Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter (spotlight, review and GIVEAWAY) LTP

 



Blood of the Earth
by Faith Hunter



Set in the same world as the New York Times bestselling Jane Yellowrock novels, an all-new series starring Nell Ingram, who wields powers as old as the earth.

When Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she was almost alone in the world, exiled by both choice and fear from the cult she was raised in, defending herself with the magic she drew from her deep connection to the forest that surrounds her.

Now, Jane has referred Nell to PsyLED, a Homeland Security agency policing paranormals, and agent Rick LaFleur has shown up at Nell’s doorstep. His appearance forces her out of her isolated life into an investigation that leads to the vampire Blood Master of Nashville.

Nell has a team—and a mission. But to find the Master’s kidnapped vassal, Nell and the PsyLED team will be forced to go deep into the heart of the very cult Nell fears, infiltrating the cult and a humans-only terrorist group before time runs out…


BLOOD OF THE EARTH (Nell Ingram #1) | Faith Hunter | Roc Mass Market Paperback | $7.99 | 384 pages | August 2, 2016 | ISBN: 9780451473301 | Goodreads link

Purchase links

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About Faith Hunter:

  

Faith Hunter, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. She writes three Urban Fantasy series: the Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock, a Cherokee skinwalker who hunts rogue vampires. The Soulwood series, featuring earth magic user Nell Ingram. And the Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban, post-apocalyptic, fantasy series featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage. (There is a role playing game based on the series, ROGUE MAGE.)

Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 30+ books in print in 29 countries.

Hunter writes full-time, tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their rescued Pomeranians to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.

Find Faith online at her website FaithHunter.net, her blog, on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR STOPS

7/15 – SHORT @ Faith Hunter’s Blog
7/18 – Review + giveaway @ I Smell Sheep
7/19 – Review + SHORT @ Tome Tender
7/20 – Review + giveaway @ Urban Fantasy Investigations; Excerpt @ Book Junkiez
7/21 – Review + giveaway @ Bad Bird Reads
7/22 – SHORT + giveaway @ Angel’s Guilty Pleasures
7/24 – SHORT @ Faith Hunter’s Blog
7/25 – Review + excerpt @ Gizmo’s Reviews
7/26 – Review + excerpt @ Bea’s Book Nook
7/27 – SHORT + giveaway @ Vampire Book Club
7/28 – Review + giveaway @ The Book Nympho; Giveaway @ Diane’s Book Blog
7/29 – Review @ PNR Book Lover Reviews; SHORT @ Faith Hunter’s Blog
7/30 – Review + SHORT @ Kings River Life
8/1 – Review + excerpt @ Books That Hook
8/2 – SHORT + Q&A @ Slippery Words
8/3 – Review + excerpt @ Will Read for Feels; Review + giveaway @ Enchanted Alley
8/4 – SHORT + giveaway @ Cover2Cover; Review + giveaway @ Bambi Unbridled
8/5 – Review + giveaway @ drey’s library

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My review:

4 stars

Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter is the first book in the ‘Soulwood’ paranormal series and is connected to the acclaimed ‘Jane Yellowrock’ stories. Focused on the fascinating off-the-grid lifestyle of Nell Nicholson Ingram, the mysterious young woman who crossed paths with Jane during an investigation of a secretive religious group that she used to be a part of, this book gradually reveals the members of PsyLED (Psychometry Law Enforcement Division of Homeland Security) who are trying to recruit Nell to assist them in an investigation. The initial case that seems to get larger and larger mirrors the revelations about Nell and her abilities that force her to explore paths she is reluctant to face. Danger escalates and Nell’s struggle to integrate with the unit is complicated by her torn loyalties and her ignorance, and time may be too short for her to learn enough to survive, let alone become an asset to the unit.

The challenge of starting a new series is establishing the world it is set in and introducing compelling characters that are intriguing and charismatic. Those of us familiar with the Jane Yellowrock universe are already versed in some of the relationships between humans and nonhumans so that aspect of the story is not the novelty that it would be to someone new to this environment. It was great to see Nell get her time in the spotlight but the gradual revelation of her lifestyle and paradigm was a bit slow for me at first, even though I was delighted to get to know her better and learn about her prospective teammates, although their respective backgrounds are still very sketchy. I love that we get a different perspective of characters and a gradual deepening of our understanding of some of the beings who populate this world but some of the interactions and revelations were a bit awkward to me and the dangling threads, some which connect to the other series, depend on a significant degree of obtuseness, which kind of conflicts with the enhanced senses that so many of the characters have.

Despite those reservations, I definitely enjoyed watching the growth of Nell and her gradual integration into relationships that are completely foreign to her. There are lots of mysteries still unsolved and additional information about the other members of the unit that has yet to be revealed and I think this is a great start to the new series and look forward to reading more about Nell.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review 


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Additional GIVEAWAY

I also have the opportunity for one lucky reader to win a print copy of Blood of the Earth.  Nell lives off the grid, supporting herself by growing various herbs and vegetables to sell in various forms.  How would you support yourself if you lived off the grid?  To enter, please leave a comment with a valid e-mail address.  The winner will be selected after August 2, 2016 using Randomizer.