Category: Book Tour Page 13 of 48

COVER REVEAL: The Watcher by Lisa Sell

Welcome to The Irresponsible Reader’s part in the Cover Reveal for Lisas Sell’s Byline! We’ll get to the (intentionally) disturbing cover in a bit, but first, let’s read a little about the book, okay?

About the Book

The Watcher is a psychological thriller that will keep you hooked from the first page until the last…

What the reviewers are saying about The Watcher:

★★★★★ If you’re looking for something to keep you gripped, read this.

★★★★★ I have never read a book by this author, but I will definitely read more.

★★★★★ Such an intense, chilling, and spooky novel.

★★★★★ The plotline is superb, and the characters are brilliant and really help carry the story forward.

★★★★★ It had me captivated until the end. An easy, fast-paced read.

Harmony House has a voyeur. Someone with hidden cameras throughout the building. The residents are unaware they’re being watched, especially the ones up to no good.

I spy with my little eye; someone is going to die…

Purchase Link:

Amazon

About the Author

Lisa SellLisa Sell is a thriller, crime, and mystery author. She is an avid reader with a to-be-read tower rather than a pile.

Music rocks Lisa’s world too, particularly a good eighties tune. If lost, you’ll find her in a DeLorean, headed for her favorite decade.

Lisa’s cats try to help her write but often fail. The furry pests demand attention and desk space. Lisa is currently applying for cat wrangling to be recognized as an Olympic sport.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram

The Cover

The Watcher Cover
That just makes you feel all creepy, doesn’t it? This releases on April 20, but why not go pick up a copy today?



My thanks to Red Dragon Publishing for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.

Red Dragon Publishing

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair: No case too tough. No case too crazy.

After you finish this, take a minute to go register for the Giveaway!

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Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For HireDuckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire

by G.M. Nair

DETAILS:
Series: Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire, #1
Publisher: dS-dF
Publication Date: June 30, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 302 pg.
Read Date: March 30-April 1, 2022
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

What’s Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire About?

I have been dreading this day for a little bit now, because I have to answer this question, and I’m not sure I can. At one point, Stephanie Dyer describes their
experiences as:

It’s like Quantum Leap, but if Scott Bakula had a concussion.

I’m tempted to leave it there and move on, but you’re going to want a little more than that.

So, Michael Duckett shares an apartment with his best friend since childhood, Stephanie Dyer. Shares is being generous—he pays the rent, utilities, and food bills. Stephanie tries not to cause trouble for him. Sometimes.

Michael hates his/their apartment, his job, and his life in general. What he doesn’t hate is flirting with a particular woman at the laundromat. There’s really not much more to say about his life—until a woman accosts him on the way home from the laundromat, demanding that he takes her case. He’s confused, and she presents an advertisement for his detective agency.

He has no idea what she’s talking about or where the advertisement came from. Stephanie doesn’t, either. Soon they’re hired to look into a woman’s disappearance by that woman. Somehow, she knew she was about to disappear and wants them to find out what’s about to happen to her/has happened to her by the time they get on the case.

Clear as mud? Yeah, I know.

Meanwhile, a grizzled detective is trying to take down a drug dealer—until he disappears in a way he can’t explain. It’s not long before he crosses paths with Duckett and Dyer and things get stranger for him (by this time, they’re already pretty strange for the detectives, but it gets worse for them, too).

The Multiverse of Madness

(with apologies to a certain franchise)

“That’s it?” Michael scowled. “It looks like you took a stopwatch and glued some extra stuff on it.”

Matteo slammed the box closed and yanked it away. “You make your own dimension hopping device on a grad school budget and see how it looks.”

Without giving too much away, the duo finds themselves bouncing from parallel universe to parallel universe—some have a slightly asynchronous timeline, others have bigger differences—some have differences that are so small, like people’s hair color.

The explanation for both their travel and the research that led to it being possible (and how they’ll stop, I should add) is slightly more coherent than a certain someone’s “wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey” speech. Coherent, but goofy and entertainingly explained. The jumping from universe to universe is a great joke delivery mechanism, Nair was able to let his imagination run wild here—and it was worth it.

The Humor

“You’re kidding me. You’re traveling across dimensions using black holes?”

“Yeah. Plus I made the whole thing light up blue. Took me a whole weekend to figure out how to do that. I think it looks cool,” Matteo was quite pleased with himself.

Speaking of joke delivery mechanisms—Nair has quite a few of them at work here. Some of the humor is quiet and observational, some is the classic situational kind of thing that comes from the Odd Couple-esque pairing of Michael and Stephanie, and then there’s the ridiculous SF/Multiverse stuff—I don’t even know how to describe that.

This story felt like the love child of Dirk Gentley’s Holistic Detective Agency and Comedy Central’s Corporate, but sweeter. The humor is sophisticated and juvenile, subtle and broad, cynical and sentimental. Not only was the story unpredictable, but so was the humor—Nair almost never went where you thought he would go with the jokes.

So, what did I think about Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire?

“I can’t believe there are people who actually want to hire a couple of detectives with no experience.”

“Don’t doubt the power of internet marketing,” Stephanie said.

“Also, the ad said we’ve been in business since 1989.”

“We were born in 1989.”

She shrugged, “So, technically, I guess. It’s true.”

This was just absurd (in the best way). It’s not novel to combine any of the genres involved in the novel, but the way Nair does it makes it feel fresh and original—why didn’t anyone think of this before?

Both Stephanie and Michael are hard to like sometimes—okay, Michael is difficult to like as a person more than sometimes—mostly you take him because Stephanie likes him. Actually, just about every character is realistically human and flawed—very flawed. That’s not something you often get in such a comic novel, it’s nice when you do.

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire is a great start to this trilogy—it’s an SF romp with just a touch of Detective Fiction. Once things get moving, it’s one of the faster-paced books I’ve read this year, and the jokes keep the story moving well. You’re not going to find a lot of books like this one—you’d better pounce on it (and the sequel) when you can.


4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.



My thanks to Escapist Book Tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided. The opinions expressed by me are honest and my own.

Escapist Book Tours

EXCERPT from Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire Tour Banner
For the next part of my stop on The Escapist Blog Tour for Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair, I have this nifty excerpt. Enjoy!


from Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair

It was dark outside by the time he left. Michael couldn’t see his watch, but it was definitely around 9:30. He walked down the street past a row of cars, neatly angle parked. At the end sat Michael’s 1982 Mercury Zephyr, a car that he lovingly referred to as “the Garbagemobile.” The otherwise red car had a canary yellow passenger’s side door that failed to function since its previous owner had opted to weld it shut for undisclosed reasons. Still, the trunk worked well enough. Michael thumped his fist on the corner and it popped open, allowing him to toss in his laundry. Or was it clothes, now? When did your laundry stop being “laundry” and become “clothes”? When you folded it? When you brought it home? Or when you put it in your dresser? Michael enjoyed this pointless line of questioning brought on by the euphoria of his potential date with a beautiful woman, as it distracted him from overthinking about said date.

Michael slammed the trunk shut and turned to find the crazed blue eyes and wild hair of an entirely different, entirely angrier woman who had definitely not been there a second ago. He jolted backwards and tumbled onto the asphalt. A jeep whizzed by his head at what felt like 50 miles per hour, but was probably more like 5.

“Oh my God! What the hell, lady?” A situation in which panic was natural. Michael almost felt at home.

“You’re Michael Duckett!” The woman declared in a voice so far from Terri’s melodic tones, it would need a GPS to get within striking distance.

“Uh . . . yeah?” was all he could muster. “How do you know my name? Who are you?”

“I need your help!” She seemed less interested in his questions than her own agenda, whatever that was.

“You need . . . my help?” Michael pulled himself to his feet by leaning on the Garbagemobile’s rear bumper, which shuddered against the rusty nails holding it on. “For what?”

“I saw your ad. I need to hire you. It’s urgent.”

“Sorry. My ad? I think you have the wrong guy. I’m not for hire.” Michael brushed himself off and, being certain his life was no longer in any significant peril, took stock of the situation. He sidled past the woman, who was wearing medical scrubs beneath the folds of a long brown coat, and onto the sidewalk. If she had escaped from a mental hospital, killed an orderly, and stolen his clothes, that would explain the scrubs. It was a bit of a reach, but not an unreasonable conclusion given the circumstances.

“I have a case for you,” she said. Her eyes had a cold fire behind them that complemented the harsh red lipstick that popped against her dark olive skin. She would have been beautiful if she hadn’t been completely off her rocker.

“Yeah, a . . . nut case,” Michael winced. Another joke that didn’t land tonight, but there really wasn’t much time to workshop it. “Lady, I can give you bus fare or . . . uh . . . whatever you need. But I’m pretty sure you have the wrong person.”

“No. I definitely don’t. You’re the detective!” Despite her manic motions, the woman’s frizzy, curly blast of bright blonde hair refused to move very much.

“Detective? What the hell are you talking about?” Michael inched toward the door of the Garbagemobile. “I’m not—”

The woman slapped her hand on the door, blocking his escape. With her other hand, she removed a smartphone from her purse and thrust it at him. “I recognized you from your photo.”

Michael left the smartphone in her hand and awkwardly scrolled down with a single finger. It was not often that Michael got to use a fancy smartphone. His own was an elderly flip affair with a creaky hinge. The screen on this one was brighter and boasted a higher resolution which allowed the bold black headline to leap out of the bright white background in all-caps, silently yelling at him:

“MICHAEL DUCKETT AND STEPHANIE DYER – PRIVATE EYES FOR HIRE – NO CASE TOO TOUGH, NO CASE TOO CRAZY – REASONABLE RATES – ANY TIME DAY OR NIGHT.”

It was a simple internet classified ad—the Hail Mary of desperate schlubs seeking used leisure suits or unlikely missed connections. Below the headline was a picture of him and his oldest friend – and roommate two years running – Stephanie Dyer, standing side by side. It was cropped to focus only on their chests and heads, so Michael couldn’t place where or when it had been taken. Stephanie was making overenthusiastic gun fingers at the camera, while Michael seemed aloof in an attempt to appear cool. It had not worked.

 


Read the rest in Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair.

My thanks to Escapist Book Tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided. The opinions expressed by me are honest and my own.

Escapist Book Tours

BOOK SPOTLIGHT & GIVEAWAY: Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair

I’m very pleased to welcome the Escapist Book Tour for G.M. Nair’s Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire to The Irresponsible Reader this morning! In addition to this little spotlight post, I have an excerpt to share and then I’ll share my take on the novel coming along in a bit. Be sure you scroll down to the bottom of this post for the Giveaway! But first, let’s start by learning a little about this book, okay?

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire Tour Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair
Series: Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire
Publisher: dS-dF
Release date: June 30, 2019
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook
Length: 302 pages
Genre: Sci-Fi/Mystery/Comedy
Intended Age Group: Adult
Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire

About the Book

Michael Duckett is fed up with his life. His job is a drag, and his roommate and best friend of fifteen years, Stephanie Dyer, is only making him more anxious with her lazy irresponsibility. Things continue to escalate when they face the threat of imminent eviction from their palatial 5th floor walk-up and find that someone has been plastering ads all over the city for their Detective Agency.

The only problem is: they don’t have one of those.

Despite their baffling levels of incompetence, Stephanie eagerly pursues this crazy scheme and drags Michael, kicking and screaming, into the fray. Stumbling upon a web of missing people curiously linked by a sexually audacious theoretical physicist and his experiments with the fabric of space-time, the two of them find that they are way out of their depth. But unless Michael and Stephanie can put their personal issues aside and patch up the hole they tore in the multi-verse, the concept of existence itself may, ironically, cease to exist.

See Also:

Doctor WhoHere it Goes AgainPsych

Book Links

Amazon ~ IndieBound ~ Goodreads

About the Author

G.M. NairG.M. Nair is a crazy person who should never be taken seriously. Despite possessing both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering and a job as an Aviation and Aerospace Consultant, he writes comedy for the stage and screen, and maintains the blog MakeMomMarvel.Com. Now he is making the leap into the highly un-lucrative field of independent book publishing.

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire is his first novel, and in a world with a fair and loving god, it would be his last. Alas, he tends to continue.

G.M. Nair lives in New York City and in a constant state of delusion.

Twitter ~ Instagram

Giveaway

Prize: An eBook, Paperback, or Hardcover Copy of Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire!
Starts: April 4th, 2022 at 12:00am EST
Ends: April 10th, 2022 at 11:59pm EST
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/79e197ac17/



My thanks to Escapist Book Tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided. The opinions expressed by me are honest and my own.

Escapist Book Tours

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Ventifact Colossus by Dorian Hart

I’m very pleased and excited today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Dorian Hart’s The Ventifact Colossus. Unlike the the bloggers whose posts about it are found at https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours, I didn’t have time to read or write about it. Still, I wanted to spread the word a bit.

The Ventifact Colossus Tour Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: The Ventifact Colossus by Dorian Hart
Series: The Heroes of Spira, Book 1
Publisher: Jester Hat Books
Release date: January 7, 2016
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 344 pages
The Ventifact Colossus

Book Blurb:

A tale of epic fantasy begins…

Banished to an otherworldly prison for centuries, the monstrous Emperor Naradawk is about to break free and wreak havoc upon the world of Spira. The archmage Abernathy can no longer keep the monster at bay, and has summoned a collection of would-be heroes to help set things right.

Surely he made a mistake. These can’t be the right people.

Dranko is priest-turned-pickpocket, expelled from his church for his antics. Kibilhathur is a painfully shy craftsman who speaks to stones. Aravia is a wizard’s apprentice whose intellect is eclipsed only by her arrogance. Ernest is a terrified baker’s son. Morningstar is a priestess forbidden from daylight. Tor is a young nobleman with attention issues. Ysabel is an elderly farm woman. Grey Wolf is a hard-bitten mercenary.

None of them are qualified to save the world, but they’ll have to do. Even Abernathy himself seems uncertain as to why he chose them.

What starts with a simple scouting mission soon spirals into something more far-reaching and sinister. The heroes will contest with dream warriors, evil cultists, sentient gemstones, and a devious yet infuriatingly polite gentleman with a perfect mustache, on their way to a desperate encounter with the unstoppable: The Ventifact Colossus.

Book Links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Dorian HartDorian Hart graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in creative writing. This led circuitously to a 20-year career as a video game designer, where he contributed to many award-winning titles including Thief, System Shock, System Shock 2 and BioShock. He is also the author of the interactive novella Choice of the Star Captain.

Dorian now lives in the Boston area with his fantastic wife and two clever daughters. When not serving as house chef and chauffeur, he works on the kinds of novels he’s been itching to write since he was ten years old.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter

 


My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Other Side of Fear by Eoghan Egan

I’m very pleased to welcome the Red Dog Press Book Tour for The Other Side of Fear by Eoghan Egan to The Irresponsible Reader this morning! It’s driving me crazy that I couldn’t squeeze this into my schedule right now but I couldn’t let the opportunity to squawk about this book pass by. This has the makings of a scorcher, and you’re going to want to look into it.

Book Details:

Book Title: The Other Side of Fear by Eoghan Egan
Series: The Ganestown Trilogy, #2
Publisher: Red Dog Press
Release date: March 29, 2022
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook
Length: 370 pages
The Other Side of Fear

About the Book

Sharona Waters is determined to dig into loan shark Dessie Dolan’s business and see him brought to justice. But when a young woman she’s only briefly met goes missing, a much darker story emerges.

Pulled into the ruthless world of people trafficking – a world built on violent brutality and sudden death – Sharona finds herself caught between crime and conscience, pursued by powerful and ruthless criminals, and just one bad decision away from having her whole world crash down.

Sometimes, the only way forward is to risk everything, no matter the cost.

Purchase Link

Get it from Red Dog Press

(it’s also available on Amazon, Kobo, Google Play Books, and all good bookshops—but why not support an independent publisher?)

About the Author

Eoghan EganA native of Co. Roscommon, Ireland, Eoghan wrote his first story aged nine. At college, he studied Computer Programming, works in Sales Management & Marketing, but his passion for reading and writing remain.

Eoghan’s stories were shortlisted for the 2018 Bridport Short Story Prize, and Listowel’s 2019 Bryan McMahon Short Story Award Competition. Others have been published in various anthologies. He has also completed two crime fiction novels in a planned trilogy set in the Irish Midlands, and has started work on the third.

A graduate of Maynooth University’s Creative Writing Curriculum and Curtis Brown’s Edit & Pitch Your Novel Course, Eoghan divides his time between Roscommon and Dublin.

Eoghan constantly explores ways to increase his knowledge in the art of writing. He enjoys attending literary festivals and is excited about the prospect of getting back to face-to-face discussions with readers and writers. He’s also a heavy metal fan, and, post-Covid, can’t wait to headbang at a rock gig.

Find him on Twitter: @eoghanegan



My thanks to Red Dog Press for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.

Red Dog Press

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: These Walls Were Never Really There by Bryan Blears

I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for by Bryan Blears to the blog today. I couldn’t fit this into my schedule on time, sadly, but you should absolutely check out some of the posts about it at https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours to see why you should give it a read. But before you go there, let’s learn a little about this book, shall we?

These Walls Were Never Really There Tour Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: These Walls Were Never Really There by Bryan Blears
Publisher: 2qt Limited
Release date: April 1, 2022
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 286 pages
These Walls Were Never Really There

About the Book:

Based on the author’s own experiences of leaving home and traveling across Europe on less than a pound a day, These Walls Were Never Really There is a compelling true story described by publishing editors as ‘immersive and moving’ and ‘a potential prizewinner in the making’.

Initially set in the heart of Manchester’s homeless community, These Walls follows twenty-year-old Cameron, who is propelled on a physical and spiritual journey which will take him far from the life he once knew.

A surprising story about mental health, friendship, and redemption, this compelling debut will take you on a journey across Europe and beyond, as Cameron and his traveling companion Jacob navigate perilous border crossings, packs of wolves, and the harsh realities of life on the road.

Set against the backdrop of the emerging Arab Spring, Cameron and Jacob will have their friendship pushed to its limits as they find themselves trapped thousands of miles away from home…

Book Links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Bryan BlearsBryan Blears is an author of contemporary literary fiction from Salford, Manchester. He has written for the Huffington Post, the New Statesman, and the Philosophical Society of England, among others.

Focusing on social issues, mental health, and overcoming personal adversity, his fiction has been compared to George Orwell, Sylvia Plath, and Donna Tartt. His debut novel, These Walls Were Never Really There, has been described by critics as an ‘immersive and moving true story’ and ‘a fantastic talent, and a potential prizewinner in the making.’

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter

 


My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Under the Bridge by Jack Byrne

I’m very pleased and excited today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Under the Bridge by Jack Byrne. The problem is, I was supposed to do this on March 9th (I apparently put it in my calendar as May 9th). Even if I’d gotten the date right, I couldn’t fit this into my schedule on time, sadly, but you should absolutely check out some of the posts about it at https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours to see why you should find room for it. But before you go, let’s learn a little about this book, shall we?

Under the Bridge Tour Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: Under the Bridge by Jack Byrne
Series: The Liverpool Mysteries
Publisher: Northodox Press
Release date: February 18, 2021
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 360 pages
Under the Bridge

Book Blurb:

2004 – The discovery of a skeleton in the Liverpool docklands unearths long buried secrets. Reporter, Anne McCarthy, is keen to prove herself and dives into the case with abandon where she finds Michael, an old Irish caretaker who knows far more than he’s letting on and may have a connection to the body.

Meanwhile, Vinny Doyle, is starting a postgrad degree, researching Liverpool’s immigrant history and a burgeoning Scouse identity. But Vinny has been neglecting his own family history and stranger Michael might know about his father’s disappearance in the 70s.

1955 – Escaping violence in Ireland and fresh off the boat, Michael falls in with Wicklow boys Jack Power and Paddy Doyle, who smuggle contraband through the docks putting them at odds with unions while they rally the dock workers against the rackets and the strikebreakers. A story of corruption, secret police, and sectarianism slowly unravels. But will the truth out?

As the conflict heightens, Michael questions the life sprawling out ahead of him. In the present, Anne races to solve the mystery, but is she prepared for what she’ll find?

Book Links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Jack ByrneI was born and raised in Speke Liverpool, (Paul McCartney lived in the street behind us for a while) although my parents first lived ‘Under The Bridge’ in Garston, and all my family goes back to Wicklow in Ireland.

The Liverpool Mystery Series will be four novels. Under The Bridge is the first. I am writing Fire Next time now, and The Wicklow Boys will follow next year. You can find The One Road prequel a collection of short stories on Amazon.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

 


My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Quest (Audiobook) by A.J. Ponder, Benjamin Fife (Narrator): A Lighter Fantasy Adventure with a Princess Set to Save a City

Quest Audiobook Tour Banner

QuestQuest

by A.J. Ponder, Benjamin Fife (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: The Sylvalla Chronicles, Book 1
Publisher: Phantom Feather Press
Publication Date: December 15, 2021
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 8 hrs., 1 min.
Read Date: February 24-25, 2022
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

What’s Quest About?

Sylvalla is being raised the way most fantasy princesses should—but she’s not all that interested in the finery and culture. She has fire in her and ambition—she wants to be a Hero (with a capital H) and sneaks out of the castle to pursue her dreams and find a Quest so she can get that title, even if it causes problems with the one she already has. I couldn’t help but think of Princess Eilonwy daughter of Angharad, daughter of Regat of the Royal House of Llyr, just without being hampered by an Assistant Pig-Keeper.

Dirk is one of the many swordsmen out to find her and return her for the bounty. He’s also one of the fiercest swordsmen around and has a long list of people he’s promised to kill the next time he sees them. He’s technically a Hero, but there’s little heroic about him. He finds himself Sylvalla’s sworn servant before too long and ends up accompanying her instead of bringing her home.

Meanwhile, Capro Goodfellow a wizard of small repute has just turned 150 and continues to try to get his son interested in wizardry. Jonathan’s much more drawn to the commercial life, buying and selling—and profiting from both. But you know what they say about wizards being subtle, a vision about Sylvalla gives Capro a chance to involve Jonathan in something bigger than capitalism.

Eventually, these four end up in the same place at the same time, and Sylvalla gets her chance—can she take advantage of it? Will any of them survive it?

Yeah, There Was Another Thing

There was another storyline and another group of characters that I didn’t mention. They were interesting enough, and the characters and story had potential, but I think they were squandered. I kept wondering how the book would’ve ended up had Ponder not bothered with this and had spent the space deepening the others instead.

That said, I can absolutely see where this storyline is going to pay off in a further installment of The Sylvalla Chronicle. But for now, it felt like a poor use of space and imagination.

How was the Narration?

Fife did an acceptable job—there were some really strong moments. But there were a few times when the accent he was using didn’t work (words he didn’t know how to pronounce with a British accent, for example). When I read on his website that he comes from the same state as I do, some of that made a lot more sense to me. Also, there wasn’t enough variation in his tone of voice or pacing, which got a little old after a while and made it difficult to focus (that also could be a function of how tired I was, I grant—perhaps the combination).

That comes across as more critical than I intended it to be—Fife was very strong when handling dialogue for his characters, and caught the tone of the book well. I could’ve used just a little more.

So, what did I think about Quest?

This was a light, fun fantasy story in a similar vein to A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher and Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights by Liam Perrin (to name a couple of recently discussed books here)—Ponder’s not looking to satirize the genre, just looking to tell a fun story within it. Which isn’t to say there’s no meat to it, by any means. I simply wanted a little more from the two main storylines, but that’s likely just me.

I really liked Sylvalla as a character and enjoyed her arc through this—the same, to a lesser degree, for Capro and Dirk. I even came around to liking Jonathan—I enjoyed his arc throughout, even if I spent most of the book wanting someone to give him a swift kick in the pants.

A quick hit of fantasy that will bring a grin to your face, Quest is one to check out. Given how things wrap up, I imagine the rest of her Chronicles will deliver more of the same, too.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this Tour and the materials (including the audiobook) they provided.

Love Books Group

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Quest (Audiobook) by A.J. Ponder, Benjamin Fife (Narrator)

This morning I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for A.J. Ponder and Benjamin Fife’s audiobook Quest. In a little bit here, I’ll be posting my take on the audiobook, but for now, let’s learn a little about the book.

Quest Audiobook Tour Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: Quest by A.J. Ponder, Benjamin Fife (Narrator)
Series: The Sylvalla Chronicles
Publisher: Phantom Feather Press
Release date: December 15, 2021
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Audiobook
Length: 302 pages/ 8 hrs., 1 min.

Quest Cover

About the Book:

Sylvalla escapes Avondale castle and the life of a princess, in search of the adventure she’s always wanted – but once found, adventure bites back.

Fortunately, she is not alone. Unfortunately, her new-found companions are less than heroic. Jonathan would rather make money. Dirk would rather live a long and happy life. And at 150, old Capro would rather stop gallivanting, and harangue unsuspecting wizardry students about his glory days over a nice cup of tea.

Quest has everything; monsters, chases, escapes and a complete lack of true love. Discover Quest by A.J. Ponder and rediscover fantasy.

Purchase Links:

Amazon ~ Universal Link ~ Goodreads ~ Book Bub

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author, A.J. Ponder has a head full of monsters, and recklessly spills them onto the written page. Beware dragons, dreadbeasts, taniwha, and small children—all are equally dangerous, and capable of treading on your heart—or tearing it, still beating, from your chest.

About the Narrator:

Benjamin Fife has always had a passion for learning. With a mind that remembers all sorts of numbers and useless trivia, he regularly wins local radio shows and enjoys confusing people with sci-fi quotes. Fife grew up in Southeast Idaho. He attended college at Idaho State University, where he met his future wife in their music theory class. They have been married nearly 20 years and now have six children and a whole menagerie of animals.

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this Tour.

Love Books Group

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