The Gift by Tegon Maus - Book Tour - Book Sale - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

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.

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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!

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

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:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tegon-Maus/150255051766767

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/TegonMaus

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/tegon

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tegon-maus-93160662

Tirgearr Publishing Author Page:

http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Maus_Tegon/index.htm

Tirgearr Publishing Book Page:

http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Maus_Tegon/the-gift.htm

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tegon-maus

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-gift-the-chronicles-of-tucker-littlefield-1-by-tegon-maus

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5808023.Tegon_Maus

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16245472-the-gift

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/2y9ZCGF

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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:

https://amzn.to/2SD3WHK

Amazon Paperback:

https://amzn.to/2SAJ83V

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gift-tegon-maus/1123461643

Kobo eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-gift-216

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Gift---The-Chronicles-Of-Tucker-Littlefield-Tegon-Maus/9781909224070

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/product/A14768129126

Smashwords eBook:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/617798

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Tegon will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**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.