Alice Will + Tilt Blog Tour: Review

 

Welcome to my stop on the Alice Will blog tour, presented by TLC Book Tours! Today I have my reviews of the first two books in the series to share with you. To follow the rest of the tour, check out the schedule at the bottom of the post.

Alice Will (Dreams of Chaos #1)
Author: Ashley Chappell
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Release Date: November 13, 2012
Publisher: Center One Books

Description:

With her leaky powers and premature smiting problem, fourteen year-old Trotter was still just trying to get the hang of the demi-godding business when the apocalypse began. In a world where the gods have withdrawn from humanity, leaving mortals bitter toward magic, she finds herself torn between the human and the goddess in her. When the world begins to fade away and she becomes the prime suspect, her search to determine the cause and prove her innocence ends up revolving around a mysterious little girl named Alice. Then she discovers that not all of the gods had been as distant as they seemed...

Now, with everyone against her and the gods fighting amongst themselves, Trotter is on her own to save her world and stop a spiteful god from using Alice to destroy everything. 

 
Tilt (Dreams of Chaos #2)
Author: Ashley Chappell
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Release Date: October 11, 2013
Publisher: Center One Books

Description:

Two years ago Trotter saved the entire pantheon of Realm from a dark god’s revenge. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the gods from banning her from Realm and - worst of all - from her godly parents for refusing to honor the Accord and declare her dominion. Now even her refuge in Aevum has been destroyed as the world itself is violently tilted and plunged into darkness. Angry, tired of feeling helpless and even more tired of being told not to meddle in the affairs of mortals, she’s ready to battle whatever demons she might find behind this nightmare. Instead of evil, however, she discovers another world even older than Aevum and filled with a wonderful species of people the gods created and loved briefly, then abandoned and left for dead in favor of their more entertaining creation: humanity.

In order to save both of the worlds she’s come to love, Trotter will finally be forced to choose a dominion that might mean giving up one world permanently. Yet throughout her journey she is unaware that the terrifying darkness growing within her is an omen that another dominion has already chosen her…  

 *This review is for both books in the series*

The Dreams of Chaos series is a fantastic young adult fantasy series that follows leading lady Trotter as she attempts to come into her demi-goddess powers. If that's not hard enough, the apocalypse has decided to start and the Earth is being demolished - and disappearing. Trotter is blamed, so she sets out to clear her name and find the one who's behind it all. Torn between her two halves - both human and goddess - Trotter must find a way to balance the two in order to control her powers and help save the world. In the second book, Trotter is back - and still banned from Realm, even though she helped save the all of its occupants two years prior. In her banishment, Trotter has been living in Aevum - until it too is destroyed and shoved into complete darkness. Trotter thinks that this is the work of another dark being only to find that the answer behind Aevum's troubles is not a person at all, but another world - one that's populated with a race of beings that the gods created and then abandoned in order to create humans. Trotter must find a way to save both worlds - the one she's been living on and the beautiful one she's coming to love - even though it may mean giving up one of them permanently. What will Trotter choose - and how will she be able to make such a big decision?

I found this to be a truly fascinating and entertaining YA fantasy series that was full of action, great world building, intriguing characters, and a totally original plot. I loved the main character of Trotter - she's ambitious, strong willed and smart. She knows what has to be done and then steps up to the task. I found it very easy to identify with her from the start of the series, and continued to feel that way throughout both books. The secondary characters were well written too - they were all unique and had their quirks, which made them fun and interesting to read about and get to know. I'm just starting to read more books dealing with mythology and I enjoyed these books because of that aspect along with Trotter's existence as a demi-goddess. The author creates a vivid background and history for all the gods and goddesses, along with the settings of the Realm, Aevum, and everything in between. There was special care taken to make each object, setting, and occurrence vivid and detailed. It felt as if I could see it all clearly in my mind. The plot was fast paced and full of twists, adventure, action, and even a bit of mystery. It's hard to pin down all the various genres that the series employs throughout, so I'm not even going to try. There's something for everyone in this series - whether it's mythology, fantasy, discovering other planets, or deeper topics such as believing in yourself and standing up for what's right. I definitely recommend this series to fans of YA fantasy as well as anyone who wants to read a series that's inventive and fresh. 

Ms. Chappell currently resides in Huntsville, AL with the love of her life. During her writing time her cats sometimes share her lap with her computer, should they choose to allow the usurpation at all. When not writing, reviewing, or burying her nose in one of her well-worn Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman novels, she can be found sailing with her fiancé on their boat ‘Dupracity’ (Fans of Kurt Vonnegut will want to ask her what that means!).

Upcoming Events: Come meet Ashley at the Mysticon in Roanoke, VA in February!

Find out more about Ashley at her website, connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, and see what she’s pinning on Pinterest.

Ashley’s Tour Stops:

Tuesday, March 04, 2014: Offbeat Vegabond – Alice Will
Thursday, March 06, 2014: A Book Geek – Alice Will
Sunday, March 09, 2014: Book Marks the Spot - Alice Will and Tilt
Thursday, March 13, 2014: Pingwing’s Bookshelf – Alice Will
Friday, March 14, 2014: Bibliophilia, Please - Alice Will
Monday, March 17, 2014: Peeking Between the Pages – Alice Will
Tuesday, March 18, 2014: The Reader’s Hollow - Alice Will
Tuesday, March 18, 2014: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom - Alice Will and Tilt
Wednesday, March 19, 2014: Books Without Any Pictures – Alice Will
Thursday, March 20, 2014: The Reader’s Hollow – Tilt
Monday, March 24, 2014: Peeking Between the Pages – Tilt
Tuesday, March 25, 2014: A Dream Within a Dream - Alice Will and Tilt
Wednesday, March 26, 2014: Allodoxophobia: The Fear of Opinions - Alice Will and Tilt
Tuesday, April 01, 2014: Books, Books Everywhere! - Alice Will
Wednesday, April 02, 2014: Books, Books Everywhere! - Tilt
Wednesday, April 02, 2014: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile – Alice Will
Thursday, April 03, 2014: The Written World - Alice Will and Tilt