Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Galen
Surlak-Ramsey and his new book, “The Gorgon Bride”! For other stops on his Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
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 Galen
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
The Gorgon Bride
by Galen Surlak-Ramsey
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GENRE: Fantasy
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BLURB:
THE
GODS ARE FUNNY.
Except
when you piss them off.
Then
they suck.
They
really, really suck.
(Really).
Alexander
Weiss discovers this tidbit when he inadvertently insults Athena, Goddess of
Wisdom, and she casts him away on a forgotten isle filled with statues.
Being
marooned is bad enough, but the fact that the island is also the home of
Euryale, elder sister to Medusa, makes the situation a touch worse. The only
thing keeping Alex from being petrified is the fact that Euryale has taken a
liking to the blundering mortal.
For
now.
What
follows next is a wild, adventurous tale filled with heroes, gods, monsters,
love, and war that is nothing short of legendary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
At
9:03 a.m., on a cold Tuesday morning, Alex would get his fifteen minutes of
fame. In truth, his share would be closer to one minute; the orca would garner
the other fourteen.
Alex’s
neighborhood of exquisite prairie homes and Jaguar drivers was a whale-free
zone. It always had been, and everyone expected it always would be. Thus, when
Alex sat down at his Steinway grand piano to practice Chopin’s first ballade at
8:30, he considered the day to be routine. But when his doorbell rang a minute
before nine, things changed.
Alex
muttered a few curses and took to his feet. He opened the front door and felt a
twinge to burn the heretic who had interrupted his worship service. Chopin, as
far as Alex was concerned, was a god.
At
the foot of his doorstep jogged a man of impeccable physique who had his index
and middle fingers pressed into his neck. Before Alex could raise a hand to
shield his eyes from an unusually bright sun, the man thrust a fancy looking
clipboard into his chest. “Delivery for Alexander Weiss,” the man said. “Sign
here.”
Alex
hesitated. He took the board and examined the man. He wore a nondescript white
uniform, sneakers, and ball cap that screamed athletic commercial. “Who exactly
are you with?” Alex asked.
“With?”
A puzzled look crossed the deliveryman’s face, as if the question had never
been posed to him before.
“Yes,
with. Who do you work for?” Alex looked at the man’s running shoes. The emblem
on the sides looked vaguely familiar. “Nike?”
“Gods,
no.” The man rolled his eyes. “I hate doing jobs for Nike. Always going on
about triumphing over adversity. Thankfully, Olympus doesn’t have me at Nike’s
beck and call.”
“Olympus,
huh? Startup company?”
The
man grinned. It was mischievous and the type of grin a child might give after
thieving a cookie or two. “No, we’ve been around for a while.”
“Funny,
never heard of you.”
“We’re
from overseas. Closed shop for a bit.” The deliveryman peered around Alex.
“Say, you’ve got a lot of nice stuff inside.”
Alex
glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks.”
“Really
nice.”
“Again,
thank you.”
“Nicest
on the block, by far. Care to part with any of it?”
“No,
I’m afraid not.”
The
smile on the man’s face grew. “Your neighbor said the same thing about her
cookies. But I must say they are delicious. You should help yourself to some.”
“Mrs.
Nemur gave you a homemade cookie?”
“Well,
gave is such a strong word,” he said with a wink.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REVIEW:
This
book is about Alex, a concert pianist, who unknowingly upsets Athena, so she
drops a whale on his head. Alex is then
in a not-quite-dead status and in order to save himself he is then forced to
act as a matchmaker. Alex must find a husband
for Euryale, Medusa’s sister, and the daughter of Phorcys, God of the Hidden
Dangers of the Sea. Alex agrees, but
after meeting Euryale, he quickly falls in love with her, and the feeling is reciprocated. It seems like Alex’s job would be complete
and it would be a win-win. However,
since Athena arranged this set-up, her sister, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love
is furious as she is the one who makes the love connections. So, an all-out battle among the Gods begins
that puts Alex and Euryale right at the center and tossed around like pawns.
It’s
clear that the author is well versed in Greek Mythology and brings it down to a
level that can easily be understood and enjoyed by all readers.
I
liked that so many known and lesser known Greek Gods made appearances
throughout the book. It really showed
what it would have been like there and made the story more realistic.
I
liked that this book is written in a light hearted, funny, often sarcastic
tone. It gives humor to the story and
the characters. Even during the more
serious, wild, dark, gruesome scenes; the writing continues to be on the lighter
side.
Unfortunately,
I felt there was a lack of character development and connection. Yes, obviously, I’m not going to be able to
easily relate to or have much in common with Greek Gods – but I felt the author
was able to set up situations and scenarios that allowed for those opportunities
but didn’t follow through with a strong enough connection. Furthermore, I felt a disconnect along some
of the characters interaction as well.
I was
very intrigued by the storyline and found the concept to be well thought out. However, there were a few times I felt the story
jumped around a bit and got somewhat confusing.
I found myself having to re-read some of the passages. I think there was just so much going on in
the story and it was difficult to separate it out at times.
I
loved that the author snuck hidden messages throughout the book. It really raised more questions and allowed
other viewpoints and helped me see things in different ways. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers
out, but some of the messages are about love, the true value of love, the
hardships of love, how far you’d go for love, and like what love really means to you. I think many of us just throw that four-letter
word out there and may not really think about what it truly means. After reading this book, I definitely spent some
time thinking about the people I love, why I love them, and that I will always make sure
that those people know that they are truly loved.
This
book has a lot to offer readers such as Greek Mythology, fantasy, romance,
love, friendship, adventure, suspense, action, adrenaline, humor, vengeance,
faith, adversary, quests, second chances, new beginnings, and so much more!
Even
if you’re not a Greek Mythology buff this book is still easy to follow and
understand.
This
book has a neat and tidy ending that also implies a sequel to follow.
All
in all, I enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend this book to
all Greek Mythology, fantasy, and action readers!
Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as
helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R13S7080IGC42Q
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
When
not writing, Galen Surlak-Ramsey has
been known to throw himself out of an airplane, teach others how to throw
themselves out of an airplane, take pictures of the deep space, and wrangle his
four children somewhere in Southwest Florida.
He
also manages to pay the bills as a chaplain for a local hospice.
Drop
by his website https://galensurlak.com/ to see what other books he has out,
what’s coming soon, check out the newsletter (well, sign up for the newsletter
and get access to awesome goodies, contests, exclusive content, etc.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH GALEN:
Website:
Email:
Facebook:
Twitter:
BookBub:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Amazon Hardcover:
Barnes and Noble:
Kobo:
Google Play:
The Book Depository Paperback:
The Book Depository Hardcover:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Hardcover:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Galen will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC 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.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteGalen ~ It is great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I really enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed getting to know your book and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteNice cover
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
ReplyDeleteDo you have any ideas for your next book? Congrats on the release. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteLots of big readers in my family and most with different genres. I appreciate the tour and getting to read about some awesome books.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read your book.
ReplyDelete