Pride’s Children: Purgatory by Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
Published: March 31, 2015 by Trilka Press
Buy this book: Amazon / Thriftbooks
Rating:
Synopsis:
WHAT YOU DO WITH AN OBSESSION COUNTS
“I, KARENNA ELIZABETH Ashe, being of sound mind, do… But that’s it, isn’t it? Being here proves I am not of sound mind…”
So begins Book 1 of the Pride’s Children trilogy: Kary immediately regrets the misplaced sense of noblesse oblige which compels her to appear, live on national television—at exorbitant personal cost.
What she cannot anticipate is an entanglement with Hollywood that may destroy her carefully-constructed solitudinarian life.
A contemporary mainstream love story, in the epic tradition of Jane Eyre, and Dorothy L. Sayers’ four-novel bond between Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, Pride’s Children starts with a very public chance encounter, and will eventually stretch over three separate continents.
Review:
***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review. Thank you Alicia and I’m sorry it took me so long. ***
This book and I had an interesting journey. At first I struggled with the writing style. It’s a combination of literary fiction and stream of consciousness writing. I found myself putting the book down and wondering if, perhaps, it just wasn’t my style. And then I would pick it up again. And again. And again. It became my comfort book.
The characters are what make this a great book. Andrew is delightfully witty and smarmy. He’s very likeable, I instantly knew why Kary was so drawn to him. I was drawn to him! Kary was a thoughtful character. I understood her reluctance to engage with Andrew but was frustrated by it at the same time. More than once, I announced, “Kary, let the man do something nice for you! He likes you, I know you haven’t noticed!” Bianca was probably my least favorite character. I found her one dimensional. She is there to provide a stumbling block to the romance, but since no one paid attention to her, she was rather inconsequential. Perhaps she will play a more active role in the next book.
The plot was delightful. It was clear, concise, and the perfect vehicle to take our characters from one place to another. I found the level of detail about film sets and the writing process quite refreshing. It felt authentic. The only place that the plot lagged was in the middle. I got the sense that I was waiting for the “big moment” to happen. That moment eventually happened, but it took a while to get there.
Overall, this book was a fun and emotional journey. I recommend it if you’re a fan of literary fiction and character driven plots.
Written Among The Stars 
Dear Stefani,
What a delightful review – thanks so much! You’ve made my day.
Please let me know if you would like an ARC of NETHERWORLD, the second volume, which I think is even better – while I’m currently up to my ears in writing LIMBO, the conclusion to the story.
And yes, Bianca is a very important part of NETHERWORLD and beyond. In fact, she becomes key to solving one of the problems you mentioned.
Alicia
PS It’s my comfort read, too, however odd that sounds.
Yes I would absolutely be interested. Feel free to send it to my email (if you still have it) or through the contact form if you don’t. I promise not to take so long this time. 😉
I’ll send it via the contact form – my email from a few years ago is still held hostage on my previous computer!
In case the contact form doesn’t work, I tried that, but am not sure it went through with the files.
If you didn’t get them, or can’t open the epub, let me know, and send me your email address to abehrhardt AT g mail
I got the email! I replied just now, the form won’t send attachments (too much spam otherwise). But you can reply to my email with the epub. Thank you! I look forward to starting it.
Sent. Make sure they open – read when you get to it. I’m easy. And working hard on LIMBO.