Forty Days Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

The entire village knows Neima’s grandfather is a madman. For years the old man has prophesied that a great flood is coming, a flood disastrous enough to blot out the entire earth. He’s even built an enormous ark that he claims will allow his family to survive the deluge. But no one believes the ravings of a lunatic…

…until the rain starts. And doesn’t stop. Soon sixteen-year-old Neima finds her entire world transformed, her life and those of the people she loves in peril. Trapped on the ark with her grandfather Noah, the rest of her family, and a noisy, filthy, and hungry assortment of wild animals, will Neima find a way to survive?

With lions, tigers, and bears oh my, elephants and flamingos too, along with rivalries and betrayals, a mysterious stowaway, and perhaps even an unexpected romance, FORTY DAYS is not your grandfather’s Noah’s Ark story.

FORTY DAYS is approximately 45000 words, the length of a shorter novel, and is the first installment in a two-part epic story. It does contain a cliffhanger ending.

Readers looking for a traditional, religiously oriented version of the Noah’s Ark story should be warned that FORTY DAYS may not appeal to them. The novel will, however, appeal to lovers of apocalyptic fiction, historical fiction, and romance, as well as anyone who’s ever dreamed of having a baby elephant as a pet.

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Author Bio:

Stephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a piano major. She moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's WEETZIE BAT books, which might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and cold.

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 Review:
First line:

My grandfather is a madman, and the entire village knows it.

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Format:

ecopy received for tour

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Rating:

4 stars out of 5

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Oh my gosh. That cliffhanger ending!!!! I can't wait until Forty Nights is out!!! Okay, now that that's out of the way I can get on with the review. :)

Neima is struggling to live life in the village. The only life she has known is one where everybody avoids her and sends her dirty looks. Not because of something she's done, but because her grandfather is crazy. He insists that this God will send a great flood to destroy mankind and that Noah must build a giant arc to save his family and all animals.

This is the year for the flood. Neima's family is busy following Noah's command, just to pacify him, not because they actually believe that there will be a giant flood. Though Neima struggles to be accepted by the village, she knows she'll be fine as long as she has her two best friends, Jorin and Derya, at her back. But everything changes when Kenaan, Neima's cousin and Derya's crush, is promised to Neima by Noah (remember this is very early Biblical times, so this if you think about it, it just follows the time). Derya gets mad at Neima and refuses to talk to her.

The rainy season hits, and everybody realizes that Noah was right. While on the arc, Neima learns a lot about herself, her younger cousin Shai, and her father. Every little kid thinks the world of their dad and that he can do no wrong. At sixteen, Neima is realizing that Shem is not perfect, that he has his faults. I loved reading about this interaction between the two. Neima and Shai's relationship was cute. Shai is ten and loves to help Neima with the animals, especially the elephants.

I loved Forty Days. If you like historical fiction than this is definitely a good book for you. Please remember though while your reading, that this takes place in early Biblical times.

Giveaway
International
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Check out the rest of the tour: