Hello and welcome to my stop on The Gatekeepers Challenge By Eva Pohler Virtual Book Tour presented by Reading Addictions Blog Tours. Please join me in welcoming Eva to The Avid Reader today. Thanks for stopping by Eva. Please be sure and check out both of Eva's novels in the Gatekeepers Trilogy. Book 1 The Gatekeeper's Son and book 2 The Gatekeepers Challenge. Check out my review of both books The Gatekeepers Challenge and The Gatekeeper's Son. Eva is going to be talking with us today about: Awakening Your Inner Goddess.
Title: The Gatekeepers Challenge
Series: Gatekeepers Trilogy Book 2
Author: Eva Pohler
Genre: Ya Fantasy
Date Published: 11/29/12
BUY LINK
The Gatekeepers Challenge
BOOK DESCRIPTION
The Gatekeepers Challenge
Ten agonizing months have gone by since Therese faced off against her parents' murderer at Mount Olympus, and she suspects Thanatos's absence is meant to send her a message: go on with your life. In cahoots with her new friend, who's gotten in with the Demon Druggies at school, Therese takes a drug that simulates a near-death experience, planning to tell Than off so she can have closure and move on, but things go very, very wrong.
Than has been busy searching for a way to make her a god, and he's found it, but it requires her to complete a set of impossible challenges designed by Hades, who hopes to see her fail.
EXCERPT
The Gatekeepers Challenge
"And I thought you were the god of justice!"
"These are challenges, Thanatos. The more challenging, the better the victory."
"Hah! Admit it. You want her to fail!"
Hades didn't hide the smile creeping across his face as he stood and met Than's eyes, their noses inches apart. "I want her to pay! She was an embarrassment to me last summer. If she's to join us here in my palace, I want her to suffer first."
"The punishment should fit the crime!" Than said.
"Agreed!" Hades bellowed. "I said those very words to your sisters before you arrived. They want to drag on too long the punishment of a murderer in Paris before they bring him here. I think they are motivated by something other than justice."
The Furies stood up, their eyes changing from blue in one and brown in the other to dark red. Blood dripped to their cheeks.
"Who doesn't love Paris?" Tizzie hissed.
"We'll leave you now," Meg snarled.
The Furies vanished.
Hades crossed his arms at his chest. "And you are, too, Thanatos."
"She had compassion for a man who was no longer a threat to her. She refused to kill him in cold blood. How is that a failure?"
"He deserved death. Her parents deserved vengeance. You deserved her to keep her word! She's the one who let you down, son. Not me. She chose to have mercy on that killer over becoming your wife. Doesn't that bother you even a little?"
Than's throat tightened and no words came. He could think of nothing to say. Yes, it had bothered him. It had bothered him a lot. Only her prayers in the aftermath of the battle convinced him of her love. Her prayers, not her actions.
The challenges gave her the opportunity to remedy that. His father was right.
GUEST POST
Awakening Your Inner Goddess
(Sans Fifty Shades of Grey)
When I say girls need to awake their inner goddesses, I'm not referring to the kind of inner goddess described by E.L. James in Fifty Shades of Grey (though I'm not opposed to awakening that type either). What I'm talking about is the warrior goddess of power inside each one of us, often latent and unrecognized in girls who continue to live in a world where men hold the highest offices in government, church, and the work force. Girls are less subjugated today than they were fifty years ago, and although the playing field still isn't perfectly level, the real culprit holding back most girls is themselves. As Alice Walker has said, "The most common way people give up their power is by believing they have none."
At the beginning of my Gatekeeper's Trilogy, a young adult contemporary fantasy based in Greek myth, fifteen-year-old Therese Mills believes she's the least powerful person on the planet. Her parents have just died. Her aunt has come to live with her in her beautiful home in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, but even though this means her friends and school won't change, Therese is ready to give up on life to join her parents. Death, known as Thanatos, has other plans.
Thanatos briefly meets Therese while she's in a coma. Avoided by all gods and mortals because of his job, he's shocked when she throws her arms around him and calls him lovely. He later makes a deal with his father, Hades, to go to the upperworld to win her heart. In return, Therese must agree to avenge her parents' murder.
Throughout book one, The Gatekeeper's Sons, Therese struggles with her feelings of ineptitude. Thanatos's sisters, the fierce and beautiful Furies, help her hunt for the killer, but their strength and efficiency make her feel weak. She feels small and insignificant until she learns her aunt's life is in danger. The desire to protect her loved one helps her rise above her self-pity to become the warrior she never knew she was.
In book two, The Gatekeeper's Challenge, Therese is required to complete a set of five challenges designed by Hades, who hopes to see her fail because he's disappointed with the way things turned out in book one. Once again, her desire to protect a loved one-this time Thanatos-pushes her past her doubts and insecurities into determined action. One by one, she faces each seemingly impossible challenge-including Ladon (the one-hundred-headed serpent), the Minotaur, and the Hydra-because it's the only way to spare Thanatos from an eternity of torment.
The final book of the trilogy, The Gatekeeper's Daughter (to be released December 1, 2013), once again forces Therese to look inward. All gods and goddesses serve humanity or the world in some way, and in order to remain at Thanatos's side, she must discover her unique purpose while protecting her loved ones against antagonistic forces. In all three books, power isn't something Therese derives from her environment, but something she finds within her once she believes it's there. Girls need to awaken their inner goddesses and wield their power.
To celebrate the completion of this saga, I'm holding a contest from January 1, 2013 to October 1, 2013 for my readers. Details can be found at my website .
MY REVIEW
The Gatekeepers Challenge
The following review is my opinion and not a paid review. I was given a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.
The Gatekeepers Challenge starts off ten months after The Gatekeeper's Sons with Than still trying figure out a way to make Therese a goddess so they can spend eternity together. Therese doesn't know what Than has been up to. She has not seen nor heard from in him in all this time. She is very uncertain as to how he feels about her. She thinks he has probably forgotten about her.
Her bestfriend's brother is in love with Therese and with her feeling down about Than she starts paying more attention to Pete. Although this does cause her some quilt because of her feelings for Than besides she doesn't know that Than still loves her. She has no way of knowing this. She can pray to Than but he can not answer any of her prayers or talk to her where she could hear him.
With Therese still in a depressed state she does something that she shouldn't do. A friend of hers Vickie tells her about this drug that she has tried once. The drug put her close to death where she could go to the underworld and visit her mother who committed suicide last year. Therese wants to try this drug so she can go see Than and tell him off and to end their relationship. Therese is mad at Than for not visiting her and letting her know that he still loves her. Vickie believes that the drug is safe if it is used right and not too often. Vickie and Therese try the drug and Vickie dies. Therese is so upset she feels as if it is her fault that her friend died and now her father is all alone.
Therese finds out that Than has been trying for the last ten months to find away to make her his queen. He has come up with away for him and Therese to be together. Hades gives Therese several more challenges for her to complete and if she finishes all the challenges then she can be made a god. All of the challenges are very hard which would be very difficult for an adult man much less a girl of fifteen. But Therese is very strong minded and is fight for love. Is she strong enough to fight and win? Will love conquer all? Will Therese and Than be together for all eternity?
I loved reading the first book in this series The Gatekeeper's Sons but I think the second book The Gatekeepers Challenge was better. I loved it from the very first page and could not put it down until I read the last page. Oh and speaking of the last page when I read it I was like no, no way it can't end this way. I can't believe how it ended. Talk about cliff hangers this was one big cliff hanger. I can't wait to read the next and final book of the trilogy The Gatekeepers Daughter. I am going to have to wait a long time to read it. Well maybe not that long considering that it is to be released on December 1, 2013. But it seems like a long, long time. I will miss Therese and Than as well as all the other characters.
If you have not read the Gatekeeper's Trilogy then I suggest you go right now and order your copy of both books today on Amazon. I really don't think you would be disappointed with Therese and Than's story it is amazing.
Title: The Gatekeeper's Sons
Series: Gatekeepers Trilogy Book 1
Author: Eva Pohler
Genre: Ya Fantasy
Date Published: 8/12/12
BUY LINK
The Gatekeeper's Sons
BOOK DESCRIPTION
The Gatekeeper's Sons
Fifteen-year-old Therese watches her parents die. While in a coma, she meets the twin sons of Hades—Hypnos (the god of sleep) and Thanatos (the god of death). She thinks she's manipulating a dream, not kissing the god of death and totally rocking his world.
Than makes a deal with Hades and goes as a mortal to the Upperworld to try and win Therese's heart, but not all the gods are happy. Some give her gifts. Others try to kill her.
The deal requires Therese to avenge the death of her parents. With the help of Than’s fierce and exotic sisters, the Furies, she finds herself in an arena face to face with the murderer, and only one will survive.
MY REVIEW
The Gatekeeper's Sons
The following review is my opinion and not a paid review. I was given a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.
Therese witness her parents death in a tragic accident while sitting in the back seat of the car with them. While being close to death herself and in a coma she sees the god of death Thanatos aka Than take her parents to the underworld. Thersese also meets Than's twin brother Hypnos aka Hyp the god of sleep. Than and Hyp are the twin sons of Hades.
Therese kisses Than which is a very big surprise to him. No one ever pays attention to Than because of his job of taking souls and helping them to cross over to the underworld. With this kiss Therese has managed to make Than fall in love with her. Than makes a deal with his father Hades to let him go to the upperworld and try to win Therese's love. Than wants to make her a god so that they can live happily ever after for all eternity. Therese falls in love with Than and will do whatever is necessary for the two of them to be together for eternity.
Hades says she can be a god if she avenges the death of her parents. Therese has to find the person responsible for her parents death and kill that person. Therese is a very loving and caring person. She loves all life and holds it sacred. She accepts Hades challenge because of the state of mind that she happens to be in at the time. The hurt of losing her parents and feeling as if she is alone in the world puts her in a different state of mine where she wants and believes that the person responsible for their death deserves to die to pay for what he has done. Being in this state of mind and wanting to be with Than causes Therese to feel hate and bitterness toward him. She wants him dead too and she wants to be the one to kill him. Will she kill the person responsible for the death of her parents? Is Therese have in it her to commit murder?
I really loved reading The Gatekeeper's Sons with all the greek gods and goddess. I've read reviews of books about greek gods and goddess and in some of the reviews the reviewers were mentioning where they were taught about the gods and goddess in school. If it was taught at my school I don't remember it. So therefore I love learning about all the gods and goddess. I liked learning or knowing that they be a god of death someone who helps souls cross over. Maybe making their journey more bearable for them.
If you like reading about gods and goddess then I think this is the book for you. Have you read The Goddess Test? If you have and you enjoyed it then you will love The Gatekeeper's Sons.
- About the Author
Eva Pohler teaches writing at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she lives with her husband, three children, two dogs, two rats, and her very large collection of books.
- ONLINE LINKS
To purchase copies of Eva's books, please visit her website.
1 comments:
Thanks so much for the thorough reviews and for having me on your lovely blog! Don't forget to enter my contest :)
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