Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Blog Tour for Legends of Lost Causes series by Brad McLelland and Louis Sylvester + Giveaway



Today I'm excited to be hosting a spot for the LEGENDS OF LOST CAUSES SERIES by Brad McLelland & Louis Sylvester Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: THE KEY OF SKELETON PEAK (Legends of the Lost Causes #3)
Author: Brad McLelland & Louis Sylvester
Pub. Date: March 17, 2020
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 464
Dark magic meets the Old West in this third installment of the Legends of the Lost Causes, as a group of vigilante orphans go head-to-head against an outlaw sorcerer in pursuit of an ancient and powerful magical artifact!

Publishers Description:    Keech Blackwood and his fellow Lost Causes have won their share of battles, but the war against the ruthless sorcerer Reverend Rose still rages on.

This time, the Lost Causes face their most perilous trial yet: stopping Rose and his henchmen from retrieving an ancient, powerful object that would help return him to his full, frightening strength. As the vigilante orphans race to the dangerous depths of Skeleton Peak, the sight of the magical object, they’ll have to outmaneuver Rose’s most faithful—and menacing—ally: an inhuman creature spawned by darkness and shadow. But ever in pursuit of justice and vengeance for their fallen families, the Lost Causes won’t give up without a fight.

Grab the first 2 books in the series!




My Thoughts on Book One: 
 Legends of Lost Causes:

  Opening Line:  "Keech Blackwood splashed up from the cold waters of the Third Fork River and blinked at the bright autumn sun." 

Legends of Lost Causes is full-on 100% Western awesomeness.  It made me so nostalgic for the western movies that I used to watch on base as a kid.  There's gunslinging, a telegraph office, the county sheriff, even a huge standoff ending.  There is so much to love about this book and I'll get into the really fun, exciting parts in just a bit cause this ain't no ordinary western.   

The first book begins in the Missouri Hills in 1844.  Keech and his brother Sam are playing down by the river when a stranger named Bad Whisky shows up looking for their Pa.  Not familiar with the shady looking man, they send him off in the wrong direction and hightail back to Carson's Home for Lost Causes, the orphanage they live at with their three siblings, Granny Nell and Pa Abner.  Pa seems disturbed by the news of the man coming around asking for him and sends the boys on an urgent mission to the telegraph office in Big Timber with a message in a sealed envelope that he wants sent to St. Genevieve, Mississippi.  Along the way, the boys become curious about what the telegram says and open the letter finding a coded message, a cipher of sorts that appears to make references to biblical passages.  

In Big Timber, the boys find the telegraph office is under attack and the telegraph machine has been destroyed.  Unable to send their message, they head home.  Once there, they learn that Bad Whiskey has returned and has brought members of his gang with him.  Concerned for their Pa's safety, Keech and Sam hide where they overhear parts of Pa and Whisky's conversation.  Pa Abner insists he doesn't have the Char Stone and Keech hears Whiskey say something about Pa being an Enforcer, and that someone named Reverend Rose is looking for this stone.  Because Pa is unable to give him what he wants, Bad Whiskey sets Keech's home on fire, killing everyone inside and leaving Keech alone.  

In the second part of the story, Sheriff Turner arrives to investigate.  Initially, they plan to go after Bad Whiskey together, but then four children show up who are hunting the same killers.  When disagreements arise between the children and Sheriff, Keech takes off with the four kids instead.  Out on the road, the children begin to piece together that they share a unique connection, that all of their fathers took on new identities and names in order to hide the Char stone from Reverend Rose.  Keech also receives some valuable information about his father and his heritage.    

Okay, now for the things that I loved about this story and there were so many.  Everything from the setting to characters to the none stop action.  There's the brotherhood that these boys share, the way that they have a code and honor about them.  How they bonded over their need for revenge and to bring Whiskey to justice.   I loved how Pa Abner taught his children rules for survival in the wilderness, and how Keech was able to draw from those lessons later as he was hunting after Whiskey.  But as I said before, this isn't your ordinary western, this western has zombies.  ZOMBIES!  I can't state enough how cool that is in a western.  Whiskey even controls these zombie-like thralls who are dead former outlaws forced to do Whiskey and Reverend Rose's bidding.  Did I mention that this is action-packed?  Their adventure takes them through the mountains, into the mouth of a cave, through the forests, while avoiding a quicksand trap and then ends in a creepy boneyard filled with rotting corpses and a huge epic final showdown ensues.  And what a thrilling showdown it is.  I mean seriously this is such an exciting adventure.  I really enjoyed reading Legends of Lost Causes and am so looking forward to continuing with The Fang of Bonefire Crossing.  I need to know more about the elusive Reverend Rose and what his plans are for the Char Stone.    A huge thank you to the Henry Holt & Company for the trilogy and I'll certainly be posting my review of the sequel soon.  


About Brad:

Born and raised in Arkansas, Brad McLelland spent several years working as a crime journalist in the South before earning his MFA in creative writing from Oklahoma State University. A part-time drummer and singer, Brad lives in Oklahoma with his wife, stepdaughter, a mini-Aussie who gives hugs, and a chubby cat who begs for ham.










About Louis:

Louis Sylvester is a professor at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. He teaches courses on Creative Writing, Research Writing, Introduction to Film, Screenwriting, and The Ethics of Art and Censorship.

Together with his wife, he enjoys playing tabletop games from his collection of over 1,000 board and card games.

His two dogs are named Cake and Muse. They are the best.

His writing partner is the talented author Brad McLelland. Their first novel is titled LEGENDS OF THE LOST CAUSES.  Macmillan Website | Goodreads


Giveaway Details:
Three lucky winners will receive finished copies 
of the LEGENDS OF LOST CAUSES SERIES, US Only.


Visit all the tour stops:

Week One:
3/16/2020
Excerpt/Spotlight
3/16/2020
Excerpt/Spotlight
3/17/2020
Review
3/17/2020
Excerpt/Spotlight
3/18/2020
Review
3/18/2020
Review
3/19/2020
Review
3/19/2020
Review
3/20/2020
Review
3/20/2020
Review

Week Two:
3/23/2020
Review
3/23/2020
Review
3/24/2020
Review
3/24/2020
Excerpt/Spotlight
3/25/2020
Review
3/25/2020
Excerpt/Spotlight
3/26/2020
Review
3/26/2020
Review
3/27/2020
Review
3/27/2020
Excerpt/Spotlight

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