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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

VEILED SHADOWS Blog Tour!

I'm thrilled to be the first stop on Morgan Wylie's brand new book VEILED SHADOWS.  This is book two of the Age of Alandria Series, which is a YA Fantasy for those who didn't know.  If you want to check out my review of book one, SILENT ORCHIDS, it's right HERE.  Today's post will be slightly long, but I've got lots of goodies for you.  Following my review, there will be an excerpt and a rafflecopter for some sweet prizes, which let's be real, that's a post full of awesome! 







Shadows linger where light is obstructed, and truth is veiled. 
Evil is an untreated disease in the once beautiful realm of Alandria.
Kaeleigh is faced with a revelation that she must reconcile. She will decide if discovering the truth is worth the unknown consequences to both herself and her friends.
Daegan, the Ferrishyn warrior, is conflicted by more than his loyalties, and is confronted with emotions he doesn’t know how to deal with. A choice must be made. A choice… that may cost him more than he ever wanted to give.
The Droch-Shúil—enforcers and servants of the ancient darkness—continue to cast their shadow over Alandria seeking those who can be turned to their side. 
The magic of The Orchids is growing, but not everyone will survive what is to come.
Veiled Shadows is the second installment in The Age of Alandria series: the story of the Sol-lumieth’s quest for freedom of self and the power to battle the evil of the Droch-Shúil.

Review:  Coming into VEILED SHADOWS we're immediately thrust right where we left off in SILENT ORCHIDS.  Kaeleigh reunites with family members she never knew she had.  One reunion in particular was so sweet and sad at the same time.  

One thing that I think Wylie did extremely well in VS was Kae's character progression.  I really connected with how her character was resistant to these responsibilities that were immediately thrust on her, and I think that she still struggles with the idea that she's got so much resting on her shoulders.  Kae never really has this overall accepting what she is prophesied to do, rather she focuses on the love and support of her friends telling her she can do this.  I thought that these moments were portrayed very realistically.  

Something else I admired about Kae's character is that she's never been a passive character.  She's always been a character that doesn't need to be saved, and I think Morgan Wylie took it a step further in VS and we start to see more instances of self reliance in Kae which makes her a standout character that girls can actually look up to. 

While the Chel, Finn, Daegon, and Hunter all feature in the book, I think the purpose of VS was to largely create a finite persona for Kae.  Although we still have the lacings of romance weaved throughout the plot, the main focus continues to be about Kae and Kae's journey in rebuilding Alandria as well as the search for her identity in Alandria. 

For you folks that have read a review on this site before, you might have come across my detest for love triangles.  I'm scared because there are hints of a love triangle forming and I love shipping Daegon and Kae.  While it's not really the first thing on Kae's mind in this book,(hello, girl's got a lot on her plate) I'm waiting with bated breath to see how this "triangle will be handled in book three.  I'll reserve judgement until there's a bit more meat to sink my teeth into, and not jump the gun with VS.  But, for you fellow triangle haters, be warned that there is a possibility of that happening later.  

Now, with that said, I loved the progression of the plot in VS.  It felt a bit long at the very beginning, but it still held my interest.  Once they got back on the open road, my interest was completely held.  What can I say, I love a good road trip.  I loved the inclusion of different myths and legends that Wylie included, and her descriptions continue to be very vivid.  At parts I felt like I was peeking in on the characters in the scenes. 

We see a few new faces in VS, one who I have a very big conspiracy theory about.  You'll meet him towards the latter part of the book.  I also loved why Wylie named this book Veiled Shadows.  I'm one of those people who likes to connect the title to the actual content of the book, so when that clicks for me I get pretty stoked. 

If you like Fantasy books, you need to be reading some Morgan Wylie!  It always amazes me how much world building goes into a fantasy novel, and I think that The Age of Alandria series has an intensely rich setting, that Wylie has put careful and extreme effort into.  I'm loving this series and I can't wait for the next to come out!  Do yourself a favor and pick yourself up a copy of book one if you haven't started.  Get hooked and fall into VEILED SHADOWS if you're already on this epic fantasy ride! 
4.5/5 Oh Yeah I really liked it a lot!

Here's an exclusive except from VEILED SHADOWS! 

About Morgan Wylie: Morgan Wylie, originally from the Pacific Northwest, now resides near Nashville, TN with her husband and daughter. She and her husband work everyday at their individual and combined creative pursuits while she learns to balance being “Mama”, wife, and mediator to the many voices and muses constantly chattering in her head.
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1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for being a part of my tour and for taking your time to read Veiled Shadows and write a fabulous review! :)

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