The Bookworm: Blog Tour: Sunborn Rising by Aaron Safronoff (Review & Giveaway!) CLOSED

Hello, everybody! Today is my stop during the blog tour for Sunborn Rising: Beneath The Fall by Aaron Safronoff. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from JUNE 27 through JULY 10 and you can view the entire tour schedule here. First off, I was sent a review copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review so a huge thank you to them! I'm so happy to have snagged a stop on this blog tour since not only is it my first one ever (no pressure) but I thought this book sounded super cool and the illustrations below are to die for!!

So, before I start off the review, let me give you some info on the book as well as where you can pick up a copy for yourself if the book sounds like one you want to read.
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Sunborn Rising: Beneath The Fall (Sunborn Rising #1)
by Aaron Safronoff
Genre: Fantasy
Age category: all-ages, Middle Grade and up
Release Date: May 2016
Publisher: Neoglyphic Entertainment
You can find Sunborn Rising on Goodreads

Blurb:
Cerulean.

A distant world of Great Trees floating on an ocean surrounding a star.

The flotilla forests cycle light and water through their boughs into their lush canopies. But the once vibrant treescape has grown dark, slowly, subtly over many generations. The civilization of creatures living among the boughs believe the darkness is normal. That is, until one willful young girl named Barra discovers the hidden journal of her late father.

Pouring over her father’s writing, Barra learns of a mysterious plague, a creeping vine choking the flow of light and water into the canopy. Her father warned the Elders. He urged them to take action. Those were his last words.

Together with her two best friends, a Rugosic named Tory and a Kolalabat named Plicks, Barra will explore every bark, wood, and leaf of the Great Forest to relight her world and complete her father’s story, even if it leads her beneath the Fall.

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You can buy Sunborn Rising here:

- Amazon

- Amazon paperback

- Amazon hardcopy

View the book trailer for Sunborn Rising here on YouTube

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Review:

PROS:

1. Can we just talk about this cover for a second? LIKE, GORGEOUS!! When it comes to covers, I'm a sucker for anything blue or brightly colored, which is probably why my bookshelves look more like a disorganized rainbow. I was super excited when I found out about this book and I hoped more than anything to get my hands on this book so needless to say, I'm over the moon to be reviewing it for you guys. Let's get started!

2. I loved the characters. That's all I have to say about that. Actually not because the characters are just so cool! I loved how they all had their drive for adventure even though they were aware of the dangers they ran into and the risks it would take to explore certain parts of their home, especially when it came to the unknown depths. I thought Barra was very adventurous and she was always hungry for a new mystery to solve or a new place to explore. She was a very driven character and jumped at the chance to escape into the world.

Tory was more of the voice of reason while still having a bit of fun himself and also had a drive for adventure. He was very protective over his friends and was also a bit of a goofball when the time called for it.

Plicks was probably my favorite character. Even though he wasn't as adventurous and didn't like taking risks, he still somehow got himself wrapped up in whatever his friends were up to and they looked out for him in return. He was very loveable and I kind of wish he was real.

3. One thing that really stood out to me with this book was the fact that the characters are not human. I loved the fact that they were fantastical creatures of different races such as the Honeybadgers, the Koalabats, the Rugosics, and a few more. I think it made the book more interesting and made me want to know even more about them and the world. I also ADORED how the story was told. Through simple yet detailed descriptions, the world came to life in a magical way and you could so easily envision how the world looked and imagine the rich colors and unique sights such as the plants, the animals and the wilderness the characters called home. It's truly a place I want to visit so badly and a fictional world that is easy to fall in love with.

4. With the help of the illustrations, it was easy to keep track of the world and its sights and helped to keep the story moving as well as aided in bringing the world to life. It was exciting to see the illustrations every few pages because I loved seeing how everything actually looked. They put faces to the characters, colors to the world, and adventure to the story. It was such an exciting read and I plan on picking up the second book as soon as it's released within the next few months or so. I think this fantasy novel is one a reader of any age can appreciate, though I recommend it to older readers since it's a little difficult to understand what exactly is going on unless you understand the definitions of the words used and the descriptions of things.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and I'm excited to see what happens next in the sequel! I didn't give this book a five-star rating because I felt like it did get a little slow at some points to break down the history of the people, the world they live in, etc. It's a bit difficult to get into in the beginning but once you understand the world and the people and the way of living and things of that nature, it's a very enjoyable book.

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About the Author:
Aaron Safronoff was born and raised in Michigan where he wrote his first novella, Evening Breezes. In his early twenties, he moved to California to attend culinary school. He fell in love with the Bay Area and has never considered leaving, although he did eventually leave the school.

During his ten years in the games industry, he worked at various levels and for several disciplines including quality assurance, production, and design. All the while he was writing a novel, short stories, plays, and poetry. His career in design introduced him to amazingly intelligent, fun, and creative people, many of whom he considers family today.

Safronoff self-published, Spire, in 2011, and won the Science Fiction Discovery Award for the same in the summer of 2012. By the end of that year he decided to drop everything and free fall into fiction. In the following three months he completed work on the sequel to Spire, Fallen Spire, edited Evening Breezes, and published both.

Today, Safronoff is co-founder and Chief Storyteller of Neoglyphic Entertainment and working on his fifth novel, the second book of the Sunborn Rising series. In his spare time, Safronoff enjoys reading a variety of authors, Philip K. Dick, Cormac McCarthy, and Joe Abercrombie among them. He enjoys living near the ocean, playing and watching hockey, and video games. He has a deep love of music and comedy.

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You can find and contact Aaron here:

- Website

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Goodreads

- Amazon

- Instagram

Sunborn Rising links:

- Website

- Facebook

- Twitter