BLOG TOUR: Broken Forest by Eliza Tilton

Released on May 1st, 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press, Broken Forest by Eliza Tilton is a Young Adult, fantasy adventure that sneaks in some wonderful, colorful science fiction details!

Swing by Love in Every Page Promotions to check out the other tour stops!

The Book

Hopeless he'll never be more than the boy who didn't save his brother, 17-year-old Avikar accepts his life as the family stable boy, trying to forget the past. But when his sister, Jeslyn, is kidnapped, the thought of losing another sibling catapults him on a desperate quest. With his best friend by his side, and using the tracking skills he learned from his father, he discovers Jeslyn has been taken, kidnapped by one Lucino, the young lord of Daath, a mystical place thought only to exist in fables. 

And Lucino has plans for Jeslyn.

His shape-shifting brethren feed off the auras of humans, and Jeslyn's golden hue is exactly what Lucino needs to increase his power. The longer it takes Avikar to reach her, the more entranced she becomes with Lucino's world, and the harder it will be for Avikar to set her free.

He failed his family once. He won't fail again

Broken Forest is available now:

Amazon  |  Barnes and Nobles  |  Kobo  

Goodreads

Excerpt:

Luciano

“Martha, nothing is―” Susie turned around, her mouth hung open at my sudden appearance. “Lord Lucino.” She immediately bowed. “I didn’t realize you were out here.”

“I like to stroll the gardens this time of night.”

She lifted her head, daring to look at me. Her eyes wandered. I assumed she was searching for her friend.

“I told your companion to return to the party. We’ve had a bit of trouble with wolves out here. I didn’t want anything to happen to one my guests.”

“Oh, I had no idea.” Her lip quivered, and I noticed her hands fidgeting.

“I’ll escort you back.”

She hesitated at first, and then when I stepped into the moonlight, her eyes widened.

“I know the way back. I wouldn’t want to trouble you,” she said, frantically looking behind her.

I grinned, enjoying her fear. “It is no trouble at all.” I sensed her desire to flee. I did enjoy a good chase. “If you’re thinking of running, I’d start now.”

My thoughts:

First, can I express my *love* for that cover? Of course I can, this is my review! I am in love with that cover. I adore how lost that gorgeous girl looks, I love the lushness of the forest. And can we take a minute to appreciate that in the midst of all that beauty, the tree limb looks like a giant hand about to smack that girl right on the head?

Maybe I'm projecting a bit, because I definitely wanted to swat that girl, Jeslyn, and hopefully knock some sense into her!

Broken Forest introduces a massive world - one that melds fantasy elements with science fiction ones. There are some really exciting tidbits here, touching on magic, technology, the infiltration and exploitation of a native population, telepathy, swordplay.... I felt like I was only scratching the surface of this world! 

Now, there isn't always enough information provided to get a really clear picture. I think that clarity was sacrificed in some spots to create a bigger bang whenever there's a big reveal. At times this is frustrating, but ultimately I got enough that I'm intrigued by this place.

The story is told by three different characters - Avikar and his sister Jeslyn, and then Luciano. I disliked Luciano's sections because he was so very unsympathetic, delusional, self-involved and I think that some of the information we got from his chapters could have been revealed from Jeslyn's or Avikar's perspectives for more impact. That said, Luciano undergoes the biggest development across the book so.... I don't know what it would have looked like without his input. 

The writing was at times action-intense, and this is when I felt it was at it's best. When the pace slowed to allow development of romance between various characters, I felt that the writing was too blunt. In general, I wanted a bit more finesse in the plot development and in the writing style more generally. That said, if I accept that this was written for a young YA audience, it's more understandable. I do think that this is something that will improve between books one and two, and I look forward to that.

Bottom line:

Broken Forest has great bones, and some very intriguing world concepts. This brand of fantasy-science-fiction is fairly unique and I enjoyed the melding of the two genres. While I see room for growth in the writing style and editing therein, I think that Broken Forest is a fairly satisfying tale. 

I recommend it to fans of genre mash-ups and look forward to the second book in the series: Wicked Path.


3.5 stars
For fans of YA, fantasy, science fiction elements, the tv show 'V'

The Author

Author Bio:

Eliza graduated from Dowling College with a BS in Visual Communications. When she’s not arguing with excel at her day job, or playing Dragon Age 2, again, she’s writing. Her stories hold a bit of the fantastical and there’s always a romance. She resides on Long Island with her husband, two kids and one very snuggly pit bull. 

Author links:

Twitter / Tumblr / Website / Pinterest / Facebook / Instagram

Wicked Path: Book Two of The Daath Chronicles releases Oct 6th, 2014, add to your Goodreads TBR HERE

Note that I will be reviewing Wicked Path as part of a blog tour next month!

The Giveaway

Finally, check out this giveaway!  Follow the link for your chance to earn some entries for a Book Lover's prize. Trust me, it's well worth the time to enter! 

Rafflecopter giveaway