(Book Blog Tour) The Last Archangel by Michael D. Young (Review+Giveaway)

Genre:	Young Adult, Action & Adventure, Fantasy
Publication.Date	July 14th 2011
Pages:	288
Published By:	Bonneville Books (Cedar Fort)
Website	The Canticle - Author's Website
	The Last Archangel- Goodreads
My review copy:	provided by the publisher
Where to get:	Barnes and Noble | Amazon

     Xandir has been exiled to earth until the end of time. But when his cherub trainee disappears, Xandir makes a deal with rogue angels and giants that could restore life to the mortal woman he loves and end his assignment as a destroying angel in exchange for helping them bring about the end of the world and all of mankind.

(goodreads.com)

Please note:  Quotes are from an ARC and will be verified against a published copy.

“For this,” continued the voice. “You shall be consigned to the role of Destroying Angel, which sentence shall be served until the End of Time.”

"Her husband said nothing but continued his relentless attack. He backed her into the kitchen, and she lunged for the keys. He was next to her in an instant, pinning her against the counter and readying another strike. She grasped the keys with one hand and lashed out, striking him full across the face and drawing blood."

           

     Three words: hot, intriguing, heavenly.

     The Last Archangel is one of those fun-to-read books. There is something sweet and fascinating about it that keeps you turning the pages until you hit the back cover. I was surprised at how much I liked this book. I mean, sure the cover art is absolutely and undeniably gorgeous, and I was drawn to this book from the very first moment I laid my eyes on it, but the blurb didn’t sound all that good to me. It’s definitely not the best blurb I’ve seen and it doesn’t do this book justice. So let me give you an advice, dear readers, skip the blurb and go straight for the real thing. For many, reading the first few pages will be a step into the unknown. It is, however, a step that will result in the reader falling instantly under the spell of a very talented author as he weaves a spellbinding and highly entertaining story. 

     The plot was insane, twist upon twist and action packed, up until the final pages. The world building was exceptional, too!  I just love the mythology and the vast variety of characters, from Angels and Demons to Giants and even a Yeti (oh, right, sorry – a Yearti!). In the beginning the plot treads appeared to be rather loosely, if at all, connected with each other and the whole storyline seemed a bit haphazard. I admit, I didn’t know where Young was going with it. Thankfully, his storytelling was captivating enough to keep me tearing through the pages to find out more. And it was so worth it! 

Michael Young introduces a brilliant cast of protagonists. Xandir’s character was just so intriguing and three-dimensional that it was hard not to get caught up in his story. He might be an Angel, but he’s far from perfect. He can be quite snarky and short-tempered. He’s not good at following rules and he almost never obeys the orders, which, of course, often gets him into serious trouble. He’s stubborn and self-confident. Most importantly, he will stop at nothing to help those who are important to him. Following his adventures was fun! And then there’s also Eden. For a big part of the book it was her story that captivated me the most. At first she seemed weak, naïve and even a bit whiny at times, but as we go deeper into the story and we get to know her better, we begin to understand that what initially seemed to be weak-mindedness, is in truth a great emotional sensitivity and thoughtfulness. Her character really grew on me. 

     One more thing that deeply impressed me was the beautiful and unique setting of the story. Thanks to Young’s impressive imaginativeness we get to travel to the lost city of Atlantis, we witness the destruction of Pompeii, we stand at the gates of Heaven and we plunge deep into Hell. It’s a real treat for anyone who enjoys well-written fantasy. And how about that ending?! I truly hope that there is more of this story to be told!

Here's the complete tour schedule, some blogs -- like Bookish -- are hosting giveaways, so make sure to visit them all! :) Happy hopping! 

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				June 30	July 1	2
				The Writings and Rantings of Frank L. Cole Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm		J. Lloyd Morgan
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
My Life in a Laptop		The Reading Fever  Jo Ramsay		ReaWrite Theresa Sneed	Imaginary ReadsWorld of Books	The Book Blog Experience
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Burning Impossibly Bright Books R Us	Book Dreaming LDS Women’s Book Review	Shannon O’Donnell  The Wormhole     The Great, The Good, and The Bad	Me and Reading	Keepin’ Up with LDS Bookstores A Tale of Many Reviews  Cherry Mischievous	A Casual Reader’s BlogForever Young Adult Tigers All Consuming Books	Book Twirps BookishIt’s All About books

Giveaway Time! 

Rules:

Open to US & Canada (sorry Internationals!)

Ends: Saturday, July 30th 

*Mandatory entry: be a GFC follower of my blog and fill out the form below

*Extra entries: 

+1 Follow me on Twitter @SeoEvie

+5 Follow Michael on Twitter HERE

+5 Follow Michael's Site HERE

+5 Be Michael's Fan on Goodreads HERE

+5 Follow Cedar Fort Books on Twitter @cedarfortbooks

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