Lichgates Review + Giveaway

 

 My Review:

Title: Lichgates

Author:  S.M. Boyce

Book Summary

“The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it, and Kara Magari is its next target

Kara has no idea what she's getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking a hidden trail.  Once she opens it, she's thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying things that want the Grimoire's secrets.  Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, and most want to control the new-found power the book bestows upon her.  Even if Kara does escape, Ourea will only drag her back.

Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known of 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 world—and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer.

There’s no going back now.”

            If I went on a hike and found a whole new world... I would probably hyperventilate, throw up, and basically freak out.  Kara Magari has a similar reaction when she actually finds herself trapped in a room with a book that tells her that she can’t go home.  Seriously?  She does what any normal human being would do--  she tries to make her own destiny.  With the help of Braeden, a mysterious man with a horrifying past, Kara comes to terms with her new abilities.  And, she learns what it means to be the Vagabond…

            The first thing that strikes me while reading Lichgates is that Boyce’s writing style is very detailed.  I really enjoy how she describes the woods and that, right from the beginning, I know how Kara thinks.  I am quickly introduced to her likes and dislikes, her strengths and her weaknesses.  When Kara is first transported into Ourea, she pretty much flips out and breaks down.  I really, really like this.  If Kara just blindly accepts everything that happens to her, she seems an idiot.  If she isn’t scared when her world is completely shaken, then she appears an unbelievable character!  The fact that she has flaws and doesn’t try to hide them makes me like her that much more.  Kara isn’t perfect, and she does make mistakes throughout the book, but she learns from them and grows as a character.

            Braeden is a very interesting character.  I mean, just look at his name!  It screams unique, original, and special, which he is.  But, he’s also so much more.  Braeden, like Kara, is a slave to circumstance.  Throughout Lichgates I see varying sides of Braeden.  Sometimes I want to hug and comfort him, while other times I want to punch him in the face.  He is definitely stubborn but, to travel with Kara, he has to be!  Braeden has a protective streak that is endearing, and he creates those “awww” moments as I read.

            Lichgates captures my attention.  Boyce reveals details about Kara’s and Braeden’s lives at different times during the story, so I don’t know everything about them up front.  This means that while I’m reading I get to figure out not only this new, unfamiliar, world but also the characters.  This keeps me in suspense and full of intrigue.  While reading Lichgates, I notice that some of the dialogue seems forced and awkward.  This only happens in a few places, and I notice it more when Kara and Braeden are off somewhere alone.  They seem to say things in a more awkward way, or speak very differently from how they normally speak.  Lichgates is the first book in  The Grimoire Trilogy, and though certain things have closure and are accomplished, I feel the book serves more to stage the next books than to present an actual self-contained story.  Lichgates is definitely a great read that I highly recommend to fantasy lovers!

The Cover:

            When I first see this cover, I am very unimpressed.  To begin with, it’s brown.  Yes, I’m pointing out the obvious, but it bothers me!  It doesn’t catch my eye, and if I were to see it at the library, I probably wouldn’t pick it up.  However, after reading Lichgates, I see why this cover was chosen.  It is obviously fashioned after the ancient Grimoire and is meant to resemble its cover.  So, the cover definitely fits the book; I just didn’t understand this before reading it!

I give Lichgates 4.5 out of 5 hearts: Very Highly Recommended! 

  

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  More on Boyce here:

·         Main Site: http://www.smboyce.com/

·         Blog: http://blog.smboyce.com/

·         Official Book Website & Encyclopedia: http://www.thegrimoirebooks.com/

·         Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/thesmboyce

·         Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5280531.S_M_Boyce

·         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SM-Boyce/174950932556115

·         Google+: https://plus.google.com/112175470463905024259/posts

·         Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/thesmboyce

 

Buy Lichgates here:

·         Amazon USA: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005W5L38G/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=hubp0aaf-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005W5L38G

·         Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005W5L38G

·         Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lichgates-s-m-boyce/1109150950?ean=2940013311343&itm=1&usri=the%252bgrimoire%252blichgates

·         Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96682

·         CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/3689753

·         Directly from Boyce: http://www.thegrimoirebooks.com/buy-direct/

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