Wednesday 25 September 2013

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Smoke, Wings and Stone by Marijon Braden.

Title: Smoke, Wings and Stone.
Author: Marijon Braden.
ISBN: 9780985985424.
Publisher: Self Published.
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy.
Year: 2013.



Carrie and Sara Fleming are as different as two sisters can be. Both in high school, Carrie is an outgoing soccer jock, trying to navigate the minefield of Varsity sports –and dating. Sara is a talented musician, who wants to spend her senior year focusing on graduating and getting into a great music school. Both of their lives change forever when Sara inadvertently finds herself engaged to marry Lucien Gargouille, prince of an ancient race of gargoyles.

Sara has no interest in marrying anyone, but a vow spoken in the moonlight has bound her to Luc – forever. To make matters worse, there is a war brewing. For centuries, the gargoyles have protected mankind from all the dark forces in the world. But someone is making trouble, and trying to break the fragile treaty that has kept evil at bay, and Sara has become a target.

Carrie sees the danger around her sister, but can only watch and wait, hoping that Luc and his Family can keep Sara safe. After all, this is what they were born to do – protect the world from vampires, and all the other creatures, who would try to break out of their darkness. But when the enemy makes a daring move, it falls on Carrie to not only save her sister, but to keep the two worlds from crashing together.


Review:

When I was sent a copy of Smoke, Wings and Stone, I loved the cover, I loved the synopsis and I really wanted to enjoy the book.

The plot was so intriguing – I can’t say I’ve ever read a book about gargoyles, and I don’t imagine there’s too many about. I was a little concerned that it would be hard to connect to the gargoyle element, but Marijon Braden wrote it so well; it was really interesting learning about their history and abilities.

We were brought into the lives of Carrie and Sara really quickly – no half a book full of building up their lives before it all changes and turns into one big dramatic mess. Smoke, Wings and Stone was written in four main parts, alternating between Carrie and Sara’s perspective. I thought this was a great way of drawing the readers in because there was so much going on, it would have been a bit hard to keep up had there only been one perspective.

There were a lot of characters but somehow Marijon Braden defined them in a way that I didn’t get confused and have to check back because I’d forgotten who one of the characters was.

The flow of Smoke, Wings and Stone was really appealing too. I can’t recall a part of the book which I thought should have been left out, or which made the book boring. It was entertaining throughout.

I did, however, find a couple of little niggles.

Although I liked some of the humour in Smoke, Wings and Stone, it did seem so unrealistic for everyone to become so accepting upon learning about the gargoyles, vampires, and how they were now a part of their lives. At points, the danger seemed to be treat like a game which I just found strange. I didn’t get why it seemed like they were mocking certain events instead of worrying.

I also thought Luc should have been more involved too, since he was the prince and introduced the gargoyles to the book. He seemed to disappear too often, and whilst I don’t think he was necessarily missed, I found it unusual that the book was meant to focus on him and Sara when really, they weren’t involved together all that much.

Smoke, Wings and Stone was a fun read though. I loved the build-up of characters and the action. I liked most of the characters, especially Carrie – she was loyal, funny and intelligent (all ideal traits!).

I read this book in three sittings and will be raving about it a lot. Smoke, Wings and Stone amassed my expectations and if it is continued, I will definitely read more.


Rating:



*The author sent me an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


Giveaway (and free bookmarks!):

Marijon is kindly offering a free bookmark to everyone who signs up to her newsletter via her website (scroll down to the bottom of the website to see the Join my newsletter form) before October 2.

Here's the bookmark:


The author is also offering an e-copy of Smoke, Wings and Stone to one winner who enters using the Rafflecopter below. Giveaway is open internationally and ends October 2.
 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

  1. Nice review! I've been curious about this one and undecided about whether or not to add to wishlist. I do like gargoyles...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I would definitely recommend it.

      Delete

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