Synopsis
of Scarlet Woods
Past, future, and love all exist in the door through
time.
Modern and independent seventeen year old Morgan
Westbrook thought she had seen all there was to her home town of Scarlet,
Georgia, but one day while walking in the woods behind her house she discovers
a mysterious door masked behind the trees. After admiring the door’s timeless
beauty she walks through its entrance to venture into more woods, but what she
doesn’t know is that the door is a gateway through time that takes her back to
the year 1863 during the days of the Civil War in Scarlet.
Without knowing that she had traveled back in time,
she stumbles upon Danny Carson, an attractive young man who is appalled to see
that Morgan is wearing skimpy modern clothes instead of a nineteenth century
dress. Although they find each other completely different than anyone they’ve
ever known, they cannot help but feel drawn to one another. After spending time
in another century, she discovers that she's time traveled back to the year
1863 and that the door took her there. For months she and Danny journey back
and forth through the door to experience the joys of traveling to both of their
centuries. When dilemmas of unwanted marriage, slavery, and war are thrown at
them, they must face the perils that time travel has delivered them in both the
future and the past.
Review: I pretty much loved this book. I love the combination of contemporary with historical fiction. I love historical fiction. The ending made me so fustrated...lol I want to know what happens. I really loved the writing style, and the story flowed really well. There was times I was laughing so hard, my fiance thought I had lost it. He was like no book could be that funny, and I was like but it really is. He just doesn't understand lol.
Morgan- I liked her character a lot, she was very real. Morgan is still trying to recover over the loss of her parents. She was very much a teenager.
Danny- He was such a sweet guy. The problem is he was a little too sweet so he let himself get walked all over most of the time.
Sam- I felt so bad for him, and he is such a sweet guy. This poor kid needs to catch a break!
Roy- I hate him so much. He is mean, vile, and rude. He made me so mad!
Evelyn- She is just a spoiled little brat. I never felt sorry for her once. She loved making people miserable.
If this book sounds appealing to you, then read it. I absolutely suggest it. It is part of a trilogy so there will be more to come. This book does leave you hanging at the end. I was so frustrated lol. I can't wait to see what happens next. Hopefully, I will get the chance to read and review the next one!!!
I am going to do a new things, where I update my goodreads status' more while I am reading. Then, when I post the review I will post the status as well. Then we will be able to talk about the different parts of the book, and see if we were feeling the same emotions!
| 12/13 | page 457 | 95.0% | "Now she has just grown way to over attached. I promise you girls if a guy leaves you, you will still be able to breathe." | |
| 12/12 | page 407 | 84.0% | "Lol" | |
| 12/12 | page 391 | 81.0% | "I don't know why she didn't take off that stupid dress, she knows she can't defend herself in it." | |
| 12/12 | page 381 | 79.0% | "I hate Roy so much, with his smug little attitude. Danny needs to duel him with pistols at dawn! lol" | |
| 12/12 | page 361 | 75.0% | "Aw they would make a cute couple, although....idk how old he is." | |
| 12/12 | page 354 | 73.0% | "If Danny really cared about Morgan's safety, he would have had her never come back in time again." | |
| 12/11 | page 300 | 62.0% | "Yay, I got over my goal." | |
| 12/11 | page 258 | 53.0% | "Now she is just being stupid." | |
| 12/11 | page 255 | 53.0% | "No....Danny why?!?!?!?!" | |
| 12/11 | page 223 | 46.0% | "If I was Morgan I would have sent Sam through the door, not back to the plantation >.>" | |
| 12/11 | page 179 | 37.0% | "This book is too funny. I think my fiance thinks I am crazy because I keep laughing." |
FTC: This book was given to me by the author for an honest review.
Links:
I live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
and am a 22 year old young woman who probably will never fully grow up. As a
kid I played with Polly Pockets, swam in my swimming pool practically every day
during the summer, and went on vacations to Disney World with my family
(favorite days of my life). I loved telling stories as a kid by playing with my
Polly’s and dressing up like princesses with my friends. Eventually everything
that went on in my busy imagination I wrote down on paper in the late hours of
the night.
When I was in sixth grade I moved
into a new house with woods directly behind my backyard. I’d walk about the
woods and loved trampling through the creek or getting lost in the trees. These
trips through the woods gave me my inspiration for my book trilogy Scarlet Woods. My main character in my
book is Morgan who lives in a house where the woods are right behind her
backyard. My love for trees and anything woodsy definitely shows in my book and
I hope I painted a pretty picture in readers’ heads about what Scarlet Woods
looks like.
My favorite candies are Skittles
and M&M’s. I put ketchup on practically anything with meat (even with
chicken quesadillas). I’m a great fan of Florence and the Machine, The Beatles,
Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Birdie, and recently The Civil Wars. My
favorite books are The Hunger Games, Shiver, and Wither. My favorite movies are Titanic
and Gone with the Wind. The Vampire Diaries is the wonderful TV
show I’m obsessed with (I’m a Delena lover!!). I hate ads on youtube that I
repeatedly have to skip every single time I want to listen to the newest song
from Glee. I love to smile, laugh,
and purposefully sing loud and off key whenever my brother is around just to
pester him. I have a cat named Phoebe who we named after Phoebe from Friends, a
yorkie named Coco who we named because he likes to eat Cocoa Puffs, and a shih
tzu maltese we named Indy after Indiana Jones. My favorite princess is
Cinderella but I think my personality is a tie between Ariel and Belle so
they’re all my ultimate faves. If I could choose a century to time travel to I’d
probably choose the Victorian age, the roaring 20’s, the 1950’s, or the 1940’s.
I think the Victorian age and the 1940’s were probably the most romantic eras
in history and the 20’s and 50’s would probably the most fun!
Rating:
out of 5
out of 5
Chapter 1
March 14, 1863, Danny Carson was
riding his black horse underneath the budding trees of the woods. He heard the crackle
of rushing water hit against the pebbles and sharp rocks in the creek as the
orange sun descended from the face of Scarlet, Georgia.
Winter had disappeared and Danny
was thrilled. He hated winter; it was always a cold and lifeless season. Dull
brown trails and naked branches weren’t a welcoming atmosphere, but now since
spring had finally arrived, color had returned to the trees. Spring brought out
so much greenery and life in the woods with its ivy spiraling up trunks, weeds
and wild flowers blooming at tree roots, and the sun tanning the leaves while
birds zipped through the branches.
People in Scarlet didn’t dare enter
the woods late in the evening. They feared the idea of foul killers or
fictional monsters haunting the trees at night. But when it came to the woods
Danny was fearless. He’d visit at any time of day to get away from things just
for a little while. He found the depths of the trees, the forever running
creek, and the prowling Spanish moss to be an escape from his regular routine. Plus,
he being practically the only visitor at any time of day gave him the full run
of the place. The woods were his.
As soon as the sun winked at the
ground and was about to depart from the sky, the storm had begun. The dark
night clouds began to mix with purring thunder. Noticing how gloomy the day had
become, Danny tensed up in his saddle. “Oh no…” He grumbled.
His horse Nashville was a handful
when it came to storms and was terrified of loud thunder.
Then the lightning started ripping
through the sky. Danny tightened his grip on the reins as the first set of
thunder stung his ears. Nashville came to a halt on the dirt trail and let out
a few worried neighs at the feel of raindrops plopping against his coat.
Danny rolled his eyes. “Whiny
baby,” He stroked Nashville’s neck to help calm him down.
As more lightning nicked the gray
sky, rain showered onto the forest floor. In a matter of seconds Danny and
Nashville were drenched. Rapid rain pounded onto the creek and the thunder
produced a drummed even beat that taunted the black horse.
Skittish and now ill tempered from
the storm, Nashville scooted his burly legs back in reverse and shuffled his
hooves on the dirt path. Danny had a firm hold on the reins trying to control
him. “Calm down Nash! It’s only a bit of loud noise. Toughen up!”
The thunder became more prominent
in the endless dark sky. Nashville gave out a loud neigh and began to buck in
the air, unbalancing Danny’s weight on the saddle. “Steady! Stop it Nashville!”
He said to his horse as he began to feel his feet start to slip out of the
stirrups.
One large wave of lightning slashed
through the clouds with a bright bolt. Thunder roared out like a hungry lion
about to attack its prey, nearly shattering Danny’s eardrums.
Nashville couldn’t take it any
longer. His front legs kicked off the ground, arching his back into the air. Danny
lost his balance and accidentally let go of his reins while being thrown off
his saddle. “No Nash!” He yelled as he fell into the wet mud below.
The second he was out of the saddle
Nashville took off running into the rain.
Danny tasted chunky bits of mud as
he sat up in a small pool of brown slush. He snarled seeing his horse run off
into the distance. “Nashville! Come back you dumb horse!”
Nashville didn’t show any signs of
slowing down. Danny stood up cursing under his breath as he chased his horse down
the trail he had taken.
“Stop Nashville!” Danny yelled
through the feverish raindrops.
He darted through bushes and
stepped on thorns with his wet boots. Every other step of his chase he spat out
dirt that had crept in between his teeth. “Stupid horse, stupid horse!” He kept muttering to himself.
With one last echoing neigh,
Nashville took a sharp turn behind a hill and was out of sight. Danny ran a bit
faster, hoping that he wouldn’t lose his horse’s tracks. After he took the same
turn behind the hill, he came upon three possible paths that Nashville could
have taken.
He looked for hoof tracks in the
mud but this area of the forest was rockier than the rest of the woods and left
no footprints to be seen. There was no telling which way Nashville went.
Placing the tips of his fingers to
his mouth, Danny let out a high pitched whistle that screamed through the
trees. Usually when he would whistle Nashville would instantly come to his
side, but this time he didn’t show. Danny whistled three more times, but all
that was around him were the trees and the rain.
With his head hung low, he began to
walk back the way he came, realizing that his horse wasn’t coming back to him. He
was covered in mud and was expecting a plum colored bruise on his rear from
being bucked off his saddle. Now that he lost Nashville in the woods, he had to
walk back home soaked in the rain.
Danny hoped that Nashville would be
smart and find his way back home whenever the storm settled. He didn’t want his
horse to go too far from home, but little did he know how far away his horse
would run off to.
Running as fast as his hooves could
take him, neighs burst from Nashville’s lips at each strike of thunder. He
dodged past the wooded trees with remarkable speed as the rain penetrated his
sight. Feeling frightened, he wanted coverage from the rain and desired to
escape the storm.
He slowed down to a steady trot,
but his legs were still fidgety. He needed to find shelter. Coming upon a hill
he didn’t recognize, Nashville staggered up the hill in hopes of evading the
thunder that seemed to loom over him.
He came to find more green oaks and
weeping willows with saggy limbs that suspended just inches off the ground at
the top of the hill. His hooves left tracks in the mud as he jogged around to
view his new surroundings. His hooves stomped on wild flowers that sprouted all
over the ground. The rain seemed tamer up on higher ground. Even with the
gloomy sky hanging overhead, this part of the woods felt like a more positive environment.
The gallant trees that encircled him gave Nashville a strange comfort and made
him feel safe for some reason.
Nashville quickly stopped in his
tracks to admire a massive object standing before him. It was a door, but not
just an ordinary door. It was a rich chocolate brown that had two doors in one
just like an entrance of a grand church. It didn’t belong to any building
structure, wall, or fence and stood alone.
One of its doors was partially
open. Nashville inched up to it and nudged the opened door back further to
create a bigger opening.
What he saw inside the entrance was
the exact same forest, or was it? The ground he stood on was wet and miserable
with rain attacking the earth. On Nashville’s side of the door the sky was a
lifeless color with drained out clouds, but looking through the door was the
setting sun shining its warm rays on the dry ground. The grass wasn’t wet and the
trees didn’t drip rain off their leaves. Everything through the door was light
and calm. It was as if the other side of the forest was a completely different
place and was free from the vicious storm. How was that possible?
This other side of the door was
definitely odd with its drastic weather differences, but since Nashville was a
horse he didn’t think too much of it. He entered the peaceful atmosphere
through the door’s opening. A warm wind blew a light breeze against his wet
coat after his first step through to the other side. There was no harsh rain
and no loud thunder ringing in his ears. He was positive that this was the
better side of the woods.
Nashville turned his soaked body
back to face the door he came out of. It was ajar and he could see the
unbearable rain continue to pour onto the grass on the side he just exited
from. One final thunder erupted but it was contained inside the door sounding
distant and far away, even though he stood only a few feet away from the
entrance of the storm.
Nashville shook his head from side
to side, slapping his long mane against his neck trying to get every raindrop
off of him. He neighed out a happy tune and trotted through the dryer parts of
Scarlet Woods.
March 15, 2013, Morgan Westbrook
woke up at five in the morning to the clashing of plates and running water in
the kitchen sink downstairs. Not yet ready to greet the noisy day, she hid her
face from the world with her cotton pillow. Her aunt Allison usually did the
dishes in the early mornings right before she left for work, but Morgan never told
her aunt that it woke her up. She already felt like a burden on Allison and
didn’t want to mess up her routine.
Morgan smiled whenever there was a
silent pause hanging in the air. It meant the dishes were finally nestled in
their cupboard homes and would not disturb her any longer. She readjusted her
blankets to cover her bare legs and positioned her pillow in its proper place
underneath her head.
She clutched onto her golden bracelet
with its red gemmed charm dangling on its chain. The ruby was in the shape of
an oval with a simple yet beautiful design. The bracelet used to be her mom’s
and now Morgan made sure she never took it off.
She tried to return to her dreaming,
but there was a creak on the stairs that kept her up. Frustrated at being a
light sleeper, she opened her eyes and bit her lip in irritation. It was far
too early to be awake. Then the door to her room slowly opened. Aunt Allison
tip toed inside the bedroom, not seeing her niece’s eyes were already open.
Morgan crossed her arms behind her
head and watched her aunt sneak into her room. Knowing Allison, she thought her
aunt was probably going to borrow a pair of pants or shoes or something since
they happened to wear the same size in everything. Allison crept over to the
dresser at the other end of the room and her hands dove into Morgan’s makeup
bag. Making noise searching through the pickings of makeup, Allison rummaged
through the colors of eye shadows, blushes, and lip glosses, still not finding
her desired item.
Morgan stayed quiet for a few
moments hoping Allison would eventually find what she was looking for and leave
so she could go back to sleep. After what seemed like five minutes of plastic loudly
clashing together, it was obvious Allison wasn’t leaving her room anytime soon.
Morgan sat up in bed and blew a
dangling curl out of her eyes. “What are you looking for?” She asked,
disturbing the noises of colliding makeup.
Allison gasped and snapped around
to face her niece. Her hand touched her heart out of relief seeing that Morgan
was the one who frightened her. “Oh, you scared me!”
Morgan then noticed how crazy her
young aunt looked with her light brown highlighted hair wrapped a rooster like
ponytail with only one eye of makeup on while the other eye was naked and untouched.
“Your face scared me.” She teased.
“Ha-ha, very funny. I know I look
like crap.” Allison went back to picking through Morgan’s makeup bag. “Sorry I
woke you, but where’s your lipstick that has that perfect shade of auburn that I
love and that you never wear? I thought I’d officially steal it and take it off
your hands, if that’s okay with you.”
About to answer, Morgan opened her
mouth prepared to respond, but she was instantly cut off. Allison tended to
talk relatively fast and this was one of those moments where she spoke without
taking breaths in between her speedy words. “It’s that one shade that I adore
and I can never remember the name to. Auburn breeze? Auburn tree? Breezy tree?
Oh, I forget the name of it; I just know that I love it. I figured you wouldn’t
mind if I kept it because I noticed that you don’t wear much makeup anymore. I
know I surely couldn’t do that, day
after day without wearing any makeup. I can see how you don’t need it, you’re a
natural beauty. Me on the other hand, without makeup I look like that green
witch from The Wizard of Oz…. except
I’m not green.”
Morgan pushed her covers off of her
legs to sit up. She sat crisscrossed in bed with her dark auburn hair puckering
out of her low bun. “First of all, you are gorgeous Allison. And second of all,
the last time I saw the lip stick you’re talking about you told me that you
decided to keep it. And that was maybe four weeks ago.”
Disappointment trailed over
Allison’s face. She groaned and stomped her foot down on the carpet. “Ugh! Just
my luck! I find the perfect shade for my lips and I lose the lip stick. Oh
well. Not your fault. It’s mine for being forgetful all the time. Sorry I woke
you up for nothing.” Allison slumped over to the door. Just before leaving she
stopped walking and leaned up against the door’s archway. “What are your plans
tonight? Are you doing anything fun after school? It is after all a Friday night.”
Morgan scrunched her nose. “Eh, I
don’t know, I was thinking of munching on lots of junk food and finish reading
my new Nicholas Sparks book I’ve been reading, but that’s fun for me.” Allison rolled
her eyes. She hated it when Morgan wanted to spend her nights alone reading
books. Wishing her aunt would come to the realization that she liked to keep to
herself, Morgan decided to talk about the plot of her Nicholas Sparks’ book.
“It’s a really good read. It started out with this boy and girl running into
each other at a-”
Allison interrupted the plotline.
“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah- either the boy or the girl will die in the end or they both die
together; another typical Nicholas Sparks book. Are you sure that’s all you
want to do on a Friday night?” Remembering what her own night plans were for
the evening, Allison’s voice changed into a bored tone. “Jake and I are going
to this lame dinner party at his boss’s house.” Her posture slumped as she snarled
at the thought of going. “I can’t tolerate that knaggy wife his boss has. Ugh!
She only talks about how amazing Oprah is and treats me as if I’m some smelly
hobo on the street.”
Morgan snickered at Allison while
tracing the beadwork on her bedspread. “I’m fine staying home. Emily’s working
a double shift at the restaurant, and she’s the only person I’d want to see, so
I guess the only person I’ll be hanging out with tonight is the one and only Nicholas
Sparks.” she said with a wide eyed grin, trying to persuade her aunt she’d be
okay.
Allison slicked her fingers back in
her hair, combing out some morning tangles. “Ugh! Anything written by him is a
pointless read; it’s pure disappointment.”
Morgan looked over at the Nicholas
Sparks book that was on her nightstand. “Yeah, some of his books can make you
disappointed in the end, but I still like them.”
Allison laughed at what Morgan
said. “I didn’t mean that the stories end
in disappointment. I meant that after you read them you feel disappointed
because you wasted your time reading that love sick garbage.”
Morgan glared at Allison. “Don’t
insult the brilliant Mr. Sparks!” She said with her arms crossed over the other
on her chest.
Allison sighed. “Okay, okay. His
stuff ain’t garbage. He did write The
Notebook which was of course a fantastic movie, but other than that I don’t
like reading his sappy books.”
“Books?” Morgan jeered. “Lately the only things you’ve been reading
are Cosmo, Vogue, and Victoria’s Secret Catalogues.”
“Ah, Cosmo,” Allison’s eyes
brightened. “Now that’s a good read to waste your time with.”
Morgan shook her head with a tiny
grin. “Isn’t that just flipping through the pages instead of actually reading?
I’m sorry Allison but that crap is just taking stupid quizzes about your love
life.”
Allison glared at Morgan with her
arms crossed. “In order to take the quizzes you have to read them, thank you very much, but that’s beside the point.” She
grew serious, strong in stamina and sound. “I’m just concerned about you. You
used to go out with all your friends every chance you got, and now the only
person you hang out with is Emily, but she works all the time so you rarely see
her anymore. I just want you to enjoy your high school life while you still
can. I know this whole year has been… difficult…” Morgan looked out the window,
pretending what Allison was saying wasn’t affecting her. “All I see you do for
fun is read, which is great, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you’re doing that
instead of shootin stuff up into your arm with druggy needles. I just don’t
want you to isolate yourself from the world anymore. I want you to bring
yourself out of your seclusion and go do teenager things…okay?”
Somewhere during Allison’s
conversation Morgan thought of her parents’ deaths. She wasn’t going to cry,
she hated crying. Her parents taught her to be a strong girl, but nothing hurt
worse than the reminder of her parents’ lives being so abruptly taken from her.
Over a year ago, Morgan came home
from one of her friend’s parties expecting to find her parents snoring on the
couch watching TV, but instead she saw that her house was broken into. Lamps
and family pictures were tipped over. The mirror that hung on the wall was
shattered and its reflected pieces covered the carpet. The couch was flipped on
its side next to a busted window and bullet holes were burrowed into the wall. The
back door was left wide open with blood on its handle. There were no
identifiable finger prints besides her families’ and later on the police
discovered that the blood on the door handle belonged to her mom.
After weeks of searching for them,
the police called it quits. Her parents, Paul and Trista Westbrook, were then
presumed dead. Their headstones lie at Scarlet Woods Cemetery. Morgan had once
hoped that it was all some cruel joke and that her parents were still alive,
but after some time passed, she started to face the fact that her parents were
gone.
Morgan gazed out the window at the
flawless trees swaying with each breath of the wind. Allison walked over to the bed and plopped
herself down beside her niece. She washed away her serious tone and sprung back
into a rapidly peppy conversation. “If you want I could say I got food
poisoning and skip out on the dinner party to stay here with you!” Allison
smiled and held onto Morgan’s hands, imagining how much more fun she’d have not
attending the stupid business dinner.
Biting her lip, Morgan smiled and
decided what to do. “It’s very tempting, but you already used that excuse for your
job last week. The rest of the teachers you work with are going to start
catching on that you are a lazy liar.”
“I’m not… lazy. I’ll admit I tend to
tell a few white lies here and there. But are you sure that you are fine
staying here on a Friday night?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Morgan got out of
bed with her frizzy bun on the verge of tumbling out of its hair tie. She
grabbed the bottom of her baggy night shirt with a pizza sauce stain below the
collar and pulled it off to walk to her closet in only her bra and boxer
shorts.
Allison’s eyes widened as she got
off the bed and headed toward the door. “Whoa! Give me a warning before you
start stripping honey.” She laughed.
“Like I care, it’s just us girls.”
Morgan declared while entering her closet. “Plus I’m wearing a bra, it’s not
like you got to meet Jackie and Brenda.”
Allison’s eyebrow crinkled as she
stood by the bedroom door. “Who are Jackie and Brenda?” Before Morgan could
answer, Allison quickly realized who they were. “You named your boobs Jackie and Brenda?”
“Well sure.” Morgan stated as if it
was no big deal. “You haven’t named yours?”
“No, typically guys are the ones to
name each boob.”
Morgan poked her head out of the
closet to gape at her aunt. “What did hubby Jake
name the twins?” She asked while pointing a finger at her aunt’s chest.
Allison grew quiet before answering,
“Molly and Tanya…”
Morgan nodded. “Very cute and
fitting names. Small and perky, just like you,”
Allison crossed her arms over her
chest while leaning against the bedroom doorframe. “Don’t pick fun at Molly and
Tanya.”
“Sorry.” Morgan laughed. “I love
our early morning chats and all Allison but I gotta get ready for school.” She
said while ducking back into the closet.
“Okay, but if you change your mind
and want me around tonight call me on my cell. I’ll be happy to fake a sickness
for you anytime.”
Morgan held up a green top in front
of her, wondering if that was what she wanted to wear that day. “All right, but
don’t count on it.”
Still hovering at the door, Allison
couldn’t help but think maybe she should talk to her niece about the summer
time. Morgan spent her last summer isolating herself from everyone, and Allison
didn’t want that happening again.
Morgan’s ex boyfriend Zack, who was
still a sweet friend to her, was a great supporter during the misfortune of her
parents’ deaths. Two months after they died she broke up with him. He still
tried to win her back every now and then, but Morgan didn’t see a potential
relationship with him anymore.
Once summer was here then school
would be out. Emily, Morgan’s best friend, would be constantly working all
summer vacation to save up for college, and Morgan would practically be all
alone with no one to spend her time with.
Allison would be there for her of
course. They’ve become very close friends ever since she and her husband Jake
moved into Morgan’s house, but Allison knew she’d still be the aunt at the end of the day, not a person her own age.
Morgan all by herself during the
summer time wouldn’t help with the past year she just had. Allison began to
croak out a few comforting words, but she stopped and walked for the stairs to
leave Morgan to change. Allison had done all she could to try and break her
niece away from a life of segregation. She had to leave it up to Morgan to do
what she thought was best for herself.
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