Thursday 23 January 2014

Reviews & Giveaway ~ Renhala & Golden Dunes of Renhala by Amy Joy Lutchen.

Today is my stop on the Golden Dunes of Renhala tour, hosted by Lola's Blog Tours. My stop will include reviews of Renhala and Golden Dunes of Renhala, plus a tour-wide giveaway. To follow the rest of the tour, click the banner above to take you to the schedule.

Title: Renhala (Renhala #1).
Author: Amy Joy Lutchen.
Genre: New Adult Urban Fantasy.
Release Date: September 26, 2012.

Purchase Links: Amazon ; B&N ; Kobo ; Smashwords

Kailey Rooke, timid accountant dedicated to philanthropic work, finds herself spiraling into a deep depression after she suffers a horrifyingly odd and humiliating assault, to only discover more of these freakish assaults occurring across the globe.

A chance discovery leads Kailey to a meeting with elderly Gunthreon, actual master of persuasion. Gunthreon, who seems to know too much of Kailey's history for her liking, opens Kailey's eyes to a coexisting magical realm she never knew existed: Renhala, while entrusting her with the knowledge of her newfound power as karmelean, serving as a beacon to the Higher Ones. She soon discovers that Renhala is in danger, and this danger has been leaking into her own realm. As she uncovers secrets within herself, and attempts to toughen up, she fuses with an unlikely band of fellow travelers/creatures, falls into an unexpected love triangle, and finds the courage to master a new deadly weapon.

As blood is shed and puzzles near completion, Kailey pulls from deep within herself, conjuring up mystical qualities that enable her to astonish as once predicted at her birth, but despite the newfound strength, Kailey will discover that monsters not only come in ugly packages, but can be easily disguised as those she has come to love and trust.




Review:

Renhala was quite a long, complex book full of originality. Weird and wonderful characters combined with lots of suspense, humour and even a love triangle proves this book does actually provide something for all readers to enjoy.

It was a bit of a slow burner for me but once the story got going, I was really enthralled and enjoyed it a lot. I loved how full of invention and creativity it was and Amy Joy Lutchen’s writing of the setting really made me feel like I was in that world as I was picturing it as the story went on.

Another plus to Renhala was its great cast of characters. I loved Kailey – she was caring and strong and her humour added a lot of light to the story. Her relationship with her mother was a highlight of this book for me – it was great to read.

Honestly I can be put off by really long books but Renhala was well worth the extra pages. Amy Joy Lutchen seems like a very talented author and her writing left me captivated with a story I never expected to like as much as I did.



Rating:
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


Title: Golden Dunes of Renhala (Renhala #2).
Author: Amy Joy Lutchen.
Genre: New Adult Urban Fantasy.
Release Date: November 26, 2013.

Purchase Links: Amazon ; B&N ; Kobo

How do you live with a secret so dark and so deeply woven into your being that it threatens to smother your very existence, with no known way out? Use it to your advantage.

Kailey Rooke, karmelean, and now a possibly unethical karma-for-hire, has spent the past year jumping from project to project without any real hope for salvation. With repercussions from her actions at every turn, she discovers that as time goes on, she loses a bit more of herself to that which feeds on her anguish--that which is thriving inside her own body.

When a new contract to find a missing girl arises, Kailey attempts to put her past and its associated problems on the back burner, but she soon finds out that treachery and deceit lie shortly ahead in Golden Dunes, only giving face to new problems, with one leading right back to her childhood past.

She struggles to complete her contract as her own life teeters on a fulcrum, constantly tipping according to karma’s whim. How long will she keep her balance? Which way will she fall?




Review:

After I was thrown into the world of Renhala, I didn’t want to leave it and therefore, I was really eager to read the sequel, Golden Dunes of Renhala.

It’s said a lot that sequels are never better than the first book. With Golden Dunes of Renhala, I have to say I probably found it on par with book one, Renhala. There were parts of the style of this book which I preferred to Renhala but then I did miss some bits from book one.

The pacing starts off much better in Golden Dunes of Renhala and the story is less complex which made it easier for me to get into from the start. The book in itself is a lot shorter than the first book in the series so it was important that Amy Joy Lutchen refreshed my mind on the fantasy world the story revolves around. I thought the author did this very well.

I would have preferred this book had it been as light-hearted as book one. The plot was quite dark and with this, I struggled to feel for the characters like Kailey as much as I did in Renhala. However, Golden Dunes of Renhala had an awesome ending which left me very impressed!

Overall, this book had lots of epic action which was a joy to read. The author writes a crazily strong plot which you can just lose yourself in and it’s well worth reading.

Rating:
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


About the Author:

Was born in Chicago and slept in a dresser drawer for the first few weeks of my life, marking me as a future claustrophobe.

I studied at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana (man I grew up quick), where I became a number, but decided it was a good number.

I write with plenty of snacks in hand, making sure they are not in multiples of three. That number makes me nervous.

Author of the Renhala series.

Connect with Amy: Website ; Facebook ; Twitter ; Goodreads



Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for being part of this blog tour!
    I agree with you that Golden Dunes is darker than Renhala and I hope the third book will be abit lighter again. Where Renhala started off a bit slow, Golden Dunes didn't have that issue, I was so glad to be back in the world of Renhala and I am curious how this series will end!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. and thank you for the tour! I've really enjoyed it. I agree, it was nice to have a quicker start to Golden Dunes of Renhala and I'm looking forward to reading more!

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  2. Sweet Sophie!! Thanks so much for being today's most-awesome host. And I'm truly honored that you enjoyed my stories. I strive for DIFFERENT :)

    ReplyDelete

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