Hey, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Erin
A. Jensen and her new book, “Benevolent”!
For other stops on her 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 $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Erin
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Benevolent
by Erin A. Jensen
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GENRE: Fantasy
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BLURB:
A story about the purpose of life, the healing power of fandom, and
the resilience of the human spirit.
Tormented
by the in-crowd at school on a daily basis, there were two things that gave
fifteen-year-old Abigail Perkins the strength to keep going—her best friend,
Danny Cobb; and her favorite television show, Supernatural. But the night
Danny’s mother calls to say that his battle with cancer is nearing its end, and
the doctors don’t expect him to live through the night, even Supernatural can’t
dull the ache in her heart.
Devastated
by her impending loss and crushed that Danny’s mother won’t allow her to visit
him one last time, Abigail crawls into bed and cries herself to sleep that
night; and she wakes to find Supernatural’s most endearing angel standing at
the foot of her bed.
Told
from Abigail’s perspective as she nears the end of her long life and revisits
the moments that defined it, this story was inspired by the deep connection
that Supernatural fans feel with the show’s beloved characters, and the show’s
miraculous ability to help its fans through troubled times.
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EXCERPT TWO:
I
flashed him a sympathetic smile. “What are you thinking?”
“I
have never understood why humans are so moved by music,” he muttered as his
eyes searched mine.
“Music
is the closest thing that we have to magic,” I confided in a reverent whisper,
“because it has the power to anchor us to a moment in time.”
His
half-smile conveyed a heartwarming mix of curiosity and affection. “How so?”
I
felt my face flush a shade darker as I grinned at him. “When we hear a song
from our past, it conjures up all the old sensations that we felt when we first
heard it.”
He
eyed me with a perplexed frown as he took a step toward me. “How can a
combination of man-made instruments and human vocal chords wield that sort of
power?”
“I
can’t explain it with words,” I whispered, “It’s something that you just have
to feel.”
He
stood there staring at me with that puzzled expression on his face as I stepped
closer and carefully inserted the earpiece in my hand into his left ear, so the
music connected the two of us, just as surely as the cord connected the earbuds
in our ears. “Maybe you’d understand what I mean if you danced to the music.”
“I
don’t dance,” he muttered as he watched me begin to sway to the beat.
I
smiled at him as I took his hands in mine and moved his arms in time with the
music, like a puppeteer pulling a life-sized marionette’s strings. “Anyone can
dance. You just have to let go and let the music guide your movements.”
A
skeptical frown spread across his face as he watched me, but he let me direct
his movements nonetheless. He was stiff and awkward at first but as the music
grew louder, he seemed to find the rhythm. “These words are nonsense,” he
muttered.
“Shhh,”
I whispered, “Don’t think. Just feel.”
He
was a remarkably fast learner, but I suppose being on earth since the dawn of
time had given him plenty of opportunities to watch humans dance. Once he
started to feel the music, he moved with all the grace that you’d imagine an
angel would.
“Hey
Jude” gradually faded away until there was nothing but silence in our twin
earpieces.
We
stopped moving and stood there staring at each other while we waited for the
next song to guide our movements.
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MY BOOK REVIEW:
Wow!!! This book was
incredible!!! I absolutely LOVED every
page of it!!!
This book took me on a roller-coaster of emotions!!!
This book keeps you totally engaged from page one through the
very last page! I honestly could not put
this book down!
This
book is told through Abigail’s point-of-view and mostly through flashbacks as
she’s laying on her deathbed looking back at her life and recalling some of the more defining moments that stuck out over her years. This was definitely a different kind of book than
I’ve read before – but still ever so enjoyable!
I
really liked the main characters, Abigail, Danny, and Castiel. I felt an instant connection with Abigail and
was able to easily relate with her for the most part. She was sweet, innocent, kind, likable,
caring, considerate, and compassionate. It
was difficult watching Danny whittle away from cancer. Cancer is a hard topic for me as I’ve had to
watch my mom suffer from multiple cancer diagnoses, surgeries, chemo and radiation
treatments, etc., over the years. My mom is
finally in remission, however, it’s only temporary, as it’s not a matter of if,
it’s a matter of when she will get another cancer diagnosis. So, yes, there were lots of tears while
reading this book!!!
However,
unlike Abigail, I was never really bullied growing up. But these days bullies are EVERYWHERE!!! I’ve had to deal with bullies in the workplace,
as neighbors, and at the gym. I’m sure
most of us, can at least relate to having to deal with a bully somewhere in our
lifetime – which is why Abigail made such a great, well-rounded, easy to
connect with character – that I think most of us can relate to at least some
part of her.
As
for Castiel, he was a pleasurable addition to this book! I am a Supernatural fan, so I really enjoyed him
being part of this story! However, I am not a
diehard fan of the show (sorry Erin!!) – although I really wanted to be! I got rid of cable and kept missing
episodes and getting lost. I’m now a
streamer, and sadly Supernatural isn't on Hulu.
However, it’s on my list of shows to buy when it goes cheaper than $29.99
a season!! Perhaps this Gray Thursday/Black Friday it will go on sale and I can buy a few seasons and get
caught back up as this book really made me miss the show!!
I think the author did a fantastic job on her character
development as these characters were so real, raw, and personal on many levels!
This book has a creative
story line with well executed plot points, fantastic writing style with
detailed scenes, relatable characters, is evenly paced, and keeps you fully
engaged and entertained.
This book is so beautifully
told in a mannerism that allows the reader to get fully immersed and invested
in the story and the outcome of the characters.
I LOVED that this book was
wrapped up in the Supernatural TV Show.
And it absolutely showed a new, but brilliant, merciful, benevolent, humanizing
side of Castiel. It’s no wonder the
author’s book won in the Supernatural Giving Back Tour’s Creative Quest Competition in Cleveland!
There are some predictable scenes. However, there are still many unexpected
twists and turns that you won’t see coming!
This book is not
listed to be part of a book series. Therefore,
this book can be read as a standalone.
I absolutely love that this book donates 100% of the net
proceeds from this book will go to Random Acts charitable organization.
Random
Acts inspires many amazing things around the world every day — from small acts
of kindness, such as inspiring someone to buy a stranger a cup of coffee, to
much bigger acts of kindness like building a school in San Juan del Sur,
Nicaragua. To learn more about Random
Acts visit randomacts.org.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would
absolutely recommend it! I think all fantasy
readers – especially Supernatural TV Show fans 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:
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AUTHOR BIO:
Erin Jensen is
the Amazon International bestselling author of The Dream Waters Series. She was
awarded the Bronze Medal for fantasy fiction in the 2018 Readers' Favorite
international book awards. She also received Honorable Mention for fantasy
fiction in the 2018 Writer's Digest self-published e-book awards. A part-time
pharmacist and a full-time daydreamer, she resides in upstate New York with her
ridiculously supportive husband, two teenage sons--who are both taller than
her--and a Yorkshire terrier who thinks he's the family bodyguard.
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CONNECT WITH ERIN:
Website:
Blog:
Facebook:
Twitter:
BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Erin will be awarding a $25 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.
Erin ~ Good morning! Welcome back! It is always a pleasure 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! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ally!! It’s always a pleasure to visit your blog! And thank you for the wonderful review! I’m so happy you enjoyed reading Benevolent!!
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete