I am SO excited to be a part of this blog tour. If you pay attention to my blog you already know that I have been DYING for this book. I was super excited when I finally got my hands on it and am equally excited to finally get to share my thoughts about THE PROPHECY with you. But first here is a little info on the book and Erin Albert. Make sure to go to the very bottom for an awesome giveaway provided by Erin also.
Author:
Erin Albert is an author and fitness trainer.
Since she picked up Morris the Moose Goes to School at
age four, she has been infatuated with the written word. She went on to
work as a grammar and writing tutor in college and is still teased by
her family and friends for being a member of the "Grammar Police."
In her free time, Erin enjoys acting, running, kickboxing, and, of
course, reading and writing.
Find me online:
Preorder
Link: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/our-authors/50-our-authors/authors-a/381-erin-albert
Twitter: @ErinAlbertBooks
Website: www.erinalbertbooks.com
The Prophecy (The Fulfillment #1)
Back Cover:
Growing up on a small farm in the kingdom of Vanguard, seventeen-year-old Layla Givens lives a deceptively tranquil existence. But her carefully constructed life quickly falls apart when she’s abducted by a religious zealot who proclaims her The Fulfillment of an ancient peace prophecy and whisks her away to marry her greatest enemy.
Wilhelm, Prince of the Ethereals, is reluctant to meet his new bride. He's grown up believing Vanguards are evil, an enemy to fight and fear...not love. Can he set aside his prejudices and work alongside Layla to bring lasting peace after centuries of war?
Nash, a loner who has never fit in, carries a huge secret, one big enough to destroy both kingdoms. When he accidently meets Layla, he’s no longer content to live in the shadows, but he must resist his growing attraction—for her safety and for the longevity of the two kingdoms.
When Nash's secret is revealed, a firestorm sweeps through both realms, with Layla at the center. Now she must choose between duty and desire while the fate of two nations hangs in the balance.
Growing up on a small farm in the kingdom of Vanguard, seventeen-year-old Layla Givens lives a deceptively tranquil existence. But her carefully constructed life quickly falls apart when she’s abducted by a religious zealot who proclaims her The Fulfillment of an ancient peace prophecy and whisks her away to marry her greatest enemy.
Wilhelm, Prince of the Ethereals, is reluctant to meet his new bride. He's grown up believing Vanguards are evil, an enemy to fight and fear...not love. Can he set aside his prejudices and work alongside Layla to bring lasting peace after centuries of war?
Nash, a loner who has never fit in, carries a huge secret, one big enough to destroy both kingdoms. When he accidently meets Layla, he’s no longer content to live in the shadows, but he must resist his growing attraction—for her safety and for the longevity of the two kingdoms.
When Nash's secret is revealed, a firestorm sweeps through both realms, with Layla at the center. Now she must choose between duty and desire while the fate of two nations hangs in the balance.
Excerpt:
Even though she had no chance to escape now, Layla
shoved the Elder with all her might. The blow sent him flying into the baker’s
door, which splintered under the force, and she darted forward. The Vanguard soldiers moved to block
her.
“We
are all Vanguards,” she pleaded. “Please let me go.”
For
a moment, they hesitated. Layla used the
opening to slip around them. She ran as
fast as her legs would carry her, but they proved to be too slow. Within moments, the soldiers leapt upon her,
knocking her to the ground. Wrenching
Layla up by her hair, they dragged her back to the Elder, whose face now bled
from his encounter with the baker’s door.
“I
see you’re going to be trouble.” He brushed the dirt off his robes. “You can’t escape your destiny, girl.”
My Thoughts:
IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! THE
PROPHECY'S RELEASE DAY IS HERE!!!!! I have been waiting to read this book since
April and it did NOT disappoint. THE PROPHECY met every expectation I had and
more. From the first sentence I was captivated and I devoured this book quickly.
It is definitely a "one sitting read".
For ALL the love I have
for this book this has got to be one of the hardest reviews that I have had to
write. I have gone back and forth writing it for a week and nothing ever seems
to be good enough, or explain well enough why I think you should read it, or
why I loved it. But I will give it a try. I feel that the description about does a pretty good job telling you about the plot so I'm just going to dive right in to what I loved about the book.
The characters were some
of the best written ones I have come across in a debut novel. Erin really seemed
to truly know her characters. They all had very distinct personalities to back
each of them up. Layla was a fierce female lead. Even though she was thrown
into a really messed up situation as being claimed as the fulfillment, she did
what she had to do to keep her family and friends safe.
Along the way she meets
Nash; mysterious, sweet Nash. (I love him by the way, I stake claim on
him....just wanted all you ladies to know ♥) There is a wonderful attraction
between these two that feels very real. I was very happy not to have a sudden
"I love you" type relationship between them. Even though there are so
many things that come up that make their relationship pretty much impossible I
can't help but root for them.
One complication is Wil.
WAIT WAIT WAIT....no I'm not leading you into a love triangle. While on the
surface and without giving spoilers it may come across that this book will take
you into a love triangle, but it really doesn’t. As part of being the
fulfillment Layla is betrothed to Wil, it is practically her duty to
marry him. I can't really say more than that because I don't want to spoil
anything, but seriously it didn't get all “typical love triangle” on me. BUT I
will tell you that you will want it to....yes you will. While I LOVE Nash, Wil
is....ahhhh he's wonderful. Both guys are equally swoony and my guess is that
ladies will be fighting over who they think Layla should be with no matter
where her heart lays.
Some other characters
that I really adored were Vespa, Grant, and Samson. While we don't get to see
Samson a lot in this book I know he will be a big player later on in the
series. Grant is just another amazing guy living in THE PROPHECY world, and
Vespa is someone I would want to have as a best friend.
Of course with all the
wonderful characters, there must be some evil ones. I'm not going to go through
who those are, mainly because I feel like it will take away from the story some
for you when reading. But just know that there are some REAL evil people and
you will want them to die a brutal death when it is all said and done.
The world building is
also beautiful and executed well. While the book is set mainly in the Ethereal
kingdom, I felt like I was really there with Layla. My favorite part was the
maze that kept the kingdom guarded. I also was intrigued by the Vanguards super
strength, and the Ethereal’s powers to mess with others minds.
If you follow me on
twitter you might have seen that I pretty much live tweeted the entire time I
read this book. It gave me SO many feels it was unreal. I was happy,
conflicted, sad, MAD, devastated, swoony, flailing, you name it....I was doing
it. Anytime my emotions are tapped into that way it's a sign of an amazing
book. As if the book as a whole wasn't wonderful and emotion provoking enough,
Erin left us with a MAJOR cliffhanger. I have a love/hate relationship with
those things. I love them because they make me want more NOW, I hate
them....well because they make me want more NOW and I can't have it now. Erin
leaves two MAJOR things happening at the very end that I'm still thinking about
what it means for everyone, especially Layla. I definitely can't wait to get my
hands on the next book.
I definitely recommend
any fans of YA Fantasy, fast reads, and swoony guys read this book. I really
don't think you will be disappointed. This is without a doubt one of my
favorite reads of 2013.
My Rating:
♥♥♥♥♥
Do you plan on reading THE PROPHECY?
Thanks for hosting me and doing the review!! Much love!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful blog Crystal and Erin! So happy for Erin on her release day! Congratulatons, Erin and Best Wishes on your book!
ReplyDeleteSusan Bernhardt
I loved this book too!!! Erin did everything right in my opinion - even the love triangle!! (Yep, I'm calling it a love triangle). :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction