Blog Tour: Soul Oath by Juliana Haygert – Review & Giveaway
Book Crushin is thrilled to be a part of the Soul Oath by Juliana Haygert blog tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours! In this post you will find all the book information, my book ratings, a spoiler-free review on both Soul Oath and Destiny Gift and a tour-wide giveaway. Hope you enjoy!
Destiny Gift (Everlast #1) by Juliana Haygert
Category: New Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Mythology
Publication: April 1, 2013
Purchase: Amazon, B&N, Kobo
[book rating = 3.0/5.0]
Thirty years in the future, a sinister New York City exists in permanent darkness.
A student at the secured NYU, nineteen-year-old Nadine has visions of Victor Gianni, an imaginary guy she has real feelings for. Afraid of being truly insane, she explains the visions away as simple daydreams, but she can no longer deny them when she bumps into Victor in real life. But this Victor doesn’t know her, and turns her away. After the encounter, Nadine’s visions change to those of eerie fates, gods she’s never heard of, demons with sharp claws they are not too timid to use … and instructions.
To discover if she’s losing her mind, Nadine follows the vague directions—with the real, rude and reluctant Victor—leading to a man who knows it all: Nadine can restore an ancient creed by unveiling the clues on her visions, and bring sunlight and peace to the world again. But that’s only if the demons and the other evil forces behind the darkness don’t stop her first.
Soul Oath (Everlast #2) by Juliana Haygert
Category: New Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Mythology
Publication: November 25, 2013
Purchase: Amazon, B&N, Kobo
It’s been three months since Nadine last heard from Victor, Micah or Ceris, allowing her to concentrate on her own life. But until Victor and Micah find the scepters that will restore them as true gods, their human bodies will require her healing touch and it’s only a matter of time until they wreak havoc on her life again.
As if to prove that, Victor shows up at the hospital dragging along with him a swarm of demons. Nadine is forced to flee to safety. Despite her attempts to keep her loved ones protected, the demons find her, and they bring her to Imha, the goddess of Chaos.
Now, confronted by her greatest fear, Nadine finds a new motivation. Vengeance. And when seeking revenge, no risk is too great, including her own life.
Spoiler Free Review (Destiny Gift and Soul Oath)
The Everlast Series is set in a world where darkness prevails, demon bat creatures rule the skies and humanity struggles to maintain even the smallest semblance of hope and normalcy. Nadine is a typical college student, studying medicine, attending NYU, she’s got a group of close girlfriends, a job she loathes and oh yeah a fantasy boyfriend that she only sees in sporadic visions. Crazy right? I have to admit that the premise of this series really intrigued me. It’s not the first take on mythology but it’s definitely one of the most unique. There have been many god/goddesses books but none that have a setting in a post apocalyptic world equipped with demon bats! With that said, I have to admit I struggled a bit with Destiny Gift. It was a much slower read than Soul Oath but I chalk that up to world building. I was super intrigued by this bizarre post apocalyptic world but many elements left me scratching my head (such as why aren’t we as humans fighting back and shooting these bats out of the sky?) I found the constant flip flopping of Nadine’s attractions for Victor and Micah a bit like a tennis match. I can understand the girls struggles they are both described as being incredibly gorgeous, broody, and sexy as hell. Nadine as a heroine wasn’t very strong in book one. I found her to be a bit immature and she lacked a backbone (ducks to avoid shoe). I really wanted her to stand up for herself more. However, once Soul Oath starts she has really come into her own as a heroine. In fact, Soul Oath showcases Nadine maturing by leaps and bounds. Maybe that has something to do with the wild and emotional ride she has to endure from literally page one but her growth over the course of this book redeemed her a bit in my eyes. And while the establishment of the love triangle in book one had me leaning heavily towards Team Victor in this book I am firmly 100% Team Micah. In terms of characters, Micah was my all around favorite. A smooth talking, bad ass God, that says things like “Darling”, and rides a motorcycle? Yes please. A lot happens in Soul Oath and it’s impossible to talk about too much without spoiling the plot. Suffice to say, it’s an intriguing series with many twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages.
I had some gripes with the books mostly with Nadine, whom, I struggled to connect with, but both books were overall very entertaining and unique additions to the New Adult Fantasy genre.
Author Bio
While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.
Author links:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
I really like how different this sounds and dark, too! I’m glad you enjoyed them even with the qualms you had with it. I often find the first book in series now is dedicated to world building and the actual plot/action is more in the 2nd book. Great review, Shannon!
I’m not reeally sure what books fall under that category, but I am sure I would like them. There aren’t many books that I don’t like — every genre has something great about it for a real booklover!
Thank you for participating of my book tour! 🙂