I was asked to participate in The Watchers Book 1: Knight of Light blog tour and I’m very excited to be a part of it. I will be posting my review of the book once I finish reading it. For now, here’s a brief description. This is also the first time I have a giveaway included in an upcoming review! The link is at the bottom. There’s a $100 Amazon gift card as the Grand Prize and multiple copies of the book in the giveaway.
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The Watchers Book 1: Knight of Light
In England, 1270 A.D., Auriella (pronounced yurr-ee-ella) flees her village after being accused of witchcraft. Pursued by nightmarish creatures, she struggles to accept the truth about her powers.
“The Watchers” are supernatural beings in human form whose duty it is to protect and guard mankind from the armies of darkness. Unfortunately, some of these Watchers go bad.
Deirdra Eden’s The Watcher’s Series is written in a traditional fairytale style with a young girl’s discovery of incredible, but dangerous powers within herself, a cast of humorous side-kicks, (including a dwarf, pixie and dragon) a quest for greater self-discovery and purpose, and villains of epic proportions.
Watch the amazing Knight of Light book trailer on youtube.
“My goal in writing is to saturate my books with intrigue, mystery, romance, and plot twists that will keep my readers in suspense. I want to see fingerprints on the front and back covers where readers have gripped the novel with white knuckles!
Aside from writing, I enjoy jousting in arenas, planning invasions, horseback riding through open meadows, swimming in the ocean, hiking up mountains, camping in cool shady woods, climbing trees barefoot, and going on adventures.”
Upside Down is the first in Lia Riley’s Off The Map series. It follows the relationship of Natalia (Talia) Stolfi, a girl from Santa Cruz, California and Brandon (Bran) Lockhart, an Australian young man she meets during her study abroad program.
The past year had been difficult for Talia and she didn’t know how to deal with the death of her sister. A study abroad program to Australia was just what she felt she needed. It would give her time away from the painful memories that consumed her and the life she felt was falling apart.
Bran comes from a wealthy family, but his life is anything but perfect. As he runs from his past, he meets Talia, but finds that his feelings for her, brought his inner demons to the service. While he’s trying to deal with his issues, he hurts Talia along the way…more than once.
Both are trying to forget the past and start something new, but it’s the past that keeps coming between them.
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I thought this was a great book! As you read, you’re constantly wanting Talia and Bran to finally say they’re together, but too much gets in the way.
After Tailia’s sister dies, her OCD intensified, but spending time with Bran it’s not as apparent. She realizes that she can be more open with Bran than anyone else in her life, including her parents and friends. Not to mention he’s a hot Australian. I was trying to imagine what his accent might have sounded like while I was reading the book.
Talia might have been a little dramatic at times, but I think part of it was her OCD and the other was her inexperience with men.
Bran on the other hand is, internally, dealing with a previous relationship that ended badly. He was in love with this other girl and doesn’t want to feel that same hurt with Talia. That’s why he keeps just enough distance between them, even though he has completely fallen for her.
They both open up about things that lifts weight off their shoulders and in doing so they allow their relationship to grow. They just never solidify their relationship throughout this first book and Talia’s impending departure from Australia makes defining their relationship even more difficult.
The more intimate parts in the book are not over-done and cheesy. It was tastefully done and it didn’t overpower the entire story.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and I’m excited to read the next book in the Off The Map series.
Here are the next two books in the Off The Map Series:
Release Date: October 7, 2014Release Date: December 2, 2014
Favorite Quotes
“There’s a part where Mr. Rochester tells Jane it’s as if he had a string under his rib, connected to hers, and he’s afraid there parting would snap the connection and they’d both bleed inwardly. Bran’s become vital to me, and our time together has almost run its course.”
Overall Rating
If you’ve read this book, let me know what you think.
Here are a few books I found this week and have added to my reading list. The first book I requested on Net Galley and got approved, so I should be reading that soon. The second book has a movie adaptation that’s set to release soon. So, I wanted to read the book before I see the movie. Or should I see the movie first then read the book?
This is Falling by Ginger Scott (Found on BookGirl)
This is the first book I finished reading as part of Net Galley Month. It was released on August 5, 2014 and is a part of Lia Riley’s Off The Map series. Review coming soon.
In honor of Labor Day weekend, the following novel is being added to my reading list as a Friday Find. You can also see the movie adaptation which was released in December 2013, starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.
Stories Unfolded 