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Paradan Tales #1
The Wishing Well
While hiding from her tormentors, in a wishing well, Aurora falls into the mystical land of Paradan. A place where fairies, trolls, dwarfs, and giants live hand in hand until King Tommit seizes control of the throne. She is then forced into a marriage with the fiendish king to cement his hold on the kingdom. Cassius, the stable boy, rallies the kingdom in order to battle for their freedom. While he continues to fight to rescue the girl he has fallen for.
Aurora accepts her new future to protect Evver, the fairy that has become her lifeline, and Cassius the boy she longs for. Will they be able to stop King Tommit before the vows have been said? Or will Aurora be forced to live her happily ever after with a monster?
Aurora accepts her new future to protect Evver, the fairy that has become her lifeline, and Cassius the boy she longs for. Will they be able to stop King Tommit before the vows have been said? Or will Aurora be forced to live her happily ever after with a monster?
270 pages, Paperback
First published January 29, 2013
26 people are currently reading
615 people want to read
About the author
Holly Zitting
6 books23 followers“I have been writing as long as I can remember. I have been writing in the wee hours when my 6 kids were all babies. With my last one I was inspired by the Red Rock Mountains in Southern Utah. I started writing and my 12 year old (at the time) found it. She wrote on the bottom FINISH IT!!! Every day I would write more and she would repeat it.
It became The Amulet.
I am currently living and loving Oregon. I have 6 kids and a wonderful husband of 16 years (almost).
I hope you will love my stories as much as I do.” ~Holly Zitting
It became The Amulet.
I am currently living and loving Oregon. I have 6 kids and a wonderful husband of 16 years (almost).
I hope you will love my stories as much as I do.” ~Holly Zitting
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 9, 2014
Wow.
That hurt.
It didn't sound as bad as it was, the story sounded promising. But it wasn't.
Beside the grammar mistakes, nothing about this story was innovative.
There were no surprises, just an ongoing story which was rather blah.
I hated all of the characters, they are not special, badly written and left a bad
taste in my mouth. There were too many strange names for my liking and I tended to just
read over them, because I didn't want to bother pronouncing them while reading.
To top it off I didn't really like the writing style.
The author wrote some things that just let me shake my head, either in laughter or
annoyance.
"By wordly standards, I was considered a beauty." That's the sentence every reader loves!
Of course dearest Aurora doesn't know she is that beautiful!
"My eyes were the color of the Carribean ocean on a sunny day." There are more of these
descriptions! I wouldn't even get the idea to write sth like this.
But my favourite quotes are these two:
"He dropped me like a hot potato."
"Cassius' words were like gasoline to my already simmering fire."
The so called "romance" between Cassius and Aurora was one of the most ridiculous things in
the whole book.
The only thing I will keep in mind about this book is how much I didn't like it.
I'm actually glad not to read the next book in this series nor will I ever pick up another book
from this author.
That hurt.
It didn't sound as bad as it was, the story sounded promising. But it wasn't.
Beside the grammar mistakes, nothing about this story was innovative.
There were no surprises, just an ongoing story which was rather blah.
I hated all of the characters, they are not special, badly written and left a bad
taste in my mouth. There were too many strange names for my liking and I tended to just
read over them, because I didn't want to bother pronouncing them while reading.
To top it off I didn't really like the writing style.
The author wrote some things that just let me shake my head, either in laughter or
annoyance.
"By wordly standards, I was considered a beauty." That's the sentence every reader loves!
Of course dearest Aurora doesn't know she is that beautiful!
"My eyes were the color of the Carribean ocean on a sunny day." There are more of these
descriptions! I wouldn't even get the idea to write sth like this.
But my favourite quotes are these two:
"He dropped me like a hot potato."
"Cassius' words were like gasoline to my already simmering fire."
The so called "romance" between Cassius and Aurora was one of the most ridiculous things in
the whole book.
The only thing I will keep in mind about this book is how much I didn't like it.
I'm actually glad not to read the next book in this series nor will I ever pick up another book
from this author.
December 31, 2013
I was surprised with how much I liked this one. I wasn't expecting much and ended up really enjoying it. Aurora falls into a well and ends up in a land with fairies, giants, dwarfs, etc. You follow her through her adventure of meeting her true love, an evil king, and deciding what to do, does she stay in this world, or go back to her own...
Fun story & great characters. Can't wait to read the next one...
Moral Note: Some mild innuendos, lustful glances, kissing.
Fun story & great characters. Can't wait to read the next one...
Moral Note: Some mild innuendos, lustful glances, kissing.
September 25, 2019
Cute Story
Good story theme but it needs to be redone. Some was rushed and skipped, characters need to be further developed. I was lost in some areas because things were rushed. Also had grammar errors. I hope the author takes the time to remake this story by adding more to it because it does have a good concept and takes the time to make the characters and story more.
Good story theme but it needs to be redone. Some was rushed and skipped, characters need to be further developed. I was lost in some areas because things were rushed. Also had grammar errors. I hope the author takes the time to remake this story by adding more to it because it does have a good concept and takes the time to make the characters and story more.
October 27, 2017
Interesting YA Fantasy
Wishes,wells,mythos,the hero,the villain,the damsel(s) in distress and a society under horrendous rule. This first book is fast paced and well worth reading
Wishes,wells,mythos,the hero,the villain,the damsel(s) in distress and a society under horrendous rule. This first book is fast paced and well worth reading
October 10, 2018
Great book
January 2, 2019
Reading this book was a lot like reading Chronicles of Narnia. I say this not because of any plot similarities, but because they are both filled with a magical innocence. Aurora finds herself running from cruel bullies. She is headed to her secret spot, but the bullies continue to follow. In order to hide from their torment, she climbs inside a crumbling wishing well. She waits until they are long gone, and when she is about to leave, she finds herself falling. Much like Alice fell down the rabbit hole, Aurora falls down the wishing well. She wakes up in a magical, troubled land called Paradan. Discovered, she is forced to work at the castle. The castle’s kind is the tyrant Tommit. At the castle, Aurora meets a fairy friend named Evver who has had her wings clipped. She also meets Cassius, the handsome stable-boy.
This story is a fun read. It has romance, mythical creatures, and sacrifice. It asks the question when you love someone can you really let them go? Even the ‘villains’ of the story touched my heart. It shows how someone so good can become so corrupted. Overall, a wonderful story.
This story is a fun read. It has romance, mythical creatures, and sacrifice. It asks the question when you love someone can you really let them go? Even the ‘villains’ of the story touched my heart. It shows how someone so good can become so corrupted. Overall, a wonderful story.
October 21, 2014
Where do I even start with this one? To say everything I didn't like about it would take way too long. First if you are a person (which I am not) who can get over multiple grammar mistakes through the whole book, then you would have to make it past the incredibly clichéd plot, and the very uninteresting characters. Its a "Magical world" with "Magical creatures" in it, yet the whole story is following boring human romance. To even compare this to a book like Narnia is a joke. The author used the same describing words far too often in the same paragraphs making the writing far from readable. I am glad the book was free, and I am not interested in continuing the series.
April 22, 2016
I had no idea what to expect when I started this book. I picked it based on the cover (it meets a challenge I am working on) and I was pleasantly surprised. Aurora is in a strange new world. She meets wonderful people that she cares about, including a young man that she falls in love with. Will she stay with him or try to get back home?
I absolutely loved this story. I love reading about all of the mythical creatures including a pegasus. I was cheering for Cassius and Aurora the whole time. I am looking forward to book 2 to see what happens and to see if Cassius & Aurora get their happily ever after.
I absolutely loved this story. I love reading about all of the mythical creatures including a pegasus. I was cheering for Cassius and Aurora the whole time. I am looking forward to book 2 to see what happens and to see if Cassius & Aurora get their happily ever after.
February 20, 2014
The writing is very amateurish. the author overuses descriptors of characters. The main character described herself over the top-ly in my opinion, and she did the same with a few of the supporting characters.
The way the characters interact is very unrealistic. Who wants to die for someone right after meeting them...? But then again, as someone who is gray-romantic, maybe I am just missing something in myself to be swept away by that kind of plot device...
The way the characters interact is very unrealistic. Who wants to die for someone right after meeting them...? But then again, as someone who is gray-romantic, maybe I am just missing something in myself to be swept away by that kind of plot device...
October 22, 2013
I have to agree with some of the past reviews that this book reminds me some of the Chronicles of Narnia. The story line was slightly confusing and left a lot out in the wild blue yonder. It was an easy read but there were several grammical errors and it looked like in some spots the version had been edited but not updated.
December 30, 2013
Liked the story. But it jumps to different people so quick it's hard to keep track
January 2, 2014
C+
an ok read for a young teen but a bit too hokey for an older adult. grammar errors as well. editing could have been better.
an ok read for a young teen but a bit too hokey for an older adult. grammar errors as well. editing could have been better.
August 17, 2014
This is an addicting read
March 4, 2015
Enjoyable fast read.
April 9, 2015
DNF - 28%
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews