12 Nov 2015

BLOG TOUR: CLAIRE DALY: RELUCTANT SOUL SAVER by Michelle Brouder + #GIVEAWAY



Welcome to my blog tour stop for CLAIRE DALY: RELUCTANT SOUL SAVER! 
Until November 19th, you can pick up a Kindle version of this book for $0.99!


Title: Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver 

Author: Michele Brouder
Publication Date:  September 2015
Genre:  YA, Paranormal Romance

Summary:
When seventeen year-old librarian wannabe Claire Daly is dragged kicking, screaming and cursing from everything she loves—her mam, her cozy Irish village and the dreamy boy next door—to take up arms in the battle of good versus evil, she learns the hard way that sometimes you don’t get to choose your own destiny, destiny chooses you.

Claire’s life plan is simple: head off to university to get her degree in library studies, summon up the courage to tell her best friend Chas that she loves him and live happily ever after. She never once entertained the idea that she might possess divine powers, that she might be predestined to battle Hell’s demons, or, to complicate matters further, that another love of many lives past might turn up on her doorstep. But life doesn’t always go as planned, and when a co-worker is viciously attacked by a demon and her own family threatened, Claire must face the truth: she is called to a higher purpose and has no choice but to answer. Claire sets aside her dreams and begins learning how to deal with the Unholy once and for all. Armed with only a crash course in soul saving and her wits, she gears up for the ultimate show down in Hell. But will it be enough?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26063111-claire-daly
Purchase:
BAM | Amazon | B&N | TBD
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http://booksandladders.blogspot.ca/p/reviews-from-to-z.html
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay so I saw this and read the blurb and was like "eff yeah, a YA novel that is going to be similar to Buffy". But it wasn't really that. It was more of a look at religion and faith in the battle of "good" versus "evil" and I wasn't really feeling it. I liked the premise of the book and a lot of the aspects of it, but it was a little too preachy for me.

The world building was pretty great, I liked the idea of the Illuminata and their quest to save souls. I also liked the Unholy and have high hopes for them as villains. I would like to see a bit more of Claire really kicking ass and using what she knows or believes in to save the day. Whether or not that is Christianity faith or not. Honestly, the world building and some of the dialogue were the strongest parts of this book. I also really liked that Claire's abilities had to be honed in and when she battled the "big bad," she only used what she knew how to do. There was nothing that she just whipped out specifically for this battle that made her be able to defeat him. Which, admittedly, is a bit of a spoiler, but did you really think that this book would end up with Claire not defeating the current evil?

I liked both Chas and Ari and honestly I don't really care which one of them she ends up with because they both seem like genuine guys. I also kind of like that even though Ari rides a motorcycle he isn't stereotyped as the "bad boy" since he always comes when Claire calls for him and just wants to make sure she is safe. You get the hint that Chas is into her from how he talks about other girls when she is with him in the beginning, so that was pretty obvious to me too.

And really, this book wasn't about the romance so much as it was about Claire's faith -- or lack thereof. But man, it felt like religion was being forced down my throat. And the bit about Claire's powers will be stronger if she believes in God more? No thanks. How about if she just has faith in herself and her abilities! I would very much like that. 

If you are looking for a book that has good world building and realistic power depictions, this is the one for you. But be forewarned that it is more God-centric and less Buffy.
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I was born in western New York, the oldest of 5. I've loved reading since I was very little. From the age of 9, I've wanted to be a writer. In high school, I wrote a lot of angst-ridden civil war dramas ala Gone With The Wind, knowing more about the Battle of the Bull Run than a normal teenager should know. I dabbled in writing after that but didn't get serious about it until 2006, when I decided that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I've had many interesting jobs but my passion has always been writing.
I lived in Ireland from 2006-2013 with my husband and 2 boys. We moved back to the US and settled in Florida briefly (2 years) before returning back to Ireland in August 2015.





Connect with the Author: 
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

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One (1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card, a copy of CLAIRE DALY: RELUCTANT SOUL SAVER, a book mark, a coffee mug, and some other stuff for "readers" from the author (INT); Three (3) winners will receive a copy of CLAIRE DALY: RELUCTANT SOUL SAVER by Michele Brouder (INT)

2 comments:

  1. Hi Jamie, thanks so much for your review and taking part of the blog tour!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is so cool, definitely added to my tbr list on goodreads!

    ReplyDelete

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