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May 2, 2014

Destruction (The December People #1) by Sharon Bayliss ~ Blog Tour: Review


Heya! Welcome to my stop on the Destruction Blog Tour hosted by Booksniffer Review Tours. Click here to follow along with the full tour schedule.   


 Title: Destruction
Series: The December People #1
Author: Sharon Bayliss
Genre/Age Range: Contemporary, Fantasy, Adult
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Release Date: April 14th 2014

Source: Review copy

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Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis

David Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything. Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn't a choice. 

Eleven years ago, David's secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can't imagine living without. 

Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David's wife admits a secret of her own - she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children. 

Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn't understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.


Destruction combines contemporary and fantasy into a novel that is unlike any I've read. One of the things that intrigued me the most about this family was that they're dark wizards who want to be good. Reading this novel wouldn't have been the same if they wanted to embrace their dark side because that would have been expected.    

David is a character who made me feel sad, angry, and hopeful at the same time. Sad because he's lost time with two of his children and finds out they've been abused for years. Angry because he was selfish in maintaining two relationships at the same time resulting in two separate families that are now brought together as one. Sometimes I thought he couldn't have bungled a decision any more than he did while other times he handled things in a way that showed how much he cared.

The secret that David's wife, Amanda, reveals goes further than you think, and it is a shocking twist. The plot of Destruction is rich with interesting conflicts that kept me hooked to see how they'd be resolved - if David and Amanda could work through their issues to save their marriage, how David's two children would integrate into his family with Amanda, and how the family would deal with being dark wizards. 

Everything about this family was interesting, and there was a lot of drama between the parents and between the siblings. Destruction begins as a contemporary, and I almost forgot that it was also fantasy so it was a surprise when the subtle magical hints that were dropped along the way ended up being more than they first seemed. I had a blast reading Destruction and look forward to seeing where the next book takes me.  

My Rating:



About the Author

Sharon Bayliss is the author of The December People Series and The Charge. When she's not writing, she enjoys living happily-ever-after with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening). She only practices magic in emergencies. 

Author Links

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10 comments:

  1. Thank you for participating and reviewing!

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  2. This looks like such a good book! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

    Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination

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    1. I definitely recommend it! It's hard to put down, and I slipped right into the story so easily. Thank you! :)

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  3. Wow, this sounds like a really good read. I can't imagine how it all plays out in the end, I bet it would be easy to read cover to cover in one sitting.

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    1. It was a great read! I just about read it in one sitting - I saved most of it for after the kids went to bed for the night. I couldn't imagine the ending, either until I got there. It was a surprise! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  4. I haven't heard of this one before, but it sounds so interesting! I like complex characters and David sounds like one! Adding this to my TBR! Great review! :-)

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    1. What I found most interesting is the mix of contemporary and fantasy. This isn't a typical fantasy book at all, which I very much appreciated. In a lot of fantasy books, there's kings and power struggles and wars, but in this book there's modern family struggles going on. Thank you, Megan! :)

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  5. Destruction sounds fresh, Jennifer. I'm glad, too, that it didn't go in an expected way. And that it evoked so much emotion from you speaks to good writing. :) I'm very intrigued so I'm adding it to my tbr. Thanks for sharing a great review!

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    1. Yes, it definitely is fresh, and I really liked that about it. You're welcome, Brandee! :)

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