Monday, June 24, 2024

BLOG TOUR for SPELLBINDERS: BREAK THE GAME by Andrew Auseon with Review and Giveaway

I'm super excited to be hosting a spot on the SPELLBINDERS: BREAK THE GAME by Andrew Auseon Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

                                                                  About The Book:

Title: SPELLBINDERS: BREAK THE GAME
Author: Andrew Auseon
Pub. Date: June 18, 2024
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Formats:  Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 400
Find it:  Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/SPELLBINDERS-BREAK-THE-GAME 

It takes more than magic to make a hero, in the next installment of this hilarious and epic illustrated series. One not-so-chosen champion and his mystical friends must cross the multiverse and harness a dangerous power to defeat a mysterious new enemy.

"My favorite new fantasy series.”—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Last Kids on Earth series


After leveling up from basement roleplaying games to saving an entire magical realm, 12-year-old Ben isn’t happy returning to his ordinary life of homework and chores. So, when his very un-magical LARP session is crashed by monstrous frog-men from another dimension, he can't wait to get back into hero mode.

Someone is after all the Spellbinder’s books, which grant the users — including Ben — epic reality-shifting powers. Ben, Niara, Merv, Drake, and their new friend Agnes must embark on an epic quest to save the books and their owners. But while hopping across different realms may be Ben’s idea of a totally awesome spring break, it’s tough to be an ordinary kid among extraordinary heroes. Especially when fighting for the fate of the universe seems to consist mostly of finding fun new ways to get them all killed, from zombie rats to pool noodle squids, to a mysterious Big Bad controlling everything from behind the scenes. How do you win the game when someone else is rolling the dice?

                                            Reviews:

"The metafictive story structure counters predictability with a self-awareness that caters to imaginative readers....Ideal for fantasy nerds, gamers, and writers." —Kirkus Reviews



 Book Trailer:


My Review of Spellbinders: Break The Game:

Spellbinders is like visiting Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, a place full of wonder and excitement mixed with a Dungeons and Dragons quest.  You can never predict which realm the characters will venture to next
be it the House of Reflection, The Snow Globe, The Sea of Whispers, Empire of Glitz or my personal favorite The fields of Frolic.  Or the monster's they'll face, which are just as unpredictable, from Doom rats, Squidoculus or Razor Jaw.  Will they survive? It's anyone's guess. 

The book offers a bit of everything, including magic, humorous battle scenes straight out of the Streets of Struggle videogame, where they employ a butt code to defeat a shark.  There are pop culture references, which I admit were a little hard for me to follow, but sounded amusing like the Worlds of Nowhere PJ's, an extremely evil Mini Boss and even excerpts from the Path of Champion Book, which Ben uses as his manual on how to become a great hero. 

There's some weirdness like using "butternut squash" and "cargo pants" in place of curse words but it's all meant to be silly and entertaining, which it really is.  I do enjoy how the book encourages the reader to visualize the various realms, how the author presents the character cards of each person, with their class, faction, alignment, abilities and special moves.  How there's breakout boxes of additional text providing factoids about what a manifest level 1 means, or what a Pus Abomination is.  And most of all I loved the illustrations, of all the main characters, some of the realms and monsters.  Although the artwork in my copy wasn't the final version or wasn't all complete yet, the glimpses I saw were gorgeous.

Ben makes for a wonderful main character; he's always wanted to be a great warrior and go on dangerous quests to fight forces of evil, but he doesn't feel like he has as much experience as the other members of his party.  His self-doubt causes him to take great risks.  And he's really on this journey to prove to his friends that he is strong enough to wield the magic of the Spellbinder books, despite the dangers.  There are two non-binary characters including Merv, Ben's best friend who can shapeshift.  As well as Niara, Agnes and Drake, who 100% reminds me of Flynn Rider from Tangled.  At 400 pages it's a tad on the long side, but well worth the read for the worldbuilding, stunning illustrations, twists, and zany, humorous story.   I'm looking forward to seeing where this adventure takes Ben next.   

** A huge thank you to the author, publisher and Rockstar for the E-ARC.**


 About Andrew Auseon:


Andrew Auseon is the author of several books for children and young adults, and he is the writer of numerous bestselling and award-winning video games. A transplant from the Midwest, he lives in Washington, D.C. with his family and two very naughty cats. He loves breakfast cereal, the sound of the ocean, and the feeling of a brand-new book in his hands.

Website | Book Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a signed finished copy of SPELLBINDERS: BREAK THE GAME & a swag pack. US Only.

Ends July 16th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/17/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt/IG Post

6/18/2024

MoonShineArtSpot

Review or Excerpt

6/19/2024

onemused

IG Post

6/20/2024

@evergirl200

IG Review

6/21/2024

jlreadstoperpetuity

IG Review/TikTok Post

6/22/2024

@thepagelady

IG Review

Week Two:

6/23/2024

@enthuse_reader

IG Review/TikTok Post

6/24/2024

Log Cabin Library

Review

6/25/2024

Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's

Review/IG Post

6/26/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

6/27/2024

Edith's Little Free Library

IG Review/TikTok Post

6/28/2024

@blueeez_away

IG Review

6/29/2024

avainbookland

IG Review




I'm also including this as a part of Middle Grade Monday's hosted by Greg Pattridge at his blog, I hope you'll check it out 
HERE   

11 comments:

  1. What a fun and engaging fantasy. I know quite a few kids who would think the same. The plot and the main character sound perfect.Thanks for featuring the book and tour stop on this week's MMGM!

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  2. Sounds like a fun series. I love the cover.

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  3. I agree with Rebecca that this sounds like a really fun series. And the world building sounds really cool.

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  4. I'm sure kids will eat this up. Sounds very well done! Carol Baldwin

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  5. this looks like a boatload of fun! I love book-quests. Looking forward to reading it for the world-building, too.

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  6. I've seen a lot of these Rockstar Blog Tours, and find it amusing that they never contact me. I must have said "no" one time! Thanks for reviewing, and for hosting the giveaway!

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    1. Every month they have a signup sheet on their website with MG, YA etc. August is The House on Yeet Street. Signing up doesn't guarantee a spot, I've been turned down a few times myself. I just try to help out the MG community when I can.

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    2. Sometimes all I have time for is an Excerpt. I find more and more people are posting from Instagram and TikTok. I'm hoping MG blogs will hang around, I love reading other people's reviews.

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  7. A cross between Willy Wonka and Dungeons and Dragons sounds like great fun, and sure to be popular, but 400 pages seems awfully long!! I'm impressed you found it worth the read, must be very entertaining :)
    Shame you couldn't see the illustrations properly. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Not so much a crossover but has the excitement of venturing into something totally new.

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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