Empire Book Tours presents
Heir of Lies (Black Dawn #1) Book Blog Tour
By Mallory McCartney
272 pages
Published April 21, 2020 by MM Books
BOOK SYNOPSIS
“Hope was a dangerous thing. It could consume every dream and make them take flight, becoming wild daydreams in one’s heart and mind. Or hope could incinerate everything you thought you knew, burning you down to your core, leaving you raw and exposed for the world.”
Emory Fae has only known one thing–life at The Academy, a school for those who have special abilities. Following in her parents’ footsteps, the pressure to uphold their dream falls on her and one of her best friends–Adair Stratton. An outcast and feared by most, Adair longs to break away from the expectations dictating his future. With whispers of dark magic spreading across Kiero, Adair starts to doubt The Academy is all it seems.
An unexpected visit ignites new tensions as the roguish king from across the Black Sea, Tadeas Maher of the Shattered Isles, and his heir, Marquis Maher, sail to Kiero. Notorious for their pirating and wrath, for the first time in years, they demand the Faes listen to their proposition for a new treaty. Caught in the middle of politics, Adair and Emory, with the help of their best friends Brokk and Memphis, search for the one thing that matters the most–the truth.
Their world is tipped upside down as unlikely alliances are made, and war ravages Kiero. Through the throes of betrayal, lies, hidden magic, and love, Adair is faced with a life changing decision. Will he fight or bow to the darkness within?
But, Adair’s decision will change the course of Kiero forever, setting in motion irreversible destinies for everyone at The Academy as Emory Fae rises as heir.
Heir of Lies is the first book in the bestselling Black Dawn series.
TOUR DATE SCHEDULE:
December 1st – 7th
Day 1, December 1st
@read.ridinghood
@rochreads
Day 2, December 2nd
@_insideareadersmind_
@thebookreviewcrew
Day 3, December 3rd
@hijabi_reader
@the.power.of.reading
Day 4, December 4th
@fantasticallybookish
@im_so_busy_im_booked
Day 5, December 5th
@Abookwolf
@ninis_bookshelves
Day 6, December 6th
@magical_booklush_
@kruthreveals
Day 7, December 7th
@theenchantedshelf
@selinaannsshelf
@gimli_reads
MY REVIEW
I’m so happy to be a part of the Empire Book Tour for Heir of Lies by Mallory McCartney.
My love of Fantasy books, especially YA Fantasy, has really taken off over the past several years. So many phenomenal worlds have been created by these amazing authors, including such well developed characters that practically jump off the pages. It’s truly amazing what this genre has been become and I’m so happy that I’ve been introduced to it.
I was so excited to get started on Heir of Lies. With the description of the overall summary of the book, I knew that it would be full of action.
Told from a muli-POV, the reader is able to follow along with the experiences from several of the student’s viewpoints. This greatly enhances the overall understanding of events, which is important as there are a lot of events that take place early on in the story.
While the overall premise of the story was very engaging, I found myself really struggling to become invested in any character. They were all interesting but were all overshadowed by the confusion of the many events taking place, some of which didn’t appear to fit with the story. For example, the students were being trained to hone their skills at the Academy to eventually become Guardians of the peace, but immediately, they are being sent in to war by what seems to be people trying to keep hold of their power. And everyone is ok with that. That didn’t feel right to me from the start.
Also, there were many sticking points for me throughout the story with the language that was used.
In some cases it was words used incorrectly (in my opinion), “Memories dropped into his mind like stones into a lake, disturbing the thick layer of assault that blanketed him.” ‘Assault’ in this sentence doesn’t appear to be correct. What did the author intend? There were many instances like this where I had to stop and re-read the sentence to try and understand what the meaning was.
Other times common words were used way too often. Someone kept ‘exploding’ through doors. Rooms ‘exploded’ in activity. There were ‘explosions’ of noise. I counted 8 ‘explosions’ of something within the first several chapters before I finally stopped counting.
This is truly an action-fantasy book and in some cases, the action scenes were very vague, leaving a lot to the imagination. In my case, I like to be able to read exactly what is happening, especially since I’m newer to the Fantasy Genre. Perhaps more practiced readers in this area would move more comfortably through these scenes than I.
Further editing of this book is likely needed for it to be at it’s optimum state. But overall, the storyline was interesting and since this is Book 1, the character development and engagement with the reader will probably be enhanced in Book 2. For readers in the Fantasy Genre, this will be an interesting new series to pick up and see where the author will take us!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mallory McCartney currently lives in Sarnia, Ontario with her husband and their three dachshunds Link, Lola and Leonard. When she isn’t working on her next novel or reading, she can be found day dreaming about fantasy worlds and hiking. Other favorite pastimes involve reorganizing perpetually overflowing bookshelves and seeking out new coffee and dessert shops.
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