Blog Tour, Book Review, Guest Post, Scavenger Hunt: The Exemeus by Folami and Abeni Morris

Title: The Exemeus
Authors: Folami Morris and Abeni Morris
Series: Book One in the Exemeus Series
Published: January 3, 2013 by Roayl Colours Inc.
Genre: YA Fantasy
Tour Promoted By: Candace Book Tours
Source: A copy provided by the Tour (in exchange for an honest review)

Book Description:
Hyalee Smith is dead, she just doesn’t know it yet.

Her short life was devoted to love and to hate. Love of the man who stole her heart, hate for the man who stole the world. Murdered by the government she swore to destroy, she has been given another chance to make it right. But to save the planet, she needs the help of the most powerful mystic the world has ever seen—unfortunately he hasn’t been born yet. 

In a world where fear is the only currency, Dephon has committed the ultimate crime:inspiring hope.


His only goal is to make it safely through ninth grade, but on a post-apocalyptic Earth run by the Treptonian government, it isn’t that simple. Heir to a legendary power, Dephon Johnson is the only threat to the government’s rule. And on Trepton, all threats must be eliminated. When hundreds of assassins are dispatched to neutralize him, Dephon is forced to fight back. His only chance of survival is to enlist the aid of the greatest warrior the world has ever known. The only problem is, she's been dead for 13 years.

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About the Authors:

Folami and Abeni Morris are a sister-sister writing team. Together they wrote (and rewrote) The Exemeus, somehow managing to accomplish it without murdering one another. Despite their facial similarities, tendency to finish each other’s thoughts and stick up for each other constantly, no, they’re not twins and thus deserve their own individual bio.

Folami Morris:

Folami grew up in the tiny city of San Mateo Ca, where nothing ever happens and no one ever leaves. She went to Xavier University for undergraduate, getting her B.A in physics and her B.S in Biology. After graduation she returned to California, to live in an even smaller city, where even less happens, Antioch Ca. During this time she escaped the monotony by hanging out with her imaginary friends Hyalee and Dephon, and by writing the Exemeus. She finally escaped to Queens NY and now realizes that quiet and tiny aren’t so bad.

Abeni Morris:


As luck (and logic) would have it, Abeni grew up in the same tiny little town as her sister, then she too escaped to the tinier town of Antioch. She has yet to leave. She received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood development from Cal State East Bay. She is the mom of two amazing kids, who swear that they deserve a percentage of the book proceeds and a ton of the credit. At least she raised dreamers.
Website

Guest Post:

Hello all!

I’m so glad to be here. I’m Folami Morris, one of the co-authors of The Exemeus, the YA Dystopian Fantasy that has recently been released.  If you’ve ever read one of my interviews you know that I love YA books. The whole genre and all of its subcategories get me so excited- I’m clearly a proud book nerd. So I decided to write this guest post around a question I was asked recently: What 5 things do I hate and love about YA fiction?

1.       I love a strong main character.

I guess that’s a given. Most people love when the character won’t quit fighting until the end— a character you can root for. I don’t like whiners, not in real life or in fiction

2.       The first thing that I hate directly correlates with what I love. I hate a whiny character.

 I don’t understand when or why people sit around and complain. Life is what you make it. If I have to spend the majority of the book stuck in the head of a whiner I won’t be able to finish it. Period.

3.       I love humor!

Any kind of humor makes a good book great, especially when it is done well. One of my favorite books of all time is Demons at Deadnight. If you get a chance to read it, please do, it’s amazing. What makes it such a phenomenal debut is the humor. There were jokes that were so original and quirky, the book lingers with you long after you have turned the page.

4.       I hate books that drag on.

A book that takes forever to get to the point is very annoying. I refuse to point to any examples, but if nothing happens for the first 300 pages that’s a problem. If the first fifty pages are only on character development, and the character isn’t someone fascinating like Hannibal Lector, the book has already lost a fan.

5.        A SWOON WORTHY MALE LEAD.

I know this makes me such a girl, but I love a male lead who always knows what to say and what to do. The men in real life can be so flawed (woman too, but I’m not dating woman so that part doesn’t affect me). A book is my chance to escape and a man who just makes my heart beat faster or stop beating entirely, whew, that’s just hot.  

6.       I love superheroes!

A book doesn’t have to have superheroes to be great, but I have a soft smart for a guy like Singleton who has a great personality and defies the law of gravity. Toss in original powers and I just can’t breathe!   This is the best thing about my favorite YA books- I find myself dreaming of what I would do with the characters powers.

7.       I’m sure you realized that I skipped one thing that I hate. I did. 5 and 6 went together well, so bear with me. I hate a YA book that doesn’t have an original plot.

I have read way too many books that remind me of Harry Potter in every way. I realize there isn’t an original thought left to think, but a blatant copycat leaves a dry taste in my mouth.

8.       I hate books with flat endings

So I have endured 300+ pages. I’ve been gripping my seat, biting my nails, and sacrificing food because the story was just that great. And then it ends. It is over. Everything tied into a neat bow and no one the worst for wear.

9.       I love when the world is built so well that you want to live there

Since I was 16 I have wanted to live at Hogwarts. I’m completely serious. The world was made so well, I feel like if I practice enough I can cast a spell for a patronus or fly on a broomstick. A well-built world can make or break a story for me.

10.   I hate books that are really good, but are too short.

Clearly, this is me cheating since this really isn’t a flaw. I just love a good book. I hate when they’re over too soon.

I guess that’s all everyone, but what do you love and hate about YA? Why are your favorite books your favorites? I look forward to hearing all of your answers.

My Thoughts and Review:

I'm going to admit something, I wasn't too sure about this before I started it. As most of you know, I seem to have a love hate relationship with most fantasy novels. I have no idea why. Maybe my expectations are too high or maybe I just have a hard time believing the unbelievable, either way, there you have it, I am drawn to fantasy but very seldom really get in to it and enjoy it. 

So it is understandable that I went into this with trepidation, very low expectations and maybe even with a not so great attitude. So you can imagine my surprise when I was immediately thrown into the story and my attention was grabbed from the very first chapter.

I truly had so much fun reading this. I wasn't too sure I was going to love Dephon's voice but by the time I got past the first couple of chapters, I realized that I really did enjoy him in all his awkwardness. And most importantly, I loved watching him as he learned about his parents and especially about Hyalee.  

The similarities between the two (Hyalee and Dephon) was uncanny and I loved that instant connection that they seemed to have as Dephon unfolded his mother's story. And lets talk about that for a moment, really the telling of her story was brilliantly done. It reminded me a lot of The Never Ending Story as we were thrown into her story with the simple act of the opening of a large ancient book.

Mallea was such a great secondary character with all her feisty-ness, I couldn't help but love her as she helped Dephon through his journey in the story. And can I talk about Kayin? I know it is crazy but I loved him and all his roostery antics. They added a lightness to the story that put a fun twist to it that I really enjoyed.

In fact I really enjoyed all the characters in this story, from the good to the bad. My only real complaint is that I never felt like I got a real good picture of what Earth (now Trepton) was like after the battle 13 years later. Was magic known across the world? Why was it so repressed and the inhabitants so fearful to even walk the streets? But, I can only imagine that that, along with a lot of other things revealed at the end, will be discussed in more length in the next installment and I plan on reading it and finding out more. I really enjoyed this, way more than I thought I would and truly think that this would appeal to anyone, fantasy lover or not. 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author, publisher or tour host. I was not compensated for this review.*



Tour Wide Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Scavenger Hunt Time! (Win a Kindle Fire or $150!) 

This is open internationally, but if you are outside the US you will receive the $150 via paypal.

Welcome to Day 1 of The Exemeus Scavenger Hunt!

Thank you for joining us. We’re dying to see how many of you can answer these questions and call yourselves true Exemeus’ fans.

Ready to get started?  Great! Here are the rules.

a.       Each site has two questions and there are two sites a day.

b.      Look up the answers in the book

c.       Enter them into the google doc by midnight of September 1st. (There is a form on each site, you must enter into them all!)

d.      If you answer everything correctly your name is entered into the drawing to win a kindle fire! (Winner declared October 1st)

(Don't worry, if you already own a kindle fire you can receive 150.00 via paypal instead)

We’re going to start off with easy questions. You don’t need to be a true fan to answer these.

1.       What is the name of Dephon’s mom?

2.       How old is Dephon?

Thanks for playing! Go to Cover2Cover for the next two questions!

Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1B_S9-AwaO69LqKpSbbLvF-3E7TOZtF1WXlg9J8Qt1_k/viewform