Waterfall Wednesdays: A Read-Along Event (Chapters 18-23)

Waterfall Wednesdays, a read-along of Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren, is hosted by Tina atTinasbookreviews, Joy & Serena at Edgy Inspirational Romance, Nic at Irresistible Reads, Jenny at Supernatural Snark, and Missie at The Unread Reader.

Hello and welcome everyone! Welcome back for this week's post.

This week’s questions are hosted by Jenny at Supernatural Snark.

Feel free to join in the discussion by leaving your comments at the bottom. Enjoy!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTERS 18-23

1. 1. Gabi and Lia both face several life and death situations in these chapters, having to pick up weapons in defense of those they love and experiencing first hand the brutality of close combat. If you had the choice between picking up a weapon and standing on the front lines or staying behind to tend to the wounded as necessary, which would you choose?

I hate aggression of any kind- be it violent aggression or the necessary level of aggression required for certain sports. Although I’m the type of person who hates complaining and does what needs to be done when it’s required of me (so I would charge to the front lines of battle to protect the ones I love if I had to), if there was enough manpower and I felt that my presence was not necessary, I would rather avoid all the bloodshed and trauma of engaging in battle and stay back to tend to the wounded.

2. Both girls get to wear extraordinary gowns to their victory celebration; what would your dream medieval gown look like?

My dream medieval gown would have to be in any of the colours that favour my complexion, so it would have to be red, emerald green, brown, gold or sky blue.

Somehow, at this point, I can only imagine myself wearing a red or emerald green gown with golf embroidery at the neckline, hemline and at the edges of the sleeves. The gown would have a heart-shaped neckline and flowing, long sleeves. There would be a lace-up bodice with gold laces and the gown would be fitted to my figure at the top, where it would taper down to my waist and then the skirt would flow in elegant folds down to the floor.

3. Gabi has crude stitches put in and must endure both their removal as well as the cauterization of the wound. How is your threshold for pain? Do you think you would have simply gritted your teeth as Gabi does?

My threshold for pain, I’d like to think, is pretty high after having spent many hours during my last two years of high school at my dentist’s and orthodontist’s offices. I’ve lost count of how many fillings and extractions I’ve had to have done, before having my teeth pulled in different directions with rubber bands hooked to my braces, only to have to go back for more torture sessions (root canals, etc.) at my dentist’s office once my braces were removed. I’ve also had to deal with some nasty skin treatments which were painful at the time, but were entirely worth it. I haven’t broken any major bones in my body and have only suffered the occasional cut or burn but I expect that no matter how high I think my pain threshold is, nothing can prepare me for childbirth *wink*. Lastly, I don’t usually scream (or make any loud noises really) while I’m in pain- I’m generally the suffer-in-silence type- and the sound of my own cries would just freak me out more. So I think I’d just grit my teeth really hard and hope they don’t revert to their original skewed positions, warranting another dreaded visit to my orthodontist *shudder*.

4. Marcello wants to properly court Gabi after they express mutual feelings of affection, wanting to speak with her mother about his intentions. What do you think is the most romantic aspect of medieval courtship?

I think that one of the most romantic aspects of medieval courtship was the respect with which a woman was treated and the importance that was given to that relationship and the whole courtship process. A man would be sure to behave honourably with a female and not use her, then discard her. He would feel the need to make public his intention of marrying that woman, by speaking to her parents and gaining their permission first, thereby making it clear that he didn’t plan on messing around with their daughter. You’ve gotta love a guy who does that for you- it shows that he knows your true worth.

5. Gabi and Lia find themselves with conflicting desires toward the end with Lia wanting to return home and Gabi hoping to stay. Do you think that Gabi is being unfair to Lia for wanting to stay, or is Lia being unfair to Gabi for demanding they go? A little of both?

I think it’s a little of both, really... I mean, who could blame Lia for wanting to go back home? She doesn’t have anything tying her to the past and, as far as she’s concerned, Gabi’s relationship with Marcello cannot be that serious since they’d only just met like two weeks earlier. You can’t fault Gabi for wanting to stay with Marcello, even if it means not being with her mother, because she at least has Lia with her to make her feel the warmth of family and familiarity in the absence of her mother. In this way, they’re both being unfair to each other by looking out for their own interests but their hesitation indicates that they do not want to hurt each other in the process.

That's all, folks! Hope you enjoyed this week's post and be sure to leave me your thoughts. Come back next week for the fifth and last post in this event- I'm going to miss this!