Happy Tuesday! Well…I’m not sure if it is really happy or not but hey let’s make it. We rented a retail space for our crystal company and I am so excited to start getting ready to open a physical store. We will be opening a metaphysical store!! I got back from our trip to Tuscon to get inventory Sunday night. Funny…I had all these intentions of working on blog posts and editing my book… Those didn’t happen. I got way too busy while there. That’s alright though. This year I am focusing on not being so hard on myself. But I have more exciting news…
I’m sure you can tell by the title of this post that I am a part of yet another blog tour hosted by Fantastic Flying Book Club! I have to thank them again because they are the most amazing tour group I’ve worked with. They also don’t charge authors for tours which are, let’s be honest, amazing!! I am so comfortable working with them and I think I will forever remain on the review team.
So…the book I am talking about today is one that I have been anticipating for a while now! Below by Alexandria Warwick….I’ve been waiting to read this book. Before we get started, let’s learn a little more about the novel itself.
Don’t forget to check out all the other great posts for the tour here.
Below (North #1) 
Author: Alexandria Warwick
Published: February 4th, 2020
Publisher: Wolf Publishing
Book Length: 308 Pages
Genre: Fantasy (YA)
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Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID: TheBibliophagist)
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
When tragedy strikes, Apaay embarks on a perilous journey to find her sister’s face—yet becomes trapped in a labyrinth ruled by a sinister girl named Yuki. The girl offers Apaay a deal: find her sister’s face hidden within the labyrinth, and she will be set free. But the labyrinth, and those who inhabit it, is not as it seems. Especially Numiak: darkly beautiful, powerful, whose motives are not yet clear.
With time slipping, Apaay is determined to escape the deadly labyrinth with her sister’s face in hand. But in Yuki’s harsh world, Apaay will need all her strength to survive.
Yuki only plays the games she wins.
Let’s talk about how gorgeous this cover is! The different hues of blue work so well together and the first thing I noticed was the lack of face on the woman pictured. Though she doesn’t have one, there seem to be shadows of faces surrounding her. We can also ascertain that she lives somewhere like Alaska that is cold. We can tell because of the snow-covered mountains and the parka she is wearing. I would for sure pick this book up based on the cover but that summary would make me buy it!
About the Authors
Review
I know I mentioned that I was waiting to read this book and I was not disappointed. I really love the deeper themes this book presents throughout. The largest one was how we identify ourselves. When you think about it, this might be hard to answer right away. Is it our face that defines who we are? Is our name where we pull our identity from? What about our culture? Most times we come to learn that it is not only one of these things but a combination of these. What would happen if we lost all of these? Below really dives deep into exploring this. How do we live when we are unaware of these things; when they’ve been taken from us? How do we define ourselves then?
The main character Apaay was someone I really grew to love. She reminded me a lot of myself. She is always trying to prove her worth to the world, show everyone she is good enough. Somehow, she always seems to mess up and fall short. When the face stealer took her sister’s beauty, she vowed to get it back. She wasn’t there for her sister when she should’ve been so she knew she had to help her now. Apaay sets out on a journey, against her parent’s wishes, to find the face stealer.
What she didn’t know is that she’ll find her way into a magical labyrinth. There, she meets Yuki, the dark and beautiful but twisted. She must play Yuki’s games to escape…but will she make it through?
Apaay was such a strong and inspirational character. As I said before, I really connected with her on a personal level. She was resilient, never letting anything keep her down. The best part was that through this journey to save her sister, it became a voyage of self-discovery. She learned that although she may not be the best hunter, the smartest, or most beautiful…she was strong in her own way.
This book was based on a unique concept and boy did I fall in love with it. I was sucked in right from the start and I love how the culture of the Inuits is used properly regarding the names. It grabbed me from the start and I was furiously turning pages with no sense of time. I didn’t just have to know what happened on the next page…I NEEDED to know! Below was the first book I’ve read by this author but now I know that I’m going to have to read her other work as well. I hope that you all enjoy this book as much as I did!
Giveaway
Prize #1: Win (1) signed paperback copy of BELOW by Alexandria Warwick (US Only)
Prize #2: Win (1) e-copy of BELOW by Alexandria Warwick (INT)
Starts: 29th January 2020
Ends: 12th February 2020
What do you think? Is this book something you’d enjoy to read? Have you read it, what did you think? Have you read The Demon Race? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Good Luck on the giveaway!
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