Friday, June 23, 2017

COILED // Blog Tour, Book Review, & Giveaway

{Image provided by H.L. Burke.}

Howdy, Dragons! Today I'm delighted to introduce to you Coiled, a new, YA mythological romance from H.L. Burke!

ABOUT THE BOOK

{Image provided by H.L. Burke.}

A healing touch. A hideous face. A looming curse.

As the ugly twin to a perfect sister, Princess Laidra lives her life in the shadows -- until her parents offer her as bait for a giant serpent.

Her escape attempt leaves her shipwrecked on a secluded island with only one inhabitant: Prince Calen, who lives under a curse. If anyone looks upon him, he turns into a giant serpent. Speaking to him in the darkness, Laidra sees past the monster to Calen's lonely soul, and she determines to free him from the magic's hold.

But if Laidra can't break the curse in time, Calen will become a mindless creature of scales and fangs forever.




BOOK REVIEW

★★★★☆

"Love doesn't fit on a scale for us to say whose has more weight."
~H.L. Burke, Coiled

Greek mythology retold. A giant, man-eating serpent. A rejected princess with a hideous curse and an astounding gift.

From the moment I first heard about H.L.'s upcoming novel to the moment I saw the cover, I knew this was a story I wanted to read.

A retelling of Eros & Psyche, as well as a Beauty & the Beast retelling in its own right, Coiled is the story of Laidra -- a girl forced into hiding by her own family, treated as if she was the child who was never meant to be, and thrown into political schemes as bait for a monstrous snake.

The characters -- Calen is so adorable! Which is saying a lot, because I hate snakes. But (thankfully!), Calen was no problem for me! He was such a cute, lovely little ginormous guy! 😊

ZEPHIA. She was probably my favorite character in the entire book! A clever, powerful demigoddess, daughter to a wind god? Yes, please!

And Valen. Uhg, Valen. He and his father are both such terrible people that I love/hate it. The pair of them would both, without a doubt, qualify for Paper Fury's "best worst villain to hate".

 The romance -- The romance was definitely sweet. As the story progressed, however, I felt like the affection between Laidra and Calen was starting to be displayed a little too physically. A good dose of innocence in the romantic area would've been preferred, but otherwise, the romance was considerably clean. (See notes below.)

 The writing -- H.L.'s voice is fast-paced, but not too much -- just enough to keep the story going at a likable, adventure-ready pace.

 The setting -- The mythology elements shown through just enough to deliver an allegorical tale evidently set in a fantasy land inspired by ancient Greece. And, being the Greek mythology nerd that I am, I loved uncovering the subtle little references to characters such as Theseus and Perseus!

The plot -- About halfway through, when a certain unfortunate event occurred to a certain primary character, an unforeseen journey came into view. I tend to prefer romance in a story when it's "all or nothing", so I personally would've liked that journey to... not exist? It was certainly enlightening and relevant to the story, but I would've preferred to focus on the relationship between the main characters.

This made for such a lovely read! I'd recommend this to anyone searching for a sweet, romantic read with mythological elements thrown in. 🙂

You may want to know: There are some brief and rather undescriptive references to nudity, as well as strong suggestions/implications. There is violence and references to warfare, along with the involvement of "gods", drinking, magical elements, and kissing. The "ba-word" is used once.

NOTE: I received a free ebook copy of Coiled from the author, in exchange for my honest review.

Read my review on Goodreads and Merikthorne Library!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

{Image provided by H.L. Burke.}

Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.

An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.

Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.

Readers can connect with H.L. via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, her website, and her personal blog.

GIVEAWAY

Seven stops on this blog tour include special scavenger hunt clues, presented by H.L.'s own dragon, Theodore, and snake, Pistachio! Search for an image of either one of both of H.L.'s friends holding up a note, each of which is a part of her secret phrase. When you've found all seven pieces of H.L.'s phrase, click here to let her know! All correct entries will be put into a random drawing for a signed paperback of Coiled. The winner will be drawn during the Facebook party, on June twenty-third, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (PST).

{Image provided by H.L. Burke.}

TOUR SCHEDULE

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❤,


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2 comments:

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