Book Tour + Excerpt & Giveaway: Eden Forest by Aoife Marie Sheridan

Hi everyone, welcome to my stop on the Eden Forest book tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Don't forget to check out the giveaway at the end, and make sure you check out the rest of the tour here.

Eden Forest by Aoife Marie Sheridan
Series: Saskia Trilogy
Publication Date: September 28th 2012
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: Sarajane Anderson is your regular twenty one year old. With family, friends and a normal job. She also happens to be the only person who can save Saskia, a world parallel to earth.

When Sarajane is taken to Saskia, she could never have imagined the reality of the world she steps into, a world where magical abilities are in everyone’s possession.

She must face a father she never knew, a world that is beyond her belief. A guardian who captures her heart, and a darkness that wants to take it.
On this journey Sarajane discovers her magical abilities and realizes they come with a price. Sarajane is truly tested, as her loved ones are put at risk. The question she must ask herself is, how do you choose who lives and who dies?

My Rating: 4/5 stars

My Review: I instantly fell in love with Eden Forest and the world of Saskia. I absolutely love the idea of a parallel world next to earth. It gives the book a huge sense of fantasy but you also enjoy the world you already know. The amount of detail the author put into describing the world was truly beautiful, I felt like I was right there watching everything happen right in front of me. And if you've been following my blog, you know that I absolutely love books with kings and queens, especially when they have evil queens.

As much as I loved all the fantastic world-building in this book, I felt like the author put too much detail in describing the characters, there was a part in the book in the first few chapters where the characters clothes were described 3 times within like two pages, which got kind of repetitive. I have mixed emotions about that, like its nice to be able to picture that, but I need some action.

This book is told in 3 different points of view, and I absolutely loved it. You definitely get to know all the different characters and you do get close to them since you see what they're thinking and such. I must say that my favorite was definitely Sarajane. Especially her relationship with Tristan, I thought they were the cutest thing ever.

I loved this book, and I'm so excited to keep reading the series. Highly recommend this to all the Fantasy lovers out there.

Excerpt

I look back at the house and Dad is standing in the sitting room, looking out the window, wrapped in grief. I give a small wave and then we are out of sight. The drive is always silent as we make our way to the forest, my mind racing, praying today will be the day we find something.

Josh pulls in at a filling station. “Coffee?” he asks while taking off his seat belt.

“Yes, thanks.” His door closes and I watch as people go on with their daily lives. It looks so simple, no major complications.

When my mother was around, I never realised how great my life was. Josh climbs back in, then hands me my coffee and drops a bag onto the floor on my side.

“What did you get?” I ask as he turns the key in the ignition.

“Your favourite. Tuna sandwich with lots of mayonnaise.”

We leave the filling station and I wrap my hands around my coffee for extra warmth. We arrive at the parking lot just on the outskirts of the forest. I climb out, still clinging to my cup. We follow our usual trail. The ground is muddy from the rain. This causes my wellies to make squishing noises. Josh has nailed red

pieces of cloth onto trees to help us remember the area we need to search. I send up another silent prayer that today I will find something, anything.

This area was the last place my mother was before she disappeared six months ago. She was out that day, walking Charlie, our dog. The Garda found Charlie dead, along with my mum’s blue rain mac. That is all we have left of her.

It made no sense, her disappearance. There was no ransom.

We weren’t wealthy, just comfortable, so that was ruled out earlier on in the search. Also, my mother had no enemies. She was just a housewife.

We take opposite sides of our outlined area and comb the ground for clues. After two hours of coming up empty-handed, we return to the car. Josh gives me my sandwich and a bottle of minerals.

“Josh, do you think when someone dies they would linger around?”

He takes a drink before answering me. “Yes, I suppose, if they have unfinished business.”

I know Josh is just being kind. He really believes if you’re dead, that’s it, lights out.

“I don’t feel her here,” I say.

Josh places his hand over mine. “That’s good, Sarajane.” Pity fills his brown eyes, and it makes me angry.

I push his hand away. “She is alive.”

He places his hands on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from his grip. I know he believes she’s dead and I’m in denial. “You can’t keep this up.”

I seal my sandwich, having lost my appetite. “Keep what up?” I ask, knowing fully well what he is talking about. I knew one day I would have this conversation.

Josh turns to me. “Sarajane, please. Searching for her in the same place for the last six months is not healthy.”

My temper flares. “Sorry for taking up your Sundays.” I jump out of his car, slamming the door, and return to the forest.

Josh follows me. “Sarajane, this is not about my time.” I keep walking, splashing mud past my wellies up onto my black jeans. Josh catches up with me. “Just stop.” He stands in front of me. “I’m trying so hard to help you. You know I would do anything for you, right? I don’t care about my time. I just worry about you.”

I look away, shaking my head. Tears fill my eyes. “If I stop looking, it means I’ve given up on her.” My tears spill over. Josh pulls me into his chest and lets me cry. Afterwards, I use my glove to clean my face and nose.

“I will come with you every Sunday forever, but I just think there is nothing to find here.”

I look into his brown eyes. “I won’t stop.”

He wraps an arm around me and kisses my head. “Okay, we won’t stop, then.”

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