This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite
Ecrivain by Elizabeth Dunlap is book 1 in the Ecrivain Academy series. We are introduced to Calliope, who secretly enjoys writing, but has little belief in her own talent. After she enters a short story competition to officially be told she has no talent, she tells her family about it (under less than perfect circumstances), and as a punishment for being so silly – after all, writing is a waste of precious time – Calliope is sent to a boarding school in France of all places. Much to the delight of her bratty brother! At first, Calliope is distraught. She has to leave her only friend behind and doesn’t speak French. When she arrives, however, she learns that the Ecrivain Academy is not what her parents thought it would be: it’s a school for writers, and the head of it is Calliope’s favorite author. She can’t believe her luck but soon finds out that life with that many other wannabe writers can be anything but pleasant. It can even be deadly!
It has been a while since I was drawn into a book’s world as quickly as with Ecrivain by Elizabeth Dunlap. A great idea that was written by someone who knew how to tell it. Of course, boarding school plots are nothing new, but the idea of a boarding school for future writers with different houses, according to the genre, was a nice twist. I only would have liked a Tolkien house, for a proper fantasy representation. The characters were well written and represented the wide variety of what an author can be like. After all, writers – be it novelists or poets – are all just people, all very different, with their own attitudes, ideals, and ideas. Of course, there are some stereotypes, but poets deserve it (sorry, not sorry). This novel was a truly enjoyable read, and I finished it within two nights of reading. I’m looking forward to the next volume in the series. I usually hate cliffhangers, but this one wasn’t executed in a way that makes you want to throw the book at the author. I wish a school like that would truly exist, and not just for kids, minus all the rather disturbing developments, and with a Tolkien house for fantasy writers, obviously.
