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.
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.
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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CONNECT WITH
CJ:
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Goodreads Author Page:
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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
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