I have my doubts that it serves a purpose as it reveals very little of what is to come or be expected in the series. This is a preamble to the series For Queen and Country. This book was free so you can't say it isn't worth the price. Sadly it wasn't enough to get me to the sleep realm and I needed to start the book one. Maybe beyond book one I will see why we needed to get to know her better. I don't know if this adds enough to the series to make it necessary to read before starting the series. What is sad is that in the next story she is pitiful and I miss her gumption. It's the rest of the world that doesn't get it.Īnd so this story tells her back story. Yet, how can she not pay attention to what the willows say to her. But I did pick up enough to know a little about Loesie. You don't get enough of what makes them tick. Mostly because you can't get involved with the characters. I thought it would be enough to see me from the ending of one book and to the point of well-involved-yet-ready-to-sleep time. I wanted to read Patty Jansen's books in order and found this one to be a prequel to the For Queen and Country series.

I read this version on my Samsung Galaxy S Android phone via the Kindle store. You can purchase from Smashwords or Amazon.

So if you have spare change, chuck a dollar Patty’s way for 10-15 minutes of fantasy fun. She’s demonstrated to me that she’s one of those writers who straddles the Fantasy/Sci-fi divide with ease. I am keen to read her next fantasy project,the start of a trilogy, that rolls out in November. The lead character’s voice was clear and distinct and the dark twist at the end was decidedly Grimm. Jansen was able to transport me to a place that was a magical, medieval, not-quiet-europe(indeed I think Whispering Willows is a perfect example of what Tolkien talks about in his essay On Fairy Stories regarding the creation of secondary worlds). With Whispering Willows it was the latter. A good short story is one I think that either hits you with a great concept or idea or some how hooks your in and creates an emotional connection with the reader. This is one of the reasons that I think that novels or perhaps novellas are seen as a more satisfactory buy. In such a short space you have to get across character story and provide entertainment. I always think that short stories face and uphill battle against their larger cousins.

Whispering Willows is the first of her fantasy offerings that I have taken up. Whispering Willows is a fantasy/folktale short story from noted Science Fiction author Patty Jansen.

Whispering Willows for android download