Hi, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Tegon
Maus and his new book, “The Gift”! 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 $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Tegon
and to increase your chances of winning!
This book is on SALE
during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!
See below for more details.
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
The Gift
by Tegon Maus
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GENRE: Fantasy, Action/Adventure
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BLURB:
Tucker
Littlefield is a liar, a thief, a con-man. In an attempt to take advantage of a
party thrown by the King, he becomes involved in a kidnapping – the King’s
niece, Elizabeth, to be exact. Because of his fear of the dark as well as
heights, and a good many other things, he finds himself stabbed and bleeding to
death. To save him, a Shaman for the Jonda – Daneba – turns him into a soul
bearer for the Kindred. In an effort to find Lizie, Littlefield finds the Norha
instead and their leader Tahki - a cannibalistic tribe the lives under a
volcano that will leave no stone unturned to find Lizie. Littlefield is
blackmailed into her recovery. Will the help of his companion, Enon, help them
save Lizie...and themselves?
"Transformed
by a primitive magic beyond a civilized man's understanding, I was given a
horrible gift that no man should possess... It held me, twisted me, turning me
at its bidding. I was enslaved by its power, compelled to devour the souls of
the dead until I became the monster of my fears. I have seen things I wish
never to see again. I have done things of which I wish never to speak. Yet I
must if I am to find the answers to fulfill my hope. I have walked upon blue
ribbons of molten stone to peer into the depth of a man's soul. I watched as a
promise made at birth brought my friend Enon to sacrifice everything to become
whole again - all in an effort to save the life of his child. I have cried
without shame for the loss of all I hold dear and for fear that the future will
hold more than I can bear. I am Tucker Littlefield. Know all that I say now is
true-spoken."
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EXCERPT THREE:
The
wind howled louder as the clouds darkened, deeper and deeper. Lightning flashed
wildly overhead, coming closer with each new strike. Thunder roared, crushing
the air, pushing me down tightly to the ground. The fire strained to its
limits, jumping to me and then suddenly to Enon’s heart and that of the dog.
Both screamed in agony, as did I. The howl of that wind shrieked louder,
drowning out the others. Pain racked every inch of my body.
I
was overwhelmed with all that was taking place about me and then she did the
unthinkable. She summoned from each, a wisp of themselves, their spirits, their
souls, tore free from them to enter me through the hole in my palm.
A
stir of Enon’s mind filled me, for a moment, a rush of memories and images not
my own. For that instant I was engulfed with anguish, a loneliness that reached
far beyond my own. The images of his life raced by in torrents, every pain,
every rejection from his people as well as mine.
I
was overwhelmed, filled with the images of every soul he had seen into. Every
life, every lie, every deceit, every ugly thing man and Jonda alike had tried
to hide from him. Even my own. He was an outcast in both societies, befriended
by none and yet his sorrow was for them all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY BOOK REVIEW:
This book is filled
with action, adventure, intrigue, mystery, suspense, and a dash of romance!
This
book focuses on the kidnapping of the King’s niece, Elizabeth, often also referred
to as “Lizie,” and “Izie,” in the book. Enon
Tutelo, a Jonda, and Tucker Littlefield, were both guests at the Palace during
the birthday party when seven-year-old Elizabeth was taken. Jonda are like giants and are considered to
be outsiders and monsters. Enon and his
magical dog, Noget, were protecting the Royal Family when
a group of Jonda’s had actually crashed the birthday party, beat up and slayed guards,
and had made their way towards the Royal Family. Tucker had tried to help and intervene with
protecting Lizie, but he was beaten and left unconscious. When he comes to, he learns of the tragic
news that the Jonda’s kidnapped Lizie and used her as a human shield to
escape. Also, that the King’s right
hand, Chancellor Grimwell has convinced the King that ALL the Jonda are
responsible, including Enon, who protected the King and his family. The King gave Chancellor Grimwell full
responsibility to do as he pleases in order to get Lizie back. Therefore, he has enacted that all Jonda are
to be arrested or killed on sight if they resist until Lizie is returned home
safely.
Tucker
is blackmailed into finding Lizie by Lizie’s nanny, Governess Eloise. She promises Tucker that if he brings
Elizabeth home safely, he will never have to work another day in his life. Tucker is given the King’s personal horse,
Escalan. He is also given a letter that
states he on King’s business and is to have an open-ended supply of money and
authority and to be treated in this high regard. Tucker heads to Bridgehaven where he is to
meet up with Enon and start on a very dangerous adventure to find and rescue
Lizie. While on the search they come
across many threatening and menacing creatures that try to stop Tucker and Enon
from saving Lizie.
There
are a few plot twists and a surprising traitor involved in Elizabeth’s
kidnapping – a shocking betrayer that even I didn’t see coming! So much excitement that you definitely don’t
want to miss out on!
This book has a creative storyline, a detailed writing style, interesting
characters, is fast paced, and keeps you entertained.
I
think most people will have a love/hate relationship with the main character,
Tucker. I think they will find him
off-putting, pompous, and arrogant at first.
Tucker is a thief, a cheat, a coward, a liar, and a con-man. But as you spend more time with him and get
to know him better, I think he’ll slowly start to win you over. I am curious to see if that attitude will
continue over the course of the other books in the series or if he’ll go back
to his old ways. As far as Enon goes, he is kind, caring, and protective.
However, even though an adult his language skills are more like a
young, uneducated child. It was occasionally
annoying reading his broken-up sentences that were more like a bunch of
childish words randomly thrown together.
I also enjoyed the supporting characters as each one brought something
unique to the story.
There
is a lot going on in this book and surprisingly it’s only 120 pages via eBook! Unfortunately, the amount of content was so
jam-packed and overloaded that it had to quickly jump from scene-to-scene in
order to make room for everything to fit.
This made for some scenes to seem choppy and not fully developed, like
they were quickly rushed through so that the next scene could take place. However, with this book having so much detail
it also didn’t allow for much lag time or for the reader to have a chance to
find a slow-paced scene as the book just kept going from big moment to the next
big moment without catching a breath in-between.
Unfortunately,
I think that the worldbuilding wasn’t as strong and powerful as it needed to
be. I think this was mostly because the
book was on the shorter end and everything seemed rushed. There was barely any time for the storyline,
plot points, character development, character arc, etc., let alone time for
creating a setting and worldbuilding. At
120 pages there just wasn’t enough space to do the worldbuilding justice. I think what the author started building definitely held promise and showed skills that he held the talent and
capabilities of generating such designs if given enough pages to follow through.
This
book genre is marketed as a fantasy, action/adventure book and yet the author
found a way to throw in mystery, intrigue, suspense, and romance elements into
the book. It definitely added a
fascinating extra component to the story!
There are some predictable scenes. However, there are still a few very
unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!
This book is book one of The Chronicles of Tucker Littlefield Book
Series. This book can absolutely be read
as a standalone.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely
recommend it! I think all fantasy, action,
and adventure readers will like this book too!
So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be
disappointed!
Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as
helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1KPF80ZVAJYG5
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AUTHOR BIO:
I was
raised pretty much the same as everyone else... devoted mother, strict father
and all the imaginary friends I could conjure.
The
first thing I can remember writing was for my wife. For the life of me I can't
remember what it was about... something about dust bunnies under the bed and
monsters in my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married me
shortly after that. I spent a good number of years chasing other dreams before
I got back to writing.
It
wasn't a deliberate conscious thought it was more of a stepping stone. It was
the eighties, my wife and I had joined a dream interpret group and we were
encouraged to write down our dreams as they occurred. "Be as detailed as
you can," we were told.
I was
thrilled. If there is one thing I enjoy it's making people believe me and I
like to exaggerate. Not a big exaggeration or an outright lie mine you, just a
little step out of sync, just enough so you couldn't be sure if it were true or
not. When I write, I always write with the effort of "it could happen
quirkiness" very much in mind and nothing, I guarantee you, nothing makes
me happier.
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CONNECT WITH TEGON:
Email:
tegon.maus@verizon.net
Facebook:
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LinkedIn:
Tirgearr Publishing Author Page:
Tirgearr Publishing Book Page:
BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS
& BOOK SALE INFO:
**The Gift is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY
$0.99!!!**
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Kobo eBook:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
Smashwords eBook:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Tegon will be awarding a $20 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 is 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.
Tegon ~ Good morning! Welcome back! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the read Ally... not to mention your great review!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing and for the awesome giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great story!
ReplyDeleteHow long ago did you come up for the idea of your book?
ReplyDeleteWhat an intriguing and magical plot line. I am so excited to read this book!
ReplyDeleteGood evening. My question for you today is: Are you able to read or write when it is noisy or do you require peace and quiet as I do?
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds interesting. I hope that it is a success.
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take you to write your book?
ReplyDeleteDid you come up with the title of the book before or after you started writing it?
ReplyDeleteWho is your favorite character in the book?
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful.
ReplyDelete