Provex City by Michael Pierce Blog Tour ~ Review & Giveaway

 I'm thrilled to be a part of the Provex City Blog Tour hosted by Candace's Book Blog & CBB Book Promotions! Today at my stop, I have a review of the novel for you. :)

Title: Provex City (The Lorne Family Vault #1)
Author: Michael Pierce
# of Pages: 326
Publication Date: March 5, 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
My copy: Kindle edition I purchased on Amazon
Average Rating: 4.45 / 5.00
My Rating: 5 / 5

Goodreads Synopsis
Fifteen-year-old Oliver Grain begins his school year fighting off bullies, learning about the boy who committed suicide in his room, and trying to understand why his history teacher, Mr. Gordon, has taken such a personal interest in him.

Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe you can make bullies simply disappear? Do you believe you can walk through walls?

Mr. Gordon tells Oliver: "When you truly believe anything is possible, you will be able to open doors where there were only walls." And one of those doors leads Oliver to Provex City, which puts him in far greater danger than he can possibly fathom.

My Thoughts
I bought my own copy of this book a couple of months before signing up for the blog tour. :)

Provex City doesn't fall into just one genre for me--it transcends any labels I can think of. It was written so differently and creatively that I loved how it wasn't anything like what I expected. It's filled with creepy moments, teenage angst, heartwrenching situations, and mysterious characters. The characters seemed like people I could know in real life with each having his or her own distinct personality and voice. Reading this book, I was completely enthralled and hated any time I had to put it down. I wanted to forget about all of my obligations, even sleep, and I love to sleep!

I really loved Oliver; he's a character you can't help but love. The story is told from his point of view. He goes through some painfully awkward situations that many adolescents experience. He's bullied, gets kind of thrown together romantically with a girl named Anna (a friend of Oliver's friend, Desiree), is dealing with his dad's death, is attending a new school, living in a new house with a tragic history, and wondering if he's being haunted. That's a lot for anyone to have to deal with! But he does the best he can do and is stronger than he credits himself.

Oliver feels he's outshined by his brother, Jeremy, who has no problem fitting in at their new school--they're both in high school. They don't seem to be close at all. While Oliver is introverted, Jeremy is extroverted and seemed to rub it in Oliver's face that he became popular instantly and easily. I was so angry when Oliver was being bullied and his brother wasn't really there for him--it brought back a lot of memories for me when I was in high school and was physically threatened almost everyday by a group of girls who had it out for me for no reason. Jeremy seemed like a shady character, and I know there has to more to him that I hope will be explored in the next book. 

Jeremy was gone so often that I couldn't believe his mom and stepdad weren't that concerned about where he was and whether he was home at a decent hour or not. Though they never questioned Jeremy about his life, they gave Oliver a hard time about whether Desiree is his girlfriend, why he spends so much time with her if she isn't his girlfriend, and then about Anna when she met them for the first time. I guess I felt protective of Oliver!

Oliver dresses up as a specific character from a specific movie for Halloween though it was never spelled out exactly who he dressed up as. I thought it was incredibly clever and totally enjoyed the reference! I wonder how many readers have or will pick up on that. :) It was one of my favorite surprises in the book.

Oliver's history teacher, Mr. Gordon, was one of my favorite characters. He's like a father figure to Oliver, and I really liked that. I love the way Mr. Gordon thinks, too. There are so many possibilities of what is going on in Oliver's life that I'm still trying to figure it out, trying to put all the pieces together, and I really enjoy a book that has my imagination going into hyperdrive. :)

There are so many questions I had along the way, I can't wait to find out answers to some of those questions in the next book of the series. I want to know the backstories of Oliver's friends Desiree, Anna, and Eli--they're all mysterious characters, and I know there has to be more to them there than what I saw in this first book. I'm recommending Provex City to everyone I know. You'll fall in love with this story just like I have!

About the Author:

Michael Pierce lives in Southern California with his wife, daughter, and two ultra-protective Chiweenies. Provex City is his debut novel and the first book in the young adult fantasy Lorne Family Vault Series.

Find the author: 

Blog ~ http://www.michaelpiercebooks.blogspot.com

Twitter ~ http://www.twitter.com/MrPierceBooks

Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/lornefamilyvault

Goodreads ~  http://www.goodreads.com/michaelpiercebooks

Website ~ http://www.michaelpiercebooks.com

Book Trailer ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dVoKoIGY2E 

Giveaway

• Three winners will receive a paperback of Provex City and a $15 Amazon Gift Card (INT)
• Five additional winners will win paperback copies of Provex City. (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

1/3 Candace's Book Blog ~ Tour Kick Off with Interview
1/3 Reading and Rising with the Sun ~ Review

1/4 The Bookie Nook ~ Review

1/4 ReaWrite ~ Interview

1/7 Nazish Reads ~ Review & Giveaway

1/7 Becky's Barmy Book Blog ~ Top Ten or Guest Post

1/8 A Diary of a Book Addict ~ Review

1/9 I Am a Reader, Not a Writer ~ Interview

1/10 Pages of Forbidden Love ~ Review

1/10 Tabitha's Book Blog ~ Excerpt

1/11 Donnie Darko Girl ~ Review

1/11 Ivy Book Bindings ~ Excerpt

 1/14 Lizzy's Dark Fiction ~ Review

1/14 Mr. Book Wonder ~ Guest Post
1/15 Mr. Book Wonder ~ Review
1/15 Get Lost in Fiction ~ Guest Post
1/16 Oh, the Book You'll Read! ~ Review
1/17 Book Labyrinth ~ Excerpt
1/17 Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile ~ Review
1/18 The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia ~ Review
1/19 Reader Girls ~ Review & Top Ten
1/20 Jean BookNerd ~ Review & Interview

1/21 Forever 17 Books ~ Review
1/21 Vy's Blog ~ Top Ten
1/22 Howling Turtle ~ Cover Reveal!
1/22 Supernatural Snark ~ Interview
1/23 Literary Rambles ~ Interview
1/23 Amethyst Daydreams ~ Review
1/24 Escaping... One Book at a Time ~ Review
1/24 Anatea's Bookshelf ~ Review
1/25 My Guilty Obsession ~ Review
1/25 Insane About Books ~ Review