Blog Archives - DEBORAH KELTY

Book Reviews: The Healing & The Beloved By Joy Margetts

24/11/2021

As I write this, it's pouring rain outside and a white van towing a small digger stays parked outside, while builders change the gas pipes on the other side of my house. Thankfully the worst of the blaring sounds from the van have quietened down a little earlier, at least for now, so I have a bit of peace and quiet for the time being. But before I begin this review, I'm going to mention one major change with my book reviews in particular - and that is I'll be ditching the Goodreads form of star ratings and having it be more in line with the likes of Letterboxd.
Mainly because the latter has a better rating system that works with having half stars as well as ones, rather than the former which doesn't share that option. So keep that mind as I start with these new reviews moving forward. And now, for a double book review:

Book 1: The Healing
Synopsis: Driven to despair by heart-breaking betrayal, nobleman Philip de Braose has lost faith in God and man. Working as a soldier for hire, he recklessly seeks death and is brutally injured, only for rescue to come in the unlikely form of a Cistercian monk. This joy-filled, kind and compassionate man walks alongside Philip as his body slowly recovers and he is forced to confront the more painful wounds within. As they travel from France to an Abbey deep in his Welsh homeland, Philip disguises himself as a Cistercian and begins to rediscover the man God always intended him to be. But when his past invades the present, his newly awakened faith is challenged by long-buried dreams and he must decide if he can live a life devoted to God outside the Abbey’s walls.

Earlier last night I finished my read of The Healing, upon first hearing about it months before, on a local Facebook group I follow where the author promoted her recent novel and its novella The Beloved. And with its premise of a seemingly dead soldier disguised as a monk set in 13th Century Wales and France, it naturally piqued my interest.

I'll start off with the few positives, such as the researched details of the time period that are mentioned which definitely hold some weight and depth. The descriptions of these and the locations are the main highlights that I mostly enjoyed. Philip and Hywel had some good scenes as the main characters, with their scenes of the latter mentoring the other being fairly enjoyable. However, as I reflect on it, the word that constantly comes to my mind about is potential. Overall, the setup for an interesting historical drama with religious themes is all there, but the execution is very much hit and miss.

I confess to be pretty conflicted over it, as I somewhat liked the beginning chapters even when the story's main flaws started to appear. But when certain third act twists and revelations occur but in a very rushed manner, made me only wish there'd have been more focus on those moments much earlier on than compared to what I got. Especially with much of the scenes being on Hywel discussing the matters of religious conversion, which aren't entirely out of place for a story about monks, do often repeat its statements and slows down the pace of the story a bit too much. A lot is told to us about the Cistercians and their way of life that's certainly fascinating, but never shown further beyond a few brief mentions here and there.
It reminded me a lot of Big Men's Boots by Emily Barroso in that regard, which was another novel set in Wales I'd read a few years ago but based during the Welsh Revivals, rather than the medieval era. I do commend Margetts for the effort put in with sharing this time and characters of Welsh history for a debut story, which are concepts I want to see more of living in Wales myself. But in terms of Christian historical fiction, it's not really my cup of tea.

Rating: 2.5/5

Amazon Link

Book 2: The Beloved
Synopsis: When love whispers, will the heart respond?
A young woman unsure of herself and not ready to open her heart. A young man sure of his feelings but clumsy in his approach. Both have a lot to learn about the true nature of love. This story takes them on a journey of discovery, which causes them both to come to a place of understanding, that will ultimately alter the direction of their lives. It isn’t only an understanding of human love that needs to touch their souls, but the realisation of the unconditional love that God offers them.

There isn't much to say about this novella, other than that it's both a bit better and also more of the same. It's a fine enough story as a sequel but like its predecessor, is quite preachy and again, more telling than showing. A light read but not a lot more about it to really discuss. Rating: 2/5

Amazon Link

And there ends my book reviews - a bit shorter than others I've done, but it'll do for today.
If you have read The Healing or The Beloved, share your thoughts down below in the comments!

Introducing My New Blog, Upcoming Newsletter, & Projects Updates!

18/11/2021

Hello writerly friends, and welcome to Writerly Observance!
With moving from my old site to this new one, I have both a lot of ideas and also some tasks I still have to complete in the mean time. Such as promoting my debut short story, which I'm continuing to process on being a published author alongside all the other stuff I am doing. Like finding this blog site to already be way better than Blogger, at least right now. xD
Speaking of which, my story The Haunted Huntsman is finally out on Apple Books and listed on Goodreads (and for those who missed the previous post from my original blog, here's the Amazon page)! And don't forget to share your thoughts on Goodreads about it and also the other stories of the Whitstead Harvestide Anthology. It's been a very supportive group of authors and writers who helped me on my debut journey, since I first discovered them via Realm Makers page on Facebook. So thus, deserve a lot of love as well!

Okay, back to my main topics. Firstly, my upcoming content!

The New Blog & How It'll Work (Mostly):
Other than the occasional odd or special post, I plan to have them released on a Wednesday like before. However, unless I get a really good spark of an idea, I won't be doing as many on writing related topics just yet. Instead, I'll be starting off with some indie book reviews (mostly of ones I've needed to catch up on awhile earlier but wasn't able to).

Upcoming Newsletter Plans:
So. This is a new avenue I've been thinking about and one that is the natural path for me to take after blogging. And one that can especially useful if I'm unable to blog regularly during some potential busy times. Starting later this month, once I've figured out a bit more with this website, will there be monthly newsletters released via email going into further detail about my writing progress, early project teaser reveals, fun extras like character/story quizzes, and much more!

A special test GIF to start out my new blog!

My Fantasy Novel Third Draft In Progress:
If you've been following me for awhile, and also noticed the progress bar on my Portfolio page, you'd know that my main novel is still undergoing edits. And as for any recent update, well...it's getting there. Slowly, but surely, I think, it's getting there. Keeping myself motivated about it has certainly been a big factor into the struggle of moving further on with my current edits. Though one of its biggest causes is that, with having to expand on the ideas to come for my future sequels in this series, means I have to make sure the first one has to match up with these details in a consistent, logical way. So, much to my younger self's optimism turning to disappointment, it's taking a lot more time than I once expected it to. This includes other related projects like my story/series "Wikia" on World Anvil (mainly for my Discord server but potentially for here too), that I hoped to release its first few info pages earlier in the year, which also hasn't turned out to be the case.

But all is not entirely lost...

Other Projects:
While my main project is still in a bit of slump, I have been getting short story/novella ideas that I plan to begin or continue with in the coming months into 2022! On top of this, there is also my first YouTube video - that's also taking some time but coming along sooner than later - which I hope to release later this month or early in December. As for smaller examples like sketches, I have a to do list on what to potentially start with next - it's just picking the right one to begin with is that is my main dilemma. And for my socials and support profiles like Ko-fi and Patreon, I plan to develop some smaller merch to start for the former for you guys as well!

In the meantime, here's the link to my extended sites for any who are new here!

debzykwriter.carrd.co

And that is where my first blog post on this site comes to a close.
What are your thoughts on my new direction, and what would you want to see me do in the near future? Comment below what you think, and subscribe for more posts and bonus content coming your way very soon! :)

Author

Hey, everyone. I'm a writer, and so far am currently during revision of a young adult (or tween) fantasy novel, and first of a future pentalogy. This is counting also the fandom geek life (mainly via Pinterest) and laughing at memes everyone either loves or hates. Hopes nature lasts till end of time and a whole lot of other good things!

For a link to my previous site, click here: Original Blog

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