[XGM]⇒ [PDF] Dancing and Doughnuts Once Upon a Western Volume 2 Rachel Kovaciny 9781725196803 Books

Dancing and Doughnuts Once Upon a Western Volume 2 Rachel Kovaciny 9781725196803 Books

Download As PDF : Dancing and Doughnuts Once Upon a Western Volume 2 Rachel Kovaciny 9781725196803 Books

Dancing and Doughnuts Once Upon a Western Volume 2 Rachel Kovaciny 9781725196803 Books

What a fun read! If you've been reading my reviews, you already know how greatly I admire Ms. Kovaciny's writing voice and style. She somehow manages to turn fairy tales into charming and believable Westerns! No fairy godmothers or magic of any kind, just fun plots including elements from the original tales and featuring charming characters in a very well-drawn Western setting.

Jedediah Jones, Civil War vet and drifter, tries his hand at solving a mystery for the prize of $50. But someone is highly motivated to prevent his success. First-person POV is this author's forte--her narrators always steal the show! I fell in love with Jedediah Jones within a few pages, he is that likable. The mystery is handled very well, and the side characters are all distinct characters who serve to progress the story.

Clever, fun reading, with some sweet, light romance. Highly recommended!


Tags : Dancing and Doughnuts (Once Upon a Western) (Volume 2) [Rachel Kovaciny] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Twelve Dancing Princesses... re-imagined. <div><br /><div>Fifty dollars just for asking a few questions? Jedediah Jones figures it must be his lucky day. What dancing and doughnuts have to do with anything,Rachel Kovaciny,Dancing and Doughnuts (Once Upon a Western) (Volume 2),CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1725196808,JUVENILE FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore Adaptations,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 4-6 Ages 9-11,PRINT ON DEMAND,Fiction Christian Western

Dancing and Doughnuts Once Upon a Western Volume 2 Rachel Kovaciny 9781725196803 Books Reviews

The drifter Jedediah Jones can’t believe his eyes $50 just for asking a few questions? Must be his lucky day!

Short on cash and long on ideas, Jedediah crosses the street to ask what the reward’s about. Turns out, some low-life has been dumpin’ whiskey or some such thing into the punch bowl at the local Dance Hall, where the twelve daughters of a musician serve up dances and doughnuts for a dollar an evening.

Now, any feller worth his salt can’t have that, so Jedediah gladly takes on the case, with his eye on that $50 reward for catching the villain… but along the way a dark-haired beauty starts to flutter her lashes at him (when she ain’t tellin’ him off), which is a real problem, because Jedediah likes ‘em blonde. Can he solve the head-scratcher, snatch up the reward, and get back to roamin’… or is there something fishy going on in this small town to keep him here?

Dancing & Doughnuts is the second volume in Rachel Kovaciny’s Western Re-Imaginings of popular Fairy Tales, this one inspired by the ‘Twelve Dancing Princesses.’ There’s worn-out slippers aplenty, a sour tavern owner, a suspicious mayor, a sheriff desperate to hand out badges, and a proud fiddler who doesn’t want his girls marryin’ just any old sort.

Jedediah has a fun literary voice that harkens back to the westerns of yesteryear. The dance hall (an actual place where there was dancing, and not “loose women”) is a fun hangout, and there’s a lot of charm in the western details thrown in. Rachel’s enjoyment of the wild west, its tropes and characters, shines in her prose and the light-hearted tone of the tale. Best of all, anyone can read it, from the youngin’s to those with a good layer of grime on their white hats, coz there ain’t so much as a bad word in sight. The worse villainy here’s a bit of drinkin’.

So saddle up and order yourself a copy—and while you’re at it, buy Cloaked too, her re-imagining of ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’ In that novel, a feisty girl uncovers a diabolical plot against her grandmother—fortunately, she has the smarts (and a handsome cowboy hero) to save the day!
3.5 stars

I was ecstatic when Rachel Kovaciny first announced Dancing & Doughnuts as her 2018 release, and even more so when I received an ARC from the publisher! Having been a fan of Cloaked (as well as a more recent reader of Five Magic Spindles the Man on the Buckskin Horse and No Match for a Good Story), I long ago decided that Kovaciny made her mark on my list of favorite authors. And, although I didn't enjoy Dancing & Doughnuts quite as much as her other tales, it still made for an enjoyable read. )

Jedediah Jones is a drifter. Haunted by memories of his time in the Civil War, he spends his days wandering from town to town, seeking work at one job or another. But when he stumbles into Peabody Crossing with barely a penny to his name, a girl steals his heart -- though not before a mystery that threatens her family with ruin claims her, first.

Maybe Jedediah should stop drifting... or maybe he should flee as far as his mare can carry him.

I very much expected this to be similar to Kovaciny's other stories, with an unforgettable cast, a clear yet thrilling plot, and a climax to rival all others. Although Dancing & Doughnuts pursued a more relaxed course than that of its predecessors, it certainly -- like Kovaciny's other works -- placed a new spin on westerns, with a fun little mystery to boot.

Jedediah made for a fascinating narrator, and I was intrigued by the realness of the large cast, but none of them truly stuck with me. And, although I love a good mystery, I felt as if the stakes were too small to retain my interest.

However, I still very much enjoyed this book! The pace and narrator made for a happily laid-back story, (and all the descriptions of the cider and doughnuts the characters consume made my mouth water *winks*). Without a doubt, I can't wait to read Kovaciny's next book! And if you're searching for a fun little mystery, I highly recommend Dancing & Doughnuts!

You may want to know There are some references to drinking and drunkenness.
I love how Kovaciny’s stories have no magical elements in them, but you can still find parts of the original fairy tale hidden within. I do enjoy magic in a fictional story, but it’s also fun to see how the author fits the original fairy tale in something that could easily translate into a classic Western movie on its own.

If you know the story of the twelve dancing princesses, then you can figure out the “who” (or at least be pretty sure) fairly soon. The mystery is the “why” and especially the “how”. You are rooting for the protagonist and narrator Jedediah the whole time. I particularly liked a part at the end when he really becomes a true “hero”.

You can tell the author is a Christian by her writing, but it is not overbearing in her writing, instead natural. The part at the end with Jedediah is particularly moving and I could personally relate to.
What a fun read! If you've been reading my reviews, you already know how greatly I admire Ms. Kovaciny's writing voice and style. She somehow manages to turn fairy tales into charming and believable Westerns! No fairy godmothers or magic of any kind, just fun plots including elements from the original tales and featuring charming characters in a very well-drawn Western setting.

Jedediah Jones, Civil War vet and drifter, tries his hand at solving a mystery for the prize of $50. But someone is highly motivated to prevent his success. First-person POV is this author's forte--her narrators always steal the show! I fell in love with Jedediah Jones within a few pages, he is that likable. The mystery is handled very well, and the side characters are all distinct characters who serve to progress the story.

Clever, fun reading, with some sweet, light romance. Highly recommended!