The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane by Bryce Bentley-Tales - Blog Tour

 

Book Title: The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane

Author: Bryce Bentley-Tales

Publisher: NineStar Press

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Genre/s: YA Dark Fantasy LGBT

Length: 49,000 words/270 pages

It is a standalone book.

Release Date: October 29, 2018

Add on Goodreads 

Buy Links: NineStar Press | Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Blurb

A haunted house. A portal that lies inside. Four friends must enter both to save their world.

Thirteen year-old Colton has a crush on the new foreign exchange student, Dylan, but soon discovers his new American friend is not your average kid – he’s a werewolf. Their friendship has no time to blossom when Colton and his two close friends accompany Dylan to a haunted house, where they must search inside for a portal that will take them to another world where Dylan’s aunt is captive.

Excerpt

A loud clanging echoed across the yard, and we both cowered behind the stone fence post. Adjacent to the old post, a crumbling stone wall shielded us from anyone standing by the house. When I poked my head around the ledge, nothing but the motionless tall weeds could be seen in the yard and the same gloomy look the house had had before. It was dead quiet. Jade put her hands on my shoulders, her mouth next to my ear. “S-see, I told you. You believe me now? It’s haunted.” I tried to speak, but my mouth was dry. I brought my binoculars up, gripping them hard with both hands. “Probably just varmint inside,” I said.

“Aye. And maybe you and your butterfingers could be captain of the rugby team.”

“Har-har. You think the Kennedy twins really disappeared inside?”

“I told you. I saw them at the house when I was with Erin two nights ago. They said they were going inside.”
“Maybe they’re hanging out at the local pub downtown?”
“Colton, no one has seen those fellas since that night. They went inside and never came out, sure of it.”
I swiveled the binoculars around, peering at the large, arched front doorway, which had a wolf face door knocker. Jade whispered close to my ear, “You see anything?”
“Shhh, I can’t focus with your tongue in my ear.”
“My tongue isn’t in your ear,” Jade said, her voice irritated. After a few seconds, she pushed on my shoulder. “By the way, you find out the new foreign-exchange fella’s story? You didn’t take your eyes off him in class. I missed a lot while I was away.” She giggled. “You fancy him, don’t you?”
I cringed, lowered the binoculars, and spoke in a hushed voice over my shoulder. “Don’t say that out loud.”
“And who’s going to blimey hear us? Just us and the ghouls at 44 Lowre Few Lane.”



Lunchtime came, and I headed to the cafeteria. I scanned the room, searching for Dylan. My heart beat fast. I didn’t see him. Nor did I see anyone I wanted to sit with, or someone, for that matter, who would want me to sit next to them. Ms. Griffin was standing close to several teachers, and I picked up bits and pieces of the gossip. You could count on Ms. Griffin for gathering the latest scandal regarding students, teachers, and anything else, and sometimes she would let things slip to students. Especially if she liked them. She was talking about Brian and the fact that he and his brother had been at that house. I assumed she meant 44 Lower Few Lane. Boys’ laughter reached my ears and I turned. On the far side of the room sat a row of rugby players. My heart plummeted to depths of glumness. Dylan was sitting with them, his back to me. Several of the boys were laughing at whatever story Dylan was telling them. I got my lunch, my head hung down, and I clomped down the hall to go outside. A few boys were forming up teams for rugby and asking for players.A round-faced boy pointed toward me and asked, “What about him?”

I froze in place. A skinny, spindly-legged boy cawed in laughter and slapped the oval-face lad on the back. “Don’t be a muppet. He’s only good at running numbers in his head.”

The two boys faced away from me and continued their search for players.

Always singled out as the smart kid. The brainy one. Tears threatened to sell, but I kept control and headed to my favorite oak tree. I had no chance of winning over Dylan.

About the Author 

Bryce was raised by his mother and father in the countryside near Wichita, Kansas and learned to become an avid reader from his mother and maternal grandfather who carries the last name of Bentley. Stephen King novels still stack his two shelves in his old bedroom at home. After graduating from his high school with a class size of 69, he completed college where he had never came out gay, then took a winding journey over his entire 20s. This took him to Indiana, then to the San Francisco Bay Area where he still did not come out but obtained a master’s degree. He traveled to Bangkok, Thailand during his late 20s to teach English for a year and he met his first boyfriend. Five years later, he completed his doctorate degree in psychology, which was inspired by a youth and young adulthood of feeling internally bewildered. Bryce started dabbling in writing in 2011 or in his mid-thirties. He self-published several works under his name over the last few years, but it was in 2016 he felt like he was finally getting the hang of this writing thing. The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane is his first work under his pen name of Bryce Bentley-Tales. His next YA novel with a working title of Orion: The PreRobo Era Boy, is a work he is finishing up currently. Bryce currently lives in Dallas, Texas.

Author Links | Blog/Website | Facebook

Twitter: @BryceTales

Giveaway

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The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee - A Review

 513 pages

Young Adult

Blurb

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Review

Now this here is one fun caper of the story. Honestly there isn’t a boring passage to be found between page 3 and page 501 as Monty, Felicity, and Percy adventure their way across the European continent. It was supposed to be an educational Grand Tour; the opportunity to expand their horizons before settling down to the serious business of life. But with Monty being exceptionally impulsive and anything but responsible (when the story starts) it isn’t long before he upsets French nobility, steals an invaluable item from Versailles and thus sets himself, his sister, and the man he loves up for not only a heart-stopping adventure but also on a course that will change the direction of all their lives.

From Paris to Barcelona and via Venice to the Cyclades, pursued by French enemies, and making friends with pirates, Monty and co are constantly in way over their head, only to, completely against the odds, find their way out of their subsequent tight-spots.

But, this book is a bit more than a marvelous adventure. This story is also the tale of Monty slowly growing up and turning from a rather spoiled and self-centered young man into a caring and generous adult. It shows us the frustrations of being an ambitious young woman long before feminism was ever thought off. The book deals with epilepsy in a time when the ‘falling disease’ was still viewed as a form of madness, as well as homosexuality in an age when acting on that attraction was still punishable by death.

Percy and Monty spend most of the story, when they’re not focused on staying alive, circling each other. While it may be clear to the reader that both men are deeply in love with each other, the two men themselves are oblivious and put each other through no end of heart-ache before revealing the truth.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue manages the (almost impossible) in that it is a thrilling page-turner filled with moments that make you think, or sigh, or teach you something you never knew before. While this is a Young-Adult title, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a book that will swallow you whole and leave you both delighted and enriched by the time you finish it.

“We are not broken things, neither of us. We are cracked pottery mended with lacquer and flakes of gold, whole as we are, complete unto each other. Complete and worthy and so very loved.”

Throwing Stones by Robin Reardon

Throwing Stones by Robin Reardon

Pages: 406

Date: May 19, 2016

Details: Copy received from the author

            Young-Adult Title

E-book

The blurb:

What if you fell in love with a Pagan?
And what if you were both gay? What would happen next? 

In this paranormal romance, something is drawing seventeen-year-old Jesse Bryce toward the community of Pagans who live in "the village," just outside his rural Oklahoma town. Maybe it's that he has a crush on Griffin Holyoke, a tall, dark-haired boy with a tree tattooed all up his back. Or maybe it's that the Pagans accept Jesse for who he is, unlike his family—or his church, where he hears that being gay is a sin.

After a man from the village is murdered while trying to prevent an assault on a girl from the town, Jesse's confusion at the town's unsympathetic reaction inspires him to set a mission for himself: to build a bridge of acceptance between the town and the village.

As Jesse defies his parents and continues to visit the village, he witnesses mysterious rituals that haunt him with their beauty and intensity. And he falls in love with one enigmatic, mercurial Pagan who opens his eyes to a whole new world.

This first-person story explores what can happen when we make conclusions about others based on too little information, or on the wrong information. Whether we're misunderstanding each other's religions or each other's sexual orientation, everyone benefits from learning the truth. And everyone benefits from forgiveness.

My thoughts:

“You can’t see gay. You can’t see fear. But you can’t see joy either. And you need love. Life’s full of things you can’t see, so you need love to figure out which ones to trust.”

This is one powerful book and I’m not quite sure where to start with all the thoughts I have so I guess the beginning—as in the title—is as good a place as any. J

Throwing Stones is a most appropriate title for this book. In the bible it says: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone’. And stones are being cast in this book, both literal and figuratively, except that of course none of those throwing—or any other character—is without sin, because who is? But that does immediately raise another question; because what exactly is a ‘sin’? Is Jesse a sinner because he’s gay? Not to his own mind, not according to some people he meets, but his family and others in his Christian community have a hard time not seeing him as such. And then there’s the Pagan community living in the Grove; are they sinners because they do not subscribe to the Christian tradition, or are they just different believers? And there are other, more subtle and more or less unaddressed examples of possibly sinful behaviour in this book. These concepts and the way they are dealt with certainly offer the reader, both young and old(er) with plenty of food for thought.

Of course stones are also what will gain Jesse access to the Grove, what will bring him together with his love interest, as well as the objects that sustain his long-time friendship with Brad through tough times.

And while I’m on the subject of stones; I would say this is a book about building bridges. Jesse, once he’s outed himself as gay feels very marginalised. His interest in the people who live in what the people in his town refer to as the Village, only takes him further away from the family and community he’s grown up with. His otherness could so easily have made him withdraw into himself, but brave Jesse does the opposite, he reaches out to those who are also other. Isn’t it funny how it is often those who are or have been marginalised, bullied, or abused who stand up for the rights of others in a similar situation?  And bridges, especially those meant to bring opposing sides together, are more often than not build one stone at a time.

Of course Jesse’s motives for bringing the Grove and the town together aren’t all selfless and altruistic. He definitely has a stake in the outcome of his ‘meddling’. And along the way he grows up and learns a few valuable lessons.

“Whatever people show you up front, they reveal themselves slowly, over time, and you get to see who they really are only if you chisel patiently away around them, protecting yourself with gloves and goggles as necessary, trusting that behind the hard surface you can’t see through is a core of something with special properties. Sometimes you’re disappointed, and you can’t find that precious core, and you don’t know whether you’ve used the wrong tools or looked in the wrong place, or if there wasn’t anything brilliant in there at all. But you have to try. And if you’re patient enough, if you trust enough, you’ll find it.

It is exactly the fact that Jesse wasn’t perfect, or totally selfless that made this such a wonderful read. In fact very little, if anything, in this book is either completely black or white. If this book has a message, and I think it does, it is that people are inclined to turn against that which they don’t understand. Often out of fear rather than mean-spiritedness. If common ground can be found between those on opposite sides, the distance between them may be bridged, as Jesse finds out time and again.

Jesse is a recognisable and wonderfully portrayed teenager. He wants to do what’s best but just hasn’t got the ability to always see the bigger picture and, in typical teenage fashion, gets frustrated when those who can see more curb his enthusiasm or appear to hold him back. I’m so glad the author didn’t shy away from portraying the teenage obsession with relationships and sex. While there is nothing overly graphic in this book and Jesse’s intimate moments with Ronan are not described in detail, they are both steamy and totally endearing. And then there were the few more romantic moments between Ronan and Jesse that took my breath away.

“I think of you then, and a lot of other times, too. (….) And when I do, I burn. It hurts, and it’s the best feeling, all at once. And I’d rather burn like fire than lose the way I feel about you.” – Ronan

The blurb calls this a paranormal novel, and I guess that’s right. Inexplicable things do most certainly happen. However, these are presented as almost unremarkable, just something that is, rather than something to shock the reader. In fact, a lot of what might read as paranormal to other readers felt all too ‘normal’ to me.

Overall this was an inspirational and fascinating story. Jesse wormed his way into my heart as the story progressed and now, hours after finishing the book, I still find myself thinking about him. Throwing Stones combines a gripping story with some valuable life lessons without ever pushing a message down the reader’s throat. I’m mightily impressed.

Buy-link: Amazon

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Pages: 355

Date: April 24, 2016

Grade: 5+

Details: Library Reading Group

Paperback

The blurb:

1987. There's only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that's her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June's world is turned upside down. But Finn's death brings a surprise acquaintance into June's life--someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn's funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn's apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she's not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most. 

My thoughts:

Oh my, what a book; heartbreaking, uplifting, thought-provoking and totally stunning. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this wonderful debut.

I’m not quite sure how to categorize this book. It’s a coming of age story. It’s a story about first love. This book tells the tale of the aftermath of a devastating loss. Tell the Wolves I’m Home is about human imperfection and isn’t afraid to be honest about selfishness while showing there are always opportunities to redeem ourselves again.

This story deals with AIDS at a time when the disease first exploded into our consciousness. That in and of itself would be more than enough to make this a thought-provoking read. But it does more. It places the disease in the middle of other, timeless, struggles. June is only fourteen when her beloved uncle and godfather Finn dies. It is her first confrontation with the cruelty of death, and since it is the uncle she not only loves but has also fallen in love with who dies, it triggers an avalanche of feelings in her she’s just not equipped to deal with yet.

I admired the honesty of the author. June is not always a nice character to read about. Some of her feelings and actions are totally selfish—without regard for the feelings of others or potential consequences. And that’s only right. Fourteen is a tough time even when your life runs smoothly. Through June’s experiences we see the continued struggle growing up can be and while it isn’t always easy to read, it does sound true to life and was, for me at least, totally recognisable. After all, doesn’t every teenager just know that nobody has ever loved as deeply or hurt as badly as they do?

While AIDS features prominently in this story, I wouldn’t say it is a story about the disease. For me it was a story about growing up, about losing and finding again both yourself and those around you. The tale it tells was all to recognisable for me; suddenly losing the connection you’ve always had to your parents and sibling(s), the overpowering hugeness of the new feelings you experience, and the push and pull between wanting to discover the rest of your life while yearning for the simplicity of yesterday.

For me this was a poignant and brutally honest story. There are no easy answers, nor comfortable solutions. Not every issue is resolved, nor every worry erased. And while that means Tell the Wolves I’m Home wasn’t always easy to read it did make the book totally engrossing and I can say with absolute certainty that this story will play on my mind for quite some time to come.

“And then I thought something terrible. I thought that if Finn were still alive, Toby and I wouldn’t be friends at all. If Finn hadn’t caught AIDS, I would never have met Toby. (…) Then something else occurred to me. What if it was AIDS that made Finn settle down. What if even before he knew he had it, AIDS was making him slower, pulling him back to his family, making him choose to be my godfather. It was possible that without AIDS I would never have gotten to know Finn or Toby. There would be a big hole filled with nothing in place of all those hours and days I’d spent with them. If I could time-travel, could I be selfless enough to stop Finn from getting AIDS? Even if it meant I would never have him as my friend? I didn’t know. I had no idea how greedy my heart really was.” (Page 233)

Omorphi & Thárros by Cody Kennedy

Omorphi by Cody Kennedy

Pages: 471

Date: April 11, 2016

Details: #1 Elpida / Hope

Own / Paperback

The blurb:

“High school senior Michael Sattler leads a charmed life. He’s a star athlete, has great friends, and parents who love him just the way he is. What’s missing from his life is a boyfriend. That’s a problem because he’s out only to his parents and best friend. When Michael accidentally bumps into Christy Castle at school, his life changes in ways he never imagined. Christy is Michael’s dream guy: smart, pretty, and sexy. But nothing could have prepared Michael for what being Christy's boyfriend would entail.

Christy needs to heal after years of abuse and knows he needs help to do it. After the death of his notorious father, he leaves his native Greece and settles in upstate New York. Alone, afraid, and left without a voice, Christy hides the myriad scars of his abuse. He desperately wants to be loved and when he meets Michael, he dares to hope that day has arrived. When one of Michael’s team-mates becomes an enemy and an abuser from Christy’s past seeks to return him to a life of slavery, only Michael and Christy's combined strength and unwavering determination can save them from the violence that threatens to destroy their future together.”

My thoughts:

I could keep this review very short and just say: Cody Kennedy did it again; he broke my heart, showed me pictures and thoughts I didn’t want to see or think, and managed to lift me up in the process. Last year I read and reviewed Slaying Isidore’s Dragons and Omorphi is at least as good, as captivating, as heartbreaking and as thought-provoking as that book was. However, Omorphi was written and published before SID, so chronologically at least, that statement would be wrong.

Like SID, Omorphi deals with the aftermath of a most horrific case of child abuse. I’m not going to go into any details here, suffice to say that young Christie has lived through ordeals that are beyond anything most of us can imagine. But that is also the other side of the same coin, because not only has he managed to live through the ordeal, he is now learning how to survive and live with it in a most magnificent manner.

I’ve got to be honest and say that it was hard, at times near impossible to read about Christie’s past. If any of the horrible acts had been committed on the page I’m not sure I would have been able to continue reading the story. As it is, the truth about Christie is revealed slowly. As he learns to trust Michael, and that Michael won’t turn away from him once he finds out what he has been forced to endure, Christie slowly reveals ever more details about he’s been through. And, much to Christie’s surprise, this sharing is what makes it possible for him to start processing his past rather than just try and push it away. The most heartbreaking part of this process for me was the fact that Christie didn’t see his past as something that had happened to him, but something he was. The abuse had stripped away his self, leaving him in a position where he believed that he only existed as a vessel for others to be used, something dirty and disposable.

Despite his past and the way he views himself, Christie was a wonderful character. As fragile as thinly blown crystal, he also has an inner core of strength and determination he can’t recognise or acknowledge, but draws on almost unknowingly. Christie made me smile as often as he made me cry. His initial inability to believe that Michael would help him or give him presents without expecting anything in return was just one of many stabs at my heart. His mental nerve endings lie so close to the surface, his emotions are all over the place. Or, as Michael says it:

The rate at which Christie’s personality changed gave him mental whiplash. He was so damn confusing.

And that brings me to Michael, our all-round good guy. Michael doesn’t have a bad bone in his body and falls for Christie hard and fast. But for me the best thing about Michael was that he wasn’t perfect. Yes he was understanding, accepting and patient—everything Christie needed in order to learn how to trust. But Michael had his moments, lost his cool every now and again, and made mistakes. Because Michael had been lucky enough to grow up in a world where ordeals like the one Christie had survived didn’t seem to exist. In the hands of a lesser writer Michael might well have ended up as a too perfect saint. Cody Kennedy presented him as a well rounded, realistic and utterly loveable young man, filled with only the best intentions but fallible, like all of us.

The developing relationship between Christie and Michael was charming, beautiful and all too recognisable. Michael’s attempts to take it slow and the resulting battle with his hormones, desires and infatuation made me smile. It brought me back to my own teenage years when knowing what I should or (maybe more accurately) shouldn’t be doing wasn’t always what actually happened.

Before you think this book is almost five-hundred pages filled with heartache and pain, let me reassure you. This story is as much a thriller as it is a love story; it gives the reader as much beauty as it shows the ugly side of humanity, and for every tear you may shed there will be a smile or belly-laugh to balance things out again. Yes, Omorphi deals with abuse and trying to forge a life out of the ruins others have reduced you to, but it is also a story about friendship and loyalty. And best of all, it is a story that ends with a beginning because as long as there’s hope there is a way forward.

***

Today happens to be the release day for Thárros, the second title in the Hope series. I haven’t read the book yet and think I’ll give myself at least a few days to let Omorphi’s story settle before I pick it up, but have to admit I’m already looking forward to spending more time with Michael and Christie and their friends, if only to see Christie grow further and get closer to the person he should have been allowed to be all his life.

About Thárros:

Θάρρος. Thárros. Greek. Meaning courage

Courage. n. /ˈkərij/ 
1. The ability to do something that frightens one. 
2. Strength in the face of fear, pain, or grief.

High school senior Michael Sattler leads a charmed life. Almost.He has great friends, parents who love him just the way he is, and he was a champion hurdler until someone took out his knee when they kidnapped his boyfriend. Yet, Michael is determined to make the USATF tryouts in spite of his injuries. 

Christy Castle is Michael’s entire world. Healing from years of abuse, his abduction by a predator has left him hiding a new secret as he tries to start his life again. Together, Michael and Christy work to recover from their wounds in time to make prom and graduate high school. To complicate matters, Christy is astonished to learn a fellow victim from his native Greece has survived. Christy will stop at nothing to bring him to the US to keep him safe.

But the prosecution of Christy’s kidnapper looms large in their futures and the struggle to return to normal only worsens. Christy's past continues to haunt them and, when the prosecution turns ugly and Christy’s new life is torn apart, only their unrelenting courage and determination can save them from the nightmare that threatens to destroy their future together.

Read the first chapter of Tharros here:
http://ckennedyauthor.blogspot.com/p/... 

Buy links:

Omorphi:     Amazon       Amazon UK  Harmony Ink Press

Thárros:       Amazon       Amazon UK  Harmony Ink Press

About the Author:

Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a Yoda-look-alike grandfather, award-winning author, Cody Kennedy, doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Cody contemplates such weighty questions as: If time and space are curved, then where do all the straight people come from? When not writing, Cody can be found taming waves on western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the much maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling at all things ordinary. Visit my blog with comments, questions, or simply share what’s on your mind.

Link: http://www.ckennedyauthor.blogspot.ie/

SAFE by C. Kennedy

SAFE by C. Kennedy

 

Pages: 72

Date: May 3, 2015

Details: Young Adult

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“They met at ten, kissed at twelve, and were madly in love by eighteen. 

Caleb Deering is the captain of the swim team and the hottest senior in school. He comes from a loving home with a kind father and a caring, but strict mother who is battling breast cancer. Nico Caro is small and beautiful, and has a father who rules with an iron fist—literally. 

One morning Caleb forgets himself, and he pecks Nico on the lips at school. A teacher sees them and tattles to the headmaster. The accidental outing at school might be the least of their problems, because the ball set in motion by the school’s calls to their parents could get Nico killed. In the face of that very real danger, Caleb knows he has only one mission in life: to keep Nico safe.”

My thoughts:

Safe could be described as a charming love story, but it is so much more than that. This is a story about pain, fear, friendship, loyalty, love and hope.

The tale starts with the moment Caleb and Nico’s world falls apart. They’ve been caught kissing by a teacher and their parents are being informed. While this is awkward for Caleb who hasn’t come out to his tolerant and loving parents yet, it is a disaster for Nico who has been suffering abuse at the hands of his father for as long as he can remember.

The story then goes back in time and shows us how the relationship between Caleb and Nico has evolved over the years. It is a charming and at times sexy journey for the two young men, until it all falls apart after that one unguarded moment.

As in Slaying Isidore’s Dragons, Cody Kennedy strikes the perfect balance between depicting the horrors of abuse and the beauty of unconditional love, thus leaving both his characters and his readers with a profound sense of hope that things will get better and love will prevail.

For me this story could have been longer. While we are shown all the pivotal moments in the developing relationship between Nico and Caleb I wouldn’t have minded seeing more than the glimpses we get. This is just a personal preference though, a secret wish to spend more time with characters I’ve gotten quite attached to over the course of seventy-two pages. Because all we need to know about Nico and Caleb is in this story. Their relationship is realistic, their love believable, and when the story ends the reader is in no doubt that the two young men have a future ahead of them – together. Because the end of their story is also the beginning of the rest of their lives.

After two books it is safe to say I’m now a fan of Cody Kennedy. His personal brand of hopeful realism has both impressed and captured me.

SLAYING ISIDORE'S DRAGONS by Cody Kennedy: Blog Tour with Exclusive Excerpt and a Review

About Slaying Isidore’s Dragons

5 Best friends
4 Vicious brothers
3 STD tests
2 Guys in love
1 Car bombing
&
Nowhere to run

Follow the burgeoning love of two teens during the worst year of their lives. Irish-born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two ambassadors, one Irish and one American. He is ‘out’ to his parents but to no one else. French-born Jean Isidore de Sauveterre is also the son of two ambassadors, one Catalan and one Parisian. His four half brothers have been told to cure him of his homosexuality. Both teens have lost a parent in a London car bombing.

5 Weeks of hell
4 Attempts on their lives

3 Law enforcement agencies
2 Dead high school seniors
1 Jealous friend
&
A love that won’t be denied

Declan and Isidore meet at the beginning of their senior year at a private academy in the United States. Declan is immediately smitten with Isidore and becomes his knight in shining armor. Isidore wants to keep what is left of his sanity and needs Declan’s love to do it. One is beaten, one is drugged, one is nearly raped, one has been raped. They are harassed by professors and police, and have fights at school, but none of it compares to running for their lives. When the headmaster’s popular son attempts suicide and someone tries to assassinate Declan’s mother, they are thrown headlong into chaos, betrayal, conspiracy, allegations of sexual coercion, even murder. And one of them carries a secret that may get them killed.

5 New family members

4 BFF’s
3 Countries
2 Extraordinary Psychologists
1 Courageous Mother

&
A new beginning for two young men in love

Thanks for hosting me today, Helena, it's great to be here! Congratulations on your newest book, Strangers in the Night!

Following is an exclusive excerpt and it shows how Declan and Isidore find out that Mason Brassington attempted suicide. Following, Isidore and Declan are asked sensitive personal questions by their friends and they both step up to support each other and answer honestly.

ON TUESDAY morning, Declan retrieved what he needed from his locker, closed the door, and reminded himself that having a hard-on at school was a living nightmare. Be easy, dick. Don’t wreck my day. Great, now I’m talking to my dick.

He didn’t want to see Mason and dreaded going to homeroom. Isidore at his side, his warmth, his comforting scent, all helped him remain steady and calm.

“Declan,” Isidore whispered.

“What?”

“Look. They look upset.”

Declan followed Isidore’s gaze. Caleb and Ethan approached, worry all over their faces. What now?

“What do you think it is?” Isidore asked.

“We’ll find out.”

“Do you wish me to leave?”

“Absolutely not,” Declan whispered before turning to greet them. “Hey.”

“Did you hear what happened?” Caleb asked.

“About what?”

“Mason tried to kill himself last night. He’s in a coma. They don’t think he’ll make it,” Ethan said.

Declan’s nerve endings ignited like a fist full of Fourth of July sparklers. “What?”

Caleb lowered his voice to a near whisper. “Ethan and I got calls from him right before he did it. He apologized for…. Well, you know, and said you made him see the light.”

Declan was rendered momentarily speechless. “I told him to get help and gave him the number of my shrink. He’s gay, and I thought he could help Mason out.”

“You have a gay shrink?” Ethan asked, incredulous.

“Yeah.”

Caleb turned to Isidore. “Is it true?”

“Is what true?” Isidore asked.

“That you tried to kill yourself and got sent away to a mental hospital.” Sincerity radiated from Caleb as he asked the question.

Isidore searched Caleb’s eyes, and he nodded once. “Yes, after my mother died.”

“Not ’cause, ah, well, ’cause of—you know? We heard what Pierre said during the fight,” Ethan said.

“It was a combination of things,” Declan interjected. “What’s your real question?”

Ethan’s voice dropped to a whisper again. “There’s an investigation, and the police are here at the school talking to people. Caleb and I want to know how much trouble we’re in if we say what Mason did to us.”

Declan guided them into a nearby alcove. “Why would you be in trouble?”

“Look what happened to him. He was sent away.” Caleb gestured to Isidore.

“His circumstances were totally different. You guys have good parents. Talk to them.”

“We can’t. Our dads are attorneys, and they’ll sue everybody. Everything will come out,” Caleb said.

Declan shook his head more to himself than to anyone. “Just because Mason did what he did doesn’t make you gay or anything. You’re victims.”

“I’m gay,” Caleb said quietly.

Though Isidore had supposed this, it still surprised Declan.

“I’m not,” Ethan said. “Well, maybe I’m bi, but my parents will think I’m gay if they find out what Mason did.”

“Does your mom know about you guys?” Caleb asked gesturing to Isidore again.

“My mum has no problem with me being gay, but she doesn’t want it public knowledge,” Declan answered honestly.

“She knows?” Ethan was aghast.

“Yeah, she knows. I told her and Dad last year before Dad died.”

“Did your dad freak?” Caleb asked.

“For about half an hour.”

“That’s it?”

Isidore explained. “Madame de Quirke explains it like this. A man blames himself if his son is not like him. She said Declan’s father was disappointed in himself at first, and Madame de Quirke told him Declan was like him and was not excused from grandchildren. After that, all was well. This is the story.”

Declan stared at Isidore. “You know more about it than I do.”

Isidore gave a small shrug.

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About Cody Kennedy

Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a Yoda-look-alike grandfather, Cody doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Cody contemplates such weighty questions as If time and space are curved, then where do all the straight people come from? When not writing, Cody can be found taming waves on western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the much maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling at all things ordinary. 

Stop by Cody’s Blog with questions or comments, or simply share what’s on your mind.

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Ello, Goodreads, & read Cody’s free serial story, Fairy

My thoughts:

I’m not entirely sure what to say about this amazing book. Slaying Isidore’s Dragons took me for a wild ride and forced me to experience every single emotion in my arsenal in rapid succession. I found myself going from broken hearted to laughing out loud in the space of one paragraph. The danger the characters faced would make my heart race only for my breath to be taken away by the love story half a page later. Rollercoaster doesn’t begin to describe the reading experience this book gave me and it’s going to take me a while before I settle down again. It’s going to take me a lot longer to stop obsessing about the story.

I have to be honest. Reading about Isidore - his past and his present - nearly broke me. There were sections of this book I wanted to read with my eyes closed. That’s on me, not on the author. I don’t deal well with stories of abuse, especially when it involves kids. They make me angry and leave me feeling frustrated and helpless. But, I took my cue from Isidore and kept my eyes open and the pages turning.

“Tiny tendrils of courage brushed his heart, causing fear and courage to war within.”

I have to admit though that despite the addictive storytelling, wonderful characters and suspenseful plot I was continuously tempted to skip to the end. From the moment I started reading, ALL I wanted was a happy ending for Isidore. No, that’s not entirely right. What I wanted to do was dive into the book, wrap him in my arms, and keep him safe from the world. Thank God for Declan and Sorcha, who did just that and—for a long time—were the main reasons I was able to continue turning the pages. Just as they were also the reasons Isidore was able to continue living at first and start to trust again later on.

I think Cody Kennedy has done something amazing with this book. Not only has he given a realistic but hope-filled book about abuse and its consequences for those who are suffering or have suffered it themselves, he’s also written a story that might give other youngsters, those lucky enough to grow up in stable surroundings, an insight into the pain and consequences of abuse. You may say I’m a dreamer...but I’d like to hope that as a result, real-life Declans may emerge.

Isidore’s journey in this book was anything but magical and all the more beautiful for it. There are no miracle cures and none are promised for the future either. And yet, the Isidore we leave with Declan when the story ends, is miles away from the Isidore we meet when the story starts. It may have been a case of—as Declan says—two steps forward, one step back, but Isidore is growing and slowly starting to trust again. Trust Declan and Sorcha to love and look after him; trust that maybe he isn’t completely ruined by what he’s suffered and trust that things can get better. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, because Declan beholds him with love and admiration in his eyes, Isidore has to at least consider that he’s not worthless.

I must apologize. I’ve written a rambling collection of thoughts rather than a review so I’ll try to summarize my thoughts. 

Slaying Isidore’s Dragons is an action-filled thriller dealing with important and difficult issues. It is a story filled with emotion and humour, pain and love, danger and domesticity. It broke my heart and put it back together. Slaying Isidore’s Dragons gave me a reading experience I treasure and a story I won’t forget any time soon.