BLOG TOUR: BOND OF VENOM AND MAGIC

 

Today I am a host for the Blog Tour of A Bond of Venom and Magic, coordinated by Xpresso Book Tours.

PUBLISHER: Smashwords

DATE PUBLISHED: 14th October 2016

SUMMARY:

 

The Wraith Lord is hunting; his prize, the key to unleashing darkness and Chaos upon the eight Kingdoms.

For Diamond Gillon the war raging in the south seems a remote danger until her home is brutally attacked. Having lost everything she holds dear, Diamond is catapulted into a terrifying new world in which legendary beasts arise, magic is condemned and half blood fae, like her, have no rights. Despite her growing feelings for her saviour, Commander Hugo Casimir, he remains a paradox – not only is he a heartless killer, he is owned by the cruel immortal fae queen; a queen who will murder her own people for magic.

As Diamond’s circumstances become ever more perilous she is drawn deeper into Hugo’s world and discovers the lengths to which he will go to save what he holds dear. Will Hugo become her friend, her protector, or – an enemy not worthy of her trust?

A Bond of Venom and Magic is a tale of two people bound by magic and secrets, but trapped in the complexities of love and betrayal. It is the beginning of an epic journey, one that will test Diamond’s resolve and determination to battle an evil that threatens not only her world but that of Eternity, the land of The Guardians and The Goddess.

 

WRITING STYLE:

 

The writing style in this book was beautifully descriptive and flowed well. This book is told in the third person following the main character of Diamond. The world building and mythology of this book was unique and a pleasure to learn.

 

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:

 

The main character of Diamond begins this story with a terrible loss and the reader gets to witness how Diamond deals with this loss and with being thrust into a violent fight for survival whilst she learns about the magic she always knew was there but never fully understood. Diamond does not start off as a strong character but her development through this book is amazing.

 

THEMES:

 

Inner Strength: Diamond displays a lot of inner strength to go through the trials she must face in this book and come out the other end even a mild resemblance of the girl she once was.

Loss: Loss also plays a strong role in the development of Diamond’s character, whether it is loss of innocence or loss of a loved one.

Love: This book did not have a case of the insta-love (which many readers can find frustrating). However, there was a lot of chemistry from the get go. Sometimes I felt Diamond relying to heavily on her love interest, but I do understand this seeing as Diamond has come from a fairly sheltered upbringing an is rather naive at times.

 

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

 

This is a beautifully vivid book with brilliant world building. It is classed as a YA Fantasy book but there is some vivid battle scenes and mildly explicit language, but nothing uncommon to modern day YA books.

The romance in this book was epic for me. It was steamy and beautiful and mixed with the gritty world created in this book was absolutely amazing.

The world building was nothing less than spectacular and the descriptions of each of the characters painted a picture in my minds eye. This book started right smack bang in the middle of the action and did not slow from there.

I am amazed that this is a debut novel and am waiting on baited breath for what comes next. This is definitely a new High Fantasy to keep an eye on and I highly recommend it.

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

 

Karen Tomlinson is the author of The Goddess and the Guardians series of Young Adult fantasy books. Book one A Bond of Venom and Magic will be released October 14th 2016.

Karen has always been an avid reader. Her taste in books is eclectic but she likes nothing better than an exciting fantasy, set in a new and magical world. She lives in Derbyshire, England, with her husband, twin girls and her dalmatian, Poppy. Karen trained as a nurse and currently works as a resuscitation and clinical skills trainer, this involves training a wide variety of health care professionals and medical students in acute patient care. In addition to writing, and reading whenever she can, Karen likes to keep active. She has been training at Shotokan karate since being thirteen, likes walking, mountain biking and (for something completely different) cake decorating. She is currently working on book two in The Goddess and the Guardians series.

About me!

As soon as I could read I spent hours getting lost in the new worlds books could give me. Spending my pocket money had to be done (obviously) but not on sweets, well, not many…I spent my money on books. Back then it was Enid Blyton’s Famous Five which sparked my young mind. I didn’t rest until I had the whole set, then I migrated to the secret seven…(there was no Harry Potter then) As a teenager I would trawl through all my mum and dad’s discarded books. It was probably highly inappropriate for a thirteen year old to be reading swoony Mills and Boon romances followed by Ian Flemming, Alistair Maclean and Wilbur Smith!
Because I read anything and everything I could get my hands on back then, I now have an eclectic taste in books. I will read anything that catches my eye and absolutely love illustrated book covers! In my late teens I discovered fantasy and that genre has stayed my firm favourite. I am and will always remain a complete sucker for a fantasy with kick ass characters and worlds steeped in magic and romance!

 

PURCHASE LINKS:

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Bond-Venom-Magic-Goddess-Guardians-ebook/dp/B01J92LEAE/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-bond-of-venom-and-magic-karen-tomlinson/1123805544?ean=2940153020051
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/a-bond-of-venom-and-magic/id1114129973?mt=11
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/a-bond-of-venom-and-magic

 

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY:

 

Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)
3x eBook copies of A Bond of Venom and Magic

To enter this giveaway, click here.

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati