Review and Giveaways
July 17, 2024
Blog Tour Week has come to end. So many beautiful bloggers hosting Shushan Portal: Behind the Hollyhock Hedge. So many wonderful readers following along and adding comments. I hope I have not missed thanking each and every one of them.
A pleasant addendum was the review from Guatemala Paula Loves to Read, aka Karen.
I am delighted to share it here.
“REVIEW: 4 stars!
Absolutely mesmerizing!
Shushan Portal: Behind the Hollyhock Hedges is a new genre-blending novel by Gloria Pearson-Vasey that made for absolutely mesmerizing reading. Between its engaging main characters and its riveting plot, I was immediately caught up in this imaginative tale and completely unable to find suitable stopping points to put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen!
Told from multiple viewpoints, my favorite was that of young Jackson Clery, the orphaned nephew of the main female character, Meara Deleaney. Having lost both parents during the preceding months, his father to COVID and, most recently, his mother to a long battle with cancer, he’s hurting and anxious about his and his little sister’s futures and life without their parents. He’s a very sympathetic and relatable 13-year-old on the verge of entering high school. However, as the story progresses, the reader discovers he’s got hidden talents that he is only now discovering.
Jackson’s aunt Meara authors bestselling thrillers under the name of Carmen Blackmoor. Before the death of her sister (Jackson’s mother), she had committed to a six-week-long book tour through Eastern Canada to promote her latest release. Upon Kate’s death, Meara becomes the children’s guardian. She decides to take Jackson on tour with her through the Canadian backwaters and natural settings to bond and grieve their mutual loss and come to terms with their new life ahead, leaving seven-year-old Penny back in London, Ontario, with their grandmother. Meara’s tragic backstory slowly unfolds, revealing her underlying need for a pseudonym, extra precautions, and secrecy.
The plot is immediately intriguing with its mysterious references to Meara’s past, and the suspense keeps building with each and every odd or strange occurrence or sighting on their journey from one book event to another. Their travels read like a wonderful travelogue, full of the sights, sounds, and smells of the various spots they visit or where they overnight in their small RV. Talk about igniting travel fever! However, the two travelers are under constant surveillance by people from Meara’s past and mysterious ‘others.’ I liked how the ‘others’ viewpoints and unfolding story were interspersed with the current storyline, highlighted in brilliant blue text. Each little blue tidbit kept me turning pages to get to the rest of this very imaginative story.
I recommend SHUSHAN PORTAL: BEHIND THE HOLLYHOCK HEDGE to readers of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, suspense, and thrillers.”
On the heels of the Blog Tour comes the announcement of the Winners for the Goodreads Book Giveaway.
100 copies of Shushan Portal: Behind the Hollyhock Hedge by Gloria Pearson-Vasey (Goodreads Author) were selected from 1371 people requesting participation.
And here are the WINNERS:
Sabrina Weldon, DOUGLAS J BERRY, Katherine M, Amanda Rosselot, Kara Sjoblom-Bay, Kayla Smith, Tori, N K, Nicolle Harris, Tim, Steve, Isabella McNicol, Trisha, Nancy, Alan Lewis, Nathan Davis, Princesspint , Amy, Lisa Schulz, Kme_17, Rhonda, Erin Adams, Michael Smith, Simona, Kaitlyn Walas, Kelly YGibson, Ann Marie, Becky, Kim Cummings, Maxie Froelicher, Elizabeth Sanders, Judy, Marsoguti, Jessica Barnett, Tamara Lewis, Ella Droste, Tamber, Samantha, Amy Wheeler, Carol, Stephanie Huddleston, Athena Lathey, Steven, Lori Cielinski, Kristi Clifton, Dana Murphy, Lorelei, Taylor Smith, Autumn Slater, Tricia Lanham, Tay, Adelaide, Christi Block, Kay, Ryan Llewellyn, Melissa Greco, Charity, Jennifer, Jessica Pentecost, MelodyRayne, Kaitlin, Patricia, Amanda Sanford, Dixie, Katlyn Myers, Katelyn, Jamie, Debbie, Jen Bigerton, Cheyenne, Teresa Lavender, Km, Ciara Lucero, Denicia Wright, Reena, Leslie Bloodgood, Kristen Farmer, Donna, Nathan, Richard Robinson, Edward Vidri, Jennifer, Jenn Mc, Britni, Cadence, Cloe Kinnett, PaytonB05yahoo.com, Miranda, syl.amb.90, Melissa Q, Marie Bolin, Tracy, Lynn, Tanya, F.R. Southerland, Jillian Westerfield, Jennica, Ty, Kimberly Manning, Amy Mullins
Congratulations to all of you!