Friday, February 28, 2014

The Riddle of Prague by Laura DeBruce: Virtural Tour, Review, and Giveaway

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/12/virtual-book-tour-riddle-of-prague-by.html

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Prizes for the tour are as follows: • One randomly chosen commenter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. • Two randomly chosen hosts will each receive a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Please enter using the Rafflecopter below.

Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Riddle of Prauge by Laura DeBruce
Contemporary, Fantasy
204 pages
4.5 stars


When 18-year-old Hana Silna travels to Prague to reclaim her family’s home, she discovers a riddle that may lead to a long-last flask.

The contents of that flask could change the fate of the world. When a ruthless enemy kidnaps her family Hana has to find the flask to rescue them. On her quest she meets a mysterious man with a penchant for poetry, a Gypsy girl with a haunting past, and Alex, an all-American boy who’s trying to save his sister from a crippling disease. It’s hard to trust anyone when the stakes are this high — especially when surrounded by experts in deception.

There’s only one flask, and Hana desperately needs to find it.

My Review:
Overall, I thought the book was exceptional. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, which never slowed. It posed interesting questions and had you begging for answers while you flipped pages. The *main* characters, Hana, Alex, and his little sister, Thaila, along with David and a few others were easy to like.

Hana was my favorite character, because she is good to imitate; her stout heart and courage always point her in the right direction. Putting her both in the situation of finding the flask to save her family and watching out for the friends at her side simply shows how excellent and well-developed she is. Her emotions mirror that of what I would have felt, and though her actions can sometimes be impulsive, she's doing the right thing.

I found myself getting annoyed with the villain...I wanted him to be gone, but every time he disappeared, there he was again. Taking advantage of people, tricking, killing, and getting what he wanted was irking me beyond belief. I was about ready to reach into the pages and strangle him for Hana and Alex, but unfortunately, my hand wouldn't go through the pages.

An amazing read for anyone who enjoys learning about Prague. Laura DeBruce captured the historical values and the beauty of the land in her book, which is something to marvel at. It's an excellent fantasy piece, and contains suspense and a little bit of a thriller idea.

Now, enjoy an excerpt:

The Nomad

The American girl arrives in Prague today. Finally! Finally things will happen. Everything will change.

I possess secrets—old and valuable secrets. Never mind, for now, who I am or what my name is. Those things have never mattered much. I am history’s silent witness and its victim. And I confess, here in the dark, that I am also a perpetrator of crimes. Ruthless, bloody crimes. Straw into gold, water into wine, blood into life! I have long witnessed Prague’s obsession with alchemy. Now it is my turn! I shall become like quicksilver. I shall transform secrets into power and power into money.

The American girl arrives today, and soon terrible things will happen. At the end of it all, I will be free.

About the Author
Laura DeBruce is a documentary filmmaker and writer. She grew up traveling all over the world thanks to her father’s work with the U.S. Embassy. She and her husband spent twelve years living in Europe including Prague, Paris, Amsterdam and London where she found inspiration to write The Quicksilver Legacy Series. In Prague, she worked as a lawyer for the first private nationwide television station in the former Communist bloc. It was there that she fell in love with the ancient city of Prague and its legends.

She lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and son and an unruly Golden Retriever.

Website with blog and trailer: http://theriddleofprague.com/
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Riddle-Prague-QuickSilver-Legacy-ebook/dp/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRiddleofPrague
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraDeBruce
a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 comments:

  1. What a great review. Sounds like a wonderful book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for the review!

    vitajex(At)Aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. This has been an awesome blog tour! I loved all the artwork and the book trailer, the visuals were stunning. Thanks so much for the time and care you put into sharing this with your readers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you so much for hosting and reading The Riddle of Prague!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wonderful book for YA but even a Medicare card holder like me really enjoyed the vivid descriptions and the magical mystery.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Loved your remarks in the review about the villain.

    ReplyDelete