Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway:
Deviate by Tracy Clark

BookCrushin is very excited to be a part of the Deviate Blog Tour! Deviate is the second book in The Light Key Trilogy by Tracy Clark. In today’s post you will find all the series information as well as a review from Sara Meadows, our guest reviewer. If this series intrigues you book 1, Scintillate is only $0.99 for the ebook! Be sure to enter the tour-wide giveaway too!

 

Deviate (The Light Key Trilogy #2) by Tracy Clark

Category: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication: March 3rd, 2015; Entangled Teen
Purchase: Amazon, B&N

Tormented after a daring escape, Cora Sandoval must find a way to stop the Arrazi from murdering innocent people and from violating, using, and killing the Scintilla for their powers. She must also accept one bitter betrayal: Finn Doyle—the Irish boy who has both a piece of Cora’s heart and soul—is Arrazi…

On the verge of extinction and sought by those who would either consume or destroy them, Cora and the remaining Scintilla survivors must solve the mystery of The Light Key. If they fail, the truth will stay buried forever and mankind will pay the ultimate price.

No longer will she hide.

No longer will her loved ones be hunted.

And she will have her vengeance…even if she shatters her heart in the process.

 

Guest Review:

[book rating=5.0/5.0]

“A mighty flame follows a tiny spark.”

Deviate, the 300+ page follow-up to Tracy Clark’s Scintillate, is a layered, deliberate, delicious tome of a tale that picks up right where Scintillate ended; and, when I say right where it ended, I mean that. My soul was crushed at the end of Scintillate and Deviate wastes no time in kicking me in the gut again.

Cora is still in Ireland, searching for answers as to what she is, who the Arrazi are and why they are after her and others with her abilities, and how to come to terms with Finn’s true identity. In what seems to be a growing trend among YA series, this sequel is told from two points of views, Cora’s and Finn’s, and Finn’s perspective is a welcome addition to the series. We are also reunited with Giovanni, Mari, Dun, and the other supporting characters from the first novel. I can’t discuss plot too much without giving everything away, so I will instead tell you what I enjoyed about this story!

Firstly, this is not a typical YA novel. Instead, it’s a novel about people on a mission and these people just happen to mostly be teenagers. Scintillate contained more teenage scenarios (overprotective parent, does-he-does-he-not love me situations, etc.), but Cora just doesn’t have time for nonsense in Deviate. She’s on the run for her life and is in danger, as she says, every time she wakes up in the morning. You’re either there to help her or hurt her and she hasn’t time for petty distractions. And I love this about Cora. She is strong, smart, and fierce, without being headstrong just for the sake of plot development.

The plot is intricate, woven with historical, literary, and religious elements. There is a bit of a “Da Vinci Code” feel to the story, which I love. There is mystery, there are conspiracy theories, and there is science. I can’t imagine the depth and breadth of research Ms. Clark must have undertaken to breathe life into these books. Dante’s Paradise Lost continues to serve as a guidebook for Cora and her gang, and the significance of the number three/trinities and spirals is also explored more deeply this time around.

For as much as I love Cora, Finn (be still, my beating heart! How I love that Irish boy!), Giovanni (an Italian Viking? Yes, please!), and the other characters, there is one character that takes first prize for my affections, and that is Ireland herself. Ms. Clark paints Ireland with a thick, lush brush, bringing to life the country’s people, landscapes, and history. I stopped several times while reading the story to Google the monuments, landmarks, rivers, etc., that are described. I read the book in an internal Irish accent as much as and wherever possible. I might have even researched flights, a statement which I will neither confirm nor deny.

5/5 Stars:  In the end, Deviate is a worthy successor to its prequel, furthering the plot, developing the characters, and transporting us to an amazing world of sadness, beauty, and betrayal.

Quotes:

“Il tuo dolore e il mio dolore…” he whispered in Italian. “Your pain is my pain.” –Giovanni

I just never thought I’d be a torch in the world’s darkness. Being a light was for other people, like Gandhi and Mother Teresa, and…Bono. –Cora

I wondered:  if everyone did that, let their auras blend with others, would there be any separation between us at all? –Cora

Guest Reviewer: Sara Meadows

Sara Meadows is a busy mom who, when not hanging out with her family, loves reading, scrapbooking, watching anything to do with superheroes, and correcting other people’s grammar as politely as possible. Originally from Pennsylvania, Sara lives in Virginia with her husband, three children, and three animals. She reads all types of fiction, and couldn’t possibly choose a favorite book if her life depended upon it.

 

Series:

Scintillate (The Light Key Trilogy #1)

Publication: February 4th, 2014; Entangled Teen
Purchase: Amazon, B&N, iBooks

A mighty flame follows a tiny spark.

Cora Sandoval’s mother disappeared when she was five and they were living in Ireland. Since then, her dad has been more than overprotective and Cora is beginning to chafe under his confines. But even more troubling is the colorful light she suddenly sees around people. Everyone, that is, except herself—instead, she glows a brilliant, sparkling silver.

As she realizes the danger associated with these strange auras, Cora is inexplicably drawn to Finn, a gorgeous Irish exchange student who makes her feel safe. Their attraction is instant, magnetic, and primal—but her father disapproves, and Finn’s mother orders him home to Ireland upon hearing he’s fallen in love. After a fight with her father, Cora flees to Ireland, both to follow Finn and to look for her missing mother.

There she meets another silver-haloed person and discovers the meaning of her newfound powers and their role in a conspiracy spanning centuries—one that could change mankind forever…and end her life.

 

Author Bio: Tracy Clark

Tracy Clark is a young-adult writer because she believes teens deserve to know how much they matter and that regardless of what they’re going through, they aren’t alone. In other words, she writes books for her teen self.

She grew up a “Valley Girl” in Southern California but now lives in her home state of Nevada, in a small town at the base of the Sierra Foothills. Her two children teach her the art of distraction and are a continuous source of great dialogue. She’s an unapologetic dog person who is currently owned by a cat.

Tracy was the recipient of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Work in Progress Grant. A two-time participant in the prestigious Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program where she was lucky enough to be mentored by bestselling author, Ellen Hopkins, who taught her so much about the art of writing and cured her of her ellipsis addiction.
Her debut novel was inspired by her enchantment with metaphysics as a teen, seeing it as the real magic in life. Tracy is a part-time college student, a private pilot, and an irredeemable dreamer.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

 

Giveaway:

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

Book Tour Organized by: