Caddy
Rowland grew up in the Midwest with a stack of books that almost
reached the ceiling before she was five. Books, along with her vivid
imagination, have always been her closest friends.
She lives in Minnesota with her husband, who was her high school sweetheart. They are owned by two parrots. Yes, they can talk, and yes, they can bite! Melanie, the African Grey has such an extensive vocabulary that Caddy sometimes thinks Melly is preparing to become an author.
After over 20 twenty years in advertising sales, Caddy decided to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an author in 2011. There are four books planned for the Gastien series, and many other books in her head. Now, if only she can learn to type 2000 words a minute...
Her goal as an author is to make readers laugh, cry, think, and become intimately connected with her main characters. To her, a good main character stays in the mind long after the story has been read. They should become as real in the mind as the person next door.
In this both dark and hopeful first book, young Gastien Beauchamp begins his journey to Paris with tow goals in life. The first is to become an artist with his own studio, following his own rules. That is an almost impossible dream for a peasant.. Gastien has no money,no formal training, and is a naive eighteen year old fresh off the farm. Paris spits out talented men into the gutters every day. "Good" gets you nowhere. "Great" maybe gets you a bowl of soup.
The second is to become the greatest lover in France. That should be easy.. With his stunning looks, and his willingness to learn, the women of paris are about to be awakened in a way they have only dreamt about in the 19th century!
Gastien swears that he has no interest in love. Love would only take away his dreams. But he is innocent and does not realize that sex without love can be quite empty. Before he can learn that, he must face obstacles and heartaches that will threaten to destroy his very soul.
Insatiable, burning passion. Focus and drive. Raw, natural talent. Armed with those, Gastien is determined to succeed at any cost. Poor Gastien. If he could only know in advance what struggles lay before him, he might think twice about leaving home. However, he is young and full of hope. The dreams burn relentlessly inside of him, not allowing him a moments rest. And so the journey begins.
She lives in Minnesota with her husband, who was her high school sweetheart. They are owned by two parrots. Yes, they can talk, and yes, they can bite! Melanie, the African Grey has such an extensive vocabulary that Caddy sometimes thinks Melly is preparing to become an author.
After over 20 twenty years in advertising sales, Caddy decided to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an author in 2011. There are four books planned for the Gastien series, and many other books in her head. Now, if only she can learn to type 2000 words a minute...
Her goal as an author is to make readers laugh, cry, think, and become intimately connected with her main characters. To her, a good main character stays in the mind long after the story has been read. They should become as real in the mind as the person next door.
In this both dark and hopeful first book, young Gastien Beauchamp begins his journey to Paris with tow goals in life. The first is to become an artist with his own studio, following his own rules. That is an almost impossible dream for a peasant.. Gastien has no money,no formal training, and is a naive eighteen year old fresh off the farm. Paris spits out talented men into the gutters every day. "Good" gets you nowhere. "Great" maybe gets you a bowl of soup.
The second is to become the greatest lover in France. That should be easy.. With his stunning looks, and his willingness to learn, the women of paris are about to be awakened in a way they have only dreamt about in the 19th century!
Gastien swears that he has no interest in love. Love would only take away his dreams. But he is innocent and does not realize that sex without love can be quite empty. Before he can learn that, he must face obstacles and heartaches that will threaten to destroy his very soul.
Insatiable, burning passion. Focus and drive. Raw, natural talent. Armed with those, Gastien is determined to succeed at any cost. Poor Gastien. If he could only know in advance what struggles lay before him, he might think twice about leaving home. However, he is young and full of hope. The dreams burn relentlessly inside of him, not allowing him a moments rest. And so the journey begins.
My Review
Caddy Rowland will take you on a trip back in time to 19th Paris, where you have to be rich to have running water and electric lights. Where men and women starve to death in the streets on a daily basis., I felt like I was right there in the 19th Paris with Gastien. Gastien is a charming, handsome man that you will be drawn to. Caddy's writing style is very smooth and easy to follow. I was afraid with all the French words it would be confusing and hard to understand. But with glossary in the front, plus the footnotes at the bottom of the pages it was easy to follow right along with Gastien's story.
With such a great storyline, this book deserves to be put to the top of your to read list. But if you are the kind of person who is offended by strong sexual content and crude language then this is not the book for you. I know that as a writer, these things had to be written to show all the heartache and pain Gastien suffered. I have to admit, there was a part in the book I had to skip over because of all the detail and awkwardness of the situation. Don't take this the wrong way, I don't want to discourage you from reading this book, it just shows how great Caddy is at describing her story. I just felt that I should warn the faint of heart.
All in all Gastien Part1: The Cost of the Dream, is a very amazing story worth you time and attention. So on my 5 star scale I give Caddy Rowland 4 and a half stars :) Here are the links on Amazon to buy either the paperback issue or the Kindle version.
The time period of this book sounds fascinating! Great review.
ReplyDeleteStephanie and I wanted to let you know that we have tagged your blog in a book tag. Stop by our blog to see what it's all about : ) ~ Jess & Stephanie