The Gatekeeper's Challenge Book Tour: Review, Interview, & GIVEAWAY

Welcome to our stop of Eva Pohler's The Gatekeeper's Challenge book tour! This tour is hosted by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, and I'm going to tell you what I thought of this novel, as well as let you know about a pretty cool contest that the author is hosting over at her website. But first, I got the chance to talk to her and ask a few questions, so let's turn it over to Eva Pohler!

 

The Interivew

1.   Would you say that your writing life and your family/social life are very intertwined? 

Absolutely. I sit with my laptop in my favorite chair, feet on an ottoman, in the living room—not much used by the rest of the family, but a pass-through in our house. Constant kid, dog, and hubby traffic go by as I’m writing, and I’m frequently expected to engage. Sometimes it’s to answer kid and hubby questions, sometimes to let the dog out, and sometimes, (less often, but it’s there) to share a eureka moment I had in the construction of plot or character or both. I’m also an active member of a book club, comprised of my best friends, and in addition to discussing our book-of-the-month, I keep everyone updated on my writing and publishing life. My hubbie works as a great sounding board, too, especially at night when he’s hoping for a back scratch. That’s when I say, “I’ll scratch your back if you tell me what you think about…” It’s always a done deal.

2.   Is there anything new that you're working on that you can tell us about? 

I’m about halfway finished with the first draft of the third book in The Gatekeeper’s Trilogy and on target to release it next December. I’ve also completed the millionth draft of the first book of a two-book series, called The Purgatorium, which will be released May 1, 2013. The Purgatorium is a young adult story, like The Gatekeeper’s Trilogy, but, unlike Gatekeeper’s, which is steeped in Greek mythology, it’s purely realistic. A seventeen-year-old girl agrees to go with her best friend to try out a new resort on an island off the coast of California unaware that her parents have set her up for the most thrilling, and frightening, ride of her life as part of an experimental therapy for suicidals.

3.   For those who don't know much about The Gatekeeper's Challenge, how would you describe it? 

I’d say it’s written for a slightly older audience than the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and with more romance but with similar characters from Greek mythology.

 4.   What was your favorite scene to write in The Gatekeeper's Challenge? Your least favorite? 

Two scenes stand out as my favorites. I loved writing the scene where Therese faces the Hydra. I didn’t want it to be just another fight between a girl and a monster, and I’m thrilled with the twists and turns it takes. I equally enjoyed writing the last scene, though I was near tears. I’ll refrain from describing it so as not to spoil the story. 

I suppose the last scene was also my least favorite to write, because as thrilled as I was to have come up with it, it was a hard thing to put my characters through.

5.   Looking back, if you could change one thing about The Gatekeeper's Challenge, what would it be?

There’s absolutely nothing I would change about The Gatekeeper’s Challenge. I love it so much! But I would change something about the first book in the trilogy, The Gatekeeper’s Sons. Although most of the reviews for the first book have been great, more than one person felt the middle part of the story was slower than the beginning and the end. I think it’s because the first book is more about the characters falling in love and getting to know each other, whereas the second and third are full of adventure. I realize now that most of my readers, being lovers of Greek mythology, will likely prefer a more action-packed pace.

6.   Did you ever want to be anything other than an author? If so, what? What made you decide to be an author? 

I started college hoping to be like Anton Chekhov—both a writer and a doctor—but my struggle with organic chemistry changed that plan. Instead, I earned a Ph.D. in English, so I suppose I did become a writer and a doctor of another kind. 

Becoming an author wasn’t so much a decision as it was a compulsion. For me, writing started as an avoidance mechanism that eventually grew into a full-fledged obsession.

7.   What is your favorite book that you've read so far this year? Favorite book of all time? How about movie? 

This is your toughest question yet! I read at least two books a month, and sometimes more, so I have many to choose from this year alone. I was going to say I can narrow my favorite down to two: Stephenie Meyer’s The Host and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. But then I remembered I read Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides, this year, and so that one’s the winner. Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein was a close runner up. 

My favorite book of all time. Hmm. Gosh. That would have to be either Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, or Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier. In young adult, it would be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling. 

My favorite movie this year was The Dark Knight (but I haven’t seen The Hobbit yet!). My favorite movie of all time is Pride and Prejudice.

 

This or That

  
Series or Stand-Alone? Ahh! You’re killing me! It’s like Sophie’s Choice! 
Morning or Night? Easy one! Night. 
Chicken or the Egg? Chicken. 
Coffee or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate.
Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars (I’m SO sorry, Bones, Spock, and Captain Kirk, but she’s making me choose!).

That last scene killed me too! It was so hard to read, and even harder to stop reading once it ended!

Actually, in The Gatekeeper's Sons, the middle part was probably my favorite. It may not exactly be in action packed, kill the bad guy mode, but that's where I think the characters felt the most real. I don't like to see the characters that I've just learned to fall in love with suffer, and they were so happy when they were falling in love. I didn't want it to end!

And I suppose you pass the Star Trek test. But only because you mentioned Spock.

 

My Review

Therese is not perfect. She lies, she makes mistakes, she judges, she hurts people, and she lets her past cloud her future. She doesn't always live up the the expectations placed upon her, yet she's disappointed when others don't meet hers. You want to know why she acts so human? Because she is human, which is a fact that I think so many authors have come to forget. Eva Pohler is not one of them.

Human beings were never meant to be perfect, and the imaginary ones are no exception. They cheat, they lie, and they grovel just like the rest of us. That's why we can relate to them so well. When an author tries to take those characteristics away, trying to "improve" them, they're no longer like us. They don't mean anything.

Therese had been through a lot that past year. People died, they left her all alone, and she doesn't understand why. All she knows is that she will do anything to get them back, or to get back to them. Even if that means she has to die.

Therese does a whole lot of stupid things in this book, most of which have consequences that she, or even the gods, can't erase. People die by her hands, but she regrets it more than words can express. She may not be perfect, but she's not a monster either.

I'm not so sure if I liked Therese more than I just appreciated her. She made me mad more times than I can count, and I was chanting "stupid girl, stupid, stupid girl" right along with Artemis pretty often.

As usual, I absolutely loved a lot of the minor characters, namely Asterion and Ariadne. I was absolutely crushed when Therese had to fight them, especially after they were so kind in letting her pass through the labyrinth unharmed.

Hephaestus I adored as well, mostly because of how human he was willing to act. Unlike many of the other gods (except for maybe Hermes), he was humble and genuinely cared for Therese as a person instead of a creature to do his bidding. You didn't see him expecting her to commit her life to smiths work before he was willing to help, and he was more than willing to comfort her and be that kind face in the crowd.

I was pretty fond of the Holts as well, expect, of course, for Mr. Holt. I hadn't really like Jen that much in the beginning of the first book, but she really pulled on my heartstrings once I learned more about her. Bobby, of course, was adorable, and his enthusiasm was much appreciated.

And then there's Pete. I love, love, love, loved Pete. I'm not saying that he was a better fit for Therese than Than was, but I still absolutely adored him. He was so kind, considerate, and gentle, never doing anything that he thought might upset Therese. He was willing to turn his whole family against him to protect his little sister when she was too afraid to stand up for herself, and he always put others first. He was never rude or cruel to Than even though he was kind of stealing his girl, and I don't think he ever blamed Therese for what she did, even though she deserved it. He was willing to wait so that he wouldn't hurt her, even after he gave up his whole future to stay for the ones he loved. Anything happens to him, and I'm breaking out the pitchforks, understood?

Rating: 5 stars

Ooo, looking back on this now, it seems that I spent too much time fawning over the characters, but I think that's going to be just fine. There are so many books out there that are centered around Greek mythology that I think you have to have above average characters to stand out. Judging from what I wrote above, that can be assured in this book.

But even if you don't believe me (really people, I'm starting to take it personally!), you can read this excerpt from somewhere around halfway through the novel to convince yourself. In this part, Than is talking to his father, Hades, after Therese starts the impossible challenges she must complete in order to prove that she is worthy enough to become a god.

 

The Excerpt

"“And I thought you were the god of justice!”

“These are challenges, Thanatos. The more challenging, the better the victory.”

“Hah! Admit it. You want her to fail!”

Hades didn’t hide the smile creeping across his face as he stood and met Than’s eyes, their noses inches apart. “I want her to pay! She was an embarrassment to me last summer. If she’s to join us here in my palace, I want her to suffer first.”

“The punishment should fit the crime!” Than said.

“Agreed!” Hades bellowed. “I said those very words to your sisters before you arrived. They want to drag on too long the punishment of a murderer in Paris before they bring him here. I think they are motivated by something other than justice.”

The Furies stood up, their eyes changing from blue in one and brown in the other to dark red. Blood dripped to their cheeks.

“Who doesn’t love Paris?” Tizzie hissed.

“We’ll leave you now,” Meg snarled.

The Furies vanished.

Hades crossed his arms at his chest. “And you are, too, Thanatos.”

“She had compassion for a man who was no longer a threat to her. She refused to kill him in cold blood. How is that a failure?”

“He deserved death. Her parents deserved vengeance. You deserved her to keep her word! She’s the one who let you down, son. Not me. She chose to have mercy on that killer over becoming your wife. Doesn’t that bother you even a little?”

Than’s throat tightened and no words came. He could think of nothing to say. Yes, it had bothered him. It had bothered him a lot. Only her prayers in the aftermath of the battle convinced him of her love. Her prayers, not her actions.

The challenges gave her the opportunity to remedy that. His father was right."

Awesome, huh?

About the Book

Ten agonizing months have gone by since Therese faced off against her parents’ murderer at Mount Olympus, and she suspects Thanatos’s absence is meant to send her a message: go on with your life. She tries to return Pete’s affections even though her heart aches for the god of death, but when Than shows up to take her hamster’s soul, she becomes infuriated when he says he’s “been busy.” In cahoots with her new friend, who's gotten in with the Demon Druggies at school, Therese takes a drug that simulates a near-death experience, planning to tell Than off so she can have closure and move on, but things go very, very wrong. 

Eventually she learns Than has been busy searching for a way to make her a god, and he’s found it, but it requires her to complete a set of impossible challenges designed by Hades, who hopes to see her fail.

Goodreads       Amazon       B&N

The Book Depository       Smashwords

And because this is the second book in the series, here's a little bit about the first one.

Fifteen-year-old Therese watches her parents die. While in a coma, she meets the twin sons of Hades—Hypnos, the god of sleep, and Thanatos, the god of death. She thinks she's manipulating a dream, not kissing the god of death and totally rocking his world.

Than makes a deal with Hades and goes as a mortal to the Upperworld to try and win Therese's heart, but not all the gods are happy. Some give her gifts. Others try to kill her. 

The deal requires Therese to avenge the death of her parents. With the help of Than’s fierce and exotic sisters, the Furies, she finds herself in an arena face to face with the murderer, and only one will survive.

 Goodreads       Amazon       B&N

The Book Depository       Smashwords

 

 

About the Author

Eva Pohler teaches writing at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she lives with her husband, three children, two dogs, two rats, and her very large collection of books.

Website       Blog       Other Blog       Twitter       Goodreads

 

The Giveaway

Head over to Eva Pohler's blog to enter into a contest to win Athena's locket and one of Hera's golden apples!

 

The Tour

January 2 - Review at Jen McConnel

January 3 - Interview & Promo at Mom With a Kindle

January 4 - Guest Post & Promo at Lov Liv Life Reviews

January 5 - Review and Interview at Marked by Books

January 6 - Guest Post & Promo at Andi's YA Books

January 7 - Review at The Stuff of Success

January 9 - Guest Post & Promo at Let's Get Booked

January 10 - Review & Interview at The Library Haunt

January 12 - Review & Interview at Impressions of a Princess

January 13 - Guest Post & Promo at Book Lovin Mamas

January 14 - Promo at Lovely Reads

January 15 - Review at My Cozie Corner

January 16 - Review & Guest Post at I Have Lived a Thousand Lives

January 18 - Promo at YA Reviews and News

January 19 - Review & Guest Post at Book and Appointment with Wisdom Books

January 20 - Review & Interview at Magical Manuscripts

January 21 - Guest Post & Promo at Bibliophile's Thoughts

January 22 - Review & Guest Post at Inside BJ's Head

January 23 - Guest Post & Promo at Enchanting Reads

January 24 - Review at Love in a Book

January 26 - Review & Interview at Reading With Anacrasia

January 27 - Review at Books, Books, and More Books

January 28 - Review & Guest Post at Beloved Books

January 29 - Review & Guest Post The Avid Reader

January 30 - Promo at Jody's Book Reviews

A copy of the novel was provided for us in exchange for an honest review.