YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Description: "This powerful historical fiction debut, set in medieval Wales, follows Cecily whose family is lured by cheap land and the duty of all Englishman to help keep down the “vicious” Welshmen, and Gwenhwyfar, a Welsh girl who must wait hand and foot on her new English mistress. As issues of prejudice, heritage, and occupation come to a head, both girls have to find a way to survive."

Me and Megan are going to read this, feel free to join us :) .

Anyone reading this one? I tried to start it, but it has been a busy two days. Hope to catch up with reading tomorrow during my snow day.

Yup, I started it. So far, it's pretty good. I like the Downtown Abby feeling to it ^^.
Do you want to join us Tara?

I am going to try.

YEY! I'm not going to be particularly fast with this so feel free to hop in. >.O
Wonder where Megan is.

I am glad you are not going too fast. I tend to have reading binges and fasts... Right now it feels like fasting season. Really pushing myself to read and so it has been slow going.

I read up to St. John's Day to Michaelmas Day.
(view spoiler)[ I can tell that this book is going to be about the characters more than action. The two characters Gwinny and Cecily have very different circumstances, but I think we will find that they will have some similarities. Right now I see that the big similarity is that they both seem to be very self-interested and are failing to see the hardships of the other.
I will be honest, at this point Cecily is really hard to like, but I think that part of the problem is that she does not understand the situation that she and her father are in. I think they are not as wealthy as she thinks that they are. I think that her father is holding something back. Interested to see what. (hide spoiler)]

"I read up to St. John's Day to Michaelmas Day."
Are you reading this on a kindle? How far is it by percentage? I see this book has no chapters so let's split it by percentages.
I'm so far 10% in. Yeah, sorry, I wanted to finish Rebel Angels today. I'll catch up to you tomorrow, just let me know how far you managed to read :) .

"I can tell that this book is going to be about the characters more than action."
I love books that concentrate more on the characters. A good character makes even a dull story seem interesting XD.

Cecily is a spoiled brat right now, but I think that's because she was never thought to be anything else than a lady in charge. The way she looks at everyone with disdain. She's the typical rich female that grew without a mother and pampered by her father. Yet, I must admire her will. She's not easily defeated :D .
About Gwinny, I barely just meet her and besides being defiant towards Cecily I saw her doing nothing else. so right now I don't have an opinion about her.

I wish they would be described, I wonder which one of the 2 is the blond one and who is the wicked and who is the just XD.

Tessa wrote: ""I read up to St. John's Day to Michaelmas Day."
Are you reading this on a kindle? How far is it by percentage? I see this book has no chapters so let's split it by percentages.
I'm so far 10% in...."

I am reading it in book form, so not having chapters has been making it difficult. It would be easier to report it by percentage though if I could.

I am wondering if maybe it won't be very clean cut. Cecily is very strong-willed... that is for sure. She is kind of a spoiled brat, but I can't help but wonder if she understood more about what is going on with her family she would be a little less witchy. I have not found out much more about it, but I do wonder about how her uncle coming back affected their wealth.

I read up to "Michaelmas to Christmas" which is approximately 42%.

(view spoiler)[ I am really glad that Cecily stood up for the couple who brought back the baby. The honesti seem to be pretty nasty to welsh and also to the novi. I don't get why they are so nasty to the novi since they are englishmen as well. I really can't stand Emmaline's cousin and SIL. They just seem to be really snobby for no reason at all. I thought her father becoming a burgess made him almost equal to what their families were. Mercer seems nice enough, but I can't help the feeling I have that he is going to turn out to be rotten.
I think it will be a lost cause for Cecily to try to impress the lot of them.
After that tea they had, I am hoping that Gwinny will see how awful the honesti were to Cecily too.
One of the things that still bothers me is that her father still seems really out of it. I don't think he truly understands how he is putting Cecily in such uncomfortable situations when he asks her to entertain the other women. I truly don't understand how they are so poor that he cannot afford to fix up the house or get her nicer clothes. I thought a burgess would have more wealth from his position. Still think that I am missing something about how they got in the position that they are now.
Finally, when it comes to Daffyd I don't understand the whole petition thing. So the Welsh can petition to join the town and get a house. Also, isn't the housekeeper his mother? I also am confused about why Gwinny does not like him or seems to find him distasteful... hopefully we will find out more about their past soon. (hide spoiler)]

Thank you! I'm still up to 10%. Sorry, will catch up tomorrow. Today was short-story day @.@.

I read up to Christmas to Assumption Eve... approximately 57%
(view spoiler)[ Aha!! I knew that Mercer guy was going to be bad news! I love that Gwinny poured all that stuff on him. What I hate is how Cecily overreacts to everything.
I also don't know what she is doing with Gruffydd. I feel like she kind of likes him and that is why she is always flirting with him. I do wish that Gwinny would just confront her about it rather than letting it happen.
I really think that Cecily just does not understand the repercussions.
Finally, her father is really grating on my last nerve. On one hand he makes her see that awful woman to learn how to be a lady, but then he does not understand why she acts the way she does and he does not hold up his end of the bargain to keep her dressed appropriately of the stature he says he wants to have. I just can't figure out what is going on with him and the housekeeper either. I find it kind of bothersome that he did not get upset about the dresses. I can understand not wanting to lose her since she is good at what he does, but he could at least make her understand that her help (Gwinny) cannot just ruin things in the household. It is perplexing.
Furthermore, he really does not explain things to Cecily. All she has is that awful woman to tell her how things work and so I find it hard to blame her when she does what the Romans do... so to speak. (hide spoiler)]

30% in. sorry, couldn't read more. Have work tomorrow ^^.
So far, Cecily makes me smile, even if she is a spoiled brat. Sometimes she's annoying, yet still funny XD.
Gwinny on the other hand has a very tragic story. I'm afraid this book will make me cry as well. I can feel the tension gaining up on the story.
I don't like how Gwinny talks. In short sentences, sometimes grammatically incorrect, like she's uneducated. Do you think this is intentional? Like she's trying to forget who she was?
I don't understand her relationship with Dafydd. It seems that she likes him, but doesn't want to get involved with him. Maybe because he's a rebel.
I also wonder if Gruffydd will end up with Cecily. It would be interesting, but from what I've read this story was not labeled as romance :( .

Tessa wrote: "30% in. sorry, couldn't read more. Have work tomorrow ^^.

So far, Cecily makes me smile, even if she is a spoiled brat. Sometimes she's annoying, yet still funny XD.
Gwinny on the other hand has a ..."


No worries. I am not moving as fast as I wanted to... Overbooked the 9th though so I am desperately trying to finish these two books up by then.

I can't tell what kind of education Gwinny had. It sounds like her family was fairly well to do at one point, but it is hard to say what kind of education was given to the girls before the English came.

I thought about that as well, I think that she is worried to be associated with him because of her father and she is worried for him or for herself and her family... maybe it is a little of both.

44% in
(view spoiler)[Emmaline's cousin and SIL are mean to her not because she's not like them, but because she's not as rich as them. They feel they are entitled to see everyone not as rich as they are under them and laugh as they see fit. Emmaline I guess is just a little too young to be as vain and bitter as the other 2. I liked how she gave them the biscuits that felt on the floor *snickers*.
Yeah, Mercer seems nice, if you don't take into account the fact that he wanted to look under her skirt on that ladder...
Not much about Gwinny right now, or why it's best for her to pretend she's living with a husband than with a brother :( . (hide spoiler)]
I can finish this book with you till the 9th. It's the weekend so I can read more now :) .

60% in
(view spoiler)[OMG, I have such a love-hate relationship with Cecily right now. In a way I understand that she's just being childish with Gruffydd and doesn't understand the real trouble he could get into. I also don't think that her way of toying with a person is justifiable. So, the guy is proud, you can't just torment him like that. He did nothing to her. I hate her for being such a bitch to him. She keeps claiming that justice will be served, but she doesn't understand that justice must be served for her wrongdoings as well. It pains me to see her bad behavior as acceptable.
I also think Gwinny can't say that Gruffydd is her brother. I think they are in some sort of hiding. That someone will hurt them if they found out who they are. (hide spoiler)]

71%: 1294 ASSUMPTIONTIDE TO SAINT JOHN'S EVE
(view spoiler)[So, it seems that Cecily does know what could happen with Gruffydd if she if found. And claiming that she would not let it go that far... god. Again, she wants to deliver justice to everyone but herself. Grrr...
The part with the hanging was surreal. However mad I wanted to be at her for the way she thought I couldn't stop laughing when she decided to take a rotten cabbage with her to throw. God, but she is childish.
I have a bad feeling Gruffydd will be caught with the rest of the rebels, or what they are, it's still not clear to me.
Also, did Gwinny's mother die, or did she not? that part was not clear to me. This freaking old english is so freaking hard to read and follow. >.< (hide spoiler)]

80%: 1294 MICHAELMAS TO CHRISTMAS EVE
(view spoiler)[As I was expecting, de Coucy was not found guilty. But with war coming on, I wonder if the Welshmen will want to fight for such an unjust king.
For a second there, when she panicked about the war I thought she was afraid for Gruffydd, guess not. Donno why I keep imagining a love interest between the 2. I'm clearly delusional (hide spoiler)]

I'll read the remaining 20% tomorrow. Hope you can finish this book before you need to return it :( .

Sorry! I did not have a chance to check in yesterday.
I did finish the book though.

Final thoughts...
(view spoiler)[Wow!! I was kind of disappointed in the way Gwinny treated Cecily at the end. Although, it is what happens more times than not, when someone who is treated badly gains power they often become just as bad as their oppressors once they get it. I was glad Cecily was able to persevere throughout her time with Gwinny though.
Cecily showed more times or not that she tried to do the right thing. In a small way she was able to show Gwinny and Griffith that she was different and not like the other honesti. I felt so bad for her when they killed her father. I knew something big was going to happen once her father agreed to be on the jury for De Councy though. I just knew that was going to be the straw that was going to break the camel's back. (hide spoiler)]

Tessa wrote: "60% in
OMG, I have such a love-hate relationship with Cecily right now."

I did not think about the hiding part... (view spoiler)[I was just thinking that they were more under the microscope because of who their father was so she was nervous that if Cecily said something about her brother then the repercussions would be worse for him. Like they would be harder on him than they would be on someone else. (hide spoiler)]

Tessa wrote: "71%: 1294 ASSUMPTIONTIDE TO SAINT JOHN'S EVE
So, it seems that Cecily does know what could happen with Gruffydd if she if found. And claiming that she would not let it go that far... god. Again, sh..."

Her mom is still alive, but I think that she is pretty bad off.

Tessa wrote: "80%: 1294 MICHAELMAS TO CHRISTMAS EVE
As I was expecting, de Coucy was not found guilty. But with war coming on, I wonder if the Welshmen will want to fight for such an unjust king.
For a second t..."

You were not the only one... (view spoiler)[ I was thinking that there was something there too. I liked that he defended her against his sister though.
So here is the thing... when you finish the book... Can you tell me what you think happened to Griffith? I cannot tell... (hide spoiler)]

Yeah, I got the part about her mother being alive later on XD.
(view spoiler)["Can you tell me what you think happened to Griffith? I cannot tell..."
Well, after I finished the book I was so confused that I ended up reading the historical notes of the author. It seems that the revolt was because of the famine and the way the burges continued to suppress the welsh even in those bad times. The revolt was short lived and there were no executions at the end of it. I think Griffith joined the king's army for the pay and Cecily returned to her property and rebuilt it. And she was part of the new generation of burges that will not treat the welsh so unjust. That's what the historical notes hinted at. (hide spoiler)]

I was still annoyed by the writing style and the unfinished ending so this got only 3 stars from me :(.