Bewitching Blog Tour: Whistle Down the Wind by Sibelle Stone

Description:


Escaping from the persecution of the European witch hunts, a beautiful witch with the power to control the wind joins forces with a handsome Cavalier on a mission to save the King of England and the colony of Virginia.

Catlin Glyndwr is a tenth generation Mistress of Elements -- a hereditary witch who can call upon her elemental spirits for assistance in casting spells.

Accused of witchcraft in seventeenth century England, she faces the hangman. Even though she took a vow never to hurt anyone with her magic, if her true powers are revealed, she’ll be executed.

Sir Griffin Reynolds is on his way to the colony of Virginia, on a secret mission to locate Puritan rebels intent upon seizing the throne of King Charles II. When his best friend becomes deathly ill while interrogating a beautiful Welsh maiden accused of using magic to attack a local official – Griffin is forced to strike a bargain with her in order to save his friend’s life.

When Catlin and Griffin travel together on a voyage to the American colonies, they try to resist the pull of erotic sensuality that flares between them. It is a temptation they both soon crave. But danger lurks aboard ship and evil haunts Catlin. She must learn how her destiny is linked with that of the man who has vowed to protect her.

In a dangerous and unexplored world, where superstition exists along side the new discoveries of science, powerful elemental spirits are capable of assisting the magical adepts. But there is always danger in harnessing magic and a price to pay when one calls to the spirit world for help.

While Griffin tries to deny his attraction to Catlin, she works her own special magic on his heart and he discovers he cannot resist falling under her sensual spell.

Together, Catlin and Griffin learn that a journey of the heart requires courage, trust and the ability to believe in the astonishing gift of love.

Author Bio:

Sibelle Stone is the pseudonym for award winning historical romance author Deborah Schneider. Sibelle writes sexy steampunk and paranormal stories, filled with magic, mad scientists, dirigibles, automatons, and creatures that would scare the panties off Deborah. In her spare time Sibelle enjoys dressing up in Victorian ensembles, modding play guns into something that looks a bit more sinister and wearing hats.

Author Bio: Deborah Schneider

A lifelong love of American history led Deborah Schneider from teaching high school to writing novels. Her first book, Beneath A Silver Moon won the Molly award for “Most Unsinkable Heroine” from the Heart of Denver chapter of RWA and was later a finalist in the New Historical Voice Contest in 2000. Her most recent release Promise Me won the 2011 EPIC Award for Best Western Romance. Her first steampunk story, No Ordinary Love was published in fall 2011. Deborah is employed by the busiest and best library system in the U.S. She’s received the “Open Book Award” from Pacific Northwest Writers and was named “Librarian of the Year” by Romance Writers of America in 2009.

My Review:

Whistle Down the Wind by Sibelle Stone

2 out of 5 stars

I can honestly say that I’m just not sure about this book.  I am giving it a rating of 2 stars because it wasn’t that it was a bad book, but it didn’t qualify as a good book.  For me the story line seemed stilted, the characters were not necessarily likeable, and the language and large words used by the author were distracting.  


I can honestly say I didn’t really like Catlin much.  She was irritating, whiny, and conniving.  She was willing to cast a spell on Griffin to get what she wanted, even though according to the rules gain for one’s self was prohibited.  She was cruel and accusing when Griffin didn’t do what she wanted.  For me, one of the few redeeming qualities that she had was her care of Bitsy and her wanting to protect her own family from the coming evil.  


Griffin was a giant flip-flop for me.  He liked Catlin and then he didn’t.  He wanted to bed her, and then he wanted to be as far away from her as possible.  I’m sorry, if I want to read about a flip-flop, I’ll read the newspaper articles on the presidential candidates.  


I have a lot experience reading books, both text and fiction.  But I have never seen a lot of the words in this book.  Thank God that my e-reader has a built in dictionary. I repeatedly had to use it to figure out what the words meant.  


I just wished that there had been some glossary of Welsh terms. I mean, she used so much but only sometimes gave a definition.  I don’t mind having to guess what words mean, but when there are a lot of words that I just don’t know from another language and there is no definition or hint of what the word means it can get distracting.  Oh, and does anyone know what the word tarse means?  I’ve never heard of it, though she does use that term when referring to the Griffin’s genitals, but I couldn’t find that word in any dictionary I could get my hands.   


So, for the first time ever at Place of Reads, I can’t recommend this book.  Now this is not to say that you won’t like this book, but I know that I won’t be reading it again. 

Happy Reading!


Cana