Welcome to Reading Addiction Blog Tour’s stop for ‘Lichgates’. (Technically, the tour is for the second book, and the review of that will go live tomorrow).
The official blurb:
Kara has no idea what she’s getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking along a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she’s thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying beings that all want the Grimoire’s secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, and most of them want to control the new-found power the Grimoire bestows upon her.
Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known in life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book—-one question that can fix everything in his broken life—-and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer.
Kara cannot escape her new life in Ourea. There’s no going back now.
My review:
There were so many things that I liked. Kara was a spunky heroine plagued by her own demons but still willing to help others. Thrust into a world she doesn’t know anything about, and where she is at a distinct disadvantage, she makes the most of what she has anyway.
Nothing too cloying in the romance part of this novel – really just fantasy through and through. It was a relief There were only veiled hints at sex, but the bonding between the yakona was well thought out and just as intimate. The suspense here was just as good as in the other more action-paced parts.
The world building is fantastic. Journeys that would have taken hours on foot? No problems! There’s a griffin for the task! Or a dragon. Or a two-headed horse. The caves, mountains and various gardens are fully realised as well.
Something I thought could have been done better, or that I would have liked to have seen more of, were the trips back into the ‘real world’. It’s hard to believe that this magic world has been hidden all this time, and that people don’t see it. I wanted to know what would happen to people who did see it.
I was happy with the ending of Lichgates because it feel like a proper ending. Yes, some cliff-hanger stuff, but also a satisfactory conclusion of some of the plot points. I started reading the second novel ‘Treason’ right after I finished it! ‘Treason’ is the novel that is officially on tour, and my review of that will go live tomorrow.
The cover is quite attractive, and it’s relevant to the story too. It reminds me a bit of the covers of the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix in fact. I’m going to be waiting impatiently for the third book in this trilogy to come out so that I can buy it.
Find it on:
About the Author
S. M. Boyce writes fantasy and paranormal fiction. Boyce is a sarcastic twit, but she still has friends because some people seem to like that. She’s currently working on the YA epic fantasy series the Grimoire Trilogy. Lichgates, the first in the series, is already available. Treason (book 2) releases October 27. Feel free to connect with her online or check out her blog.
You can find her at:
href=”http://smboyce.com/” rel=”nofollow” style=”color: #551a8b;” target=”_blank”>Website
Twitter: @theSMBoyce
Not sure if you like my opinion? Good thing this is a tour! You can look at some other reviews, guest posts and promos of ‘Treason’ at each of these tour stops:
Thanks for the great review! I'm so glad you enjoyed The Grimoire Trilogy thus far.<br /><br />-<a href="http://blog.smboyce.com/" rel="nofollow">Boyce</a>