Michael by Aaron Patterson Blog Tour and Giveaway

Please comment and help me win a kindle for my sister!  Tomorrow is her big 5-0 Bday!

ONE DAY BLOG TOUR! 
MAY 17th!

Michael, book two in the Airel Saga, is live on Amazon TODAY ONLY for a discounted price!!

To promote Michael I’m helping host a contest where you can win a free copy of Airel and help me win a free Kindle Fire.

 To take advantage of this awesome deal, head to Amazon and check out the eBook version of Michael at its promotional price, then see below to enter the contest. Also, leave me a comment on this post. The blogger with the most comments will win the Kindle Fire! If I win, I’ll also get the chance to be part of a special giveaway in the next few months.

Michael

by Aaron Patterson

Michael did the unthinkable to save Airel from death, but now he must live with the choices he has made – both good and evil.  Tortured by his past and haunted by what he believes might be his future, Michael seeks redemption – but will the past prove to be too strong?  How can he break free of it and be the man he longs to be for Airel?  If only he had never. . .

Airel.  Michael’s one true love.  He had forced her to drink in new life only to find that old wounds and deep scars do not heal overnight.  Can she truly forgive Michael, can she truly love him?  And can he accept that forgiveness?  Or is it all for nothing, and has he gone too far already?  As the darkness of past choices closes in on them, chases them, intercepts them, coming at them from everywhere at once, how can their love possibly survive?

Aaron Patterson is the author of the best-selling WJA series, as well as two Digital Shorts: 19 and The Craigslist Killer. He was home-schooled and grew up in the west. Aaron loved to read as a small child and would often be found behind a book, reading one to three a day on average. This love drove him to want to write, but he never thought he had the talent. His wife Karissa prodded him to try it, and with this encouragement, he wrote Sweet Dreams, the first book in the WJA series, in 2008. Airel is his first teen series, and plans for more to come are already in the works. He lives in Boise, Idaho with his family, Soleil, Kale and Klayton. His daughter had an imaginary friend named She.


Chris White has an award for reading 750 books in one school year — from the 3rd grade. So yes, he’s more of a nerd than Aaron. Chris loves history, Sherlock Holmes, and anything that’s not virtual, like old motorcycles and mechanical typewriters. He also doesn’t get why we have these things called “smart phones” when all they do is make people dumber. Chris recently celebrated 10 years of marriage with his wife, April, and has two boys: Noah, age 8, and Jaden, age 3, who inspired the Great Jammy Adventure series; the OK-to-color-in picture books. Chris is working on a short story called The Marsburg Diary that will further explore the prologue to Airel, and he is finishing up his first novel, entitled K: phantasmagoria, due out in 2011. Chris has a major crush on Audrey Hepburn, who is now dead. His wife is okay with all of this.

My review of Airel: This was a very complex story - actually two stories.  The book opens in the present day in Idaho.  You begin to learn about a young girl named Airel, with all the typical teenage angst that is normal.  What is not normal is that seemingly overnight Airel's appearance is changing.  Her complexion is becoming flawless, her hair luxurious. Even though she sees the changes in the mirror, she still questions when the boy of her dreams, Michael, appears to be infatuated with her.  When she discovers that she has the ability to heal quickly, she wonders who or what she really is.

Read more: http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/search?q=airel#ixzz1v5YCVA1U

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"Move over Twilight! Here comes Aaron Patterson!"
--Joshua Graham, bestselling author of Beyond Justice and Darkroom 

"I was surprised by how much I really, really liked this book. I have not jumped on the whole "fallen angel" bandwagon, just as I didn't jump on all of the vampire stories that came out after Twilight. This is not your typical fallen angel story. It is one that has left me breathlessly waiting for the next one in the series. Hurry up please!!!"--Sandra Stiles

"It takes rare talent for a man to write a novel from a male POV and have it published to great critical and commercial acclaim. But it takes a miracle for that same male, or in this case males, to write a novel from the POV of a teenage girl and have it turn out as incredibly as did the new StoneHouse YA by Aaron Patterson and Chris White, AIREL. From the first sentence, I felt compelled to dive into this young woman's story and just as importantly, I felt like I personally knew her, which means I laughed, stressed and cried right along with her. A beautifully written and crafted fiction about teenage innocence, faith, loss and love. A must read for teens and adults alike." 
--Vincent Zandri, International Bestselling Author of The Remains, The Innocent, and Concrete Pearl

"I am happy to say that this novel is one of my favorites of its kind. I never thought I could read a novel like this and be so swept away! I am always willing to try new books, but I usually steer clear of this kind of novel. Not anymore! Not when I can be so engrossed into the character's story, like I was with the beautiful AIREL, that before I know, it's over. I kept turning the pages , wanting to, no-NEEDING, to know what was going to happen next."--Molly Edwards, Willow Spring, NC

Airel by Aaron Patterson (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: Airel (The Airel Saga, Book 1)

Author: Aaron Patterson, Chris White
Publisher: StoneHouse Ink


About the book: All Airel ever wanted was to be normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce surprises, like an incredible ability to heal. Then there s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous...and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything. Airel knew change would be an inevitable part of life. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?

My thoughts: Where to start?  This was a very complex story - actually two stories.  The book opens in the present day in Idaho.  You begin to learn about a young girl named Airel, with all the typical teenage angst that is normal.  What is not normal is that seemingly overnight Airel's appearance is changing.  Her complexion is becoming flawless, her hair luxurious. Even though she sees the changes in the mirror, she still questions when the boy of her dreams, Michael, appears to be infatuated with her.  When she discovers that she has the ability to heal quickly, she wonders who or what she really is.

The second storyline takes place in Arabia in 1250 B.C.  Kreios, a fallen angel, has lost his wife right after the birth of his daughter and is on a journey to now save his daughter's life.  In order to achieve this, he has to, quite literally, take flight.  This flight attracts the unwanted attention of The Brotherhood.  These are demons whose mission is to destroy all the angels who came to earth and married a mortal.  The description of these demons, as well as the angels and the world they live in is told in great detail. 

Even though the stories are thousands of years apart, they are eerily similar.  You see, the demons are on the trail of Kreios in Arabia, and there is a killer on the loose in Idaho as well.  Airel and Michael are kidnapped soon after Airel witnesses a killing while at the movies.  They are taken to an unbelievable house seemingly buried in the forest.  Airel doesn't know whether the killer has kidnapped her or saved her from being killed.  What she does know is that she is falling in love with Michael and learning about who she really is. 

I did enjoy this story, but felt like I kind of got bogged down in the center.  The beginning grabbed me, but when it first flipped to Arabia, I kind of got lost.  I stuck with it though and am glad that I did.  The ending left me wide-eyed with - 'You can't stop there!' on my mind. 

The second book in the series, Michael, is due out in May of this year.



~I received a complimentary ebook of Airel from StoneHouse Ink in exchange for my unbiased review.~


You can find out more about Airel on Facebook and Twitter.

Airel
Publisher/Publication Date: StoneHouse Ink, August 2011
ISBN: 978-0982607862
425 pages



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