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Monday, May 20, 2024

Blog Tour- SPELLBINDERS: THE NOT-SO-CHOSEN ONE by @andrewauseon & @randomhousekids With Andrew's Favorite Video Games & A #Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the SPELLBINDERS: THE NOT-SO-CHOSEN ONE by Andrew Auseon Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: SPELLBINDERS: THE NOT-SO-CHOSEN ONE

Author: Andrew Auseon

Pub. Date: May 14, 2024

Publisher: Yearling

Formats:  Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 448

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/SPELLBINDERS-THE-NOT-SO-CHOSEN-ONE

 

"Ben may only be pretending to be the 'Chosen One'—but I’ve definitely chosen this one as my favorite new fantasy series.”
—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Last Kids on Earth series

How far would you go to play the hero? One seventh grader gets way more than he bargained for when he is swept into the fantasy quest of his gaming dreams in this funny illustrated series full of adventure and twists.


It’s not so easy being the Chosen One (or in Ben Whitlock’s case, pretending to be the Chosen One). Sure, when you’ve been mistaken for a long-prophesied hero by a teenage girl/mysterious assassin and transported to a fantasy realm you're supposedly destined to save, you don’t have to worry about things like math homework. But when flying narwhals are trying to blast you into oblivion (gulp) and a bunch of old mystics in flip-flops want you to enter something called the Gullet of Eternal Torment (double gulp), suddenly a C in algebra doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

Back in the real world, Ben preferred to escape into fictional adventures and role-playing games. But the more he learns about his true quest, the more he realizes that being a hero goes way beyond rolling a few dice. . . .

Reviews:

Spellbinders hooked me from the beginning, but it became one of my favorites around the first flying narwhals.'“—James Riley, New York Times bestselling author of the Story Thieves series

"Here comes a new series that brilliantly embodies the power of creativity....The book’s immersive fantasy world of Lux is one I did not want to leave."—George Jreije, author of the Shad Hadid series

"To use the local parlance, a “ridonkulously” entertaining kickoff." —Booklist

"The themes of interpersonal relationships and change give the work emotional heft...A love letter to escapism and writing one’s own destiny." Kirkus Reviews

"Through subversions of familiar fantasy tropes and a thoroughly engaging plot, Auseon conjures an idiosyncratic realm replete with endearing characters, madcap humor, and hijinks-filled adventure"— Publisher’s Weekly

 

Book Trailer:


Top 5 favorite Video Games.

Final Fantasy VI (FFIII in the U.S.)

I played and enjoyed plenty of games before Final Fantasy IV, including some classic story-based game series such as Zork, The Bard’s Tale, and plenty of point-and-click adventures like King’s Quest and Monkey Island, but Final Fantasy IV has the distinction of being the first game to make me cry. I’d played Final Fantasy I and several of the follow-ups, but the sixth installment had something special, and I’m not the only person who thinks so. The villain was unsettling and funny, the companions were memorable, and the music was undeniable. I played it over several unbroken days, and I cried when party members split up and reunited. It was a grand time, unforgettable.

 

WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness

Real-time-strategy games (and turn-based) remain my biggest weakness when it comes to falling down a gaming rabbit hole. They’re designed to create a one-more-turn itch that, if done properly, never goes away. Like many gamers of my generation, the early Blizzard Games--WarCraft, WarCraft II, StarCraft--defined an era and dominated our lives. They were fast-paced, colorful and incredibly satisfying experiences. I’m not a particularly skilled gamer (ask anyone!) but real-time strategy allows for some truly unpredictable victories, and it’s always a messy edge-of-your-seat time at the keyboard. I chose WarCraft II over the timeless classic StarCraft because it’s sillier and has boats. Ha.

 

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

I missed out on the Grand Theft Auto III (Liberty City) phenomenon at first. Nothing about its drab urban aesthetic particularly appealed to me, and I hadn’t played the first games; however, as a gamer it was difficult to avoid the fervor that swept the gaming community when it was released. GTA: Vice City was an altogether different story. I’ve always played games to achieve a level of interactivity and immersion you can’t find in fiction or film. At the time, video games were just starting to really excavate what the next generation technology could do and how to pair it with grander ambitions in systems design. Nobody had ever really tried telling stories this way, with a cloud of interconnected narratives running simultaneously. They didn’t have the means to even try it. But what really grabbed me, and the hordes of other Generation X players who jumped in to give GTA: Vice City a spin, was its incredible fantasy 1980s vibe--a sea of neon, palm trees, coastal mansions, big hair, and the best video game soundtrack ever made. It was transcendent and transportive in a way few games are. 

 

Left 4 Dead

By nature, most board games are social affairs. Tabletop role playing mandates a group dynamic. Although video games don’t require friends to play, but some of the best gaming moments I’ve ever had were shared with friends, whether clustered around a Nintendo Four Score playing Super Spike Volleyball, building a LAN setup for Halo, or battling a stranger in StarCraft II on my PC. The Left 4 Dead series is the epitome of that ethos. Grab three friends, turn out the lights, and explore an incredibly cinematic and dynamic zombie outbreak. You laugh, you bond, you die a lot, but every time you start over you learn to work more closely as a team, and you get better. Left 4 Dead might be the best team-building exercise I’ve ever experienced. Take note, HR managers everywhere!    

 



Fallout 3

Few games succeed at worldbuilding as well as Fallout, and in my opinion Fallout 3 holds the title as the best in the series. Some of that power comes from its role as the game that rebooted the franchise, switching developers and radically changing the role-playing style--evolving the traditional turn-based role-playing game into a first-person action RPG. While the unique tone and art style remained the same, the rebooted threequel leaned into the violence and dark humor, creating a bizarre and truly unforgettable experience. I’d played the early Fallout games and appreciated them, but the third game truly felt like a reintroduction to a larger, grittier, and more fascinating world than ever before. It didn’t hurt that Fallout 3 took place in the Capital Wasteland, a fictional Washington, D.C. metro area, the exact area where I happened to live at the time. Also, as a longtime fan of vintage radio programs, the game’s popular music soundtrack and audio design hit me hard. A whole generation of gamers spent hours wandering the ruins of the National Mall and battling super mutants to the songs of the Ink Spots or the Andrews Sisters. I still think about it all the time.           

 

 

About Andrew Auseon:


Andrew Auseon is the author of several books for children and young adults, and he is the writer of numerous bestselling and award-winning video games. A transplant from the Midwest, he lives in Washington, D.C. with his family and two very naughty cats. He loves breakfast cereal, the sound of the ocean, and the feeling of a brand-new book in his hands.

 

Website | Book Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a signed finished copy of SPELLBINDERS: THE NOT-SO-CHOSEN ONE & a swag pack. US Only.

Ends June 8th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

5/20/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Guest Post/IG Post

5/20/2024

Wishful Endings

Guest Post/IG Post

5/21/2024

@darkfantasyreviews

Excerpt

5/22/2024

YA Books Central

Interview/IG Post

5/23/2024

A Backwards Story

Excerpt/IG Post

5/24/2024

@katherinebichler

TikTok Spotlight

5/25/2024

onemused

IG Post

Week Two:

5/26/2024

@enthuse_reader

IG Review/TikTok Post

5/27/2024

Review Thick And Thin

Review/IG Post

5/28/2024

jlreadstoperpetuity

IG Review/TikTok Post

5/28/2024

Fyrekatz Blog

Review/IG Post

5/29/2024

The Momma Spot

Review

5/29/2024

@thepagelady

IG Review

5/30/2024

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Review/IG Post

5/31/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

5/31/2024

Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's

Review/IG Post

6/1/2024

@dana.loves.books

Review/IG Post/TikTok Post

6/1/2024

More Books Please blog

Review/IG Post

Week Three:

6/2/2024

One More Exclamation

Review/IG Post

6/3/2024

nerdophiles

Review

6/3/2024

The Book Critic

Review/IG Post


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