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Tales of Taelis Short Stories #1
Admirable
William returns home to find his family threatened with attack from a neighboring Earl. Will he be able to protect his sister and the rest of his family from this threat? Will he be able to trust God no matter what?
A prequel story for Adventures and Adversities.
A prequel story for Adventures and Adversities.
38 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2016
2 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Holman
46 books460 followersSarah Holman lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, Scott. When not working on her next novel, she can usually be found hanging out with her family, reading, or hiking at state parks with her husband. If there is anything adventuresome about her life, it’s because she serves a God with a destiny bigger than anything she could have imagined. You can find out more about her at her website, www.thedestinyofone.com.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
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June 9, 2016"I would like to hear William's story. He is one of your best characters."
When I heard that, I knew I had to write about backstory for the hero of Adventures and Adversities. It is a tale siblings, trusting God, and turning the other cheek. and the first in the Tales of Taelis short story series.
When I heard that, I knew I had to write about backstory for the hero of Adventures and Adversities. It is a tale siblings, trusting God, and turning the other cheek. and the first in the Tales of Taelis short story series.
August 25, 2016
This short story only took me a short time to read, but it was enjoyable. I would have liked it to be longer or something, but it was nice to have a glimpse of William's early life. Enjoyable read even if I'm not much of a "middle ages" fan.
February 7, 2018
(Review also posted on The Page Dreamer: https://thepagedreamer.wordpress.com/...)
This short story is a very quick, fairly intriguing read. It was a nice introduction to the world of the Tales of Taelis series—book one is "Adventures and Adversities", which I hadn’t read yet.
"Admirable" provides a little backstory for William, a character from "Adventures and Adversities", and I enjoyed stepping into this medieval setting (in a fictional place) and meeting William and his sister, both of whom I quite liked. :)
The frequency of typos and errors was somewhat distracting, and William seemed to act older than he was supposed to be (could just be me!) but otherwise it was an interesting and enjoyable read. :)
I did like this peek at this medieval world of castles and such, with some sweet Christian characters, and I look forward to reading more stories in the Taelis series!
(Also, I LOVE that cover!)
This short story is a very quick, fairly intriguing read. It was a nice introduction to the world of the Tales of Taelis series—book one is "Adventures and Adversities", which I hadn’t read yet.
"Admirable" provides a little backstory for William, a character from "Adventures and Adversities", and I enjoyed stepping into this medieval setting (in a fictional place) and meeting William and his sister, both of whom I quite liked. :)
The frequency of typos and errors was somewhat distracting, and William seemed to act older than he was supposed to be (could just be me!) but otherwise it was an interesting and enjoyable read. :)
I did like this peek at this medieval world of castles and such, with some sweet Christian characters, and I look forward to reading more stories in the Taelis series!
(Also, I LOVE that cover!)
May 4, 2022
I enjoyed this little prequel and actually read it before I read Adventures and Adversities. So, for those of you who have also read There Was Always Laughter in Our House and know about Sarah's silent feud with her brother, which one are we supposed to read first? Chronological or order it was written :)
The one thing that confused me when I read this story was that he had a brother in the beginning, and then he was never mentioned again after the story skipped time. It does explain what happened to him in the book, but it would have been nice to have that mentioned in this story as well. But, who knows? Maybe I should have read the book first!
This is a great little short story with a good lesson and a sweet relationship between a brother and sister. I recommend you to read it and to read the full book too! They're both good.
The one thing that confused me when I read this story was that he had a brother in the beginning, and then he was never mentioned again after the story skipped time. It does explain what happened to him in the book, but it would have been nice to have that mentioned in this story as well. But, who knows? Maybe I should have read the book first!
This is a great little short story with a good lesson and a sweet relationship between a brother and sister. I recommend you to read it and to read the full book too! They're both good.
December 15, 2016
It was a nice chance to spend more time with the characters, but nothing really big that shone new light on Adventures and Adversities. There were also a number of typos where the author used the wrong homonym, which was made glaring by how short the book was.
November 26, 2020
A nice set up for the main Tales of Taelis series but is still able to stand on its own. A longer review can be found here: http://baileymarissa08.blogspot.com/2...
Recommended 11+ for violence and murder/death.
Recommended 11+ for violence and murder/death.
January 4, 2022
I really enjoyed this story. The way William looked out for his sister was touching, especially the way he put himself aside to take care of her. I look forward to reading more stories in this series.
April 26, 2017
I read Admirable several weeks ago, and since it had been a while since I last read a Tales of Taelis book it was fun to meet some of the characters again. What I enjoyed even more was hearing a short snippet of the behind-the-scenes story! I read Adventures and Adversities right before it came out several years ago, and loved the story—the imaginative plot, the struggles of the characters, and the sweet romance at the end all caught my attention. However, as time has gone on I’ve forgotten much of the story—but reading about the characters in this little short story brought a lot rushing back. I’m hoping I can take time soon to read about all those old friends again! We’ll see, though.
At age five, William is given a solemn charge by his father to care for his baby sister. When, at eleven years old, his home is unexpectedly attacked by some enemies, he realizes his promise years before was meant for just such a time as this. Will he be able to successfully defend himself and protect his sister, even though he knows his parents are already dead? Can he be true to his promise?
This is, overall, a very sad set of stories, although there is hope near the end of the book. If you’ve enjoyed other books in this series, you would enjoy getting this glimpse onto several characters’ pasts. For that, I found this light, quick read quite entertaining and worthwhile.
Four stars, because some parts were a little difficult to read due to the editing.
At age five, William is given a solemn charge by his father to care for his baby sister. When, at eleven years old, his home is unexpectedly attacked by some enemies, he realizes his promise years before was meant for just such a time as this. Will he be able to successfully defend himself and protect his sister, even though he knows his parents are already dead? Can he be true to his promise?
This is, overall, a very sad set of stories, although there is hope near the end of the book. If you’ve enjoyed other books in this series, you would enjoy getting this glimpse onto several characters’ pasts. For that, I found this light, quick read quite entertaining and worthwhile.
Four stars, because some parts were a little difficult to read due to the editing.
February 28, 2019
I really loved William in Adventures and Adversities, so I enjoyed seeing some of his and Eleanor's backstory. I thought Sarah did a great job of keeping their characters consistent through the years and the different trials they faced. And I loved William all the more for the depths he was willing to go to to keep his sister safe and close to him.
A couple of small things that confused me--I didn't think their being brother and sister was as much of a secret in Adventures and Adversities as it seems to be at the end of Admirable, so I'm not sure what changed there. Also, in the prologue, there's talk of a brother between William and Eleanor, but he's never mentioned again, not even to say something happened to him.
3.5 stars
Content--mentions of battles and deaths; a sword fight and a resulting wound (not graphic); mentions of a servant being beaten
A couple of small things that confused me--I didn't think their being brother and sister was as much of a secret in Adventures and Adversities as it seems to be at the end of Admirable, so I'm not sure what changed there. Also, in the prologue, there's talk of a brother between William and Eleanor, but he's never mentioned again, not even to say something happened to him.
3.5 stars
Content--mentions of battles and deaths; a sword fight and a resulting wound (not graphic); mentions of a servant being beaten
August 28, 2018
This exciting and touching little story packed a lot of depth into a limited number of words. I admired William in Adventures and Adversities and wondered about his backstory, so I was very glad to get it here! I might have liked to have seen a little more struggle within William as he tried to do the right thing and have the right attitude about his circumstances, but all in all the way he trusted God was inspiring. It's definitely worth the read for fans of the Tales of Taelis series!
December 3, 2019
A New Life
William is a son of an Earl but one day an enemy killed his parents and took over their lands. William promised his father that he would do whatever it takes to protect his younger sister, Eleanor. When the children are banished to a distant castle, William makes every effort to keep his promise.
William is a son of an Earl but one day an enemy killed his parents and took over their lands. William promised his father that he would do whatever it takes to protect his younger sister, Eleanor. When the children are banished to a distant castle, William makes every effort to keep his promise.
September 29, 2020
5+ stars & 7/10 hearts. I love this little short story so much!! William is simply amazing. I love him and his dependability, & courage, & honour, & loving care, & faith. He’s just one of my top 5 favourite characters ever. <33 There were some typos, punctuation mistakes, & too-modern language, but the story was amazing, and the setting was pretty well done. I loved the lessons of the story too—let go and trust God. And I loved the brother-sister relationship!! (Eleanor is so cute & Will is so sweet to her!) And the cover!! <3 Gorgeous!! This is definitely a book I recommend and I can't wait to learn more about William in “Adventures & Adversities” and the rest of this series!!
A Favourite Quote: “God would be his strength no matter what happened. He would be like his favorite character in the Bible, ... Joseph. He would do his best and leave the rest up to God. Men might mean this for evil, but God would use for His good.”
A Favourite Humourous Quote: “[T]he soldier rolled his eyes. ‘If it isn’t enough that I am fighting a child, I must fight one that is a philosopher.[’]”
A Favourite Quote: “God would be his strength no matter what happened. He would be like his favorite character in the Bible, ... Joseph. He would do his best and leave the rest up to God. Men might mean this for evil, but God would use for His good.”
A Favourite Humourous Quote: “[T]he soldier rolled his eyes. ‘If it isn’t enough that I am fighting a child, I must fight one that is a philosopher.[’]”
June 8, 2017
A couple of uses of 'Okay', but generally a good, short read, telling the story of William, the protaganist from the author's first book Adventures and Adversities.
October 3, 2019
The main character in this short story, William, was a pleasure to get acquainted with! :D I don't read/listen to many medieval books, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one! It left me eager for the next book (Adventures and Adversities). The characters were easy to connect with from the start!
I so appreciated being able to listen to this book without cringing at any of the content. I'm definitely going to share with my younger brothers--Will is a great role model of doing what's right even when it means making personal sacrifices. The author did a great job of making you care about the characters, and I loved the different values that were woven into the plot--children are a blessing, honouring parents, and boys protecting girls.
I did think that the story ended rather abruptly, but I realise that this is a kind of "prologue" to the main series. All in all it was a short and sweet story that I would listen to again. :)
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*
I so appreciated being able to listen to this book without cringing at any of the content. I'm definitely going to share with my younger brothers--Will is a great role model of doing what's right even when it means making personal sacrifices. The author did a great job of making you care about the characters, and I loved the different values that were woven into the plot--children are a blessing, honouring parents, and boys protecting girls.
I did think that the story ended rather abruptly, but I realise that this is a kind of "prologue" to the main series. All in all it was a short and sweet story that I would listen to again. :)
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*
July 9, 2017
I hate giving just two stars to an author, but this story was really hard to read. This was the first story that I have read so poorly edited that I had to stop to try and decipher some sentences to figure out she was trying to say. Usually I can skip over a word left in and go on, but words were left in in the oddest places or not put in at all. And the spelling was really bad. Ladder was latter several times. The third grade teacher in me was cringing. Whoever did or didn't edit this story should never have let it get published in this state. The story itself was okay. I didn't feel like it told me much more than I already knew about William from the series, at least his character. I felt like I was reading something I had already read before. I'm sorry Sarah, I loved your series, but this just didn't live up to that.
August 10, 2018
I listened to the audio of this short story. While I enjoyed the story greatly, the narrative voice was a little hard to follow at times, and the record was not as clean as I'm used to -- static in places, the different character voices got muddied somewhat, and there were a few instances where words had to have been confused. 'She' instead of 'he', for example.
The story itself was sweet and honest, a bit short -- but I have to go read the novel that follows!
4.5 stars for the story, 3 stars for the audio presentation.
The story itself was sweet and honest, a bit short -- but I have to go read the novel that follows!
4.5 stars for the story, 3 stars for the audio presentation.
January 14, 2020
Eleanor is now 5, William her older brother is 11. William has been called back from knight training to their home, Coraway Castle. Why?
This is the first book in a series of short stories. Whilst the story was a delight to read in so many ways there are FAR TOO MANY editing errors for a short book so extremely frustrating and totally put me off. Even though I have the rest of the books I will not be reading them :( I downloaded this book on to my Kindle. I was not required to write a review but chose to do so. Thanks, Liz
This is the first book in a series of short stories. Whilst the story was a delight to read in so many ways there are FAR TOO MANY editing errors for a short book so extremely frustrating and totally put me off. Even though I have the rest of the books I will not be reading them :( I downloaded this book on to my Kindle. I was not required to write a review but chose to do so. Thanks, Liz
May 15, 2017
Review to come! :)
May 26, 2017
Admirable was a short and sweet story I read on my lunch break. I have not read the main books in the Tales of Taelis series and this story did a great job in piquing my curiosity for the full series bc I fell in love with the characters, and want to know what happens to them!!
Written for a reader who really liked the character of William in the main series, Admirable gives us insight into William's background. This story was sweet, had a simple yet important message, and can most certainly stand alone. However- having read it, I now want to know his full story!
Written for a reader who really liked the character of William in the main series, Admirable gives us insight into William's background. This story was sweet, had a simple yet important message, and can most certainly stand alone. However- having read it, I now want to know his full story!
July 6, 2023
This would normally fall in the zone of 'story was just okay, but would recommend it for very young readers'. Basically, good substance but the writing just didn't move me.
However, since I'm a sucker for an awesome older brother character, and this is one of the best awesome older brother characters I've read, I ended up enjoying this story quite a lot.
This story contains low levels of violence and injury, very appropriate to a children's adventure story, as well as references to death, and what could be described as intense bullying, or alternatively .
However, since I'm a sucker for an awesome older brother character, and this is one of the best awesome older brother characters I've read, I ended up enjoying this story quite a lot.
This story contains low levels of violence and injury, very appropriate to a children's adventure story, as well as references to death, and what could be described as intense bullying, or alternatively .
August 13, 2016
I'm so glad to see short stories being released in the Tales of Taelis series! Now I can see all the more of the characters I fell in love with in the novels.
In this short story, we get to explore more into the character of William, whom we met in Adventures and Adversities. The reader gets to find out more about his past, the things in life which drive him, his beliefs, and about his protectiveness of his sister.
Any cons? None. But... there are a lot of grammatical errors throughout the book, which sometimes distracts the reader from the story.
Overall, it's a solid story. I don't think it really matters if you read Admirable or the novel Adventures and Adversities first, but I really liked being able to read the "big" story in A&A first, and then read this short one for some backstory. Either way works though.
It's good, clean fiction!
In this short story, we get to explore more into the character of William, whom we met in Adventures and Adversities. The reader gets to find out more about his past, the things in life which drive him, his beliefs, and about his protectiveness of his sister.
Any cons? None. But... there are a lot of grammatical errors throughout the book, which sometimes distracts the reader from the story.
Overall, it's a solid story. I don't think it really matters if you read Admirable or the novel Adventures and Adversities first, but I really liked being able to read the "big" story in A&A first, and then read this short one for some backstory. Either way works though.
It's good, clean fiction!
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August 24, 2018My Favorite Character is William: Loyal, Protective, Honorable, Faithful.
Thoughts: This is an incredible story of loving your enemies! I enjoyed how William was so caring of his baby sister. Admirable is a sweet story of caring siblings, forgiveness, trust in God, being honorable, and faithful. The whole story is an example of forgiving your enemies. William is one of my favorite characters of Miss Holman.
My Verse for this story: Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; King James Version.
I received this book in exchange for my honest review. (And I am truly happy to provide it! :-) )
Thoughts: This is an incredible story of loving your enemies! I enjoyed how William was so caring of his baby sister. Admirable is a sweet story of caring siblings, forgiveness, trust in God, being honorable, and faithful. The whole story is an example of forgiving your enemies. William is one of my favorite characters of Miss Holman.
My Verse for this story: Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; King James Version.
I received this book in exchange for my honest review. (And I am truly happy to provide it! :-) )
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