Roxy's Reviews: Blog Tour: Review, Guest Post + #Giveaway: Gaia by Karen Ann Hopkins #WingsofWar #Gaia #Embers

Watchers and Angels are at war. Which side will Ember choose?

As the apocalypse draws near, Demons are becoming bolder and Watchers are joining forces to fight them. But the Watchers have their own agenda, one that defies Biblical scripture. They don’t want the rapture to happen, making them enemies of the Celestial Host.

Against her own better judgment and an impassioned plea from a higher being, Embers stays true to her first mentor, seeking out a powerful earth Watcher to continue her supernatural lessons. Ember has had a glimpse into the future and knows what’s coming. She is being forced to develop her powers as quickly as possible, to fight the dark forces that are spreading across the earth. Heaven’s sentinels have abandoned their posts to prepare for war. And the walls between the planes of existence are weakening. But who can Ember trust? Her guardian and lover is a Demon. Her best friend is a growler. And her mentor is a psychopath. Humankind is on the precipice; at the end of times. As Ember struggles with morality, she soon discovers that there’s something more frightening than anything she’s faced before.

Excited about Gaia? Then be sure and sign up to be a part of the blog tour in August!

REVIEW

The thrilling second installment in The Wings of War series was as exciting and action packed as the first book, if not more.

Where Embers was full of mystery and suspense regarding Ember and her new found powers, as well as the compound and its inhabitants, this book saw her grow into her abilities as an extremely powerful Watcher. It also shone a light on the history that caused a rift between her kind, and was much darker, showing the devastation that threatened to tear the world apart.

This book was full of adventure, heart ache and even a bit of romance. I enjoyed the references to real life events, and the way Hopkins intertwined them with her characters' lives. I will admit that Ember and Sawyer's relationship still baffled me, because one minute they were all for it and the next it was like Ember couldn't think of being with a demon in that way. And, while I applauded her cautious manner where the reality of the situation was concerned, I really wish she had made up her mind on whether or not she wanted to be with him romantically. Her indecision kind of took away the excitement of their romance.

Readers of all ages will thoroughly enjoy this tale that puts a new spin on angels, demons and the apocalypse.

The Wings of War Series

Goodreads

Amazon

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. And she may be the only hope mankind has as the rapture approaches and evil rises.

Embers is an epic paranormal adventure about an eighteen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she finds out that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember learns about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two young men who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it is cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war—one that’s been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil—and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She also might be one of the few champions who will make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.

Embers is a dark and gritty YA novel that’s the first book in the series, The Wings of War.

Guest Post

What sets the Wings of War series apart from other YA novels

Even though the Wings of War series is young adult, it’s enjoyed by adults of all ages. That’s one of the things that set it apart from other YA novels. It’s a great cross-over genre series too. Fantasy, paranormal and supernatural fans will love it, but so will contemporary readers. There’s an element of realism to the story that opens it up to so many more people than the average fantasy book. I think one of the reasons are the scripture verses at the beginning of each chapter. They add a depth to the story that you don’t get with every book you read, making it stay in your mind long after you finish it. The series isn’t black or white, either. There’s a lot of murky grayness in these books that people can relate to. It’s also an epic read with rich world building and strong characters that will keep the reader flipping the pages long into the night.

Thank you for being a part of Gaia’s blog tour! I love to connect with readers on my Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram or at www.karenannhopkins.com. Please be on the lookout for the release of SECRETS IN THE GRAVE, the third installment in my mystery series, Serenity’s Plain Secrets, in early September! Thanks for reading!

Karen Ann Hopkins

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats. Karen's main job is home schooling the kids, but she finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write. She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lived in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove her to create the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah.

Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York. She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse when she turned eleven. The feisty horse's name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen's steadfast companion. Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses. Eventually, she found her place as a riding instructor herself. Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Karen is currently working on her Amish mystery series, Serenity's Plain Secrets, along with the YA paranormal/fantasy series, The Wings of War. Karen is also excited to announce the Temptation series has been optioned for TV by Pilgrim Studios and is available on Audible. More books in the Temptation series are in the works.

GIVEAWAY

One lucky winner will receive a $50 gift card (Amazon, B&N, iTunes), as well as a complete set of Karen’s YA books, including Embers, Gaia, Temptation, Belonging, Forever, and Rachel’s Deception! Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open internationally.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Exclusive Reviewer Giveaway

For a little something extra special, Karen is offering up a second giveaway open to anyone who posts a review of EMBERS or GAIA.

Please head to the tour page to enter!

You can gain points for posting a review on your blog, Amazon, or Goodreads
Those who have posted reviews prior to the tour are also welcome to enter
You do not have to be part of the blog tour in order to enter this giveaway. Every review counts!
Open internationally / Ends September 26th