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FOLLOW THE TOUR:
WEEK ONE
OCTOBER 21st MONDAY JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW
OCTOBER 22nd TUESDAY Bibliobibuli YA INTERVIEW
OCTOBER 22nd TUESDAY Insane About Books REVIEW
OCTOBER 23rd WEDNESDAY Tea Party Princess SPOTLIGHT
OCTOBER 23rd WEDNESDAY Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews REVIEW
OCTOBER 24th THURSDAY Starlight Reads REVIEW
OCTOBER 24th THURSDAY Random Bookish Banter REVIEW
OCTOBER 25th FRIDAY bookishaestha REVIEW
WEEK TWO
OCTOBER 28th MONDAY A Dream Within A Dream REVIEW & INTERVIEW
OCTOBER 29th TUESDAY Nay's Pink Bookshelf REVIEW
OCTOBER 30th WEDNESDAY A Bookish Dream REVIEW
OCTOBER 30th WEDNESDAY A Backwards Story REVIEW
OCTOBER 31st THURSDAY A Court of Coffee and Books REVIEW
OCTOBER 31st THURSDAY BookHounds YA REVIEW
NOVEMBER 1st FRIDAY Casia's Corner REVIEW
NOVEMBER 1st FRIDAY Life Within The Pages REVIEW
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O P E N I N G H O O K:
It was still the man's fault when I did it again, and when I did it a third time, and when I did it the next twenty-one times. I lost count after that -- his fault too, because I'm the kind of woman who keeps score.
(Page 8, US e-book edition)
“When the dead find words, the goddess and the Devoted son will meet atop a fish not a fish, on a sea not a sea. It is she who travels to the endless Abyss, and it is he who guides her.”
~THE NEVER-TILTING WORLD
If this novel's stunning cover didn't get me from the get-go, its summary would have. Frozen meets Mad Max? A world built by goddesses full of its own unique lore? A book with twins at its heart?? A feminist fantasy the likes of which aren't often seen in YA? Okay, I'm in. I'm completely, 100% all in. Plus, I've always wanted to read Rin Chupeco. I own THE BONE WITCH, but have yet to pick it up and dive in, and I've heard such fantastic things about it -- and about the author. So when Jean the Book Nerd put together this blog tour, I immediately went, "Me, me, meeeeee!" and was so excited to get my hands on this brand-new release, which I finally get to share with you today.
Aeon is a world divided, a dying world, a troubled world. For as long as Aeon has existed, it has been ruled by twin goddesses, each set of twins with their own prophecy. One always lives, and one always dies. Seventeen years ago, both twins lived -- and each took an infant with them, dividing a new pair of twin sisters. That day, the world broke and stopped spinning, and the land became almost unlivable. Now, one twin, Odessa, rules Aranth with her mother -- a land frozen due to always being ruled by the Night. The other, Haidee, rules Golden City with her mother -- a desert land suffering beneath the scorching heat of daylight. Neither twin knows the other still lives, or that both aunts survived. They were both kept in the dark, and now, on a quest to mend the Breaking before their respective lands become completely unhabitable, they will learn more about the truths kept from them and pay the ultimate sacrifice.
So basically, this is what the land looks like now:
...Also, as an aside, this is one of the most beautiful book maps I've ever seen. I'm in absolute awe!
The novel is broken down into four unique perspectives featuring each twin and each twin's love interest. First, we meet Tianlan (Call her Lan, but never call her a lady), who is about to be Catseye to a goddess. She is a healer, but even she can't figure out how to save Odessa. Plus, if you love the trope of "in love with my bodyguard," you are going to ship Lan and Odessa so hard. Next, we meet Arjun, who grew up poor and believing that should he ever have the chance, he must kill the goddess and her daughter for destroying their world. Instead, he can't bring himself to kill Haidee and winds up falling for her over the course of the novel. He's also an amputee and has a gun in place of an arm, so he has learned to be bad-ass in other ways and doesn't use his impairment as a crutch to do less in life. We need more characters with disabilities (that aren't cured magically) in fantasy! Next, we switch back to the frozen lands with Odessa, who is gravely ill. No one knows the extent of her illness, and her mother secretly hires Catseye after Catseye in an attempt to find a cure. It isn't until she begins her quest that she becomes stronger and really taps into her powers. Odessa is also the bookworm in the group, the one willing to sneak out of her heavily guarded home to pass away the hours at a bookstore. What reader can't relate to that!? Finally, we meet Haidee, who constantly tries to manipulate her powers to do things she's read are possibly, such as resurrecting the dead, who is a pacifist that can't bear to kill anyone or anything. What I love best about Haidee is the fact that she is so good at making things. She isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and would rather tinker around with contraptions than do the girly things her mother believes to be appropriate for her station. I am always up for a STEM girl at the forefront of a novel!
The chapters rotate in this fashion. Lan, then Arjun, then Odessa, then Haidee, then back again. There were often little cliffhangers at the end of various chapters, so you really wanted to see what happened next, but wound up turning the pages and wind up on the opposite hemisphere. There were times I was so invested in the plot and what was happening that I just wanted to continue on with that thread, be in through that person's perspective or the other in their party. But I also appreciated the back and forth and the way the book was divided. It was refreshing to have a book divided so that both characters from the same hemisphere/team/couple/what-have-you weren't put back to back for two chapters, followed by a switch, followed by a switch-back like most novels do. But I almost would have wanted two character shifts instead of four because it took so long to see a character's individual POV again. At the same time, everyone brings something different to the table, and having Lan and Arjun in addition to the twins adds the voice of the people and brings in an outside look at the sheltered world they're slowly breaking free of. So I had a love-hate relationship with the perspectives. But I'm also always like that with multi-perspective books. I hate cliffhangers and just want to immediately know what happens next, you know? It's hard to savor the anticipation! ^.~
The world-building is very unique. Some readers will love it; others will hate it. I don't think there will be a lot of middle-ground here. The concept of a world built and maintained by flourishing based on the sacrifices of goddess twins is so different and intriguing. Plus, they look like no one else -- Each twin has living, breathing, always-changing rainbow hair. In my head, their hair looks like this video I saw last week, full of so many surprising, hidden colors that change as they blend with other colors in the most amazing ways: (Also, I basically can't stop watching this video, period!)
Even the magic system is unique, and one I wish we could have explored a little more closely -- hopefully in the sequel! Every magic user has an aether-gate, and you can see how much or how little power they have if you look at the gate in their eyes, for they will either be faint, or shining bright. I really liked this unique system and wanted to see all the different types of magic in this world that people could wield! Each twin also has unique magical abilities, and I wondered if they were truly goddesses, or seen as such by their people for their powers and prophecies. Hopefully the sequel will reveal all! (Yes, sequel! I thought this was a stand-alone, but it is, in fact, a duology!)
This is also a book with a journey at its heart, and along the way, what journey isn't full of terrifying monsters? Battles moved fast and characters frequently disappeared or died, adding to the mystery and horror of the journey. There are even cannibals in this world, so our characters really have to stay on their toes! I think the monster battles will be the most divisive element of the book for readers, who will either be overwhelmed by them or think they're the coolest thing ever.
This is a fantasy that you will love or you will hate, depending on the type of reader you are. There are so many unique elements at its heart and the world is intriguing and vast -- and about to be cracked open and probed in new ways when the sequel releases. But not everyone will make it through the journey, and that's okay, too. It's kind of like how SYFY channel isn't for everyone, or is 25% of the time. How do you know if you don't try? I went into this book with one expectation and came out on the other side having visited a completely different, but still intriguing world, and I leave it to you to decide whether this one will be for you or not because it will be a polarizing read!
Check out the book's summary below!
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C O N T E N T R A T I N G S
Content Ratings: highlight between ( ) for details
Romance: PG15+ ( kissing; heavy making-out, no sex but close and wishes for things to go further )
Language: PG13 ( Some innuendo; Mild language such as damn, bitch, goddess-damned, bullshit, pissed; pervert, and using herpes as an insult one character threatened to give another during an argument, another character threatens castration. Frank talk about begetting heirs. )
Violence: PG ( Some battle death -- characters are shot in the face or "ripped from throat to groin," but nothing is visually described. A dead whale visually explodes guts and entrails over characters; the opening scene of the novel has one man punched repeatedly and grievously harmed through broken bones and other means, perhaps the most visually violent scene in the novel. )
Other: PG ( One character has reoccurring PTSD. A male character is harming females off the page, so during battle, is pushed to his death. When his ghost returns to haunt the ship, he is used as a punching bag and bloodied up repeatedly in retaliation. There is a clan of cannibals and one of the characters is captured and almost eaten -- the cannibals continuously refer to prey as "meat." )
Other: PG ( One character has reoccurring PTSD. A male character is harming females off the page, so during battle, is pushed to his death. When his ghost returns to haunt the ship, he is used as a punching bag and bloodied up repeatedly in retaliation. There is a clan of cannibals and one of the characters is captured and almost eaten -- the cannibals continuously refer to prey as "meat." )
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C O V E R D E S I G N:
This cover is so, so jaw-droppingly gorgeous. It takes my breath away every time I look at it. I see something new every time! I can't wait to see a finished copy of this beauty in person, because I always discover more new things that the computer just doesn't pick up!
I also love the typography on the title and the way the N, R, T, and W are tilting in opposing directions and mimicking the title in reverse!
I would absolutely stop and pick up this book at the store to see what it was about based on the cover alone!
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O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: THE NEVER TILTING WORLD
Author: Rin Chupeco
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen
Received: For Review
Purchase Links:
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Received: For Review
Purchase Links:
SUMMARY:
Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of FURYBORN.
Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.
While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.
But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
FOLLOW RIN CHUPECO:
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****Giveaway*****
YOU COULD WIN....
3 winners will received a finished hardcover copy of THE NEVER TILTING WORLD!
Enter now!
YOU COULD WIN....
3 winners will received a finished hardcover copy of THE NEVER TILTING WORLD!
This giveaway is International!
You must be at least 13 years old to enter or have a parent's permission!
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