Path of Bones by Steven Montano {Review + Giveaway}

Well hello everybody, and welcome to the last day of the Path of Bones Blog Tour! I have some serious mad love for all of Steven Montano's work. And when I say serious mad love, I mean that in the strongest way possible. And I was honored that someone as awesome as Steven Montano let me host a blog tour for him. That is just, wow, really! And now I will stop rambling and get on with why you all came here, The Tour!!!

*Received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

Return to the world of Malzaria in the highly anticipated sequel to the best-selling epic fantasy adventure City of Scars.



Hunted by Empires and crime lords alike, Ijanna Taivorkan and the young warrior Kath Cardrezhej make their north through the dire Bonelands, a twisted wastelands populated by unnatural terrors. Hoping to find the answers to her dark destiny and driven by a need to escape her fate, Ijanna won't rest until she locates the last of the Skullborn.


Azander Dane, fallen Dawn Knight, pursues Ijanna in order to help her as a way for making amends for the crimes of his past. Aided by an exiled giant and gripped by a magical disease that is slowly driving him mad, Dane must brave the dangers of the Phage-controlled city of Kaldrak Iyresin order to reach the Dream Witch in time.


Beset at every turn by evil magic, powerful assassins and dark revelations, Dane and Ijanna will ultimately find themselves in the ruined city of Corinth, where ancient artifacts may hold the key to the world's salavation...or to its untimely doom.

  Helpful Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

My Review

Dane is still running from his past, determined to make up for some of his wrong doings and maybe wipe the slate a little clean. He is in search for the Dream Witch, originally hired to deliver her to her enemy, Dane has seen the light and has decided to place the rest of his humanity on her, now all he has to do is find her. With his unlikely traveling partner things get more than a little complicated, things get down right rough. But things aren't all roses and peaches for Ijanna either. Where Dane is running from his past, Ijanna is running from her future. Determined to change a destiny that more than frightens her. Her battle to change the future is not easy and it is one that very well could kill her. 

In Path of Bones we follow the paths of Azander Dane, the fallen Dawn Knight. (Which if you ask me is a good thing). Kruje, Dane's new traveling companion, a Voss who is hated by every human on earth. Ijanna the hunted Dream Witch and her protector Kath, the sweet gentle soul that is in for the ride of his life. We also dive into the minds of the enemy; Empress Azaean and Kala. Their paths are all winding, slippery, and sloping. No one in this book has an easy life. 

Everyone suffers some sort of struggle, definitely some more than others. Of course Dane, Kruje, Ijanna and Kath are right up there on the crap list (hit list), you know how they say crap rolls down hill? Well it is definitely like that for them. If there is something bad to find, you can pretty much guarantee it will cross their paths. And when I say bad, I mean big, REALLY big and REALLY bad. Think about the darkest and most twisted creatures you can imagine and times that by ten. Yea that pretty much sums up the crap this lot get's themselves into. One of my favorite creatures in this series is the Razorcats! 

    "A giant hunter cat with smoking skin, a lashing tail and disproportionately huge claws and teeth. Diamond black eyes.... a tongue lined with dark spines... and oversized jaws." 

Now that is a wicked cat, definitely not something I would ever like to meet, day or night. All of Steven Montano's creatures are like that. Wicked. Twisted. And just down right vicious. His creatures aren't for the faint of heart and are definitely not meant to be cuddled. 

The same can be said for his worlds. They are not all rays and sunshine, no his worlds are bleak, dark and lonely. His worlds are just as dangerous as the creatures that live there. But no matter how bleak, dreary and dark things get, there is always that one small splatter of hope. It's that hope that drives his characters to fight the darkness, to stay strong and carry on. It is that hope that keeps us readers reading and coming back for more, time and time again.

As always Steven Montano paints an incredible picture, creating beautiful imagery of the world that he creates. His characters are on point and he really gives you an insight as to who they are and why they behave the way they do. You can't help but feel connected to them, all of them, even the wicked ones.

Steven Montano is a master at weaving some very complicated stories. He is the master of taking multiple stories, or paths, and blending them together into one seamless, explosive story. It's like all the streams that feed into a river. All the individual stories have their own current and flow and when they converge, it's BAM, major explosions. There is so much going on in Path of Bones, but it isn't too much. The story is never overwhelming. Instead it's maddening, because you can see things falling into place. Like pieces of the puzzle you begin to see how the story all fits together and you know that spells some very bad things, but you can't help but continue to read and watch those pieces fall. Hoping that those pieces create something other than what you expect. 

In Path of Bones you are taken to the edge of your seat. Delivers you to the hands of darkness and brings you back just far enough to give you hope. But I have to warn you, the ending leaves you right on the edge of a cliff. Your hope swells, but your fear grows as the story ends and we are left waiting for the next installment. Path of Bones is a great story, one that will keep you wanting more. One that will give you hope and take you on many paths.

City of Scars (Skullborn Trilogy #1) 

Book Blurb~

It’s been three decades since the Blood Queen led her legions on a brutal campaign of conquest and destruction, and the Empires are still struggling to rebuild. Now, in the distant aftermath of the war, the real battle is about to begin.

Haunted by the crimes of his past, fallen knight Azander Dane ekes out a mercenary existence as he drifts from one city to the next. His latest job is to hunt down Ijanna Taivorkan, a powerful outlaw witch desperate to escape her destiny. 

Dane and Ijanna find themselves in Ebonmark, the City of Scars, where deadly crime guilds and shadowy agents of the White Dragon Empire prepare for a brutal confrontation. Pursued by apocalypse cults, mad alchemists, exiled giants and werewolf gangs, Dane and Ijanna soon learn a deadly lesson – in Ebonmark, only the cruelest and most cunning can survive. 

City of Scars is the first volume of The Skullborn Trilogy, an all new epic fantasy adventure from the author of BloodSkies .

Helpful Links: Goodreads | Smashwords | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author~

Steven Montano is an author, accountant, and blogger, part human and part...well, we’re not entirely sure, but he sure does write a lot of books.   Steven is the author of the Skullborn novels (City of Scars, Path of Bones), the Blood Skies series (Blood Skies, Black Scars, Soulrazor, Crown of Ash, The Witch’s Eye and Chain of Shadows), Tales of a Blood Earth 1 and 2, Crucifix Point, and something black….  He’s currently hard at work on Blood Angel Rising, a paranormal action/horror/thriller; Vampire Down, the next installment of the Blood Skies series; and The Black Tower, the conclusion to The Skullborn trilogy.
   He and his family live in Michigan, where even zombies fear to tread.

Stalk Him: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway

1 Signed copy of Path of Bones by Steven Montano (Open Internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway