Waterfall Wednesdays Read A-long: Chapters 12-17

You can find the link up for this weeks questions at Edgy Inspirational Romance

Discussion Questions for Chapters 12-17

1. In Siena, on her way to the ball at Palazzo Pubblico, Gabi likened her experience to being on the red carpet at the Academy Awards, the goal being "to see and be seen." If you were a peasant, watching from the crowd, what would you be thinking as this procession passed by?  

 Jealous for sure!I would wonder why I could not be one of them and what it would be like to be one. What could I do to change things around for myself?

2. Though quite nervous about dancing at the ball, Gabi discovers a strange feeling of connection to the time, the people, and the society through the unified beauty of the dance. Have you ever been in a position where you felt out of your element, but, in one, pinpointed moment, became a part of or connected to something bigger than your fear?  

The closest example I can come up with would be motherhood. No matter how much you read and prepare you still have a big responsibility to raise a child, scary. But as you encounter each stage things just seem to come together and naturally fall into place. Okay, maybe not the best example but the best I could come up with. :)

3. The kiss. Oh, the kiss. When Marcello finally kisses Gabi, he believes the experience to be proof that they are meant to be together. What did you think about his assumption? Were you surprised at Gabi's reaction to it? Have you ever experienced a kiss that seemed to be prophetic in a similar (or opposite!) way?

I'm glad he sees the light! I was surprised that he is was able to brush the alliance away so easily, thinking of other possibilities available. All I know is Gabi better hurray to tell him the truth before he changes his life around for her. At this point Gabi does not see herself staying in his time so I think Gabi is right to try and remind him of what is at stake, if he lets Lady Rossi go, and starts a courtship with her.

 

I did like this turn of events, Marcello now pursuing Gabi. I had to re-read it twice!

4. Many go through their teen years with a subdued sense of immortality. Do you think Gabi has a sense of this teen feeling? And did you think Gabi's converse observation, "Sometimes death came hunting and there was no way to cut it off at the pass." was informed more by the experience of losing her father, her self-admitted closet hypochondria, or the forced maturation of being transported to a different time? How does this observation show Gabi's growth as a character? 

I would say it has to do with both, the death of her father and the forced maturation of being transported to a different time. If anything she has learned that things happen that are beyond our control and we have to make the best of it. 

 

5. In the span of a few moments, Gabi goes from sword-wielding teen beauty to man-killing warrior. Did you think her realization of the finality of death -- and her justification for its necessity -- was realistic? And, in her slippers, could you have done the same? 

For me, I think the decision to follow Marcello and Luca after being put in a safe place to hide would have been hard for me. But once I got there and saw it was their life or the enemy's that had my sister and if we did not win it would mean all our deaths then I would not hesitate to do what I could. Once of out the heat of the moment I too would act the same as Gabi, needing what Marcello and Luca said. War is war, some times killing the bad people is only way.

 

Extra thoughts:

How can we just stop at these chapters when things are starting to happen?!  There were so many moments I liked in these chapters to point them all out I would be typing out everything we read! I cringed back and grimaced when Gabi was touched by the enemy. I sighed and held by breath at each touch of Marcello's, his tender eyes looking at her, cupping her face, his kisses, hands on her hips and calling her beloved....*sigh*.

 

I have started to notice more how the people of Castello Forelli talk about God. It makes me wonder if they are just religious or have a personal relationship with Lord? How will this affect Gabi?   

 

One line that really stuck out to me was on page 188, when Gabi is pulling together all her courage to fake kill the guards that will start everything. Gabi thinking-

 But it was remembering my dad talking to me about bravery in life that pushed me onward. We'd been on a rare father-daughter walk, and I had shared my fears about something. He'd said, "I read once that courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision that something is more important than that fear."