Mundie Moms

Thursday, February 16, 2017

DISRUPTOR by Arwen Elys Dayton / Blog Tour: Book Review #SeekerSeries


Welcome to the next stop in the DISRUPTOR blog tour, hosted by Penguin Random House. I'm so thrilled to share my review for the last book in the Seeker Series. What a great series. I absolutely love this series's covers. Find out more about the newest installment in this, and read my 4 star review below:

ABOUT THE BOOK


By: Arwen Elys Dayton
Published by: Random House Kids
Released on: February 7th, 2017
Series: Seeker #3
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: arc from publisher to review


For readers of Sarah J. Maas and of Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy comes Disruptor, the sequel to Traveler, the thrilling conclusion to the Seeker series.

Quin has spent her life as her father’s pawn. She was trained to kill and manipulated to guarantee her family’s power. And now that she’s broken free of that life, she’s found herself trapped again, hostage to a plot that has been centuries in the making.

It’s taken generatins
o for the pieces to come together, and finally all is in place. Her best friend Shinobu’s mind has been corrupted, the Young Dread has aligned with her enemy John, and the bloodthirsty Watchers are being awakened and gathered. Now there is nothing that can stop the force of time.


But Quin will no longer be a pawn. Quin is a Seeker. She stands for light in a shadowy world. She will face the vengeance of the past and its enemies and save herself and the ones she loves, or she will die trying.


A thrilling conclusion to an awesome series. Dayton holds nothing back in this conclusion to her Seeker series. Picking up where TRAVELER left off, readers are thrust right back into the confusion, action, and surprising turn of events. 


It finally ALL makes sense! Dayton has done an awesome job with keeping me hooked with just enough information in the previous two books, to keep reading this series. Now she gives me everything I've been wanting. This is how you write a series ending. DISRUPTOR is the missing link that ties everyone, and everything together. The Seekers, the Dreads, their histories, the how and whys. Everything makes sense in this book. I loved how everything came together, and in the order it needed to. 


Character wise, I really enjoyed seeing how each of the characters, the ones I loved, and the ones I didn't really care for, change. By the end of this book, I was rooting for all the characters. There's so much more to the characters I didn't like, than I thought. I loved getting to know more of their back story. I also enjoyed seeing how so many of the characters are tied together, and the mythology they've all been bound to. Things in the previous two books now make sense when it comes to some of the characters. The introduction of a new character brought all the answers I needed. 


The character growth in this book, and the over all series has been so well developed and written. The biggest surprise of all has been John. I will not give anything away, but WOW. John really redeems himself with me, and I did not see that coming. I really enjoyed seeing Quin's and Shinbou's growth, as well as that of the other secondary characters. They have all experienced a lot through out this series, and have changed in ways that make sense to those experiences, and to who these characters have grown into, and become.


Series endings are always hard to say good bye to, but this ending is one that makes sense. It's perfect and fitting for this series. It's not as bitter sweet, because each of the characters journeys have come full circle. There's hope, redemption, love, and much more. I couldn't have asked for anything more. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


ARWEN ELYS DAYTON is the author of SEEKER and TRAVELER. She spends moths doing research for her stories. Her explorations have taken her around the world to places like the Great Pyramid at Giza, Hong Kong and its many islands, and lots of ruined castles in Scotland.

You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @arwenelysdayton, and check out her video series about writing, 1 QUESTION, 2 MINUTES, at arwendayton.com and on YouTube bit.ly/1mLcdIn.



FOLLOW THE TOUR


February 6th - Winterhaven Books
                           Adventures in YA Publishing
February 7th - The Cover Contessa
February 8th - Unbound Worlds    
February 9th - The Eater of Books!
February 10th - Once Upon a Twilight
February 11th - Adventures in YA Publishing
February 13th - A Dream Within A Dream
February 14th - Two Chicks on Books
February 15th - Seeing Double in Neverland
February 16th - Mundie Moms
February 17th - Take Me Away to a Great Read
February 21st - Bookhounds YA
February 22nd - The Reading Nook Reviews
February 23rd - The Fandom
February 24th - Page Turners Blog
February 27th - Fiction Fare
February 28th - YA Books Central           


SEEKER by Arwen Elys Dayton / Traveler by Arwen Elys Dayton / Book Reviews #SeekerSeries


By: Arwen Elys Dayton
Published by: Random House Kids
Released on: February 10th, 2015
Series: Seeker #1
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: book from publisher to review

The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor.

As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world.

And she’ll be with the boy she loves–who’s also her best friend. But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes.

Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought. And now it’s too late to walk away.


SEEKER is not at all what I was expecting. This is a story that didn't suck me. Instead it's a story that kept me intrigued the entire time I was reading. It's unpredictable with an unexpected storyline that was hard to put down. Normally I'm not a fan of books that are set at this pace, but it worked well for this book. 


My favorite aspects of this book are it's rich mythology, beautifully detailed settings, and the well crafted characters who I found myself constantly questioning the motives. I loved the way each of these elements is tied together. I loved the lush, and vividly detailed settings. From Scotland to Hong Kong, and London, I loved the detailed imagery from each country and city the book is set in. The mythology was well done, and really fueled the storyline. 


The characters make this book. They are all complicated, layered characters. I liked that along with learning more about the book's mythology, you learn more about them. The characters and the mythology are all tied together. I liked that while there are plenty of surprises, there are some characters I liked from the get go, and others I couldn't stand. Regardless of whether or not I liked a character, I loved that I was able to see each character's journey, and how much they changed over the course of the story. Whether for good or evil.

Romance wise, I really liked what Dayton does with the romance. It was totally not what I was excepting, but it's one that totally makes sense. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens in the next book. Though I'm pretty sure this is one romance that can withstand anything the sequel is going to throw at them.


SEEKER is an intense story that takes it's time being told, and it's oh so good. It's one that at times feels confusing, and at other times you feel like you're along for a ride you don't want to end. By the time the book ended, I was torn between feeling relived over everything making sense, and wanting to have the next book already. I really enjoyed this book.





By: Arwen Elys Dayton
Published by: Random House Kids
Released on: January 12th, 2016
Series: Seeker #2
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 3 Stars
Source: book from publisher to review

Quin Kincaid is a Seeker. Her legacy is an honor, an ancient role passed down for generations. But what she learned on her oath night changed her world forever.

Quin pledged her life to deception. Her legacy as a Seeker is not noble but savage. She was trained to be an assassin. And the boy she once loved is out for vengeance, with her family in his sights.

Yet Quin is not alone. Shinobu, her oldest companion, might now be the only person she can trust. The only one who wants answers as desperately as she does.

But the deeper they dig into the past, the darker things become. There are long-vanished Seeker families, shadowy alliances, and something else: a sinister plan begun generations ago with the power to end the legacy forever.

And it might destroy them all.


Dayton wastes now time jumping right back into the Seeker world with this sequel. Picking up where Seeker left off, readers get a deeper look into the history of this world, and are introduced to new characters. Like Seeker, this story is told from Quin and John's point of views, as well as Shinobu, and a few other characters. 


Dayton has created a mesmorizing world with this series. I loved getting a deeper look into the history of how it all began, and how things begin to become corrupt. There was a lot that happened in Seeker, and some of the questions I still had are answered. My favorite part of the story was with Catherine. This is where the history of the series is told. It's told through a series of journal entries written by Catherine, John's mother, 18-20 years prior. It's so richly detailed, and allows the reader to understand so much more of what's been going on. 

I enjoyed being back in the Seeker world, and the over progression of the story. However, there were some things I didn't enjoy as much. I love the third person narrative, but I felt having 6 different points of views to tell the story, took away from the story itself. Dayton does a great job at making sure the reader knows who's part of the story you're reading. However, I felt like with too many points of views, took more from the story than they added to it. To the point I wanted to skip over their parts. 

One of my favorite things about this series is Dayton's world building, and her vivid imagery. Her settings, the incredible world building, and the progression of the characters's stories were my favorite parts of this story. Had I not felt it was overkill with too many povs, I would have loved the story even more. Over all I thought this was a good read. I'd recommend picking up, especially if you read Seeker. There's so much that this book ties to that one, that you can't not read it. 

BLACK DAWN By Mallory McCartney / Blog Tour: Giveaway



Hello and welcome to the next stop in the BLACK DAWN blog tour, hosted by Rock Star blog tours. Today's stop features a giveaway! Before you enter to win, here's a little bit about the book:

ABOUT THE BOOK




By: Mallory McCartney
Published by: Clean Reads Publishing
Released on: February 14, 2017
Purchase from: Amazon, B&N
Add it to Goodreads

Emory Fae enjoys leading a quiet, normal life. That is until two mysterious, and handsome soldiers show up at her apartment, and the life she knew is instantly whisked away. Memphis Carter and Brokk Foster come from the magical and war ridden world of Kiero, and bringing Emory back she will discover she is the long lost heir to the Royal Line and is thrown into the Black Dawn Rebellion with a dynamic role to ignite the rebels and reclaim her throne.
With both men being darkly woven in her past Emory uncovers hidden secrets, a power held long dormant, and will soon realize there are worse things than supernatural humans, love, loss, betrayal, and a Mad King.
Some things are better left in the shadows.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Mallory McCartney currently lives in London, Ontario with her husband and their two dachshunds Link and Lola. Black Dawn is her debut novel, the first in a series. When she isn’t working on her next novel or reading, she can be found dog grooming, book shopping and hiking. Other favorite pastimes involve reorganizing perpetually overflowing bookshelves and seeking out new coffee and dessert shops.  
Connect with Mallory: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads


ENTER TO WIN

3 winners will receive a signed finished copy of BLACK DAWN & custom buttons. US & Canada Only



FOLLOW THE TOUR


Week One:
2/6/2017- Literary Meanderings - Interview
2/6/2017- Literary DustReview

2/7/2017- Daniel RidingExcerpt
2/7/2017- Bibliobibuli YAReview

2/8/2017- Books,Dreams,Life- Interview
2/8/2017- A Dream Within A DreamReview

2/9/2017- Don't Judge, ReadGuest Post
2/9/2017- Book BriefsReview

2/10/2017- Kayl's Krazy ObsessionExcerpt
2/10/2017- Taking It One Book at a TimeReview

Week Two:
2/13/2017- Two Chicks on BooksInterview
2/13/2017- YA and WineReview

2/14/2017- Margie's Must ReadsExcerpt
2/14/2017- Lost in Ever AfterReview

2/15/2017- The Autumn BookshelfInterview
2/15/2017- FiktshunReview

2/16/2017Wandering Bark BooksGuest Post
2/16/2017Mundie MomsSpotlight

2/17/2017Captivated ReadingExcerpt
2/17/2017Owl Always Be ReadingReview

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