*ARC Review & Blog Tour* The Fulfillment by Erin Rhew October 22, 2015

***I was granted permission to read this galley before publication by the author in exchange for an honest review and to participate in the author’s blog tour***

***mild spoilers may follow***

Rating:  4 stars
Pub date: 15 October 2015
Publisher: BookFish Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Format: ebook, eARC, provided by the author
Status: Book three of The Fulfillment Series

Summary:

Layla’s world tumbles out of control when she discovers the truth of her parentage and realizes the Prophecy—the one she upended her entire life to defend—is incomplete. When her new friends share the entire Prophecy, the revelations contained within it alter her destiny and challenge everything she and Wil believe in. Now, she must confront the Outlander queen to save the Ethereal kingdom while grappling with this new reality.

Tortured and imprisoned, Nash accepts his fate and offers the First Ones the one thing he has left to give: his life. In a desperate attempt to save the people he loves most, he surrenders himself to the Outlander queen and a destiny darker than he could have ever dreamed possible.

Wil, tormented by the consequences of his choices, realizes he may never be able to uphold his end of the Prophecy. His mistake casts a deep, foreboding shadow over his kingdom and those he loves, while its ripples threaten to shatter both the Prophecy and everything he and his family have sworn to protect.

In this epic conclusion, lives are lost, kingdoms clash, friendships are tested, and love and fate collide.

My thoughts:

Another year, another blog tour with Erin! (: It’s so hard to believe that The Fulfillment trilogy has come to an end. It has been one incredible ride and I am sorry to see these characters go! I may ramble for a bit because I just finished and I am at a loss for words. It happens almost every time I finish a series, you think I would be used to it by now! Haha.

My biggest regret with The Fulfillment was not rereading The Prophecy or The Outlanders again before jumping in. I just ran out of time. Life got crazy and cut into reading time! That being said, I KNOW it impacted my reading. There were things I couldn’t for the life of me remember. This was a (basically) one sitting read. I had to run and pick up Punk from pre-k, but I didn’t stop reading at all today. I had started, but got distracted, so I re-read today JUST IN CASE.

We pick back up right where we left off in The Outlanders. (I have to say the absolute best thing about this one was THERE COULD NOT BE A CLIFFHANGER!!! MWAHAHAHA!! Sorry… Erin drove me crazy with the first two and I have taken immense delight in the fact it couldn’t happen again). I am keeping my review major spoiler free, but a few minor ones might slip. I was so happy to be back in Erin’s world again. I’m not sure if it was everything not being 100% fresh or multiple “Mommy! I loves you!” from Bug this morning, but it took me a while to get going. Once I got settled in and things started to pop up in my memory, things just kept rolling and rolling.

I will give Erin major kudos. I had an idea of how things were going to play out (and I was right on most of it), but the way she had twists pop up are done well enough that it makes you question if your suspicions could possibly be right. There were a few, I’m gonna chuck my kindle across the room if this happens moments too. Not gonna lie.

This is so hard without going spoilery! This trilogy really has it all. Magic, romance, fighting. It’s everything you want in a fantasy series. Erin does a fantastic job answering every question that she has presented.

Where the POV were a bit chaotic for me in The Outlanders (my review), I felt in The Fulfillment, Erin was 110% on her game just like in The Prophecy (my review). This time around, each POV change, I felt connected and THERE. It’s been incredible to be able to see these characters grow.

Of the villains, I think The Fulfillment has the absolute best one. I am failing of thinking of the best way to describe how great this one is! (I’m afraid the name will be too spoilery). The next to last battle was my favourite. Even though there is another battle, I feel like that was the pinnacle. (I’m probably being dense and that IS the pinnacle haha).

It was really hard to see what happens to some of the characters. Other characters, it was all I could do to keep from bouncing up and down in the parent pickup car line. One death didn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would. In a way, it almost felt too convenient and that’s what kept it from getting a 5 star rating. I’m super sad to see these characters go. I’m so honoured that Erin allowed me the chance to be on all three tours. I do feel like a dolt because my review is late. (It’s been a week, folks. It’s been one heck of a week.)

It would be a lie to say everyone got their happily ever after, and I am perfectly okay with that. I like a little real life expectations in my reading. While everything IS tied up neatly with a bow at the end, a hint of the sadness from what the war cost can be felt and I think that’s well done and as it should be. The journey was a great one though! I don’t feel like Erin left anything unanswered. The Prophecy has been fulfilled. *ba dum shh* I totally wouldn’t say no to say, a novella or a few chapters of insight 10 years or so down the road. Just to check in. (;

I would definitely recommend The Fulfillment trilogy to fantasy and young adult fantasy readers. Just make sure you don’t have anything to do. Maybe pick a long weekend or holiday. It’s been an agonising wait between books! You’ll want to read them straight through if you’re anything like me! I’m also super stoked about Erin’s current WIP and I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to be on that tour too!

About the Author

Erin Rhew is an editor, a running coach, and the author of The Fulfillment Series. Since she picked up Morris the Moose Goes to School at age four, she has been infatuated with the written word. She went on to work as a grammar and writing tutor in college and is still teased by her family and friends for being a member of the “Grammar Police.”
A Southern girl by blood and birth, Erin now lives in a rainy pocket of the Pacific Northwest with the amazingly talented (and totally handsome) writer Deek Rhew and their “overly fluffy,” patient-as-a-saint writing assistant, a tabby cat named Trinity. She and Deek enjoy reading aloud to one another, running, lifting, boxing, eating chocolate, and writing side-by-side.

Find her online:
Twitter: @ErinRhewBooks
Facebook
Website

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*ARC Review & Blog Tour* The Outlanders by Erin Rhew October 19, 2014

Goodreads

 

 The Outlanders (The Fulfillment Series Book 2)

***I was granted permission to read this galley before publication by the author in exchange for an honest review and to participate in the author’s blog tour***

***mild spoilers may follow***

***affiliate links are used***

Rating:  4 stars
Pub date: 21 October 2014
Publisher: BookFish Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Format: ebook, eARC, provided by the author
Status: Book two of The Fulfillment Series

Summary:

With King Jesper dead and Prince Wilhelm mortally wounded, Halfling prince, Nash, and the Fulfilment, Layla, assume the throne of Etherea. They must contend with a new Prophecy Candidate who asserts her position, and Layla is surprised to find her fate intertwined with this challenger. Facing a myriad of choices, Nash and Layla’s decisions affect not only their own futures but that of two kingdoms.

Unbeknownst to the Ethereals or the Vanguards, a slumbering menace stirs in the south, awakened after centuries of slumber. The mysterious Outlanders, a force shadowed in mystery, sit poised to tip the balance of power, sending ripples of fear throughout both warring kingdoms.

Elder Werrick proved a formidable foe, but Layla may yet meet her match in the monstrous Outlander queen. This mistress of the dark’s plans, rooted in revenge and ancient lore, now threaten the livelihood of all three kingdoms.

Racing against time, Layla travels to the Borderlands—home of the Voltons and Ecclesiastics—to discover as much as she can about the war, the First Ones, and the prophecy itself. Lives teeter in the balance, kingdoms sit on the cusp of ruin, and a beast, greater than any she’s ever faced before, plots a catastrophic attack.

 

Sneak Peek:

Everything about Mia felt wrong. The girl, who looked so much like Layla, just happened to be where Samson could find her and came with him to the home of her enemy without any resistance? Whole generations of Ecclesiastics searched for entire lifetimes and never found the Fulfillment, yet Samson encountered two potentials in short succession. She couldn’t pinpoint the reason for her unease, but something tickled the back of her mind, inching toward the surface with painstaking sluggishness.
“I don’t understand why she would just come with you to Etherea.” Layla struggled to keep her voice level and calm to avoid raising Samson’s hackles.
“She didn’t have anywhere else to go. Vance killed her family in Vanguard.”
Layla made a mental note to confirm Samson’s version of the story with the information Nash managed to extract from Mia. “If she’s a Vanguard, why would she come with you to Etherea?”
“You came here,” Samson shot back, his inexplicable protectiveness for the mystery girl heightening her concern.
She treaded with care. “Well, some insane man in a black and purple robe stole my brother, so I didn’t really have a choice.”

 

 

 

My thoughts:

I was offered the chance to be a part of the blog tour for The Outlanders by Erin because I was a part of the blog tour last year for The Prophecy. I was very excited for the chance to review book two!

I reread The Prophecy right before I read The Outlanders so all the events from book one were fresh in my mind. I am very glad I was able to do that because I had forgotten more than I thought!

I was very happy to be back in the wonderful world Erin has created. I was very concerned for a certain prince’s life at the end of The Prophecy and very anxious to see his outcome! Of course, I was also concerned about the kingdoms as a war was on the verge of completely blowing up!

I really enjoyed seeing ALMOST the entire cast back for more adventures. (I won’t reveal who made it and who didn’t in case you haven’t read The Prophecy – go read it! – or in case you don’t remember! Perfect time to get it for 99 cents and refresh!) One of my few complaints is though there were more POV chances, I feel like more depth could’ve been added in some of the scenes. While the action is there and keeps you turning the pages, I kept a sense of things being rushed and not enough time was spent fleshing things out like Erin did in The Prophecy. Because of that feeling, I gave 4 stars compared to The Prophecy’s 5 stars last year.

With a bit more length {C’mon Erin! (; You dind’t HAVE to end on ANOTHER cliffhanger ya know!} and fleshing out, this definitely would’ve been another 5 star read. Both of those are PERSONAL issues, nothing to do with Erin’s characters/world building. I hate cliffhangers. I really do. Erin also knows that. (;

Even though there were many POVs, I still felt short changed (depth & length issue again). After the deep connection with the characters in The Prophecy, I felt like I was on the outside looking in this time. I also REALLY detested one of the new characters. Ugh. I was completely with Layla on that one.

I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was able to read The Outlanders. Both are interesting and quick reads, but my kiddos were not cooperative in my reading of The Prophecy last year and was anticipating a similar case again this year. I always tend to have a hard time with tour books cause the kiddos seem to have this sixth sense about tour books. They KNOW mama needs to read this book by a certain time so they go as bonkers as they possibly can. If I hadn’t started The Outlanders so close to bedtime and I didn’t have mama duties, this EASILY would’ve been a one sitting read. Even with my personal preferences, Erin did a fantastic job keeping up the pace and action to keep you wanting more.

I absolutely loved getting to learn more about the history of the kingdoms and Prophecy. I love how Erin laid out more world building in Etherea and introduced the Outlands.I wish she’d been able to reveal the history earlier or have more laid out after it in the book. Not happy with another year long wait with THAT cliffhanger. You’re killing me, Erin!

Overall, Erin has written another great book! She did a great job answering questions from The Prophecy while presenting more questions to keep a reader interested. I was left wanting more as a result of the way Erin presented the story and due to that AWFUL cliffhanger. UGH. STAAAAAAAAHP. I will again say that the length left me a little disappointed. I still recommend giving Erin’s series a look! Both books are quick reads set in an interesting world. Now, let’s have a look at the NEW cover for The Prophecy while I sneak to Erin’s and get her computer so I can see how things are gonna go down in book three! (;

NEW COVER!!! (print copies are in the works!)

About the author:

Erin Rhew is an author and fitness trainer. Since she picked up Morris the Moose Goes to School at age four, she has been infatuated with the written word. She went on to work as a grammar and writing tutor in college and is still teased by her family and friends for being a member of the “Grammar Police.” In her free time, Erin enjoys acting, running, kickboxing, and, of course, reading and writing.

 

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Waiting on Wednesday #27: The Falconer by Elizabeth May April 23, 2014

“Waiting on Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine. It showcases upcoming releases we’re anticipating!

 

 

My pick of the week is:

The Falconer (The Falconer #1)

 

By: Elizabeth May

 

Coming: 6 May 2014

 

Publisher: Chronicle Books

 

Summary:
Heiress. Debutant. Murderer. A new generation of heroines has arrived.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844

Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it’s the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana’s father returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose – and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

 

 

Why I’m excited:

Oh. Man. When I first came across Elizabeth May on Twitter, I really contemplated ordering The Falconer in the British edition. I decided to wait until the US edition came closer to releasing and hoped to score an ARC. I did. I’ve actually already finished it, but I still wanted to showcase it on WoW. I must confess, I like the UK cover better and will probably order the UK version over the US. I am also planning on ordering the UK version of the second book. Not making the same mistake twice!

Why I need you to be excited:

It’s such a great book. It sucks you in and doesn’t let you go until the end. It only lets you go because there aren’t anymore pages to be read. Swoon worthy guys. A kickass heroine. Murder. Mystery. It’s amazing. It’s a fast read. It will leave you wanting more. There are faeries and steampunk Edinburgh. It’s fascinating. It’s screaming to be read. Do yourself a favour and check it out!