Welcome to my second Caffeine Book Tour post. My first was the tour for
Dreamer by Ja-Mel Vinson which can be found
here. It's so far been my most viewed 2019 post on this blog. Here's hoping that this post for
War of Mist by Helen Scheuerer is also successful.
I was generously provided with free copies of the entire Oremere trilogy by Helen Scheuerer so that I could get caught up on the previous books before reviewing
War of Mist. I reviewed
Heart of Mist here and
Reign of Mist here.
For this blog tour post, I am providing an excerpt as well as a review. Below is an excerpt from the prologue of
War of Mist.
Title: War of Mist
Author: Helen Scheuerer
Publisher: Talem Press
Publication Date: July 15, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Synopsis:
War is here.
Toxic mist drives all life to the brink of destruction and the conquerer queen, Ines, has her talons in the kings of the realm.
Bleak, having discovered her true heritage, must now scour the lands for the one thing that might save them all.
But the search is a treacherous one, one that will push her to the very limits of endurance.
Amidst secrets, lies and the intricacies of battle, Bleak and her companions learn just how far they'll go for the ones they love. But will it be enough.
As deadly forces grapple for power across continents; families, friends and allies unite to take one final stand.
Explosive revelations, heart wrenching betrayals and breathtaking magic soar in the epic conclusion to Helen Scheuerer's bestselling trilogy,
The Oremere Chronicles.
Goodreads —
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44780383-war-of-mist
EXCERPT
Now, a pair of great doors greeted her. Valian oak, carved by a talented sculptor, the elaborate scrollwork and open books signposting the castle's original library. She ran her fingers across the design, tracing the detailed lines of the work. Ashai folk before her had done the same; she could feel a lingering trace of their magic in the grain of the wood. Their power tickled her fingertips, but there was not enough to collect. Not enough to sate that roaring hunger for more within her.
Beyond the doors, a different power thrummed. The power of Casimir's damned amulet. She opened the doors and entered the library. It was somewhere in here. She could feel it. Its magic, and a kernel of her own within it, taunted her.
With a furious flick of her hand, dozens of books shot from the shelves and scattered across the stone floor. With another sharp gesture, an entire shelf collapsed into rubble. The strange magic pulsed just out of reach, as though some sort of barrier stood right before her face.
She let out a strangled cry of rage. The amulet was here. And she would find it, long before they could use it against her.
Copyright 2019 Helen Scheuerer
REVIEW
I found
War of Mist faster paced with more emphasis on action than the earlier books in the trilogy. Sometimes it seemed as if the characters were racing toward their separate destinies. The faster pace is dictated by the story that's being told in this novel. It's a war for the souls of the peoples in Scheuerer's world. It would be difficult for the stakes to be any higher. My choice to read the previous novels in the trilogy allowed me to fully understand the price of defeat. I definitely wouldn't recommend skipping those books and starting with
War of Mist.
Another good reason not to start with
War of Mist is that lack of background on these well-drawn characters will mean that you won't appreciate some intensely moving scenes that had tremendous impact on them. I said in my review of
Reign of Mist that I thought that characterization is Scheuerer's greatest talent. So you won't want to miss two novels worth of character development.
After successfully completing her first trilogy, this author has a choice of future directions. I hope she chooses to explore new territory in some form--a different sort of character, a theme that she hasn't previously addressed, a new aspect of her world, or even an entirely new context. Authors can expand their audience when they take a fresh approach. So I would recommend that she should take full advantage of this opportunity to do that.
Helen Scheuerer
Author Information
Bio:
After writing literary fiction for a number of years, Helen Scheuerer was inspired to return to her childhood love of fantasy thanks to novels like
Throne of Glass,
The Queen's Poisoner and
The Queen of the Tearling.
Helen is also the Founding Editor of Writer's Edit, an online learning platform for emerging writers. Writer's Edit reached thousands of new authors, and soon became its own small press with Helen overseeing the production and publication of three creative writing anthologies. It's now one of the largest writing websites in the world.
Helen now lives by the mountains of New Zealand and writes full time. She has many more books planned for the future.
Author links:
Author website and newsletter--
http://helenscheuerer.com
Goodreads--
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9898249.Helen_Scheuerer
Instagram--
http://www.instagram.com/helenscheuerer/
Facebook--
https://www.facebook.com/helenscheuererauthor
Twitter--
https://twitter.com/HelenScheuerer
Here is the link to the blog tour launch post:
https://shutupshealea.com/2019/07/15/war-of-mist-tour/
Invitation to Twitter Chat
The twitter chat on
War of Mist is hosted by Caffeine Book Tours @CaffeineTours on Twitter. It's spoiler free, so participants don't need to have read any of the Oremere books.
The twitter chat #CBTTC has been unavoidably postponed and will now take place on August 3, 2019 at 9 am EST.
