BLOG TOUR: Fraction of Stone (Fracton #1) by Kelley Lynn | Giveaway

Welcome to our stop on the blog tour for Fraction of Stone by Kelley Lynn, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. You can follow the blog tour here.

Title: Fraction of Stone
Series: Fraction #1
Author: Kelley Lynn
Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing
Release Date: March 21, 2013
Pages: 293, Paperback

Summary from Goodreads:

Wind tunnels, torrential rains and earthquakes tear apart Casden. The cause of the world’s imbalance is unknown, but the mounting occurrences suggest there’s little time before life ceases to exist.

Rydan Gale and Akara Nazreth are the only humans with the ability to wield magic. The tattoo on their necks and the discovery of an ancient book, dictate they are the key to the world’s survival.

But the greatest obstacle for saving mankind isn’t the bizarre creatures, extreme betrayals and magic-fearing men hunting them.

It’s that Akara doesn’t believe the world is worth saving.

PURCHASE: http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/fractionofstone

Ryden and Akara are the only two people left who can wield magic. Their power has made them weapons, used by their respective people to fight each other in war. But while Rydan was treated like a prince among the Tarmack, Akara was treated like a slave among the Liasam. When Liasam falls to the Tarmack, Akara is handed over as an offering, her death for the safety of the Liasam people. But Rydan can't stand by and watch them kill her, the only other person like him.

When Rydan saves Akara, they both become fugitives. Rydan turns to his lifelong teacher and friend as the only person left he can trust. Phemedes, knowing the time has come, shares with them the secret of their past. Rydan and Akara are the  survivors of a slaughtered people, the Namaqua, magic-wielders. The Tarmack and Liasam destroyed their entire village out of fear, those with the gift and even those without, but spared their lives. Before their destruction, the Namaqua shattered the Gia Stone, the source of their power, and  hid the pieces at the corners of the earth to keep the power from the unworthy. But with the stone broken, the magic that was feeding the world is gone and the world is dying. Only Rydan or Akara have the power to make the stone whole and save the world.  But Rydan and Akara have very different opinions about whether or not the world should be saved.

I loved Rydan and Akara together. So so so much. It was a relationship unlike anything I've read before, which made it fresh and exciting. But it was also so well done. There were no shallow affections, or instant feelings. Their origins bonded them together at the beginning but what they developed over time was so much deeper and more real. And it was based on their time spent together, learning to understand each other and and fighting side by side. They were opposites in every way and had so much to learn from each other.  Rydan's comfortable existence has made him too acceptive, almost ignorant, and naive. But Akara's horrendous treatment has left her with no feeling, no will to live, no hope for civilization. She asked Rydan to give her one person, just one person worth saving and she'd change her mind. But don't assume this is instantly Rydan, it is not. They owe each other nothing.

"Rydan didn't answer, the shock finally took over. The girl he thought so peculiar, so strange, was not so in the least. She was braver, stronger, and tougher than him in every way."

The ultimate question posed throughout this book, as they get closer to their destination, is whether or not the world is worth saving. I liked how Rydan and Akara stood at such odds in their feelings, and both views were well debated. You think it would be obvious that Akara would be the one to change her perspective but that isn't necessarily the case. At first Rydan couldn't understand how Akara could be so cold and unforgiving but as he learned more about her past, he began to doubt himself instead.

"Rydan was starting to understand. Kara wasn't a treasured weapon like he had been. She wasn't held in a place of honor or consulted upon in times of war. She had been a slave. A Slave to a tribe who murdered her people."

I have only two reasons for not rating this book higher. The first, and main reason, is I felt the pace drag a little in the middle and the second is that I wanted the fantasy to be more prevalent. There were some things missing that I would have liked to see described, like scenes of Akara learning how to use her magic.

This is a great debut. There is a real and complicated relationship between the main characters, one worth reading about. And again, the question regarding the good vs evil nature of the world was an interesting theme in the story.

"No matter how many times he resolved himself to defend the world and the people in it, doubt always crept back in."

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About the Author: Kelley Lynn

During Kelley Lynn’s last year at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, while pursuing her degree in Chemical Engineering, the voices in her head got the best of her. Surprisingly, they didn’t want to talk about process flow diagrams and heat capacity. They preferred the fantastical. So instead of turning to her Thermodynamics book, Kelley brought up a blank page on her computer screen and wrote.

Come graduation, not only did Kelley have a diploma and, thankfully, a wonderful job, but she had a new obsession as well. Amidst the order and exactness that came with the nine to five, Kelley found a way to create; to determine the rules of a world and take her characters to the limits of what was possible. Perhaps she has a slight control complex.

The first in the series, Fraction of Stone, was born on an airplane and took ten days to write. It probes the question, should the world be saved if there’s no one in it worth saving?

When briefly managing to quiet the voices, Kelley participates in softball, soccer and volleyball. (You probably don’t want her on your volleyball team. Unless you want to laugh.) She lives with her sister and her dog who can attest to the chair that has Kelley’s butt print permanently pressed into it. Depending on the weekend, you might be able to hear Kelley sing for an area classic rock band.

Kelley Lynn is a member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators.

Author Links:
Website: http://getbetweenthebookends.blogspot.ca/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6583873.Kelley_Lynn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelleyLynn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KelleyLynn1