Saturday, July 16, 2011

(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)
WebsiteThe 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
+5 Leave a comment on this post

36 comments:

Jules said...

Great review!!!

(even if I can't enter the comp :D)

Shelagh said...

Great review Evie!

I'm thrilled to hear that the book lives up to that awesome cover. :) I developed a serious book crush on The Last Archangel the second I first saw the cover. I love all things angelic and am always on the look out for something new involving them.

Shelagh
The Word Fiend

Pawing Through Books said...

This book looks great! Thanks for the chance to win!

Peggy
Pawing Through Books

Unknown said...

Thanks for hosting the giveaway and for the post. I hope the rest of you enjoy the book as well.

Val said...

Keep seeing this book around. Need to add it to my TBR pile. Thanks for the giveaway.

StuckInBooks.com

Orchid said...

Great review! This is the first time I've seen this book around and it sounds very intriguing. =)

Orchid
The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Anonymous said...

I've been wanting to read this one...just got bumped up on my list!

Thanks,
Ems

SimplyMe said...

Great review :) Thanks for the giveaway!

Julie S said...

Thanks for the giveaway!

tellingmelies said...

Thank you for the review and for doing these giveaways :)

In Julie's Opinion said...

This book looks really good! Thanks for the chance to win a copy:)
jwitt33 at live dot com

C.V. Hunt said...

Sounds like an interesting read.

Laura (All of Everything) said...

I haven't seen this one before! And the cover's gorgeous. So thanks for the review and the chance to win it :D

Judy said...

Great review, this book looks very good.I really like the cover also.


Judy
magnolias_1[at]msn[dot]com

Read Between the Lines said...

Awesome review love ur reviews Evie. Book sounds awesome. and the cover is just STUNNING WOW I love it!!!!

rhonda1111 said...

well filled form and checked off everything than went to twitter to follow and twitter is down but I will keep trying! rlrlaney@yahoo.com

Amy Jones said...

Hi Evie!

A fantastic review, as usual. This one sounds like a great adventure to me and I love the cover!

SweetShenanigans said...

Great review; I loved it! I'm very interested in the fantasy aspect of this book as well
(Sorry if I submitted more than once, my internet is having problems)

Unknown said...

Great review! I am looking forward to reading this one. :)

Anonymous said...

Another book to add to my "TBR" list :)

Thanks for the review and giveaway!

Saph
saphsbookblog(at)gmail(dot)com

Molli @ Once Upon a Prologue said...

Wow, great giveaway! this book is definitely one I'd love to win. :D

Sarah C. said...

Great Review:) Thanks for the Giveaway!!

Holly said...

Great review! I can't wait to read it! Thanks so much for the chance to win :)

Unknown said...

Another great review Evie!! You make the book sound awesome!

Suz said...

Thanks for this amazing giveaway! I liked your review of this book and can't wait to read it! I am a new follower on GFC as Suz and I would love to win!

susanw28 (at) mindspring (dot) com

Sarah said...

This book looks great!!

aurora M. said...

Sounds like a book my BFF might like. Will check it out for her. Thanks for the review.

Krystal Larson said...

What a great cover! I saw this book on freado, I better see if it's at the library :)

R bo said...

oooo this book sounds like its the type for me!! :D

DhesiX said...

I really wanted to read this book, cause the cover's gorgeous and I Love Angels, but I was afraid of the story won't be so exciting, cause I'm an action-type girl (: But after Your review, i think i'm going to get this book no matter what!!! So Thank You! :)

GFC ~ Andreana

roro said...

so wanna have this'
is a bummr saw the contest 2 late

therainhouse said...

The cover is gorgeous..

But I don't understand the blurb.

So, his cherub trainee is the love of his life or the mortal woman is the love of his life?

But I vow I WILL read this.

FairyWhispers said...

hhahaha, fun-to-read book


definitely will give it a try

Munnaza said...

I love the colors on the cover, but you're right - the book's blurb doesn't sound as interesting as your review does. The protagonists sound fantastic, the ancient settings sound amazing, and just everything about this novel sounds impressive. Thank you so much for the recommendation!

Jaime Lester said...

I love the cover. I would definitely pick it up at the library or a store or wherever. But I am not sure that I would take it home because the blurb just doesn't say enough to really get me interested. That is why I love being able to head over to a trusted blog and check out reviews. It gives me the opportunity to check out books and add them to my list that I otherwise might not have. Thanks for your review!

Jaime Lester said...

This is another one that I had not heard of until you. And again, thank you. It sounds really interesting, and if it is hot? Then I suppose I will have to check it out now, won't I? :) Thanks for another great review!

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