Book Tour & Review: Ancient Guardians: The Legacy of the Key (Giveaway)

 Ancient Guardians the Legacy of the Key (Ancient Guardians, Book 1)
by S.L. Morgan

Im proud to present another book tour! Let's go! Don't forget the giveaway at the bottom of this post!

Ancient Guardians: The Legacy of the Key by S.L. Morgan
 
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.

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Book Trailer 

 

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 werent 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.

Website * Blog * Twitter * Goodreads * Book Facebook Page

Email the author at ancientguardians2012@gmail.com


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