Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Badlands ~ ~ ~ Blog Tour, Bonus Review, & Giveaway!


BADLANDS
Sawbones, Book 3
by
MELISSA LENHARDT
!!NEW RELEASE!!

  Genre: Historical / Western / Action-Adventure / Romance
Publisher: Redhook
Date of Publication: June 27, 2017
Number of Pages: 416

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!



Outlander meets post-Civil War unrest in the conclusion to Melissa Lenhardt's fast-paced historical series.
Laura's worst fears have been realized: Kindle has been taken into custody and she is once again on the run. The noose awaits her in New York, but Laura is realizing that there are some things worse than death. Finally running out of places to hide, it may be time for Dr. Catherine Bennett to face her past.

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Melissa Lenhardt is the author the Jack McBride mystery series, as well as the Laura Elliston historical fiction series. Her debut mystery, STILLWATER, was a finalist for the 2014 Whidbey Writers’ MFA Alumni Emerging Writers Contest, and SAWBONES, her historical fiction debut, was hailed as a "thoroughly original, smart and satisfying hybrid, perhaps a new subgenre: the feminist Western" by Lone Star Literary Life. A lifelong Texan, she lives in the Dallas area with her husband and two sons.




HALL WAYS REVIEW 
BLOOD OATH, Book 2 in the Sawbones Series

This series makes me want to start a book club or fan club or SOMETHING where I can just sit around and talk about the stories -- and I haven't even read book three (yet!). I am thoroughly hooked. 

Melissa Lenhardt is a master at manipulating her readers. We're high! We're low! We're yes, and we're oh-hell-no! (Thank you, Train/Save Me San Francisco, for that inspiration.) As with book one of the series, Sawbones, Blood Oath is brutal in its depiction of the mentality of life on the frontier. Lenhardt weaves-in actual people and events from the 1800s to bring an extra level of realism, and both the truths and the fiction ain't pretty. Sensitive reader: consider yourself warned. 

At the very heart of the story is our main character, the woman who goes by Catherine or Laura or Charlotte or Sophia, depending on the situation. Though her name changes often, her strength and fortitude really stay consistent. No matter how mentally or physically beaten, bruised, and abused, she perseveres.  Less consistent is her love interest, William Kindle. He is also beaten, bruised, and abused, and he shows great strength and perseverance, but in Blood Oath, for me, he came dangerously close to losing his luster a few times. There is a huge cast of characters, old and new, and they are richly crafted to leave lasting impressions. From Native Americans to Quakers, priests to Pinkertons, readers are given insight into a variety of mindsets and attitudes towards women, as women were beginning their fight for rights and equality.

The action is non-stop, and even as Laura and Kindle are waging battles at every turn, it is Laura’s battle with herself that is sometimes the most damaging. She can’t escape or move on from the horrible memories of abuse and she can’t reconcile what she’s become – a killer – to the Hippocratic Oath she took. The reader must never relax while reading Blood Oath. All I will say about that is this: when you least expect it, expect it.

The book is well-written and cleanly edited. Lenhardt has a way with words and is deliberate in her word choices to convey specific impressions of character and place.  (Admittedly, there were a few words I had to look-up!) The book isn’t meant to stand alone, and I wouldn’t recommend trying it that way. The only way to truly make the journey with Laura is if you start it with her. Block out a few days, then read Sawbones and make sure you have Blood Oath and Badlands at the ready. Then block out another day or two to recover – this series will wear you out in the best possible way. 

I won a BEAUTIFUL signed copy of this book in a giveaway, so thank you to the author for my copy! And thanks to Lone Star Book Blog Tours for allowing me to post my bonus review on the tour in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.  


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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!
 Three Winners 
1stBadlands paperback;       2ndBadlands eBook; 
3rdBadlands audio download via Downpour
June 27-July 6, 2017
(U.S. Only)

CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
6/27
Notable Quotable 1
6/27
Notable Quotable 2
6/28
Review: Blood Oath
6/28
Review: Badlands
6/29
Review: Blood Oath
6/29
Review: Badlands
6/30
Review: Blood Oath
6/30
Review: Badlands
7/1
Review: Blood Oath
7/1
Review: Badlands
7/2
Badlands Excerpt 1
7/3
Bonus Review
7/4
Bonus Review
7/5
Badlands Excerpt 2
7/6
Badlands Excerpt 3

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CLICK FOR HALL WAYS PRINT REVIEW
CLICK FOR HALL WAY AUDIO BOOK REVIEW


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