Thursday, May 2, 2013

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard




The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard 
Series: The Danaan Trilogy, Book #1
Published: April 28th, 2013
Publisher: Self-published
177 pages (e-ARC)
Genre: Young adult fantasy
Acquired this book: From the author as part of the blog tour
Warning: May contain spoilers
{GoodReads || Buy this book: Amazon}

Allison O'Malley's plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she's been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison's mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn't trust her father, so why would she believe his stories about a long forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother's sanity.




When I first heard about The Forgotten Ones, I was instantly intrigued. The cover is beautiful and the synopsis drew me in immediately - I love faeries and don’t think there are enough books about them. Plus, throw in the words ‘Irish’ or ‘Ireland’ and I’m there! 

I liked that the book started out as a seemingly normal contemporary read. It was nice to get to know Allison, as well as her family and friends before the fantasy aspect of the book came into play. Allison is a really strong, no-nonsense character. She had to grow up quickly because she has a mentally ill mother who she’ll one day have to take care of. She keeps to herself most of the time and would rather be on her own reading than spending time with her peers. Throw in the fact that she’s in denial about being in love with her childhood friend Ethan, and you have a young woman who leads a pretty lonely life.

Then Liam shows up, and Allison recognizes him almost instantly as the father who abandoned her mother, leaving her to spiral downward into mental illness. Except that’s not the whole story - Liam is able to fill in the gaps Allison’s mother never could, including the fact that he’s part of the faerie world. What follows is an adventure unlike anything Allison could imagine, and while she accepted the seemingly unbelievable quite easily, the story slowly morphed from contemporary to fantasy.

Enter the faeries and their world. This is where Howard’s writing really shone for me. The descriptions were beautiful and vivid, everything a faerie story should be. We were introduced to more characters (all of whom had Gaelic names, which I alternately love and hate because even though there’s a guide to pronunciation at the beginning, I couldn’t remember the ones I wasn’t already familiar with and didn’t want to have to flip back on my ereader all the time!). Allison became embroiled in faerie politics, and there were plenty of surprises and plot twists to keep the reader guessing.

Despite the ending being really abrupt, I think Howard did a good job of laying the foundation for the rest of the trilogy. We got a chance to see some character development and a hint of the romance to come between Allison and Ethan. There’s still a lot to be covered and I’m looking forward to continuing with this trilogy and seeing where Allison and the other characters end up. Overall, a very strong debut. 

*Note: For those people who are wary of New Adult as a genre, this book is technically NA but reads like a YA book, so it has wide appeal.*
*I received this book from the author as part of the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.*

 


I took a deep breath, and as I turned to face him, a flood of emotions washed through me. Who was I kidding? I’d loved him since before I could remember, reputation and all. But I had a plan: get through high school, get a job, and take care of my mother. Being in a relationship was not part of it. ~ Allison, page 53

“The Danaans don’t think like humans. You must second-guess everything.” ~ Aodhan, page 87

Like all of the Danaans, he was stunning. His hair was glossy black, his jawline pale and chiseled. When he smiled, it was smooth and rich, like butter on freshly baked bread. ~ Allison, page 99

*All quotes taken from ARC of The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard*

 

Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel. 

Find Laura Online:

Tour-wide giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
 

3 comments:

  1. Great review. Thanks for participating :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Marie,

    This totally sounds like it's right up my alley.

    ReplyDelete
  3. THE FORGOTTEN ONES promises to be a fantastic read.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting Ramblings of a Daydreamer! I love hearing what you have to say, and I appreciate every single comment. I hope to see you here again soon! ♥
~Marie

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...