristan fades quickly. He collapses, and tries to convince her leave him behind, but she refuses.

Cécile tries to save him using the blood magic she remembers from Anushka’s spell book. She is able to close up the wounds, but the venom remains. As her bonding marks start to blacken, Cécile realizes Tristan is dying.

Chapter 27
Cécile weeps over Tristan’s body and she apologizes for putting him in this position. She tells him that she loves him right before she hears the familiar sound of the sluag coming their way. She debates whether to fight or run. Tristan is too heavy to carry far, and her weapon is too small to fight with. So she drags him into a crevice. The sluag tries to reach them, but it cannot fit into the narrow space.
Just as she begins to fear that the sluag will force its way in, Marc, Vincent, and some other trolls arrive and kill the creature.

Marc becomes angry when he realizes what has happened, and almost strikes her, but is restrained by the promise he made never to hurt her. Vincent counsels him against harming her, because if Tristan survives, he won’t forgive it. And if he dies, she’ll be executed anyway.

She is dragged back to the palace and all of the people she has befriended now hate her. They feel betrayed by her attempted escape, and for the half-bloods, Tristan’s death means the death of the revolution. Cécile tries telling them that Tristan yet lives, but they have lost hope and dress her in black and take her to the King.

He is furious about what has happened to his son, as are the half-bloods, who accuse her of being a traitor and demand her death. She tries to argue that Tristan is still alive, but then a searing pain tears through her. Tristan is dead. Overcome by loss, she lays her neck beneath the guillotine blade. Three heartbeats pass, then life and emotion fill the void. The guillotine blade drops.

Chapter 28
Marc yells for them to wait, stopping the blade just before it slices through Cécile’s neck. He noticed that the color was coming back into Cécile’s bonding marks. The Queen rushes through the crowd and tells them that Tristan is alive.

Cécile is worried that Tristan will be angry with her, but when she reaches the room, he is relieved to see her. He tells her that he heard everything she said while she thought he was unconscious, including the part about loving him. Cécile is relieved that he will be all right. She asks him how he survived. All he says is that someone with a great deal of power helped him. The air grows cold, and a whisper fills the air, saying, “It is not for her to know. We have a bargain, you and I, prince of the accursed ones.” But just as suddenly as Cécile hears the whisper, she forgets what happened. She falls asleep in Tristan’s arms.

The next morning, Tristan has to leave. He tells her to remain in their rooms for her own safety. Tired of sitting still, she goes down into the courtyard to play her piano. Angoulême interrupts her playing. He admits to manipulating her, and gives her a speech about what happens to troll magic when mixed with human blood. As he does, he picks up her glass rose, then pretends to drop it. When she catches the rose, it lights up, confirming his suspicions about her and Tristan’s relationship. Marc comes into the garden and threatens to hurt him if he doesn’t leave.

Once he is gone, Marc takes her walking through the glass gardens and opens up about the loss of his wife, Penelope. Since she almost lost Tristan, Cécile has a better understanding of what he went through. Tristan comes out of hiding when Marc leaves. He takes her to a vast circular theater that has been flooded by the river to form a lake. The place has murals on the walls that portray the tyranny of the trolls and the suffering of the humans. He tells her that this is where he goes to remind himself why the trolls can’t be set free.

Cécile tries to argue with him that the behavior of the trolls of the past doesn’t predict the behavior of trolls living now. He tells her she’s wrong, that the trolls are too powerful for this world, and if it were possible to send them back to where they’d come from, he would.

Their conversation gets intense, and Tristan tells Cécile he loves her for the first time. The moment turns intimate, but Tristan stops before things go to far, warning her that if they were to have a child, it would be as bound to Trollus as he was. He tells her she needs to choose whether she wants to remain with him forever or not – she pushes back, unable to plan her life the way he does his. He takes her comment the wrong way and leaves.

Chapter 29
Tristan is working on the tree, but he is distracted by thoughts of Cécile. He struggles to believe she truly loves him, and is afraid that even if she does, that she’ll one day leave him.

Feeling her misery – misery he believes he caused – he uses their bond to find her. When he spots her in the market, he remains in the shadows to watch her. She is talking to Christophe and Tristan becomes jealous when he sees how obvious Chris’s feelings are for her. He also resents how comfortable she is around the other boy. He imagines his own version of their conversation, and he can sense that Cécile is both upset and conflicted. When Chris takes her hand, Tristan becomes angry and walks out of the shadows to confront them.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS!!!

Here are the discussion questions! You can answer as many or as few as you want, and you can also pose questions about these chapters to me!

TO UNLOCK EXTRA CONTENT #10 I need 20 different people to answer at least one question!

One participant on this thread will win a signed copy of WARRIOR WITCH, courtesy of my publisher, Angry Robot Books

All participants are entitled to a WARRIOR WITCH swag pack. Details here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Don't forget to enter the favourite quote giveaway, which ends next week! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

`1. While prologues are very common in adult fantasy, they aren’t seen too often in YA. They are considered bad or unnecessary, and editors usually ask authors to remove them. What do you think of prologues? Do you read them?

2. Marc opens up about what happened to his wife, Pénélope, including that he’d only survived because Tristan intervened. What did you think about Marc’s story? Did you think he was brave to bond Pénélope, despite her affliction, or do you think it was a mistake? What do you think about Tristan’s choice to force him to live? Was it selfish or justified?

3. Tristan is extremely concerned about history repeating itself if the trolls are freed. What would you do in his position? Would you do whatever it took to free your people, or would you fight to keep them contained in order to prevent future atrocities.

4. Which scene do you think is more romantic: in the labyrinth where Tristan admits his feelings or on the lake when things get quite heated? Why?

5. Chris and Cécile are fairly close, having grown up together, and it’s obvious in Stolen Songbird (and in The Songbird’s Overture) that he harbors some feelings for her. Did you think there would be a love triangle? Thoughts?

Eileen wrote: "When I first saw the title "Who is Tristan de Montigny", I thought "he's Melissa's" loll!

Thank you for sharing this. I love how much thought and care you put into creating Tristan. No wonder we a..."

*dies* YES!

ShinHyunRin wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Great choices and gorgeous photos!! I love seeing such a diverse selection of potential Tristans, because it shows how a character in a book can look like anyone you want in your o..."

You will find out what happens to them soon enough!

Patricia wrote: "My favourite book to film adaptation is without a doubt The Hunger Games. I thought the movies were pretty true to the books which makes me very happy but where they did tweak it a little, I could ..."

Hi Patricia!
Hunger Games is so awesome, plus I LOVE Jennifer Lawrence. I watched the first few seasons of The Walking Dead, then it lost me... Although I hear it has been pretty crazy lately.

Erika (The Nocturnal Fey) wrote: "ShinHyunRin wrote: "Erika (The Nocturnal Fey) wrote: I love how you included Song Joong Ki because I'm currently crazy over him while watching Descendants of The Sun. Aaaaah! *faints*

OMG you watc..."

WHY NOT, INDEED!!!! I'm all for diverse casting choices :D As long as he's handsome and can act, that's all that matters :D

Erika (The Nocturnal Fey) wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Erika (The Nocturnal Fey) wrote: "1. I'd enjoyed Catching Fire out of all the movies from The Hunger Games (I haven't seen the last one tho). And all LOTR and The Hobbit movie adap..."

Melissa needs someone to talk to about it other than me. It's been killing her to be the only person who's read it :)

ShinHyunRin wrote: "1. I am looking forward for the season 6 of Game of Thrones! Wow, it's one of the best book to TV show adaptation. The main plot of the story is stay true to the book for the first two or three sea..."

Great choices and gorgeous photos!! I love seeing such a diverse selection of potential Tristans, because it shows how a character in a book can look like anyone you want in your own mind!

I'm glad to hear you're a big fan of the twins. They didn't get much screen time in Hidden Huntress, but they play a MUCH larger role in Warrior Witch, pranks and all!

Karim wrote: "1. Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and the subsequent TV series Shadowhunters is one that I both waited for and really enjoyed. I think the movie was under estimated, yes there were some differen..."

Hi Karim!
I actually preferred the Mortal Instruments movie to the television show, primarily because I preferred Lily Collins as Clary. The adaptations of that series have certainly provoked A LOT of discussion - some heated - because it has such an intense fandom.

Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite Disney films, and I LOVE that song. And seeing the lyrics, they do fit, don't they?!

I do have the rest of the prologue saved on my laptop. Who'd like to read it?

This was originally a guest post on the awesome blog, Jet Black Ink, and it is one of my favorite guest posts of all time.

A Question of Identity

I recently took the time to reread Stolen Songbird after a long hiatus away from it*. I was struck by how deeply the novel was influenced by the topics I was studying in University at the time I was drafting the novel. My primary focus in my English degree was 17th century literature, the lion’s share of which was obviously dedicated to Shakespeare. I’m not sure I’ve ever told anyone this, but in the early days of drafting Stolen Songbird, Tristan’s character was inspired by Prince Hal from Henry IV, Part I; so when Leo asked me to write a post about identity, I knew that it would be Tristan whom I wanted to talk about.

In Shakespeare’s play, Prince Hal first appears on scene in a disreputable tavern where he is drinking, joking, and whoring with his lowbrow friends. While he certainly comes off as clever, he does not seem to possess any of the characteristics desirable in a future king. However, at the end of the scene, he addresses the audience in a monologue and informs them that his behaviour is all an act. That he is pretending to be horrible so that when he finally shows his true character to the world, it will seem all the more brilliant by comparison**. This idea really stuck with me, so much so that I had parts of the monologue included in Stolen Songbird’s prologue where Tristan is having a conversation with his aunt. The prologue didn’t make it into the book, but here’s a snippet of it:

“You’ll need to make your move soon, Tristan,” my aunt said, as though sensing my thoughts. “If you wait any longer, he’ll start to expect it. Never underestimate the value of surprise.”

My eyes flickered up, and I felt a flash of concern that we’d been overheard. I watched Mother’s reflection in a mirror on the far wall, her eyes staring vacantly at the gold coin in her hands. I’d given it to her earlier to keep her quiet while Aunt and I played. She wasn’t listening – she rarely did – but the last thing I needed was her innocently parroting our words back to my father.

“Or underestimate the honour of a forthright attack,” I said softly.

My aunt grimaced. “What is honour? A word. And the dead neither feel nor hear it.”

“Do not quote dead poets at me,” I retorted, but her point was a valid one. “I’ll proceed when it is prudent to do so.”

“My fear,” she said, blowing on her steaming tea, “is that when the time comes, you will have ceased to be the correct man for the task.”

A frown creased my brow. Moments ago, she’d called me a boy, now a man. It would not be a mere slip of the tongue. With my aunt, every word counted.

“You’ve played this role for a very long time, Tristan,” she said. “But how long must an actor play a character in fiction before he becomes the character in truth? In both his heart and in those of his people.”

I shrugged. “I’ll so offend to make offence a skill / Redeeming time when men think least I will.” I could quote the dead just as well as she.

“You’re nearly seventeen – the time for your redemption has come.”

“No,” I said, rising to his feet and crossing the room. “Not yet.” My light drifted over to illuminate the painting in front of me, but I stared blindly, not seeing. Not yet, but soon, and the very thought of the actions I’d take brought fear to my heart. And sadness: whether I succeeded or failed, I would lose a great deal. I wasn’t ready, not nearly ready enough.

Tristan’s aunt is concerned that he’s been pretending to be certain person for so long that he’s actually starting to become that person, and she isn’t wrong. Tristan’s enemy, the Duke d’Angoulême, tells Cécile much the same thing when he says, “the boy has been playing something he is not for so long that sometimes I wonder if he remembers who he really is.” Tristan knows he doesn’t want to be anything like his father, he knows he needs to pretend to be a certain way to keep the revolution a secret, and he knows the sort of King he wants to be in the future. But he really doesn’t know who he is right now.

Tristan’s friends have important roles to play in the story, but they are also integral to his maintaining and developing a sense of self. Those of you who have read the book know that his friends strongly represent certain characteristics. Marc is the kind one with the strong moral conscience. Vincent and Victoria are light-hearted and comic. Anaïs is intelligent, pragmatic, and a little bit ruthless. As his creator, I’ve made Tristan a bit of all of these things, but I deliberately left a void for one particular characteristic: passion.

Cécile is obviously the individual who fills that void. In many ways she is weaker than Tristan (because she’s human), but emotionally, she is much stronger than he is. She knows herself and is nearly always true to herself, and she very much lives in the moment. She quickly forces Tristan to stop pretending, and it is very much because of her that he tries to figure out who he is. Not because he has to, but because he wants to:

She lived in the present, always running off in the heat of the moment and saying exactly what she thought, rarely considering how the things she said or the decisions she made would affect the future. I was the exact opposite. Almost every action I took or decision I made was designed to affect circumstances months, years, even decades down the road. I’d always thought it was the prudent way to live, but now I feared I would wake up one day an old man, with my past wasted and no future left to live. Loving her had changed me, pulled me into the present and made me want to give myself to her as wholly and completely as I could.

By the end of the Stolen Songbird, Tristan is really starting to come into his own, and that development continues in Hidden Huntress and Warrior Witch.

*Yes, sometimes I forget what happened in my own books.

** I know you all, and will awhile uphold
The unyoked humour of your idleness:
Yet herein will I imitate the sun,
Who doth permit the base contagious clouds
To smother up his beauty from the world,
That, when he please again to be himself,
Being wanted, he may be more wonder’d at,
By breaking through the foul and ugly mists
Of vapours that did seem to strangle him.
If all the year were playing holidays,
To sport would be as tedious as to work;
But when they seldom come, they wish’d for come,
And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents.
So, when this loose behavior I throw off
And pay the debt I never promised,
By how much better than my word I am,
By so much shall I falsify men’s hopes;
And like bright metal on a sullen ground,
My reformation, glittering o’er my fault,
Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes
Than that which hath no foil to set it off.
I’ll so offend, to make offence a skill;
Redeeming time when men think least I will.

Henry IV, Act I, scene ii

I know some of you have been approved by NetGalley for Warrior Witch eARCS. I'm going to open another thread in the group for anyone who has questions or comments about the book, so that way others don't have to worry about seeing spoilers.

Nicole wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Nicole wrote: "1. I always struggle with movie adaptations because they can rarely be very loyal to the complexity of the books. I tend to get frust..."

SAME! Plus they didn't put white makeup on his ears, so all I could focus on was how pink his ears were compared to the rest of him.

Nicole wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Nicole wrote: "1. I always struggle with movie adaptations because they can rarely be very loyal to the complexity of the books. I tend to get frust..."

Even during copyedits and proofreading there were parts that made me cry. *fixes typo, sheds tear*

Erika (The Nocturnal Fey) wrote: "1. I'd enjoyed Catching Fire out of all the movies from The Hunger Games (I haven't seen the last one tho). And all LOTR and The Hobbit movie adaptations are my all time favorites. Before, I get up..."

Hi Erika!

*drools* Those are some NICE photos!!!

I also preferred the Maze Runner movie to the book! And as much as I love the LoTR novels, the movies did a good job cutting out some of the boring stuff. Because let's be honest, there are some dull chapters in LoTR. :D

I'm glad you liked the political plot lines in Stolen Songbird. Lots of those elements find their resolution in Warrior Witch, as you will soon discover :)

Lillian wrote: "1.) I prefer when the film is almost exactly like the book, because otherwise, it kind of feels like the film is spreading lies about the original story. And even though that's not the intention, I..."

Hi Lillian
I think you're right. There are a few of the same elements in both stories, and because adaptations are popular right now, lots of people just made the assumption that's what it was :)

Mi-Mi wrote: "I love Tristan's friendship with Anais, and it doesn't bother me at all that they have a history. I feel like a lot of books do this thing where it's like "we broke up and now things will be weird ..."

Hi Mi-Mi!
I like characters to have history, because it gives me lots of interesting backstory to work with :D

Pili wrote: "1._ I do get rather annoyed when adaptations change the plot, even more when it seems to be done for no good reason at all, or when they change character's ARCs... Part of the reason why I'm still ..."

Hi Pili!
Game of Thrones lost me a bit last season... I'll probably watch this season to see if it improves, but if it sticks with the trend of extreme violence towards women and children, I'm done. I don't like to watch that sort of thing.

And a good thing we're doing a Hidden Huntress read-along next, right!?!