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A White Shell  by Celeritas 4 Review(s)
PuddumReviewed Chapter: 8 on 12/26/2010
Oh boy, it's been a little while since I got the chance to read this story but I'm glad I've found it again. It's just as engaging and enchanting as the prequel, but now as it's in progress, I can't just plow through it in a matter of days and I actually have to wait for an update-- which I hope comes soon! I can't wait for more of Kira's wonderful renditions of Shire history. As well as the adorable Kira/Tom tension. :P

Author Reply: I'm up in my neck in Yule obligations until the new year, and then we'll see about my starting the next chapter... Believe me, I don't like the delays any more than you do, but I'm a lot busier than I was when I was working on KAtM.

Also, call the Kira/Tom tension "adorable" around either of them and I can't be held liable for any damages they do to you. :P

VirtuellaReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/14/2010
I was so glad to see an alert for this story, and I was not disappointed. What an amazing story about Fredegar and Jessamine! And then, just when I thought you were winding up the chapter in a leisurely way, you spring this on poor Kira! And there was me thinking that her mother was mellowing a bit...

Author Reply: Thank you so much, Virtuella!!

I was hung up for a long time on what sort of a Fatty story Kira was going to tell (which was part of the long delay for the previous chapter), until the idea for a saner, more hobbity version of the "dead but not really dead" tragedies slipped into my mind. There is something people expect from a story about Fredegar Bolger and I knew Kira wasn't going to tell it!

And goodness, it's been a while since Kira's had this kind of excitement, hasn't it? Quite frankly I don't think Mother's character could actually change by a sort of gradual mellowing--there'd be pushback at some point, or some sort of confrontation, to get everything out in the open. And that's not just because it makes good drama; it's in her character.

Hopefully the twist at the end of this chapter will start to get the wheels of the plot turning just a little bit faster...

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/13/2010
Oh dear. Oh dear. *shakes head*

You know, honestly Rosemary is so pigheadedly determined that she and she alone is right, that she is doing everything she can to drive Kira into the very sorts of things she'd rather prevent.

I know she thinks she's doing what's right for her daughter, but she's not a stupid person-- why this particular blind spot of hers is so hard for her to see through, I can't imagine.

I *wish* Kira was defiant enough to confront her mother outright, instead of allowing herself to be driven to dishonesty.

I fear that one day Rosemary will reap a very bitter harvest.

*sigh*

You know, I really am invested in this story when I can work up this much indignation over a character...


Author Reply: I know. I know. Hobbits can be so stubborn, though, and Kira happens to come from two very stubborn parents, and Rosemary is particularly good at convincing herself that other people (in this case, the Brandybucks) are to blame for tragedies. And I think she's seen the world this way for so long that she doesn't know how to stop, and the fact that she's the only one raising her daughter means that she can't afford to take another perspective.

I wish Kira would let all of this come out into the open, too, but the aftermath of that is so intimidating, and she could have so much to lose by it. She's in a very constrained position in her society, much more constrained than she would be in our day and age, and she doesn't see herself as having much choice, except wait till she's of age.

Which is not to say that Kira will take this particular shock standing down. There are some things that even she cannot put up with.

Be strong as a mountain, Kira, for you have many enemies about you...



I hope you liked the rest of the chapter, though! The one downside to waiting to finish a chapter until after some sort of great game-changing event takes place is that reader reactions to that often overshadow all others!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/13/2010
That is a horrible bargain for her mother to make! What a terrible thing! Aargh!

I enjoyed the description of the Oak Barrel Inn and the luncheon, and the tale told of Fredegar and his beloved. A horrible fate for her family, though.

Author Reply: I know! I felt so evil posting this chapter!

I'm glad you enjoyed everything else, though. Thanks for the review!

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