Friday Reads: ARC Review of The Eternity Key by Bree Despain!!

Hey there guys! Happy Friday!

I hope you guys are getting ready for the weekend! I am, but for a weekend at work! ;) My off days were Wednesday and Thursday this week!

Today for Friday Reads I have one of the ARCs that I had intended originally for ARC August, but that I ended up reading earlier.

Since it's a retelling of sort of the myth of Persephone and Hades, it totally counts towards my 2015 Mythology Reading Challenge, that had been very much abandoned for these past months!

The Eternity Key by Bree Despain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When last year I read The Shadow Prince I was quite pleasantly surprised about the twist on Greek mythology that the author had worked on. Qith some obvious references and a few surprises about who was who, I was left really looking forward to read the sequel!

Then I got approved for the sequel by the publisher on Netgalley (thank you!) and then came the Egdmont debacle and we had doubts about book 3 happening... and I ended up pushing back reading this one. Finally decided to go back to this series and very happy that I did, although I'm glad I didn't read it too much in advance of release date (rather quite a while after!) because there's quite the cliffhanger in the end!

I felt that the book was a bit slow at first... after all the revelations at the end of the first book, to find the crew stuck trying to find the Key and having no clue of what they're doing and trying to figure it out... I guess I was expecting them to be a bit more organized or to have more of a plan, but in the end they're such a bunch of teenagers, Greek myths or not, and they don't have a lot of knowlegde easily gathered, laying around.

What left me scratching my head was how wishy washy the team feel was, I was expecting that after all that they went through, they'd rely more on each other but it seemed like although they had THE common interest, they had gone back to their own lives, pretending like the clock is not ticking and the Skylords are not likely to make an appearance at any point.

Maybe it was because it's been a while since I read the first book but I felt like the relationship between Haden and Daphne had taken a few steps back in the beginning of this one, and we spend a good part of the book with these two not just trying to continue with school work, trying to find the Key, but also figuring out (again?) what they feel about each other (in Daphne's case) and how to express said feelings (in Haden's case).

We meet some new characters in this book and some are clearly the enemy while others are a bit more in the grey area, if not undercover allies, but with such high stakes at play, I feel that Haden was being wary enough but also keeping secrets from each other was a problem the group shouldn't have at this stage of the fight, but secrets they kept.

The relationships in general were well developed and we didn't just limit our focus to Daphne and Haden, but also Daphne and the very hard relationship of trusting him again after all that she found out, and how her father makes every possible effort. We also see Tobin struggling with his wanting to find his sister and how knowing his mother's secrets has killed their relationship.

The last part of the book was the best part, since we had the musical opening night with the Key search in a very heist like plan, and the action doesn't stop because there's plenty of surprises, revelations about characters that we thought that weren't important, and quite a dire betrayal! I suspected the traitor a pair of times while reading, but I was NOT expecting THAT kind of betrayal!

A very cliffhangery ending that leaves us wondering how anything can be fixed and worked around and very excitedly (if a lil vexed) awaiting the next book! Well deserved 3.5 stars for this one.




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Last List Blog Hop: Q&A with Bree Despain!!

Hello guys!

Today I'm extremely pleased to take part of the Last List Blog Hop for the Egmont USA authors organized by the awesome ladies at Cuddlebuggery! Isn't that banner a beauty? Done by the Cuddlebuggery ladies too!

When I heard about the closing of Egmont USA I was extremely sad because so many authors were gonna be left high and dry with books they had worked so had end up unpublished, so when I found out that this blog hop was taking place, I didn't want to miss it.

I'm hosting Bree Despain for a Q&A session and I'm also showcasing the two books of her Into the Dark series, one published, one to be published if all goes well on May 12th!

And I'll have have a giveaway for a signed copy of The Shadow Prince open international by then end of the post!!

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails.  As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.

A pulsating romance of epic proportions, Bree Despain’s The Shadow Prince will leave her fans breathless for the next book in the Into The Dark series.

The Eternity Key by Bree Despain

Scheduled for release on May 12, 2015

Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series. 

Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.
Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.
Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.

 Q&A with Bree Despain

1.- Greek mythology has been used as inspiration many times before, but how did you choose to go the route with the lords of the Underworld and finding the Oracle? It was such a great mix of Hades & Persephone and also Eurydice & Orpheus! Did you choose the myth first? Or did the idea for the story came first?

 The idea for the book came from the Death Cab for Cutie song "I will follow you into the dark." I used to be obsessed with the song and would play it on a loop. To me, it's a song about following someone into the unknown for the sake of love. I found myself pondering over who would do such a thing. I'm a big mythology buff so it was only natural this line of thinking led me to both the Persephone and Hades myth and the story of Eurydice and Orpheus. Both are about people who ventured into the unknown. And then I started thinking about what it would be like to be someone who had to ask someone else to follow them into the dark. What a difficult task! This brought me to my main character, Haden, and the rest of the story came from there.

2. - How did you choose music to be Daphne's main motivation and the way for Haden to connect with her? I really enjoyed to see their relationship developing with music as common ground.

 The musical aspects of the story came from the Orpheus myth. I love that Orpheus was able to use music as a superpower and I wanted to explore that with Daphne's character. She's also partially based on a relative of mine who relates to the world almost completely through music and sound--it's kind of like a form of musical OCD. My relative is very talented and passionate about music and I wanted to find a way to use this aspect as an advantage rather than a disability. On the flip side, Haden comes from a world where music is forbidden, but in order for him to get to know Daphne, he needs to "meet her where she is" so to speak, and has to delve into her musical world in order to get to know her. I liked the idea of adding a forbidden aspect to what he is doing, even though to us, learning how to sing or play a guitar would seem pretty innocent. In order to get close to Daphne, he has to slowly turn his back on the way his world has taught him to be a man.

3.- The way the Lords of the Underrealm are structured reminded me a lot of the Spartan society, was that a conscious choice on your side or something that developed organically?

 Yes, I definitely drew on the Spartan society for influence when creating the Underlords. I really loved the idea of writing about a character who has been trained to be a warrior from a very young age, and taught to suppress his emotions in favor of being stoic. It was even more fun to take that character and plunk him down in the middle of a modern day high school and see what happens!  

4.- I have the ARC of book 2 in my Kindle and I'm really looking forward to read it since I cannot wait to see what's in store for the characters since they're now on the run from two factions! Are they meeting any new allies to balance things out a bit? Any new Greek myths being introduced?

 Yes to both! Let's just say that I had some fun with the myth of Psyche and Cupid in this book.  (I couldn't resist since there is a Valentines dance that plays an important part in the plot.) 

Thank you so much for your answers, Bree!

 Thank you for the great interview questions! Each one was very thoughtful!

 About the author:

Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the upcoming Into The Dark trilogy.  Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Giveaway

I'm gonna keep things very simple this time for the giveaway! It's offered by Bree herself and it's a signed copy of the first book: The Shadow Prince.

And YES! It's open INTERNATIONAL! 

All you have guys to do is answer the following question in the comments!:

What is your favourite Greek Myth? And why?

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Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain!!

Today last Mark This Book Monday is yet again another ARC, but this one was one of my very first Edelweiss ones! And since for me is so rare to get approved for an ARC there, it's quite a milestone!
I'm cutting it a bit close with this review since release day is tomorrow, March 11th, but since I got it a long time back, I kept on thinking I had plenty of time for it!

This book is also part of my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge! I feel like I'm gonna be more on top of my list of review copies this year!

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I got The Shadow Prince eARC on Edelweiss and it was one of my very first ARCs I got there and since I got with quite advance I kinda kept on pushing it back on the reading list till it was the week before release day!

I was a bit concerned when reading the summary that this would be just another of those teenage stories of girl falls for bad boy in a new high school, but nope! I was very much happily surprised when I saw that the book was surprising me with the twist on Greek mythology, with the main characters and with the line the story was taking! A very pleasant surprise of a book that I devoured!

Daphne Raines lives with her mother in a small town but dreams of leaving and sharing her music with the world though she knows her mother wouldn't approve. Everything changes when her stranged rockstar of a father comes back and offers her to live with him and get her into Olympus Hill High and its prestigious music program. I really loved Daphne, she wasn't your ugly duckling typical character. She loved her mother and music and wanted to pursue her dream. She didn't trust her dad but was willing to give him a chance with plenty of reservations. She has insecurities and flaws, but she's not one of those "woe is me" kinda character.

Haden Lord or Lord Haden is the son of the current king of the Underworld, descendant of the line of Hades, but he fell in disgrace when he was a kid and since then has been trying to regain his father's favour and his honour. He gets the chance to do so when the Oracle determines he's the one that should go on the mission to bring back the girl that will return immortality to his race. Haden is a bit of an odd character, he's been raised in the Underworld with a set of values and a code of honour that reminded me very much of the Spartan code and his whole life since he fell in disgrace has been about regaining his honour. Now he is in the human world and needs to learn to stand up less and needs to learn how to woo a human girl to convince her to cross the gates to the Underworld.

I loved how this was NOT an insta love thing! Haden and Daphne first meeting is disastrous and Daphne runs away thinking that Haden is a bit of a psycho! Their interactions are awkward and funny and it does take quite a while for Daphne to warm up to Haden, I think it was on about 66% of my ARC when she seems to be thinking that he's not all that bad and defends him. What I loved was that the way to connect for them is through music, since Haden discovers music through Daphne as it was forbidden in the Underworld.

I fell in love with the book because of the twists on Greek mythology that it has. It's not just the story of Hades and Persephone, but also Orpheus and Eurydice and a new war between gods and their descendants, Oracles and factions and prophecies and destiny and fate... The plot has some fast moving places and slow moving ones but it was never boring and always managed to entertain me and keep me intrigued enough. There are a few revelations, some more unexpected than others, and the book ends with an ending that's open enough but not with an awful cliffhanger, which is always welcome!

A refreshing take on some classic cliches and something new and different done with Greek mythology. Well deserving of 4 stars and I will be eagerly awaiting to see what will happen in the sequel!



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