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Monday, February 6, 2017

Dark Communion by CJ Perry - Book Tour - Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host CJ Perry and his new book, “Dark Communion”!  For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post – except the Available at Amazon picture. 

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!  Also, come back daily to interact with CJ and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!


Dark Communion
by CJ Perry

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GENRE: Dark Fantasy

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BLURB:

A cursed line of Minotaurs has kept Ayla’s people enslaved for 200 years. With nothing left to live for and a death sentence in her womb, Ayla trades her soul to a dark goddess for a chance to break the curse that keeps her people in chains. Armed with only her faith, Ayla and her brethren lead a revolution against an army of half-beasts led by the immortal son of the Goddess Herself.

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EXCERPT TWO:

The minotaur caught up to Deetra and pushed her down into the sand. Deetra rolled away, but he stood over her, menacing and taunting her. She kicked out at his crotch but missed.

Ayla gave the heavy iron bars a futile shake. “Open this! Now! DEETRAA!”

Alex pried Ayla's hands off the gate and held them. “You can't save her! We have to go, now!”

Ayla snatched her hands away from him. Deetra screamed from the arena floor and the crowd cheered. Ayla turned to look but Alex grabbed her again, by the shoulders.

“We have time to run, but only if we leave now!”

“Get off of me!” Ayla slapped Alex in the mouth. He recoiled and held a hand where she hit him. Ayla pushed him by the chest and accused the other men in the ready room with her eyes.

“Open it.”

Butch pushed between the others and shoved Alex out of the way.

“You heard the Priestess.”

Ayla eyed him as he bent at the knees. He gripped the bottom bar of the portcullis and rolled his shoulders to ready himself.

“My people are still loyal to the Night Goddess.”

The other men lined up on either side of him.

Ayla gave Alex a stern look. “Are mine?”

He shook his head, defeated, and took his place next to Butch. “We’re gonna die.”

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REVIEW:


This book is book one of the Godswar Chronicles Series.  I enjoyed that this was the first book as I was able to start right off from the beginning and not worry about missing the details from any previous books in the series.

This book starts off with the end of Ayla’s rape.  I have to be honest; I was a little off put by this very dark, gruesome, and graphic beginning.  I finished the first chapter and didn’t come back to the book for a couple of days.

I was pretty set on not liking this book and wasn’t sure I was even going to finish reading it.  But I hate not knowing how things end.  So I picked my tablet back up and continued reading this book.  I am glad that I did, because the story was interesting and had strong developed characters.

In this book, the main character, Ayla decides she is tired of being a slave to the Minotaurs and makes a deal with The Goddess of Darkness.  In exchange for her soul The Goddess gives Ayla the strength and power to fight the Minotaurs.  The Goddess also instructs Ayla to find the Freeman as they will help her battle against the Minotaurs.  However, the Minotaurs are hot on her trail and Ayla has to move fast to avoid capture and progress with her goals.  It will take everything Ayla has to break the curse and set her people free – but Ayla is willing to do whatever it takes for the good of her people.

This book is full of non-stop action and there are a few surprises along the way.

This story had incredible world-building which is very important in fantasy books.  I was very impressed with the significant detail that Mr. Perry provided.  It was very easy to picture.  Also, sometimes the magic powers can come across so fanatical.  This was not the case in this book.  Mr. Perry did a terrific job making this book easy to understand whether you are a regular to fantasy books or somewhat of a newbie like me.

I liked Ayla as she was a fighter, no matter what the Minotaurs did to her.  I felt connected and bonded with the characters.  I was quickly caught up in their story and found myself rooting for Ayla and cringing whenever something bad was about to happen.

As this book is the first book in a series, there are a lot of background details to help create the storyline and overall plot.  Usually this can be quite overwhelming; however, Mr. Perry did a great job creating an even-toned, steady pace, and flowing storyline.

This storyline is something everyone will be able to connect to – the fight for power and the fight for freedom.

This book is a true dark, epic fantasy book that is full of interesting, intriguing, and just down right whoa scenes.  There were definitely some moments I was like, “Did that really just happen?!”  Lol!  But as always I try to keep these reviews without any spoilers.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a classic fantasy book.  However, I would not recommend this book to a younger crowd as it is a very dark, gruesome, and graphic book.  I think many people will enjoy stepping into this fascinating and thought-proving world.

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

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AUTHOR BIO:


My deep and abiding love of fantasy began when I was six when I first saw the 1981 film Dragonslayer on VHS with my father. He loved fantasy movies too, but didn’t have the courage to be a dork about it like I did. That movie was a gateway drug that led me straight to the hard stuff - CS Lewis. I was far too young for such potency but by the time I was ten I had read the whole series. That’s when I found my first Dungeons and Dragons group. When I started playing, my friends and I used pre-made campaign settings and published adventures, but I quickly grew restless with their limitations and trite story lines. I needed my own persistent world: something adaptable to my whim and that no one else owned.

Back in my day, there was no internet, so I took out every book about castles and medieval history from the school library and read them in Math class (I'm still terrible at math as a result). I came up with an entire world and brand new history. I read books on cartography and hand drew maps of my new world. I created a cosmology, a hierarchy of gods, and the tenets of their religions. I read the Dungeon Master's guide a dozen times, and every fantasy novel I could get my hands on.

Then, one day, I sat down and told my friends, "Hey guys, wanna try my story instead?"

Even 15 years after the original D&D campaigns ended, former players tell me that they share our incredible stories with their children. I'm honored to say that most of those players still have their original character sheets 16-20 years later, and a couple have even named their children after them.

Now, I'm 39 years old and a loving father of 2 girls, and I still play those games on occasion. My passion has evolved into putting those ideas and amazing stories on paper for the whole world to enjoy. My first novel took me and co-author DC Fergerson 10 years to write and topped out at 180,000 words. Being too long and too complex, I finally ended the project and took its lessons to heart.

I learned that Dungeons & Dragons did not translate well into a novel. D&D made for great times, but also for some meandering plot lines, pointless encounters, and poor character motivations. No matter how memorable some of the moments were, if I wanted anyone to read my story, I needed to learn a lot more about writing.

I threw myself into being a full time student of novel crafting. I read every book on writing by Dwight Swain I could find. I paid Chuck Sambuchino (Editor for Writer's Digest) to critique and edit my older work. I took James Patterson's Masterclass, went to college, and joined online writing communities. All the while, I read my favorite fantasy novels again, only this time with a mental highlighter. I reworked my stories, outlined them, and decided to start from the beginning.

Many, many years later, I am in the final edit and proofreading stage of Dark Communion, the first installment of the Shadowalker Chronicles. My role as a father of two girls heavily influenced the characters I’d known for over 20 years, shaping them into women that my own daughters could respect. My characters took on a depth and quality that brings them off the page and into the minds of readers, because they have become all too real. I was privileged enough to work on two careers at the same time to accomplish this feat - a fun-loving and involved stay-at-home dad, and a full time writer.

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AMAZON BUY LINK:



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GIVEAWAY INFO:

CJ will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

4 comments:

  1. CJ ~ It is great to have you here again! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)

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  2. I have enjoyed the tour, the book sounds great.

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  3. I've had fun following the tour for Dark Communion and I'm looking forward to checking it out. Thanks for sharing :)

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