I’m proud to present another book tour! Let's go! Don't forget the giveaway at the bottom of this post!
Blurb:
No matter where you are, facing your reality with passion and purpose will always lead down the path you were intended to go
Reece
Bryant was able to pick up the pieces of her broken life after the
sudden death of her father. Though emotionally draining, she found the
courage to move on, which would have made her father proud. After
finalizing the last of his estate, and returning to pursue her degree in
medical school, she has never felt so confident.
While making
her way through this world on her own, she is suddenly confronted with
the truth of her existence, and the reality of her future. It is when
she encounters two alluring and mysterious men, that a series of
extraordinary events takes place, putting Reece’s life in grave danger.
With her life in the balance, Reece must blindly trust the two
mysterious strangers; and when she does, she is brought into an
enchanting world that is beyond her logical comprehension.
This
captivating land reveals new worlds and new dimensions to which her
existence is paramount. But it is once she falls in love with the
stunning Levi Oxley that everything will change, and Reece’s life will
be in more danger than ever before.
Forced to return to Earth
and face a Council of Worlds, Reece discovers there is more to this
enchanting dimension than she could have ever imagined.
At a
moment’s notice, even thru the fog of our denial, our journey can become
crystal clear. And within the revelation, once our fear subsides, we
can find contentment and purpose if we focus on the things that matter
most. Trust—Courage—Love.
This book is the first of the Ancient Guardians series.
Age: 14 years and up
Review: 3.5 stars
First we have Reece, a normal girl from Earth—or so she thought. When she gets brought into this new world, or rather dimension, Pemdas, she gets told that she is the “Key” to the map to a very powerful stone and that some people are trying to get to her to get the stone. And so she stays in Pemdas to wait for the others to get bored and stop looking for her.
There is a conflict between Reece and Simone, another girl from Pemdas who is jealous of Reece. She thinks that Reece is a pathetic human who should be sent back to Earth as soon as possible. At first, Simone’s sister and friend are also antagonistic towards Reece, but it’s mostly Simone who is the instigator of this ongoing conflict between them. At the beginning, I did not feel as if the three were being rude or antagonistic towards Reece, but later on it becomes apparent that they were, according to Pemdas’ culture.
But then she starts falling in love with Levi, the Emperor’s son. At first, he was aloof and mysterious, but he warmed up to Reece and they started forming a friendship. I felt as if Reece and Levi’s relationship went from friendship to love a bit too quickly, but I won’t deny that I really enjoyed seeing them as a couple.
The first half of the book was really slow for me, and sometimes I found myself hoping that the story would move along quicker, but about halfway in the action really started and the book went much faster for me—I frequently found myself eagerly turning the page to see what was going to happen next.
While I found the Council scene ended up being a tad anti-climactic, it wasn’t a big problem since this is not the last we’ve heard of Reece, Levi, and yes, even Simone.
I recommend this book for anyone who loves other worlds/dimensions, aliens, tension, action, and love.
A free copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Excerpt
Levi hustled Reece into the front
seat, and got in the back seat, behind his cousin. Instantly, the car was in
gear, and they were moving. The car went from a dead stop, to what seemed to be
the speed of light; yet, it felt like they weren’t moving at all. The trees
they were passing, a complete blur in her vision, were the only thing that gave
relevance to the fact that they were moving. None of it made sense. Is this
even a car? She looked at the driver, wondering how he was managing to keep
the car on the road. He didn’t slow the car once, not even to take a sharp
turn.
The driver looked over at Reece, his
eyes were piercing in their light silver-blue color. “I’m Harrison, by the way.
Relax, Miss Bryant—I drive rather well.” He looked out at the snow; it had gone
from a light flakes to heavy clumps hitting the car. “Sorry we had to interrupt
your lovely morning in the park.”
Reece nodded. Harrison was as
superbly dressed as Levi. She questioned who these men really were. “Do you guys
work for the government or something?”
Harrison glanced over at her and
subtly grinned. “I suppose you could say that, yes.”
She looked back at Levi; he was
intently focused on a transparent object in his hand. “Where are we
going?”
Levi didn’t answer. Instead,
Harrison responded. “We’re taking you to a safer place, Reece. I’m sure my
cousin hasn’t explained much. Unfortunately, explanations take time. I can give
you the lighter version of facts; however, I need you to promise you will not
do anything crazy, like jump out of our car.”
Reece looked at him quizzically. Her
anxiety soared, but she hoped her expression didn’t show it. “I won’t be
jumping out of any cars; I understand basic physics, thanks.”
He chuckled. “We’ll see about that!”
They were leaving the city and going into the more rural areas. “Tell me
something, Reece; have you ever considered the existence of other worlds, apart
from your own?”
Reece swallowed hard. “You mean,
like Mars? Not really, why?”
“The man in your room—you thought he
was a ghost, correct? Or possibly a bad dream?”
“I’ll admit, I’ve considered both
options.”
He chuckled and glanced at her with
a mischievous grin on his face. “Reece, he was neither. He was not of your
world.”
Reece stared at him in shock.
“Maybe a little too much
information?” He smiled sympathetically. “You should relax. Where you are going
will be much more welcoming than where you were about to be taken.”
He looked into the rear view mirror.
“Levi, we’re almost to the vortex. Make sure Javian has sent for Areion and
Saracen. We should get Reece to Pasidian quickly.”
Did he just speak in a different
language? Reece rubbed her forehead
disbelievingly. The car grew silent, except for the low purr of the engine. The
road they were traveling on was long, winding, and very narrow. Considering the
high speed they were driving, combined with the sharp turns, Reece expected to
have her body weight thrown all over the inside of the car; yet, gravity had no
effect on her.
Even so, she started to feel sick to
her stomach. She didn’t really trust the two men, but she’d burned her bridges.
She decided to stop asking questions. The answers she was receiving were more
than she could cope with right now.
The road curved around a hill, and
as she watched, the car left the road effortlessly, heading straight for the
hillside. It appeared as if they would crash directly into it. Reece took a
quick breath, and was blinded by a bright flash of light.
The paved road
they traveled on now was shiny black, and lined with trees unlike any Reece had
ever seen. Their trunks were white, with vivid red leaves beaming on their
incandescent white branches. She looked deep into the dense forest of these
peculiar trees and noticed that they appeared to be glowing in the darkness.
The bright, lime green grass that carpeted the grounds of the forest, took on a
glowing quality as well. It was strange; it was as though the radiant grass and
leaves illuminated on their own, in total darkness.
It appeared as if everything was
glowing in color. A drop of water on the windshield sparkled like crystal. The
sky had a sapphire quality to it. She felt as if her vision had changed
entirely. What is this place? All she saw was the illumination of the
nature all about her, and none of it seemed real. Wherever they were now, the
skies were vivid, bright and sunny; a far cry from the snowy streets of
Philadelphia.
She looked at Harrison, then back at
Levi, to see if their appearances had also changed. Nothing was unusual about
the two men. She held her hand up and examined her skin. Normal. It was
very odd; it was only the nature around them that had shown this interesting
radiance.
When she turned her attention back
to the road, she saw a large, shimmering gate ahead. It was fashioned with
beautiful patterns, circling throughout. She could see that there was no longer
a road on the other side of it, and they would most likely have to stop. She
wondered how they would manage to bring the car through, or if they would? As
soon as she questioned the thought, Harrison turned the car into a dark area,
which seemed to be a cave or something of that nature. As he parked the car,
she noticed that the area they were parked in was filled with sleek black
motorcycles, and other cars like the one she was in.
When the car shut off at Harrison’s
vocalized command, Reece reached over to his arm to stop him from stepping out
of the vehicle. Time for answers.
He looked back at her with concern. “Reece, we’re almost to
our destination. I know a million questions are probably swirling around in
your head, but you need to try to be patient.”
“Fine,” She took a deep breath. “But
before we go any farther, I really need to know who you guys are. You should
understand my apprehension about going any farther with you two. We should have
crashed into that mountain a moment ago, and now I’m seeing trees and grass
that seem to sparkle and glow. I’m sure you both know that I was well aware of
what happened that day on the airplane, too. I know you both had something to
do with it. I want answers before I concede to go anywhere else with
you.”
Harrison sighed. “Levi and I are
from another dimension known as Pemdas. For many years, our people have
protected those on Earth, and many other dimensions as well.”
Playlist
I would have never had the inspiration to write or “see” the
book and write it down...if it weren’t for music. So many different songs have
helped to inspire my writing. I have to say, the Legacy of the Key would have
never made it past the first paragraph if it weren’t for the music of “Evanescence!”
I downloaded every album and song they made from iTunes...and then the book
came to life! Here's a little list of the music that inspired the book, “Legacy
of the Key.”
1. “End of the Dream” by Evanescence
2. “An Historic Love” by Trevor Morris, music from The Tudors
3. “Lost in Paradise” by Evanescence
4. “Snow white Queen” by Evanescence
5. “Weight of the World” by Evanescence
6. “A walk in the forest” by Brian Crain
7. “Behold The Great King of England” by Trevor Morris, music from The Tudors
8. “Like You” by Evanescence
9. “Everyday see you” by Jessica Simpson
10. “Feels like Home” by Chantel Kreviazuk
11. “New way to bleed” by Evanescence
12. “Goodbye” by The Pretenders
13. “Until I Collapse” by Eminem
14. “The other side” by Evanescence
15. “Numb/Encore” by Jay-Z & Linkin Park
16. “How we roll” by Don Omar
17. “Sick” by Evanescence
18. “What I've done” by Linkin Park
19. “Empire” by Queensryche
20. “The Change” by Evanescence
21. “Good Enough” by Evanescence22. “Secret Door” by Evanescence
23. “Say you will” by Evanescence
About the Author
S.L. Morgan was born and raised in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California.
Seven years ago, she began the adventures of moving throughout the United States. (Maybe we'll have a book out soon about those adventures)
She currently resides in the state of Texas with her husband, Jason and three children. When she is not taking care of the usual duties of being a stay-at-home mom, S.L. Morgan can be found with a hot cup of cofee and her loyal laptop...writing, writing, writing.
And there's a Tour Wide Giveaway!
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