$5 Friday eReads

Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting Kindle Edition

Robert McKee

 
This is an excellent book on story craft at a great price, if you want it for Kindle. I bought it a long time ago in hardback. This was one of books I cut my writing teeth on in terms of understanding plot and structure. This reminds me that I should reread it again soon. If you’re curious about my list of other “GOTO” craft books check out my writer’s resources page.

Straight and True: A Regency Novella

Justice Joy

 
This is another very sweet/clean romance set in the Regency about misplaced and seemingly unrequited love of the “Will the heroine get the guy she deserves and not the one she wants?” variety. Beyond the trope, Joy does a great job of using the world and the characters to draw the reader in and takes them on a journey following a couple well-matched in wit, intelligence and emotional maturity. I thought the archery scenes were wonderfully reminiscent of Jane Austen’s Emma.

Written In My Heart

Caroline Linden

 
Some might consider $.99 for less than 50 pages overpriced, however Linden crafts a finely-tuned story that took me on an emotional journey. Sweet & clean, we hope against hope for this heroine’s hero to come home from war, since we see through his eyes, just how much her letters have meant to him and the other soldiers on the front lines. A nice diversion from the usual noble characters, this story of childhood friendship evolving into love gives a look into the every day people.

Breakaway (Portland Storm Book 1)

Catherine Gayle

 
Trigger warning: This is the story of a rape survivor overcoming her own personal triggers.

It wasn’t spelled out quite that clearly in the book’s blurb and I might have shied away from a great read if it had been, but early on in the text it’s clear what happened and what’s going to happen. I thought it was well-handled and well-written, but I’m lucky to have no personal experience to judge against. YMMV.

I was rooting for this couple the whole time and I suspect the timeline was too short to be very realistic, but I was willing to suspend that disbelief to go along for the ride. This is the intro book to Gayle’s 13 book Portland Storm series and it definitely sets a high bar. I haven’t read any of the others, but will probably pick up books 2 and 3 because of the characters.