Dive in Review of Common

15 Feb 2018 6 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in book tours, Dive In Review Tags: , , , , ,

So you remember awhile back I hosted a cover reveal for a book called Common?

Well I finally got to read it and now I’m posting a review so you can all be excited enough to go read it too.

I’m also the last stop on the book’s release tour.

Common_coverOne person knows of the plot against the royal family and cares enough to try to stop it—the servant girl they banished.

Leah spends her days scrubbing floors, polishing silver, and meekly curtsying to nobility. Nothing distinguishes her from the other commoners serving at the palace, except her red hair.

And her secret friendship with Rafe, the Crown Prince of Imperia.

But Leah’s safe, ordinary world begins to splinter. Unexpected feelings for Rafe surface just as his parents announce his betrothal to a foreign princess. Then she unearths a plot to overthrow the royal family. Her life shatters completely when the queen banishes her for treason.

Harbored by a mysterious group of nuns, Leah must secure Rafe’s safety before it’s too late. But her quest reveals a villain far more sinister than an ambitious nobleman with his eye on the throne.

Can a common maidservant summon the courage to fight for her dearest friend?

Author Bio:

Laurie-Lucking-HeadshotAn avid reader since birth (her parents claim she often kept them up late begging to hear just one more story), Laurie Lucking discovered her passion for writing after leaving her career as an attorney to become a stay-at-home mom. She writes young adult fantasy with a strong thread of romance, and her debut novel, Common, releases in 2018 from Love2ReadLove2Write Publishing. Laurie is the secretary of her local ACFW chapter and a co-founder of http://www.landsuncharted.com, a blog for fans of clean young adult speculative fiction. A Midwestern girl through and through, she currently lives in Minnesota with her husband and two young sons. Find out more about Laurie and her writing by visiting http://www.laurielucking.com.

You can find links to purchase it here:  http://www.love2readlove2writepublishing.com/books/common/

Dive in Review of Common

 Common by Laurie Lucking is a new YA fantasy novel about knowing your place and not trying to reach for things outside of you current circumstances.

I’m just kidding.

 This book is totally the opposite of that. Even though Leah is a chambermaid she has no problem bucking the system. Everything thing she does from learning to read and write, to meeting the crown prince in a broom closet, (totally clean, nothing kinky happens in the closet, I promise) is forbidden. The real kicker is that she’s so not a rebel.

Leah’s life would improve without the elitist king and queen on the throne, but she goes out of her way to try to save them from an assassin. She could just run away with the prince like he’s been begging her to do for three chapters but she believes their country needs him on the throne. (Also, not to point out the elephant in the broom closet but, he has no marketable skills to speak of.)

 Since were talking the elephant now anyway. I was really underwhelmed by the romance element. Which was fine by the way, I’m not really a romance reader. So I was pleasantly surprised when this turned out to be an espionage story. Court intrigue, secret meetings, assassins, spies and evil wizards are much more my speed.

I hope I haven’t spoiled anything, there is so much going on in this story that you really need to read it for yourself. It’s part romance, part espionage, part magical fantasy, and part spiritual warfare. Yes, read it for the warrior nuns.

*I received an advance copy of this book for review purposes and was asked for nothing but my honest opinion.*

 And so you can back track and check out all the other great stops,

I give you the Blog Tour Schedule:

Monday, February 5th, Review of Common, Pam Halter, www.pamhalter.com

Monday, February 5th, Interview with Laurie Lucking, Taylor Bennett, www.taylor–bennett.com

Tuesday, February 6th, Visual Post, Nancy Moors, www.antrimcycle.com

Tuesday, February 6th, Behind-the-Scenes Feature, Rae E, www.anewlookonbooks.com

Wednesday, February 7th, Visual Post, J.M. Hackman, www.jmhackman.com

Wednesday, February 7th, Guest Post: Author’s Journey, Kristen Stieffel, www.newauthors.wordpress.com

Thursday, February 8th, Guest Post, Laura A. Grace, www.unicornquester.com

Friday, February 9th, Interview with Laurie Lucking, Jebraun Clifford, www.quillsandinkblotts.wordpress.com/

Friday, February 9th, Review of Common, Erica Hogan, www.booksaholic.wordpress.com/

Saturday, February 10th, Top 3 Post, Laurie Lucking, www.landsuncharted.com

Sunday, February 11th, Behind-the-Scenes Feature: Laurie’s Writing Process, Liv Fisher, www.livkfisher.blogspot.com/

Sunday, February 11th, Review of Common, Jebraun Clifford, www.jebraunclifford.com/

Monday, February 12th, Character Interview, Brenda Anderson, www.inspyromance.com/

Monday, February 12th, Visual Post, Jannette Fuller, www.jannettefuller.com/blog

Tuesday, February 13th, Interview with Laurie Lucking, KaLyn Cummins, www.authorkacummins.com

Wednesday, February 14th, Release-Day Feature, Laurie Lucking, www.laurielucking.com (Release Day)

Thursday, February 15th, Facebook Party Feature, Michele Israel Harper, www.micheleisraelharper.com (Facebook Launch Party)

Friday, February 16th, Review of Common, Cathrine Bonham, You Are Here.

 

The Final Paladin Blog Tour: A Dive in Review

11 Nov 2017 5 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in book tours, Dive In Review, Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Hi everyone, I’m super excited to be hosting a stop on the Blog tour for The Final Paladin by T.J. Akers.

First a little about the book:

Final-Paladin-by-TJ-AkersLife for Peg Bowman is rough in the infamous slums of Five Points, New York, but her brother’s murder changes everything.

Thrust into incredible worlds beyond any story she’s ever heard, Peg meets Sir Godfrey, an eleven-hundred-year-old knight from Charlemagne’s court, trainer of Paladins. He reveals to Peg her family’s ancient obligation to protect the Key of Apollyon, a relic of immense power. She is the last descendant of the Paladins and his only hope for keeping it safe.

When Godfrey confides her brother was murdered because of the Key, Peg rejects her calling and demands revenge, a luxury she can ill afford as otherworldly creatures seek her death to claim the Key’s power for themselves.

Can Godfrey and his faithful retinue—Chim the Hobgoblin, Rebecca the Jewish Maven and healer, and Jack the sometimes human and sometimes seven-foot Black Dog—keep her safe and convince her that her calling is worth pursuing? Or will she succumb to the Key’s lure and wield it for revenge?

The Final Paladin releases November 14th and you can purchase it here.

TJ-Akers-HeadshotAbout the Author:
T.J. Akers desires to be a multimillionaire when he grows up and give his wealth to his favorite causes: churches, schools, and animal shelters. Since the millions have been slow in coming, he’s settled for working as a computer technician for a state university and volunteering at his church and local animal shelter. Whenever possible, he indulges his love of writing stories to entertain people, especially younger readers.
Akers holds a Masters of English from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and can often be found roaming the university’s library, especially the children’s and young adult sections. Librarians have always been his heroes.
He lives with his beloved wife of thirty years, his dog, and two cats. The dog is an excellent writing companion, but the cats have proven to be rather critical. Learn more at www.tjakers.com.

Okay, now that the formalities are out of the way I’m sure would like to know what I thought after reading The Final Paladin.

Dive in Review of The Final Paladin by T.J. Akers:

Wow, that was not what I was expecting.  But not in a bad way.

From reading the back cover, I was expecting Indiana Jones and the last crusade. What I got was Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton. If you’ve seen either of those movies then you have an inkling of what I’m talking about.

 The Book starts out in a dark alley in New York city, then ends up spending a great deal of time in the Ether. The land of the Fairies. A Topsy-turvy place where nothing is as it seems. Though do to certain name dropping I suspect the comparisons to Wonderland were done on purpose. 

 The story is fascinating, the world building intriguing and the characters engaging.

On the world building: I thought the bits set in 1900’s New York were well done. I got the sense of how gritty and dangerous it was for Peg in the slums, with gangs and dirty cops on every corner.

On the Fairy world: I could easily get into deep spoiler territory here. Needless to say there are lots of references to not only Lewis Carroll, but to other classic folk tales and other literary works. You’ll either get them or you won’t. If you get them jolly good. If you don’t I think you can still enjoy this book.

 My favorite character is Jack. He can turn into a gigantic black dog at will. (Note: not a werewolf.) He is also charming and witty and impulsive and short tempered. He is also mysterious. Jack’s backstory is only touched on in the book. I want to know more about him.

Surprisingly I liked Peg too. I am always cautious of books where men write Female PoVs. Sometimes they come across as a little off. But Peg was spot on. She is not a male in a dress, nor is she some weak stereo type. Peg is Strong and can hold her own in a world (literally) out to get her.

 What I didn’t like: there was very little I didn’t like but one thing I would change is Archie. His death is the catalyst for the whole story. And we never see him alive. It’s isn’t a spoiler to say this: he’s already dead in the first chapter. We never get to see him, and as a result, I just don’t really care very much that he’s dead. (Well until the end anyway, but still that’s more curiosity than caring.) Drat! I hope that didn’t count as a spoiler.

The ending will leave you wanting more and maybe wondering what did I just read?

*I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

 Be sure to visit the rest of the tour stops:

·    Monday, November 6th, Visual Post, Liv K. Fisher, www.livkfisher.blogspot.com

·    Monday, November 6th, Review of The Final Paladin, Gretchen Engel, www.newauthors.wordpress.com

·      Tuesday, November 7th, Guest Post, Kristen Stieffel, www.newauthors.wordpress.com

·      Wednesday, November 8th, Interview, J.M. Hackman, www.jmhackman.com

·      Wednesday, November 8th, Behind-the-Scenes Feature, Jebraun Clifford, www.jebraunclifford.com

·      Thursday, November 9th, Visual Post, Laura A. Grace, www.unicornquester.com

·      Thursday, November 9th, Review of The Final Paladin, Laurie Lucking, www.landsuncharted.com

·      Friday, November 10th, Behind-the-Scenes Feature, Steve Rzasa, www.steverzasa.com

·     (You are Here) Saturday, November 11th, Review of The Final Paladin, Cathrine Bonham, www.dolphin18cb.wordpress.com

·      Sunday, November 12th, A Sneak Peek of The Final Paladin, Lisa Gefrides, www.lisagodfrees.com

·      Monday, November 13th, Interview, Bruce Weller, www.bruandmir.com

·      Tuesday, November 14th, Release-Day Feature, T.J. Akers, www.tjakers.com

·      Wednesday, November 15th, A Writer’s Best Friend, Jebraun Clifford, www.quillsandinkblotts.wordpress.com

·      Thursday, November 16th, A Celebration of The Final Paladin, Michele Israel Harper, www.micheleisraelharper.com Don’t forget: (Facebook Party Day)

·      Friday, November 17th, Guest Post, Bokerah Brumley, www.superbokerah.com or www.bokerah.com

Next Newer Entries