Blog Tour - Stonefly by Scott J. Holliday

I'm so excited because I have the tour for Stonefly by Scott J. Holliday today.  I'm psyched to be participating in my first ever blog tour, sharing my review of this great book and hosting a giveaway!

Title:  Stonefly
Author:  Scott J. Holliday
Genre:  Fantasy/Thriller
Series:  Jacob Duke #1
Publisher:  Haley Road Publishing
Pages:  327
Acquired via:  Blog tour!

Rating:    


Synopsis from goodreads.com:  Jacob Duke has come back to Braketon­—a sleepy, backwoods town bordering Dover, the mental institution where he spent his formative years. Jacob's intention is to enjoy Braketon's woods and water for the first time as a free man, but he soon discovers that Dover isn't through with him yet. Driven by a curse that compels him to grant any wish he hears, Jacob is drawn back into his disturbing former life by a young boy's desire to see his own father dead.

Complicating things are Lori Nelson, Jacob's friend-with-benefits who continues to put new boyfriends in his path, and Motown, Jacob's friend from his years at Dover, who carries a secret that rocks Jacob's foundation and makes him question his own morality.

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Stonefly is an exciting, tense read that kept me on the edge of my seat.  Its characters and setting were great, but it was the concept that really intrigued me.  I love books like this one, with a unique idea, lots of suspense, and a sarcastic narrator.

What I Loved

• The whole concept
• The idea of having no choice but to grant any wish a person makes, even if it seems wrong or impossible to do?  That's so crazy.  I don't know how I'd be able to handle that.  I think this whole idea was brilliant.  It leads to lots of questions about morality and responsibility and consequences.
• I expected this story to be really dark and possibly creepy based on the concept and a few reviews I'd read, but it ended up being lighter than I expected.  That's not to say it wasn't dark; it definitely was.  But it balanced the dark edge with the perfect amount of sarcasm and lighter moments.
• The male protagonist
• The majority of the books I've read recently all feature a female lead.  And the few books I've read with a male lead are YA, so the guy's in his teens.  It was a refreshing change to read something from a grown man's point-of-view.
• One of the most interesting aspects of Jacob is that he's deaf.  I've never read a book before where the main character was deaf, and it was cool to see how someone who can't hear copes and how it can handicap him.  It also definitely added to the overall suspense.  Since Jacob can't hear, you can't "hear" what's coming either.
• The suspense
• Stonefly is incredibly suspenseful.  I couldn't put the book down.  There's so much tension; I was actually concerned that the final climax wouldn't live up to all of the build-up, but it was exciting and satisfying.
• The book was really creative at building up the story and filling in the blanks in the form of "flashbacks."  Jacob's life gets filled in a little at a time, which not only gives him great character development, but also made me want to keep reading.  Each new piece of information about Jacob was a like a clue to who he was and how he might handle the craziness in his life.
• The setting
• The book takes place in a little town, but a majority of the flashbacks are set in the mental institution that Jacob spends most of his teen years in.  The setting of the institution was just another interesting facet of the story.  It gave insight into what it was like to live for years in a place like that, surrounded by people who are suffering from various forms of mental illness.

I will add that the only reason this book didn't get 5 cupcakes is because of the profanity and sexual references.  The profanity isn't excessive or extreme; there was just too much for my taste.  And I felt that some of the sexual references were unnecessary.

I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.  Finding out more about Jacob and his curse and where he goes next; I'm hoping that even more mysteries will be answered and if the curse changes Jacob, his life, and his ideas of morality.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway