The Forgotten Ones Blog Tour and Giveaway!!

 Title: The Forgotten Ones (The Danaan Trilogy #1)

Author: Laura Howard

Release date: May 15, 2013

Age Group: New Adult

Genre: Paranormal

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more.

When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.

Book Links

Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

My Review

Simply between the title, cover and genre, I knew this book was going to be right up my alley! The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard is a mysterious paranormal/fantasy romance that has one of the more encaptivating covers I've seen to date. I really enjoyed the different spin on the fantastical characters, being based more in Irish folklore than the typical elves and fairies we normal encounter in most epic fantasies.

We first meet Allison O'Malley, 100% focused on her plan. After being taken care of by her grandparents her whole life, she is determined to find not only her own independence but be able to also take care of her severely schizophrenic mother. Although Allison does her best to keep to herself, "avoiding distractions," her cousin pushes her into spending time with her and her group of friends, including Allison's long time crush Ethan. And although Ethan has had more than his fair share of girls interested in him, he continues with little to no avail to try to peruse Al. Unexpectedly, Allison's father, a man she has never met and her family never talks about, comes back into her life offering answers to questions she has had her whole life, just not the type of answers she ever expected. At the promise to "heal" her mother, Allison gets herself (and Ethan) entangled in a whole new world of the Tuatha de Danaan.

All in all I thought this was a well written book. I definitely wouldn't classify this in the new adult genre, it would be more young adult, but perhaps the other books in the series are a little more gritty. I also would think that a little more romantic interaction between Allison and Ethan would make the reader more emotionally involved when the two are put in despair. Allison seemed very distant towards him, standing him up for dates and blowing him off, they really only had a couple flirting conversations, so as the reader it is hard to be drawn to him as the love interest. I really enjoyed the parts when Allison went into the fantasy realm. Howard did an excellent job of describing the scenes without going over board with pages and pages of description (that, let's be honest, most of us just skip reading anyway). I could definitely see it as a movie! My only other critique would also be in the last half of the book we are inundated with a lot of characters all with bazaar names. It was starting to get a little hard to follow and keep track of who was who exactly. I liked that she did provide a pronunciation guide, but I didn't see it until I was done with the book, so it didn't really help me. We almost need a picture of a big family tree to keep track of who is all related and connected to who. In my opinion, the ending was as close to perfect as you can get with a series. It left with a lot more story to be told, but the cliffhanger wasn't so severe that you felt like she just stopped writing mid-sentence only to pick up in the next book. She gave good resolution to this specific book but I think anyone who reads this will be very curious as to what happens next!

Giveaway!!

(1) eBook copies of The Forgotten Ones – mobi format – International
(1) $25 Amazon Gift Card – open to countries able to accept Amazon Gift Cards
(2) Swag Pack: includes keychain, bookmark, and postcard

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her  obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel.

Social Media links:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/laurahoward78               

Facebook: www.facebook.com/laurahoward78

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6653788.Laura_Howard

To see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpt click here!