A Dream Within A Dream: The Never Tilting World Blog Tour: Author Interview, Review + Giveaway

The Never Tilting World (The Never Tilting World #1)

Author: Rin Chupeco
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen

Description:

Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn.

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.

While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.

But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

Praise for THE NEVER TILTING WORLD:

“The Never Tilting World is what happens when Garth Nix meets Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s a dark, lovely, and even timely look at a world that’s fallen apart, with just the right blend of epic action and twisted magic.” ―Tara Sim, author of Timekeeper

“Visually vivid, magical, and exhilarating.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Dark and richly drawn, The Never Tilting World is a lavish fantasy about sisterhood, sacrifice, and finding strength in a treacherous world. Chupeco’s writing is lushly descriptive, transporting me to the brink of the abyss; while reading it, I could swear the world stood still.” ―Heidi Heilig, author of For a Muse of Fire

“Multiple plot twists and a breathlessly cinematic tone will attract fantasy and romance fans alike.” ―Booklist

“Complex, brutal, romantic, and terrifying. With a phenomenal cast of characters who stick to your bones and vivid worldbuilding that shows up in your dreams, this is a book that demands to be experienced.” ―Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights and editor of His Hideous Heart

“This rich fantasy spotlights power’s corruptive influence, love’s redemptive nature, and the urgent concerns of climate change. The tale’s scope and creativity astound.” ―Publishers Weekly

“A great choice for fantasy shelves.” ―School Library Journal

You can purchase The Never Tilting World at the following Retailers:

Where did you get the idea for THE NEVER TILTING WORLD?

I've always wanted to write a story that would address the extreme weather itself as the enemy / big bad, instead of only dealing with the consequences of it. I also live in the Philippines, where I can more easily see the effects of climate change than in other places such as say, USA. The idea of writing something where the world was the villain rather than any one character first came about when I was stuck in this island resort called Boracay during the super typhoon Haiyan, which hit it really hard. I saw the destruction up close, and it was quite frankly a frightening experience. It wasn’t until much later though, that I was able to put that experience into a story.

Who are some of the authors that have inspired your work?

Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Shirley Jackson, David and Leah Eddings, Agatha Christie!

Where do you come up with all the different ideas for your books?

I seriously have no idea! They happen to me when I least expect it, so I can’t really say for certain how or why inspiration would strike me at certain times. All I know is that they happen almost always during inconvenient times, like when I’m at the shower or when I’m about to fall asleep, so I make it a habit of bringing pen and paper wherever I am.

Favorite book or author?

Only one? That’s tough! Maybe the one whose writing style has inspired me most is Terry Pratchett, strangely enough. His sense of humor aligns closely with mine, and I love his snark! But my favorite book of all time is undoubtedly the Count Of Monte Cristo, because it has everything in it. Revenge! Fight scenes! Angst! Lots of it! This book started my love of antiheroes before I even realized what antiheroes were!

Any advice for aspiring authors?

You’re the only person who can write your story. So write, and keep writing, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise - yourself, least of all.

What's up next for you?

I've just finished the first round of edits for the sequel, which was tough for me because I'd had a bunch of family emergencies this year and had to really make the time to sit down and write, because I otherwise wouldn't have gotten anything done! I've got a new series called A HUNDRED NAMES FOR MAGIC out next year, starting with the first book, WICKED AS YOU WISH! Oddly enough, I'm looking at my next two unfinished WIPs, and they're actually adult fantasy books this time around. No titles yet, so I've taken to just calling them my gay heist book and dark fantasy Regency romance book, respectively.

The Never Tilting World is a gorgeous new young adult fantasy filled with magic, romance, and estranged family coming together to save the world. I've read the author's other work, so I knew that this was going to be all that I hoped and then some. Luckily, I was right. This book went above and beyond what I expected and I ended up loving it a lot more than I thought I was going to. Every aspect of the novel was expertly done and it spoke of more serious and relevant topics as well, which made it a nicely layered story to get lost in.

I'm going to start off with the aspect that's one of the most important to me personally as a reader - writing style. I normally talk about this in my reviews because it holds a lot of power and can either make or break a book for me. The author chose to write this story in the first person point of view, from several different main characters' views. The first person POV is my favorite because it lets the reader form a deeper and more personal connection with the narrator than any other writing style (in my opinion). That's definitely what the author accomplished here. I loved it even more because we have not just one or two main characters, but four. I really enjoyed getting to know each of them throughout the book and the first person POV was key to this. We get to know them inside and out - their innermost thoughts, hopes and dreams, fears, memories, and everything in between, which allows us to really feel like we know them and we've been beside them as everything happened during the book. This could potentially become confusing with so many main characters and using the first person POV for all of them, but I think the author did an amazing job of bringing each of them to life individually and making them into well rounded, complex, and realistic characters. I immediately connect with each of them as soon as I read from their perspective. There's at least one thing, if not more, about each of them that every reader can relate to, which isn't easy to do even with one MC, let alone multiple.

The plot didn't seem wholly original to me, but that's not saying anything bad about it at all. It's almost impossible to create a completely unique story anymore, so when I come across a story that has been twisted around and retold in a wonderful way - that makes me super happy. That's exactly what the author did with this book. I felt like the whole "broken world" that can only be fixed by two people coming together in some way has been done, but I loved the way the author wrote her version. There's so many amazing things going on in the story - the magic, the goddesses, the history of the Breaking, and even the complete opposite living situations of the two worlds - that I could've read about them forever. The magic component really grabbed my attention and I loved learning about it and how it works. The other aspects I mentioned were all awesome in their own right, but when you put them together - you get one fantastic story. I couldn't put this one down and although I wanted to read it all in one sitting - and would have if allowed - I read it as quickly as possible just to see what was going to happen next with each of the characters and to lose myself in their world for just a little while longer. Sadly, not many novels are written in a way where I can lose myself in the world the author created and, in my opinion, that's how you know you've got an amazing book. When I get so lost in the world, so deeply connected to the characters, and invested into the story that I don't want to quit - that's how I know I've struck gold. And this book - for me - was definitely in that category. I can't wait for the next book to come out to see where the story will take us and what will happen next. I highly recommend this novel for fans of YA fantasy, paranormal, romance, and readers who enjoy diverse characters, magic, and mythology.

Photo Content Rin Chupeco

Rin Chupeco has written obscure manuals for complicated computer programs, talked people out of their money at event shows, and done many other terrible things. She now writes about ghosts and fantastic worlds but is still sometimes mistaken for a revenant. She is the author of The Girl from the Well, its sequel, The Suffering, and the Bone Witch trilogy.