Wildwing by Emily Whitman

Wildwing by Emily Whitman
When Addy is swept back in time, she couldn't be happier to leave her miserable life behind. Now she's mistaken for Lady Matilda, the pampered ward of the king. If Addy can play her part, she'll have glorious gowns, jewels, and something she's always longed for—the respect and admiration of others. But then she meets Will, the falconer's son with sky blue eyes, who unsettles all her plans.
From shipwrecks to castle dungeons, from betrothals to hidden conspiracies, Addy finds herself in a world where she's not the only one with a dangerous secret. When she discovers the truth, Addy must take matters into her own hands. The stakes? Her chance at true love….and the life she's meant to live. (summary from Author's website)

I do not know if I like the fact that the author wrote a time-travel novel that basically ignored the fact that going back in time changes the future. Fun to enjoy her historical medieval world without worrying about complications of a distorted time-line, but on the other hand how can you not logically assess the implications of telling people about agricultural innovations that happen 50 to 100 years later? Eh, I’m sure opinions will vary widely on the treatment of time travel stories. Just know that this time travel novel is very light handed with the science involved and gauge whether you are a reader that will enjoy it anyway.

The romance was kind of so-so for me. It was little bit sappy and I was really annoyed with how unprincipled the main character was when she discovered she loved William, thehawking boy. She basically asked him to get involved with her when she was betrothed to marry someone else, and wanted to turn the relationship into an affair after she got married, which was just an stupid idea all around. Not to mention how that is a horrible way to treat the guy she truly loves. He totally deserved better.

Still I was caught up in the story enough to wonder how exactly she was going to get out of her betrothal to Sir Hugh so she could be with William without getting half the cast of characters tortured, maimed, or killed in battle. Those are some pretty severe consequences for your choices and so made for good reading. It was interesting to learn more about hawking, as it seems it was sort of a medieval sport.


I think Whitman has beautiful prose and I loved reading many of her descriptions in the book. Despite, my few little nitpicks I found the book to be entertaining and enjoyable.

Visit the author's website

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

Persephone lives in a beautiful vale with her mother Demeter, surrounded by exquisite beauty. Yet, her mother can’t seem to realize that she has grown up, and Persephone can think of nothing worse than living for eternity as a child. Every plant, tree, and creature around her has the chance to grow, but she is stuck until her mother recognizes that she has become a woman, which isn’t going to happen any time soon.

Then a stranger enters the vale, dark and mysterious, with a magnificent chariot of flying horses. They meet often without her mother knowing, and then Persephone finds out that Hades lord of the dead has been wooing her. She is surprised that such a great god would notice her, and she is sure that he is only toying with her as Zeus would. Yet, Hades really loves her, and she really loves him, and though she is uncertain about ruling the underworld as his queen she decides to follow him into the realm of the dead.

Yet, she soon learns that things aren’t right on Earth, and that her choices have a consequence that she hadn’t expected. Can she stop her mother’s wrath before everything on Earth is lost?

Okay, those people who have read for a long time know that I love mythology and especially the underworld. So, gotta say I loved this book! It is time for Persephone to set the record straight. This is the story from her point of view, and in it she wasn’t kidnapped by Hades, but went with him willingly. I think this was a fun read, and I really liked how the author portrayed the underworld not as a dead thing, but as a place where things begin to grow. It was a place with dangers and perils, but it wasn’t desolate or depressing at all. I also like how we get to see Persephone decide what she wants to do with her powers as a queen and as a goddess. Hades lets her do her own thing in the underworld, and supports her decisions as she tries to help the shades who are newly come across the river Styx.

I really like how the myth has been changed into to viewpoint of a teenage girl voice, but still retains the old mythology themes. Order versus Chaos, gods versus mortals, cycles of life and death, all that deep myth stuff that helps us to understand the world around us and appreciate it more. Really good read for mythology, classics, and fantasy lovers! I would recommend.

Emily Whitman's Author website