Amarok Blog Tour: Review, Author Guest Post and Giveaway

Today, I'm excited to be hosting the next stop on the Amarok Blog Tour

Here's a little info on Spencer Hill Press's upcoming YA Release AMAROK

Amarok by Angela J. Townsend

Release Date: November 20th/12. (Pre-order here)

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:

Dragged across the tundra by an evil mountain man and his enormous black wolf, Emma learns that love can be found in the most unexpected places…

Emma's life has been hell since she moved from sunny California to a remote Alaskan town. Abandoned by her father and living with the guilt of causing her mother's death, she makes a desperate dash for freedom from her abusive stepfather. But when her car skids off the icy road, her planned escape leads to further captivity in a world beyond her imagining.
Dragged across the tundra by an evil mountain man and his enormous black wolf, she learns that love can be found in the most unexpected places. Amarok, as she's nicknamed the wolf, is a young man from the gold-rush era enslaved by an ancient shaman. Emma's gentle touch and kind heart win his love and devotion. When a vicious madman--trapped in bear form by the same Shaman--attacks the travelers and injures Amarok, Emma must find the strength to face her fears and free the wolf she's come to love. But that means she must face down the evil shaman, a Siberian mammoth hunter from the ice age, and he has no intention of giving up his power to her.

Here's the trailer for Amarok

My Review:

Reading Amarok was like riding a rollerscoaster, my feelings towards the story and its characters, continuously changed. I'm still trying to process all these to process all these thoughts and feelings, haha.

I would get so frustrated with Emma, because I didn't want her to simply give up on her life. She's been living with so much pain and she's drowning in guilt, I wanted her to want to live! And Amarok I loved from the very beginning, he's a gentle beast, with a young soul, who to, has witnessed so much violence.

Be warned, this is not an easy-going, happy read, it's deep and incredibly thoughtful. Emma and Amarok are two of the most complex YA characters I've read this year! They've both been living in environments where heartache, loss and unapologetic violence, are a common theme, but its their need to escape, that truly makes these two soul mates. They find a reason to live through each other. Definitely an unconventional relationship and one I was rooting for from the get go all the way to the end. 

The pacing is great. This is not a long book and the short chapters, which alternate Amarok and Emma's third person narrative, combine well to keep the story moving. Amarok relies heavily on character development, as there is not a lot of dialogue in this book, but this was fine with me, because Townsend has penned two beautifully broken characters in search of love. This is a title you can finish in one sitting.

And the folklore, well lets just say that Townsend puts her own spin on the myth of the werewolf. But I'll let Angela explain this herself (see further down the page) :).

If you enjoy Young Adult reads that contain complex characters, unique narrative with an unexpected romance, than Amarok just may be the perfect read for you!

Happy Reading!!!

Please join me in welcoming Angela to the blog today!

Angela, please tell us, what inspired the magic in Amarok?

My inspiration for using magic in  Amarok

I've always been fascinated with magic in storytelling. Amarok gave me the opportunity to incorporate magical and mystical elements into my plot. With magical powers comes control and I think readers enjoy stories centered around magic because we all  like the idea of being in command of our daily lives. In all my novels where I write about magic, I try to limit the use of it. I like my characters to be in charge of their own lives, but within reason. My characters may have magic for survival but its always a small amount. I don't want to dehumanise my characters by giving them a way out of every single situation by casting spells.  I like magic that can exist in our natural world, something that can be as dangerous and as organic as the power of water or lightening.

 But wait! Before you go there's one more goody for you, a giveaway of a prize pack, from Spencer Hill Press! Fill out the Rafflecopter below to be entered! Good luck to all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway