Hello there everyone! Today I'm taking part in the Blog Tour for Lichgates by S.M. Boyce, organized by Xpresso Book Tours!
I will be sharing by review & a Blog Tour wide giveaway, so click HERE for the full tour schedule! But before that, let's get you some more information about the book & author, shall we?
(The Grimoire Saga #1)
Publication date: October 15th 2011
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publication date: October 15th 2011
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Eragon will enjoy this contemporary remix of the classic epic fantasy genre.
Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things—Ourea.
Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With no way out, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea’s royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict—a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.
For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.
Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.
Purchase:
About the author:
Author links:
International Amazon Bestseller. Fantasy Author. Twitter addict.
Book Blogger. Geek. Sarcastic. Gooey. Odd. Author of the
action-packed Grimoire Saga.
S.M. Boyce is a novelist who loves ghosts, magic, and spooky things. She prefers loose-leaf tea, reads far too many books, and is always cold. She’s married to her soul mate and couldn’t be happier. Her B.A. in Creative Writing qualifies her to serve you french fries.
Boyce likes to update her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.
S.M. Boyce is a novelist who loves ghosts, magic, and spooky things. She prefers loose-leaf tea, reads far too many books, and is always cold. She’s married to her soul mate and couldn’t be happier. Her B.A. in Creative Writing qualifies her to serve you french fries.
Boyce likes to update her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.
Author links:
Website: http://www.smboyce.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesmboyce
My Review:
Lichgates is a classic example of epic fantasy, full of action and colourful descriptions of other worlds and characters.
We start the journey at the same time that the main character does. Kara was hiking around trying to get her mind off her emotional issues when she crosses one door and her world changes forever. She crossed a Lichgate and stumbled upon Ourea, a different world hidden in an Earth pocket.
The beginning of the book lost me a bit cause it felt too random and too convenient that Kara would stumble upon the Lichgate and then managed to open the Grimoire and gain its alliance. But then the action really picked up and we're introduced to so many characters and into the proper world of Ourea that I ended up no caring of how random Kara's presence there was. Kara has everything to learn about the world and she finds herself having to choose allies and whether she should follow the path adviced by the Grimoire and the Vagabond or make her own choices.
The world of Ourea is rich and full of surprises, and nothing and no one are exactly what you might think at first. Kara was a surprising main character because despite her initial shock and freak out, she manages to have a "grin and bear it" attitude and decides to learn and fight the battles she feels she has to. Braeden is a complicated character given her past and how he keeps on trying to not let who he was born as determine who he is. There is some romance here, but no insta-love or love triangles, this is a more subtle romance that takes the back seat a bit more.
The ending was also quite refreshing, there was a climax and some revelations there, but there was a resolution that though leaving a very big opening for the next book to continue without leaving us cruelly hanging with an evil & heartwrenching cliffhanger! We're even given an epilogue that adds a bit of extra tension there.
Lichgates is classic epic fantasy full of quests and creatures and monsters and high stakes and deserving of 3.5 stars, nearly 4!
Lichgates is a classic example of epic fantasy, full of action and colourful descriptions of other worlds and characters.
We start the journey at the same time that the main character does. Kara was hiking around trying to get her mind off her emotional issues when she crosses one door and her world changes forever. She crossed a Lichgate and stumbled upon Ourea, a different world hidden in an Earth pocket.
The beginning of the book lost me a bit cause it felt too random and too convenient that Kara would stumble upon the Lichgate and then managed to open the Grimoire and gain its alliance. But then the action really picked up and we're introduced to so many characters and into the proper world of Ourea that I ended up no caring of how random Kara's presence there was. Kara has everything to learn about the world and she finds herself having to choose allies and whether she should follow the path adviced by the Grimoire and the Vagabond or make her own choices.
The world of Ourea is rich and full of surprises, and nothing and no one are exactly what you might think at first. Kara was a surprising main character because despite her initial shock and freak out, she manages to have a "grin and bear it" attitude and decides to learn and fight the battles she feels she has to. Braeden is a complicated character given her past and how he keeps on trying to not let who he was born as determine who he is. There is some romance here, but no insta-love or love triangles, this is a more subtle romance that takes the back seat a bit more.
The ending was also quite refreshing, there was a climax and some revelations there, but there was a resolution that though leaving a very big opening for the next book to continue without leaving us cruelly hanging with an evil & heartwrenching cliffhanger! We're even given an epilogue that adds a bit of extra tension there.
Lichgates is classic epic fantasy full of quests and creatures and monsters and high stakes and deserving of 3.5 stars, nearly 4!
The Giveaway:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7b08f3116/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway
Lovely review, doll! I'm not huge on fantasy novels but this one sounds really good. I like how lush and detailed the world seems to have been written and Kara sounds like a character I would like. I don't mind initial angst if the character grows and adapts to what they've been thrown in, you know. The romance also sounds so refreshing! I'm so over insta-love! Barf!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Giselle! Kara was a very refreshing MC with her attitude!
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