AUTHOR GUEST POST - LONDON CASEY, THE BOYS OF DOWNCRASH

Writing a series isn’t quite like writing just a book.  And when you throw in connecting characters, story lines, and a band… it’s like creating everything.  At the end of it though, it’s quite amazing to see what’s been created. 

When I first started writing The Boys of DownCrash, I envisioned the series as something fast, even novella-like.  But the second I finished the first couple chapters and really got to meet the guys in the band (Tripp, Tatum, and Logan), I knew this wasn’t going to be short.  Or fast.  Or even easy to write.

These guys were cute, sexy, hot, and complicated.  They were together as one of the most popular bands going but individually they were so very different.  And maybe that’s what makes the series so fun… to write and read.  I didn’t want to have the same stories appearing in each book and I didn’t want the guys in the band to be the same either. 

JOURNEY OF PROMISE BY VICKIE HALL - BLOG TOUR AND GIVEAWAY

Tour Schedule

 

Journey of Promise When converts Richard and Leah Kenyon leave Wales and heed the call to Zion, they are unprepared for the toll exacted by the journey. To face the incredible odds mounted against them they call upon the Lord's tender mercies to see them through and strengthen their love for one another. Their story will remind you where to turn during your trials. 

ROCK & ROMANCE: INTERVIEW WITH KAROLYN JAMES ABOUT THE BROTHERS OF ROCK SERIES

  

Hello and welcome, Karolyn. It is a  great pleasure to have you as my guest at FLY HIGH!

I love rock music, I love romance and I love reading!  So I was curious to know more about your Brothers of Rock series of books.  Can you tell us more about the project? 

Thanks SO MUCh for having me! J

Brothers of Rock is a romance series following the rock band, Chasing Cross.  Each band memeber gets their own book and the books focus on the band off the stage.  Together, on stage, they’re ‘brothers’ in the sense of music and show.  But off stage they are five different men.  The series doesn’t just get into romance, it also tackles several other issues... addiction, recovery, loss, abuse, etc.  It’s jam packed with drama and love!

In Book 1, All Access, Jess meets Johnnie. She doesn’t recognize him as the famous lead singer of a hugely successful band. Between them is love at first sight. Do you believe in that kind of special “click” mysteriously connecting two people on their first meeting?

Why Reading Classic Literature May Give Advantages in Your Education

(by guest blogger Pam Johnson)

Reading classic literature has never really been your idea of fun. However, you have started to realize that doing so might have some serious advantages for your career. Instead of pushing these novels to the wayside, start to consider the possibilities that they can offer to you.

Understanding Allusions

Whether it is in modern literature, history or class in general, allusions are often made to works of classic literature. Basically, an allusion is a reference to something else in its most simple form. However, if you do not read these classic works of literature, then you are not going to understand the allusions. This lack of understanding might cause you to fall behind in the coursework or to not fully understand what it is that the professor is trying to explain.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - ANNE EASTER SMITH, ROYAL MISTRESS BLOG TOUR - IF HISTORY WERE TAUGHT IN THE FORM OF STORIES

My guest today is Anne Easter Smith.  A native of England, Anne spent some of her childhood in Germany and Egypt and the rest at boarding school. She came to the US in the late ‘60s for two years and is still here, living in Newburyport, MA with her husband, Scott. Anne is the author of five novels about the York family in the Wars of the Roses, all published by Touchstone at Simon & Schuster. She has been a secretary, a PBS auction coordinator, the features editor at a daily newspaper, a folksinger and the administrator at a music school. When she is not writing, Anne is usually to be found either acting or directing in community theater productions, beach-walking, practicing yoga, or watching “Mad Men.” Her latest novel, Royal Mistress has just been published and she's here today to share her passion for history, the Ricardian cause and writing with us. Join me and welcome Anne at FLY HIGH! 

Welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere, Anne. It’s a pleasure and an honour to have you as my very special guest on FLY HIGH!

This is my first question. I know you love quoting Rudyard Kipling with his “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten." Does that mean we can learn the truth about our past and roots reading historical novels more than or as well as researching on documents?

I wouldn’t say that! Of course you will gain far more by reading the chronicles, letters and histories of the period. But what historical fiction does is bring those people to life and perhaps give you an appetite for doing more research on your own. However, just like watching a bio-pic on TV -- you shouldn’t believe everything you see. I try very hard never to have a person in the wrong place at the wong time--I will do my best to see if there is any evidence that someone was or was not at a certain castle when I want them to be, but I will not mess with history. If I cannot find anything that says Cecily Neville never met Joan of Arc, but the research tells me these two women were in the same building at the same time (one in the royal apartments and the other in the dungeon) then I feel it’s plausible that they did meet. As a reader of Historical Fiction, I think you have to learn to recognize a writer who respects the history rather than one who, with one obvious anachronism, can have me throwing a book across a room! If you question something in an historical novel, then go and seek out the truth in the non-fiction shelves. Fiction is fiction after all!

BOOK BLAST - THE TALE OF MALLY BIDDLE BY M.L. LE GETTE + $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY

The Tale of Mally Biddle by M.L. LeGette 

When Mally Biddle agreed to spy upon the King of Lenzar and his overbearing knights she knew she was heading into danger. She didn't know she'd find a family unlike any other. Posing as a servant in Bosc Castle, Mally serves tea and tends fires for the most dangerous men in the kingdom. Her goal is to learn the truth of what happened sixteen years ago, when the infant princess met her death ... a death that is surrounded by more questions than answers. Along her search for the truth, Mally meets the energized Lita Stump, the strict and matriarchal Meriyal Boyd, and the opinionated Archibald Diggleby. Then of course there are the knights: Leon Gibbs who is slicker than a greased hog, Adrian Bayard, hot tempered and violent, and the worst of the lot: Sir Illius Molick, Captain of the Knights. And then there is Maud, a mysterious woman who just might know everything...

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ANITA B. - ROBERTO FAENZA DIRECTS ROBERT SHEEHAN AND ELINE POWELL

Robert Sheehan  and Eline Powell as Eli and Anita

Roberto Faenza has started shooting his new film, Anita B.,  in Bolzano, Italy, with an international cast: Robert Sheehan, Eline Powell, Antonio Cupo, Nico Mirallegro are among the young protagonists. The movie is based on a novel by Edith Bruck (read about her HERE), titled Quanta stella c'è nel cielo, which,  for what I know, hasn't been translated into English so far. 

The book

Edith Bruck won the Premio Viareggio Narrativa 2009 for  «Quanta stella c'è nel cielo». There's no grammar mistake in the title. It was just meant to sound "How much star is there in the sky" in the quoted line of Sàndor Petöfi's ballad.  
Anita (Eline Powell) , who's  only 16,  has just the great Hungarian poet's  lines to warm her heart and little else sweet left in her mind.  She keeps so many ripping memories inside herself, memories nobody wants to listen to.  She survived the concentration camp, is beautiful and sensitive, life trials have tattoed her soul forever. She's running away from a Hungarian orphanage to join her aunt, Monika. 

WORKING IT OUT BY RACHAEL ANDERSON - COVER REVEAL & $25 AMAZON CARD GIVEAWAY

Author Rachael Renee Anderson

Rachael Anderson is the author of four books: Divinely Designed, Luck of the Draw, Minor Adjustments, and The Reluctant Bachelorette. She's the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

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Working It Out

A chance encounter . . . 

Grace Warren's life is safe and predictable—exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going

How to Read Effectively and Efficiently - Tips for young readers by Jason Harter

Reading is both fun and enjoyable when you are good at it. If you have trouble grasping written words, then chances are you do not enjoy it. One of the best ways to become a good reader is to find things that you actually want to read. The more you read than the better you will get. Use the following tips to help you become to most effective and efficient reader possible.

1) Read for Fun

One of the best ways to become better at reading is by practicing it. Pick of trashy books and fun magazines that pique your interest. You will be reading for pleasure, and it will teach you to become a better reader. You do not have to read things that are hard just to better understand wordy complicated texts. It will get easier with time, but only if you are willing to try and make reading fun first.

Women and Difficult choices - Blog Tour - David's Song by A.R. Talley: Guest post + giveaway

  

For those who have not read  book yet, in David's Song, the protagonist, Annie has to make a choice between her husband Jeremy and their fifteen years of marriage and David Andrews, a lost love from years before.  When I wrote David'sSong, I had been contemplating the 'what ifs' of different choices earlier in my life, and ultimately decided that I was happy with the course my life had taken.  But the idea still intrigued me and I wondered what another woman might choose if given the chance to revisit that 'First love.'

BOOK BLAST - THE NEWSTEAD PROJECT BY MELANIE SCHULTZ + GIVEAWAY OF A $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD OR PAYPAL CASH

The Newstead Project

The giant.

Joel Cranston shouldn’t exist. He just doesn’t know that yet. He’s lived a pretty normal life for the last sixteen years. If you consider being almost seven feet tall and good at about every sport you’ve ever played normal. Normal ends the day Newstead shows up with an invitation to come to their school.

The school.

Newstead is a private high school in Central Vermont by the Green Mountains. It’s a great place to hide a few hundred people who shouldn’t exist while you train them to become tomorrow’s rulers, tomorrow’s dictators, tomorrow’s gods.

The unexpected.

Rachel Newell thinks she’s just passing through. She never stays any place more than four months and with Newstead so close to Weston, she has even more reason to make this her shortest stop ever. The last thing she expects is to have a reason to stay. Together Rachel and Joel uncover the truth behind what is the newstead project.

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SPRING FLING GIVEAWAY HOP - LET'S READ THE CLASSICS

Happy Spring Time, dear readers. Do you like giveaway hops? Lots of blogs participating and a great deal of chances to win great prizes. I am a reader not a writer hosts this May giveaway. The deadline to enter all the contests in the hop is May 7th.

What can you win here at FLY HIGH? One of the classics in these pages at the Boodepository.com, one of your choice. Surf through the pages, choose your title and take your chances to win in the rafflecopter form below. Mind you, the classics you can choose among are only those shown in the pages linked HERE. 

1 paperback for 1 winner is my prize, open worldwide, and... Good luck, everyone!  

CLICK, CHOOSE YOUR PRIZE, THEN COME BACK AND FILL IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW. FINALLY, DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT ALL THE BLOGS IN THE LIST BELOW! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILL SHAKESPEARE - GIVEAWAY WINNER

Hello everyone! I'm here again just to post the name of the winner of my Happy Birthday, Will Shakespeare Giveaway.

My congratulations to Elizabeth L.!!! 

She wins the book of her choice from the list I proposed: Richard Paul Roe's The Shakespeare Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard's Unknown Travels (Paperback).

Thanks to all the readers who asked to be entered in the giveaway and left their comments. There will be other book giveaway contests soon here at FLY HIGH. Just stay tuned!

ON ROBIN HOOD, HISTORICAL ACCURACY & BOOKISH MEDIEVALISTS

Those of you who have been following  my activity online for a while, are well acquainted with the fact that I am a teacher, that I love my job, that I also run a blog for my students and what I usually do is teaching English as a foreign language or English Literature to Italian students.  What I want  to share and discuss with you today is something which happened to me on LearnOnLine, after posting a lesson  with video clips taken from BBC Robin Hood, addressed  to  a group of 15-year-old students to whom I teach grammar and language, as well as to a second group of 16-year-old students to whom I teach grammar and language but also "pills" of literature (from the origins to the Elizabethan Age). 

It was not the first time I used those materials, as I usually don't teach my younger students literature or history in a very academic way. My approach is rather  focused on what teenagers may like more than on the accuracy of information (which I respect as much as I can). I may be wrong, but this is what I generally do. They are not really interested in sound devices or rethoric figures at their age, they hate being forced to memorize facts and dates which they consider useless. They do like stories, legends, heroes and myths. They also like when the lesson is not merely listening to the teacher speaking or reading in front of them. That is why I use videos and music, multimedia tasks and sources quite often in my lessons.

That happened also in my lessons about the medieval popular ballads. I don't want to bore you, but I'd like you to understand before I ask you to join me in the discussion.

BOOK BLITZ TOUR - SOUL TAKER BY KAREN MICHELLE NUTT

The book

No soul is safe…

A vampire from the Grim Sith sept is sucking the souls out of young women from the Boston area, but this sinister crime is far worse than a vampire seeking substance. He’s selling the souls to the highest bidder and it seems business is booming.

A vampire, a werewolf and a Necromancer, are a most unlikely team, but Garran, Harrison and Isabella plan on putting a kink in the dubbed Soul Taker’s plans. It’s personal now. One of their friends has fallen victim to the Soul Taker’s charms, but to stop him from hurting anyone else, their efforts may involve raising the dead.

The Importance of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic in Early Life and Beyond

(by guest blogger Pam Johnson) Educational psychologists have stressed the importance of reading, writing and arithmetic for decades. When teachers instill in their students reading, writing and arithmetic skills early on, children demonstrate higher academic achievement and even higher cognitive ability scores years later.

What is Reading?

Reading is often colloquially defined as the process of assimilating new written information. In a broader sense, however, reading is the cognitive skill that involves making sense of symbols and deriving meaning from those symbols. Both reading and writing involve sharing and disseminating information.

Structure of Language

Reading and writing depend on the early acquisition of certain skills. To show high reading proficiency and comprehension, a working knowledge of syntax, diction and semantics is necessary to cultivate early in the schooling process.

PERIOD DRAMA VS PERIOD DRAMA: DA VINCI'S DEMONS - THE VILLAGE

Tom Riley as Leonardo da Vinci

Two new costume series I'm watching, The Village (BBC1) and  Da Vinci's Demons (Fox, Italian Sky TV) epitomize  the difference between the old traditional way to represent history in fiction and the new tendency to spectacularise it  for modern audiences to enjoy it more. I must be old (I am. Enough, at least) or ancient  (Gosh! I really hope I am  not) because I like it much more when it is accurate and traditional. Not that I despise innovation and originality but I tend not to hit it off with HBO's  and especially Starz's  style in producing costume drama. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILL SHAKESPEARE! GREAT BOOK GIVEAWAY

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

The actual date of Shakespeare's birth is not known, but, traditionally, April 23, St George's Day, has been Shakespeare's accepted birthday, and a house on Henley Street in Stratford, owned by William's father, John, is accepted as Shakespeare's birth place. However, the reality is that no one really knows when the great dramatist was born. According to The Book of Common Prayer, it was required that a child be baptized on the nearest Sunday or holy day following the birth, unless the parents had a legitimate excuse. As Dennis Kay proposes in his book Shakespeare:

BOOK BLAST - DAVID'S SONG BY A.R.TALLEY + GIVEAWAY OF $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD OR PAYPAL CASH

Tour Schedule

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - MOONLIT BY JADIE JONES + WIN A $50 GIFT CARD

 

Moonlit Eighteen-year-old Tanzy Hightower knows horses, has grown up with them on Wildwood Farm. She also knows not to venture beyond the trees that line the pasture. Things happen out there that can’t be explained. Or undone. Worse, no one but she and the horses can see what lurks in the shadows of the woods. When a moonlit ride turns into a terrifying chase, Tanzy is left to question everything, from the freak accident that killed her father to the very blood in her veins. Broken and confused, she turns to Lucas, a scarred, beautiful stranger, and to Vanessa, a charming new friend who has everything Tanzy doesn’t. But why do they seem to know more about her than she knows herself?

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WiDo Publishing * Barnes & Noble

 Praise

"Virginia's trees look like they're burning. Most of them blaze crimson or gold, but some still have a chokehold on their green. I wish they'd give it up already. Leaves are more beautiful when they're dying."

UPCOMING COSTUME MOVIES AND INTRIGUING NEW PROJECTS: ROMEO AND JULIET, SUMMER IN FEBRUARY AND THE INFERNAL DEVICES

I won't miss these upcoming movies  and  I really hope they will be good. They are all set in the past and this is something I've always been charmed by. Good stories set in the past... period movies! What's in this post? A new Romeo and Juliet whose set was near my home but  I unfortunately missed, Summer in February starring Dan Stevens and Dominic Cooper,  as well as a fantasy YA saga set in the Victorian Age - Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices - soon to be adapted for the silver screen . 

SHEILA HANCOCK, A JOURNEY TO THE BRONTES' COUNTRY AND INTO HERSELF

Perspectives: The Brilliant Brontes was on ITV  at the end of March and it is still available in streaming on their iPlayer. 

What was really touching while watching it was how deeply the commenter, actor Sheila Hancock,  was connected both with the Brontes and with their works. 

Watch the clip I've added for you below to get an idea. You can feel how moved she is, her voice broken more than once and eyes filled with tears . It is as if she is undertaking an honest journey into herself while visiting the places where the Bronte sisters lived, wrote, dreamt and died.

Impossible not to be  moved by the tragic series of deaths their official biographies are charachterized by, but following Sheila Hancock in her gripping journey to Yorkshire and into herself has been much more than that.

She starts the documentary remembering how much in love she was with Laurence Olivier’s Heathcliff as a young girl and how she felt betrayed when later on she re- read the book Emily Bronte had written. 

GREENWOOD TREE BY B. LLOYD - BOOK COVER REVEALED

The book

1783 – and Lichfield society is enthralled by the arrival of dashing ex-officer Orville; he charms his way into the salons, grand houses and even a great inheritance from extrovert Sir Morton. 

1927 – and detective writer Julia Warren returns to her home in Lichfield to work on her next novel. Initially she hopes to find plot material from the past and set it in the present. Aunt Isobel, while making preparations for the annual midsummer ball, has managed to root out an old journal from 1783 which might prove a source of inspiration. Once Julia starts reading her ancestor’s journal she becomes absorbed in solving the mystery surrounding officer Orville. Detective fever takes over, and she moves from reality to legend as events from the past seem set to re-enact themselves in the present, and she finds herself unravelling more than just the one mystery. Who was Orville? Who was the agent, Oddman, set to spy on him? And who is helpful Mr Grenall ? 

Pagan gods don’t walk away just because you stop looking at them. The Gronny Patch sleeps. Perhaps it dreams. Or perhaps not …

A complex, multi-layered story unlike any other, full of whimsy, horror, and mystery, shifting between the centuries and from source to source, until all the threads are finally drawn together by the imperturbable Miss Warren.

The author: B. Lloyd

A Bustle attached to a keyboard, occasionally to be seen floating on a canal ...

After studying Early Music in Italy followed by a brief career in concert performance, the Bustle exchanged vocal parts for less vocal arts i.e. a Diploma from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. 

BOOK BLITZ TOUR - NIGHT STARS AND MOURNING DOVES BY MARGO HOONSTRA

The Book

Elyse Monroe may be her sister's maid of honor, but that doesn't mean she has to follow the bride's example and fall in love. Battle-scarred and weary from previous relationships, she has no desire to take a chance on another--no matter how many hints her little sister drops about the best man.

Devastating life events have taken a toll on Eric Matthews. After losing his wife and unborn daughter, he's come home to heal. Serving as best man at his kid brother's wedding is the only relationship he cares to contemplate--no matter how attractive the maid of honor.

Thrown together again and again by wedding duties, Elyse and Eric reluctantly agree to explore a possible relationship--only to have their casual date turn into a glorious night of passion. Can two hearts, convinced a happily ever after will never happen, recognize love when it finds them?

Read an excerpt

“Remodeling your home to accommodate Jay and me. Isn’t that a little extreme?”

Lips pursed, he shook his head. “Your mother and I have talked about adding on for years. Anyway, whatever we put into this house should increase its value eventually.” Setting aside the paper once and for all, his expression mellowed as he regarded his son. “Helping you out is helping us out.”

“It’s nice to hear you say that. And I want you to know I do appreciate what you’re doing for us. Especially Jay.”

BOOK BLAST - JANUARY BLACK BY WENDY S. RUSSO + GIVEAWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD

January Black

Sixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn has never fit in on The Hill, an ordered place seriously lacking a sense of humor. After his school’s headmaster expels him for a small act of mischief, Matty’s future looks grim until King Hadrian comes to his rescue with a challenge: answer a question for a master’s diploma.

More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.

What was January Black?

It’s a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty’s journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He's been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost...or call the king’s bluff.

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BOOK BLAST - REPLACING GENTRY BY JULIE N. FORD + GIVEAWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD

Replacing Gentry

When Marlie agrees to attend a cadaver ball at Vanderbilt Medical School, she did not expect to actually see any cadavers. Or, that a strange apparition would issue her a chilling message.

Despite the cadaver's warning, Marlie is married a year later to Tennessee State Senator, Daniel Cannon, and living in a plantation-style mansion with two step sons. Add to the mix her growing suspicion that something is amiss with the death of Daniel’s first wife, Gentry; and newlywed Marlie is definitely in over her pretty Yankee head.

What begins as an innocent inquiry into her new husband’s clouded past, ends with Marlie in the midst of a dangerous conspiracy.

A modern twist on the classic Gothic romance novels of Rebecca and Jane Eyre, Replacing Gentry follows Marlie’s precarious journey as she learns the truth about the man she married.

Grab a copy!

Replacing Gentry is just $1.99 on Amazon

BOOK BLITZ TOUR: SECRETS OF JENKINS BRIDGE BY DONNA SHIELDS, ROMANTIC SUSPENCE

Hunting down a dangerous mob boss has brought FBI agent Mitchell Donovan home, reawakening an old flame, resurrecting a dead best friend, and discovering fatherhood. As if those aren’t enough, his new case will push everything else aside: finding the kidnappers who took the daughter he never knew he had.

Katherine Delaney never forgot the heartbreak Mitchell had caused with his abrupt departure all those years ago. With her dead ex-husband accused of murder and her daughter kidnapped, she will place her trust in the one man who could trample her heart again if she gets too close. But, will the resurrection of Katherine’s ex-husband and Mitchell’s chase for a killer destroy their second chance at love and happiness?

You can purchase Secrets of Jenkins Bridge on 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Soul Mate Publishing

APRIL KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES - SHADOWHUNTERS, KILLING DEMONS AND PREJUDICES

“The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he'd learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.” (Cassandra Clare) 

Book synopsis  - Sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is an ordinary teenager, who likes hanging out in Brooklyn with her friends. But everything changes the night she witnesses a murder, committed by a group of teens armed with medieval weaponry. The murderous group are Shadowhunters, secret warriors dedicated to driving demons out of this dimension and back into their own. Drawn inexorably into a terrifying world, Clary slowly begins to learn the truth about her family - and the battle for the fate of the world.

You know,  each time I write about books or movies at FLY HIGH, it is never on a professional level .  I  try to be as honest as I can with you,  but don't ask me to be  objective. I've been and will be,  on the contrary,  totally and personally involved in each of my reviews.

So,   this time too,  I'll  tell you something really personal.

BOOK BLAST - Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy (Book 2) + Giveaway of $50 Gift Card

Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy (Book 2)

After barely surviving the onslaught of monsters that tried to kill him the day before his fourteenth birthday, Jack Templar leaves his hometown on a quest to rescue his father and discover the truth about his past. Joined by his friends Will and T-Rex, and led by Eva, the mysterious one-handed monster hunter, Jack sets out for the Monster Hunter Academy where he hopes to find answers to his questions. Little does he suspect that the Academy is filled with dangers of its own, many of them more terrifying than anything he’s faced so far.

                          Amazon

Jack Templar: Monster Hunter

Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family business.

Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits...until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.

As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.

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