Grace and Dignity

The Ark of the Sacred Scrolls

Young Adult - Fantasy - General
248 Pages
Reviewed on 09/14/2016
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Originally from Atlanta, GA, Laura Grody currently lives in Los Angeles with her own Prince Dignity. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Radio/TV/Film and a master’s in Linguistics, both from California State University, Northridge.

She spent several years in the entertainment industry as an assistant editor on movies such as Love Potion #9, Kalifornia, and When a Man Loves a Woman, and as an editor on the independent film Just Write. Then, her passion for nutrition inspired her to become a certified holistic nutrition practitioner through the University of Natural Health. In 2014, Laura created Totally Grody Health & Wellness and provides nutrition coaching as an affiliate of Nutrition Coach Network.

She speaks a little Italian, Spanish, and French – sometimes all in the same sentence - loves the LA Kings and Alias, and thinks Cardio Barre is the best workout in town!

Laura never intended to write a book, but when the urge struck to put her loves of language, linguistics and the Law of Attraction in one place, a story emerged. The end result is her first novel, Grace and Dignity: The Ark of the Sacred Scrolls. She is currently adapting the book into a screenplay, and also has plans for a Book 2 and 3 in the series.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite

The story begins in the Kingdom of Love, the day before the wedding of Prince Dignity and Princess Grace. But, the ominous Winds of Change came through the land, and everything changed. Prince Denial, the narcissistic cousin of Dignity, developed a devious plan to interfere with the marriage and future reign of this cherished couple.

Author Laura Grody takes the reader on an adventurous ride with her tale, Grace and Dignity: The Ark of the Sacred Scrolls. When Grace is told that Dignity was murdered, she reportedly died of a broken heart. Eventually, she is found to be alive – and if her death was a fabrication, was Dignity’s death a lie? Many characters are part of the tale, but each one’s characteristics is fittingly captured within his or her name. Metaphysical beliefs are cleverly intertwined within the tale. Princess Grace and Prince Dignity, as well as several other characters, have strong intuitive abilities; these are needed to restore the land. These beliefs are explained in the missing Sacred Scrolls.

Grace and Dignity: The Ark of the Sacred Scrolls by Laura Grody is a delightful romp in linguistics and puns. Even chapter titles are fun to read; some examples are “O Prince, Where Art Thou?”; “A Simple Twist of Faith”; and “A Perfect Brainstorm.” Not only is Ms. Grody an accomplished master of the English language, she is also a creative, engaging writer. She presents many metaphysical concepts in a refreshing and entertaining way. Let us hope this book is the beginning of other tales from this charming Kingdom.

Shani K.

If you hand me a book and tell me, “It’s a fairy tale twisted with a bit of mystery” I would snag it up and read it probably in one sitting. In the last year I’ve really enjoyed reading the different interpretations by authors with the fairy tale genre. All of the ones I have read are just perfect with the twisting. That is why I was excited to read Laura’s book.

I fell in love with Princess Grace right away. She has a sense of innocence about her that hasn’t been spoiled by life outside of her kingdom. She is exactly what you would expect her to be. I found it refreshing and wonderful that the love between her and Prince Dignity was developed well and treated with respect. Often times characters like theirs are more on the tortured soul side. I really enjoyed their story and adventures.

Laura took this tragedy that had occurred (or so they thought) and the missing prince and threw a spin that was perfect! I felt frustrated with Prince Denial for his stupidity and sad because I wasn’t ready to let Prince Dignity go. Obviously Princess Grace wasn’t either! With strength and bravery she fights to find out the truth of what has happened to not only the Prince but herself. What really happened while she was off somewhere during her blackout?

She is determined to figure it all out and to conquer evil with her goodness. She is feisty and a fighter. In all honesty, she’s much more of a warrior than some in the kingdom! She’s a Princess with heart but can cut you to the quick if you cross her. Especially with evil! I loved her character and her wit.

Prince Dignity has such pure love in his heart and he is ready to throw down and fight the good battle with Prince Denial and anyone who wishes to stand in his way. I felt kind of sorry for some of the characters during the more intense moments. Could you imagine being in the middle of those more intense moments? Prince Dignity has just that, a lot of dignity to go along with his bravery and understanding. He’s determined to get back to his beloved and help her to conquer evil in their kingdom.

I really thought it was clever that the characters names were a play on their description and/or personalities. It’s a creative way of adding intrigue to them quickly. I also loved the humor and wit that comes with some of the supporting characters. Well with them all really. Having humor in a book will always draw me in more than others. A really good book will have you going through so many emotions. This one did for me! I tend to read anything and as of late have read quite a few from the young adult genre. This is on my top five list of favorites.

I encourage you to pick this up, no matter what genre you read and enjoy it for what it is. A story of good vs evil, true love, bravery and respect. I loved it!

D. Abshire

Even as an adult, I still love fairy tales. Call me old fashion, but I like when good wins over evil and being able to removing myself from reality in a good book. Grace and Dignity is a wonderful little fairy tale with a great message and easy to follow, yet captivating plot. From the author’s choice of character names and locations, the word play throughout is whimsical yet meaningful to the story and helps really drive home the imagery of the story. Through the whole story the tone seems set in a time long past, yet so relevant to today. Author Laura Grody has a wonderful writing voice that makes this story entertaining, suspenseful and mysterious all while tying it up in a wonderful little fairy tale.

The story line pulls you in immediately with Prince Dignity’s murder and Princess Grace’s broken heart. Throughout the story the characters are interesting, well developed and the play between good and evil is wonderful. You begin loving the good characters and disliking the bad characters because they are so well written. When a book brings you in and you start identifying with the characters, you know it is a good book!

While this is an entertaining story, the morals and overall theme are well developed and significant. It is relevant to real life and how good overcomes evil. It suggests we are all capable of greatness if we learn to believe in ourselves, trust our instincts and practice honesty, kindness and integrity. I love this theme and the journey that the author takes the reader on. It can be a light read or you can delve into it and get a deeper meaning from the story.

Overall, a great story whether you are an older child or a young adult. I would definitely recommend this to others.

DOTRAZN

Laura Grody has delivered a clever fantasy love story that is riddled with delightful word play. Both literal and actual, our prince and princess represent Grace and Dignity in and of itself. In the kingdom of Love, we see the things that refer to the beauty in human nature as well as the opposite that brings us doom through our denial of reality. By using our emotions as names of characters and castles, we can see the obvious relationships each theme plays to the reader. By keeping things simple, Grody is able to tell a traditional story through her unconventional story telling. Things are kept light which makes it very enjoyable.

This is a lyrical triumph filled to the extremes of grandiose hyperbole but with subtle nuisances as well. You can choose to take it at face value as a cute way to replace the exhaustively labeled worlds often found in RR Martin or Tolkien novels into a simple subjective world. Or you can enjoy it on a deeper level, exploring how denial has played a role in our lives in stopping our own kingdom of Love from flourishing. These principles are universal which is why this book is really special.

Dianne, Tome Tender Blog

A fun, fantasy fairytale of love and treachery that will tease your senses, play with words, make you chuckle, break your heart and put it back together again! GRACE AND DIGNITY: THE ARK OF THE SACRED SCROLLS by Laura Grody is better than those fairy tales we read as children, because it is as grown up as we like to think we are, yet feeds our inner need for that dreamy happily ever after!

Princess Grace and Prince Dignity were in love. They were to be married and become the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Love, but it wasn’t meant to be when a horrible tragedy occurs on the night before their big day. It is said that Princess Grace dies from heartbreak at the news and the grieving kingdom falls into the clutches of the dastardly and devious Prince Denial, Dignity’s dark cousin. Woe is the kingdom’s new fate and gone is the joy and love shared by all as Prince Denial attempts to create a kingdom to his evil liking. And then, a miracle occurs…

Princess Grace is alive, but has lost her most precious memories, including those of her beloved Dignity. Being fluent in Pig Latin, when a mysterious message arrives, the Princess discovers that Dignity may be alive, and what else could she do but search for him in hopes of regaining what she has lost? This is her journey, a tale of loss, evil curses and mysterious strangers who must keep heartbreaking secrets in order to save both true love and a kingdom in turmoil!

Get ready for plays on words, brilliant quirks and an adventure into a world far, far away where once again, the power of true love and goodness of heart must conquer all to vanquish evil and re-create a glorious future for the Kingdom of Love. Laura Grody is nothing short of brilliant in the creation of this fabulous fantasy! Fun reading, filled with wit, endearing characters and a life changing quest! I have another highly recommended gem for the top of the pile that proves that just maybe, love is all we need!
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