The NerdHerd Reads: Jessica L. Brooks

Showing posts with label Jessica L. Brooks. Show all posts

Sunday, October 19, 2014

By Sun and Candlelight {by Jessica L. Brooks}

Title: By Sun and Candlelight [novella]
Author: Jessica L. Brooks
Series: Flora, #1.5
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Received from author

A threat, a missing book, a traitor, and an attack. Even when you choose the light, things aren't always so black and white when they involve matters of the heart.
Rowan has some decisions to make.
Told in Rowan’s point of view, By Sun and Candlelight (Flora, 1.5) gives you a new view into the characters and daily happenings at Castle Lennox and bridges the gap between If I Speak True (Flora, 1) and Open Thy Heart (Flora, 2)

Check out my review of If I Speak True here and Open Thy Heart here.

Rowannnn! (And by that we all know I mean Briscooooe!) I thought this was a great little novella, told from Rowan's point of view, that really added to the story happening in this series. Now, it doesn't have to be read in order to still understand what happens in the books, but it was nice.

I'm very glad that this was from Rowan's POV, since he is still such a mysterious character. We get to see what he is thinking, how he feels. Rowan is nearly of age, and the heir to the throne. That comes with a lot of responsibilities.

It was nice to see Ambrosia and all its workings from someone who grew up there, as opposed do an outsider (sorry, Dahlia). We get to see how Rowan feels about it, how he is learning to step up to being the leader that his people expect him to be. Although the events that happened are rehashed in Open Thy Heart for Dahlia's benefit, as to not miss out on any plot happenings, it was nice to read the first person account of what actually happened.

And Clementine! Aww. (You have to actually read the story to find out about this.) And yes, more Rowan means more Briscoe ;) (Am I the only one who cares?)

This novella was a sweet little story that gives a deeper insight to Ambrosia and the characters there, especially Rowan. While you don't have to read it, I would definitely recommend it.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18755289-if-i-speak-true

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21520230-by-sun-and-candlelight

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21854134-open-thy-heart

Friday, October 17, 2014

Open Thy Heart {by Jessica L. Brooks}

Title: Open Thy Heart

Author: Jessica L. Brooks

Series: Flora, #2

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Received via author

The secrets just keep coming.
It’s summer in Shaver and, frankly, Dahlia Kennedy is bored. Even though she and Eva are throwing a party for David and she gets to visit Rowan in Ambrosia easier on account of summer hours, it seems like senior year is never going to come. Worse yet, it’s looking like the one thing she’s planned on doing for forever isn’t going to happen.
Cue Dahlia’s Embarrassing Incident: the tipping point that seems to shift everything into a new direction. David’s acting weird. Something happens to Rowan. Dahlia’s forced to ask the least likely person ever for help. A secret is blown wide open.
Conflict between the Lennox Rochforts and the Townsends grows more and more out of control until so much is going on in Ambrosia, Dahlia can barely keep up with life at home. Frustrated with trying to keep track of who knows what, Dahlia continues fighting to help the people she loves, and slowly, the truth is exposed.
Crazy thing is, she had no idea about any of it. And it changes everything she’s ever known.

Check out my review of If I Speak True here and By Sun and Candlelight here.

First, can we just talk about the covers for this series? Like seriously, they are so amazing. Anyway, Open Thy Heart was a great continuation, with just as much intrigue, interest, and uniqueness as in the first book.

I still had some of the same problems with Dahlia that I had in the first book, as she was slightly annoying and I found myself unable to relate to her or, well, really like her that much. She was so narrow-focused, seeing things only through her perspective and yelling at everyone about things before finding out the truth. While I realize having people hide things from you so much is really freaking' annoying, not everyone is trying to do you a disservice. Just calm down and find out the facts.

I found Rowan to be not as dynamic in this one as he was in the first one as well. This may have had to do with the fact that this story focused more on the political happenings rather than just him + Dahlia and we didn't see as much of him. But we also did see other sides to him, such as the leader he really is, and saw him truly as The Prince instead of just a boy, so that was also nice. We also got to see a different side of David, which was better than just wanting to yell at him all the time ;)

The plot did pick up in this one. There was still a few places where it lagged, but it definitely kept me interested. We got to see more of Ambrosia, which was awesome. We definitely got to see some more of the Ambrosia side characters and how they all connected. I will say, some of the things happened too fast, or I was confused as to why things were happening/why they were important, especially at the end. But just a little confusion, not enough to deter me from reading.

And the things that were revealed at the end? Definitely did not see that coming. Open Thy Heart is a unique story that will definitely keep you guessing abut what is to come, and I can't wait to see where this series goes.

This review can also be found on

Friday, February 21, 2014

If I Speak True {by Jessica L. Brooks}

Title: If I Speak True

Author: Jessica L. Brooks

Series: Flora #1

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Dahlia Kennedy's sixteenth birthday marks a decade of mysterious dahlias arriving and strange, lonely dreams of being in a forest. The only difference this birthday, however, is that for the first time, someone is there with her. And he's practically from a whole other era.
The more often Dahlia visits Rowan in his land of Ambrosia, the stronger their connection grows. But... is Ambrosia real? Is he real? What is going on between the two of them, exactly, and why does he insist that she keep it to herself?
As secrets usually go, however, it's only a matter of time before everything comes out. And when Dahlia finds out the truth of who Rowan is, who she is, and how he really feels -- it’s beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

Can I start by talking about the cover? I don't know what it is, but I just really love it.

Anyways... If I Speak True was a unique, creative, and fun story. Dahlia is turning sixteen when the story opens. And like every year for the past ten years, a dahlia appears. She doesn't know from whom, she doesn't know why. But every year, it is there. That night, like most other nights, she dreams of a different world. A world she thought was just her overactive imagination...until Rowan appears. Now, Ambrosia is so much more than Dahlia ever thought.

Since I liked this book, let's start out by getting the things I didn't like out of the way. First, the freaking out. I realize that all that's going on is pretty weird. I know that she said she's lived with her mother's paranoia for so long, it's affected her too. But there was a lot that seemed unnecessary and childish.

Also, her mother. Some of it was explained by her going crazy after their father died, but some of it I just didn't understand. And her sisters. Did they like her? Not like her? Were they jerks? Not jerks? I was really confused as to the whole family dynamic here.

Next, Dahlia. No, not her in general. But there were times when she was really immature and...annoying. I realize she's a sixteen-year old girl, but sometimes she would just get on my nerves. The whole getting-mad-at-Rowan-and-stomping-away act got old real fast.

And the pacing could have been done better. The story lags a lot in the middle, only to pile information on at the end. I think it definitely could have picked up, explained more in the middle instead of what seemed like nothing happening.

But other than that, this was actually a very good story. The world-building in Ambrosia was done very well. The characters were well-portrayed, especially Rowan and the Queen. The banter between Dahlia and her Shaver friends was fun and humorous. I liked the relationships between the characters, both in Shaver and in Ambrosia. The characters were believable, because you could relate to them. (But can we get more Briscoe in the next book?)

Although it does have some flaws, If I Speak True was a very enjoyable read, one that I would definitely recommend.

Psst- check out Jessica's dream cast for the Ambrosia side characters!

I received an eARC from the author in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion in any way.

This review can also be found on

Rachel Marie's book recommendations, liked quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)

Monday, February 3, 2014

{Blog Tour} If I Speak True Dream Cast!

Hey guys! Today, I am super excited to be part of the blog tour for If I Speak True. I think dream casts are so much fun, so I can't wait to see how Jessica imagined her characters while writing them. So here's Jessica with her dream cast for the Ambrosian side of the characters in If I Speak True!

Dream Cast:

Hi, guys! Today I get to introduce you to my Ambrosian “dream cast” for IF I SPEAK TRUE, and I am SO excited! :) First, I’d like to explain that I began writing/casting the characters a few years ago, and a lot of times the movies/shows I used for inspiration were also a few years old at that time, so while some of these people are still at the appropriate character age in real life, many are now technically older than their character counterparts. Still, I hope the photos speak for themselves, as their features and gestures are what inspired me to write them as they are. And now, without further ado…

Rowan Rochfort:
a young Sean Faris

Sean Faris has been in quite a few things over the years, but the one that sold me was Forever Strong. If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it! Sadly, Dahlia doesn’t really get to see much of this sweet face for quite a while, but we do, so woo-hoo!

Hawthorne Rochfort:
Henry Cavill

I first saw Henry in Tristan and Isolde, then The Count of Monte Cristo. He has this sense of surety about him that can work in either a heroic or villainous way; not to mention a charming smile that, when used correctly, can probably get anyone to do whatever he wants. Which works well for Hawthorne, as Dahlia can’t exactly put her finger on how genuine he really is.

Tuberose:
Michelle Trachtenberg

Oh, that look. Change that bit of an upward curve of a smile into more of a glare, and that’s Tuberose’s signature icy cold stare. ;)

Queen Sage:
Vera Farmiga

Have you ever seen The Boy in the Striped Pajamas? Ugh. Vera is a wonderful, gorgeous actress. She is *the* perfect Queen Sage.

Briscoe Caddock:
a young James McAvoy

The perfect sidekick, protector, and friend. Yep. That’s Briscoe.

Daphne Caddock:

Brie Larson

Durian Blythe:

Ben Foster

I imagine Ben as Durian with tall, with broad shoulders & longer, bright red hair. If you’ve ever seen Ben, he can do a mean serious face. And that’s what Durian does most of the time, let me tell ya. ;)

And there ya have it! The main characters in Ambrosia for IF I SPEAK TRUE. If you’d like to see more photos that inspired me whilst writing this book, check out my board on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/coffeelvnmom/if-i-speak-true-flora-1-available-12714/ Thanks for having me, Rachel! :)

Photo credits:

Ben Foster: Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images

And thank YOU, Jessica for sharing your inspiration and dream cast with us! And make sure to visit Chasm of Books for the Shaver side dreamcast!

Read my review of If I Speak True here

The Book:

Title: If I Speak True

Author: Jessica L. Brooks

Series: Flora, #1

Published: January 27, 2014

Purchase: Amazon

Dahlia Kennedy's sixteenth birthday marks a decade of mysterious dahlias arriving and strange, lonely dreams of being in a forest. The only difference this birthday, however, is that for the first time, someone is there with her. And he's practically from a whole other era.

The more often Dahlia visits Rowan in his land of Ambrosia, the stronger their connection grows. But... is Ambrosia real? Is he real? What is going on between the two of them, exactly, and why does he insist that she keep it to herself?

As secrets usually go, however, it's only a matter of time before everything comes out. And when Dahlia finds out the truth of who Rowan is, who she is, and how he really feels -- it’s beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

The Author:

Jessica L. Brooks resides with her husband of over sixteen years, three awesome daughters, and a plethora of pets in Central California, where fog, frost, triple-digit heat and various items of produce arrive bountifully, depending on the season. She has an affinity for both coffee and owls, and loves to connect with fellow readers and writers on most social networks like Goodreads, Twitter and Pinterest. You can also connect with her on her blog, Let Me Tell You A Story.

Jessica shares reviews for her favorite books on Afterglow Book Reviews, spreads writing and author love for independently-published authors at Indie Ignites, and salutes all writers (no matter what stage in their writerly journey) at Operation Awesome.

IF I SPEAK TRUE, the first in the Flora series, will be available 1/27/14. PITY ISN'T AN OPTION (Cozenage, #1) is her debut novel.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for checking out my stop on this blog tour! Jessica is such a wonderful person, and I am so glad I got the chance to be part of it. I hope you check out her book, and enjoy it :)

Check out the rest of the stops on the tour!

January 27^th– Kristalyn Thornock at The Sarcastic Palmtree (Release Day/DVD giveaway)
January 27^th – Cassandra at Cassandra Lost in Books (Release Day)
January 27^th – Meg at Book Groupies (Release Day)
January 28^th– Kaitlin at Reading is My Treasure (Review)
January 28^th– Lisa at Dizneeee's World of Books
January 29^th– Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (Author Interview)
January 29^th – Cheyanne at Cheyanne Young (Author interview)
January 30^th– Eugenia at Chasm of Books (Author Interview and Review)
January 30^th – A. Kerr at Kerrific (Review)
January 31^st– Jenna (JL) at Avid Reader Musings (Writing Playlist)
January 31^st – Ella Johnson at Mymcbooks Blog (Spotlight/giveaway)
February 1^rd-Eugenia at Chasm of Books (Shaver dream cast)
February 3^rd– Heather Rosdol at Buried in Books (Review)
February 3^rd – Rachel at The NerdHerd Reads (Dream cast)
February 4^th– Penny at One Writer's Journey (Author Interview)
February 4^th – Dana at Dana Square (character interview)
February 5^th– Beverly at The Wormhole (Author interview and book promo spot)
February 5^th – Kaycee at My Crafty Zoo (Deleted scene and recipe)
February 6^th– Kimberly Lim at Kim's Reading Lounge (Review)
February 6^th – Dianne at Oops! I Read A Book Again (Review)
February 7^th– Janie Junebug at Women: We Shall Overcome (Guest Post)
February 7^th – Jodie at Books for Company (Lyrics written for If I Speak True)

February 7^th- Colleen at Cici's Theories (Plant meanings and their correlations to the characters)