The Synopsis:
Ellie Sweet is a lot of things—good girl, novelist, silent adorer of the new boy at school, Palmer. But when “outcast” gets added to the list, she decides it’s time to take reality into her own hands … and tweak it as needed.
In the pages of her book, she’s Lady Gabrielle, favorite of the medieval Italian court. Her once-friends are reduced to catty ladies-in-waiting, and the too-charming Palmer—who in real life never spares her a second word—gets to be nothing more than a rake wracked by unrequited love for her. She even has a perfect real-life villain in the brooding Chase, who hails from the wrong side of town.
But just when she’s getting along great in her fictional world, the real one throws her a few curves. With Chase pursuing her, Palmer wanting to date her—but in secret—and the details of her manuscript going public, Ellie suddenly receives more attention than she ever really wanted. And when her former-friends discover what she’s been writing, they’re determined to teach Ellie a lesson about the severe consequences of using her pen as her sword.
Review:
After finding and reading Stephanie’s (and Jill Williamson’s) Go Teen Writers blog about a year ago and reading Jill’s Safe Land series, I have really wanted to read this book to support Stephanie. My expectation of this book was well exceeded.
The main reason that this was such a great book was because it was so realistic yet it still had that fairy-tale twist to it. Being a writer myself, I could relate to Ellie in more ways than one, and she was an incredibly developed character. Stephanie did a great job on all of her characters and should receive a medal for the “most swoon-worthy heros”!
The storyline itself was so well thought out and pieced together so beautifully that I have to wonder how long Stephanie babied this before she finally declared it finished. It is the most perfect fictional book that I have probably ever read!
There were a few kissing scenes as well as some drug references, and partying that involved alcohol that might be distasteful to some readers, however they were not considerably detailed.
Rated:
Rayleigh is a Freshman in college with a major in Accounting and long-term goal of being a CPA. She is an avid reader of all genres, and just as much of her time is spent writing as it is reading. She is the Associate Editor and Web Manager for PURSUE Magazine, in addition to posting her monthly articles on their blog. Rayleigh interns for Hartline Literary Agency where she advises authors in the best way to market their books. She is also a Social Media Manager for various businesses.
Her writing pseudonym is Rae Leigh and she is in the process of seeking publication for her Dystopian novella, Program MIRA.