Thursday 15 September 2016

A Mortal Song | Blog Tour & Giveaway!



Hello!!
Welcome to my stage of the Blog Tour for Megan Crewe's new book, A Mortal Song! I received an advanced review copy of A Mortal Song though Xpresso Book Tours, who are running this tour. You can click on the link here to see the whole tour and follow it day by day!

A Mortal Song, by Megan Crewe
Published: September 2016, by Another World Press
Length: 382 pages
Genres: YA, Fantasy

My Rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis:

Sora’s life was full of magic—until she discovered it was all a lie.

Heir to Mt. Fuji’s spirit kingdom, Sora yearns to finally take on the sacred kami duties. But just as she confronts her parents to make a plea, a ghostly army invades the mountain. Barely escaping with her life, Sora follows her mother’s last instructions to a heart-wrenching discovery: she is a human changeling, raised as a decoy while her parents’ true daughter remained safe but unaware in modern-day Tokyo. Her powers were only borrowed, never her own. Now, with the world’s natural cycles falling into chaos and the ghosts plotting an even more deadly assault, it falls on her to train the unprepared kami princess.

As Sora struggles with her emerging human weaknesses and the draw of an unanticipated ally with secrets of his own, she vows to keep fighting for her loved ones and the world they once protected. But for one mortal girl to make a difference in this desperate war between the spirits, she may have to give up the only home she’s ever known.

“Megan Crewe’s A Mortal Song is engrossing from the first chapter. The world of the kami is beautifully fantastic and delicately drawn, and the switched-at-birth scenario made me instantly feel for both of these resilient, brave girls. A Mortal Song has lots of magic, lots of heart, and lots to love.” -Kendare Blake, author of Three Dark Crowns

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First of all, I absolutely loved the whole idea of A Mortal Song. The synopsis really set the story out well and it sounded like the type of book that would be perfect for me! Needless to say, I was really excited when I began this story.
I loved the idea that the hero in this story wasn't actually the hero she thought she was, and every power she thought she'd had wasn't her own. I thought this was quite a refreshing plot line for the story to follow, since you really don't get to see many of this type of book within the YA or Fantasy genre.

So, leading on from that, I loved Sora as a character and narrator of the novel. It was an interesting point of view to read from, to say the least! Moreover, not only did we have to deal with ghosts, battles and saving her kingdom, we had to undergo the turmoil that went along with realising that your whole life had been a lie. It was this element of the book that I absolutely loved and found really interesting.

I really loved the setting of the book. This was possibly the first book I've ever read that has been set in Japan, so it was really interesting to read about this different location. It has made me want to read more novels set in this area as the back-drops are gorgeous places to hold stories. The fact that A Mortal Song was set in Japan also set it out from the ever-expanding crowd of Young Adult fantasy novels, which I really appreciated.

If I'm honest, I didn't actually think the overall execution of this book lived up to my expectations. I ended up finding myself fairly detached from the majority of the characters and didn't feel much of a connection with them, including Sora, the main character.
To me, this is probably the most disappointing thing in a novel. Don't get me wrong, I did like most of the characters; it wasn't that they weren't pleasant or well-developed characters to read about, however I didn't feel like they were genuine enough for me to be able to connect with in a way that would allow me to really get to know them.
For this reason, I felt slightly disengaged with the story as a whole. As much as I wanted to really enjoy the story and feel completely hooked to each page, this never actually happened.

Also, I wasn't actually a massive fan of the romance in this book for the most part, either. I'm not completely sure of what put me off of it, but it never really approached a stage where I felt that it was genuine. Even though I thought both of the characters were compatible with each other and I was a fan of them being together, I just didn't think they were presented in a well enough light to make their romance seem genuine.

I was in two minds about the writing in A Mortal Song. On one had, I really enjoyed it because it was simple and so easy to read and understand (which is great when you just want to relax with a book and not have to look into it too deeply) so in that respect it was great and really appropriate to the nature and main audience of the book. However, on the other hand, I thought it was a little too straight to the point. Fantasy books like A Mortal Song can often really benefit from overly descriptive writing that meanders onto tangents from time to time. As odd as it sounds, they can be quite beneficial to the overall story-telling. So even though it was nice that the writing was fairly straight to the point as it made the book easier to read, this may not have been the best style of writing for the story being told.

I actually thought there was a lot more potential story to be told and elaborated on than was written throughout the course of the book. For example, there were many places and sites visited where something else could have happened - the more of the story could have been discovered or there could have been an additional problem to solve - but generally, it suck to the same plot the whole way through and was slightly predictable.

Nevertheless, I did really enjoy A Mortal Song for the most part! Yes, there were a few faults in the book, but every story has its flaws. I really enjoyed the idea and main story of the book and even though I wasn't a massive fan of the style of writing, it still delivered the story well, which was its main purpose anyway.
For these reasons, I gave A Mortal Song 3 out of a possible 5 stars. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but in no way was it bad either.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who are interested in fantasy, but who possibly haven't read many of them before. A Mortal Song would be a great 'Fantasy for Beginners' book, and I would say it was probably most appropriate for readers within the ages of 12 to 16, although I definitely think older readers would enjoy it too!
 
 
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You can purchase A Mortal Song from the following links:

Amazon
B&N
IndieBound
Indigo


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About the Author
Like many authors, Megan Crewe finds writing about herself much more difficult than making things up. A few definite facts: she lives with her husband, son, and three cats in Toronto, Canada (and does on occasion say “eh”), she tutors children and teens with special needs, and she can’t look at the night sky without speculating about who else might be out there.

Join her newsletter for book news, recommended reads, and exclusive giveaways: http://eepurl.com/btE8mH 

 
 
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I have also been given the pleasure of hosting a fantastic giveaway, thanks to Megan Crewe, the author. Enter this giveaway to be in with a chance of winning the Japan Media and Treats Prize Pack!
It is open internationally and will close on 12th October. Good luck!

A MORTAL SONG Japan Extravaganza Giveaway!

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I hope you have enjoyed this blog tour and book review!
I will be back with more soon!


Charlotte xxx



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