Review + Author Interview + Giveaway (INT): Pledged by Gwynneth White

Welcome guys, to another interesting Author Interview and giveaway post! I love these and I hope you do too! 

This time, we have with us Gwynneth White, author the Soul Wars Saga trilogy. The first book in the series, Pledged, was published in June 2012. You can read my review of the book a little later in this post itself or you can read it separately here. 

So read along, take part in the giveaway and enjoy! 

GOODREADS SUMMARY OF PLEDGED:

Everyone has a soul mate. But what do you do when your soul mate would rather give his soul to the demons than be with you?

Seventeen-year-old Erin has a problem. Seth has been hers forever, but now an ancient curse is tearing him away. And the demons who invoked it will stop at nothing – even murder – to claim him as their own.

How can she win against a curse so binding that it has damned countless others to this same fate – an eternity alone?

The answer lies in the past. To find it, Erin and Seth must risk all, travelling back in time to a dangerous world where love is forbidden, and life – and death – hang on a pledge.

Follow Erin and Seth as they travel to ancient Shenaya and confront the curse that has plagued their families for millennia. Caught in a war between the Angelic Guardians and the Gefallen, the disembodied dead, they must fight to keep their souls in tact and their love untainted.

REVIEW: 

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of Pledged from author Gwynneth White in exchange for an honest review. We thank Gwynneth for the book! 

Pledged, for me, was something between historical fiction and young adult. I absolutely liked how the book started with Erin and Seth meeting at the airport. It seemed more contemporary to me, at that time. But obviously, as we move ahead, there's lots of stuff happening.

Erin and Seth have to travel back in time. From there, Pledged was like a journey into the unknown. Firstly, being set in very ancient times, there were so many interesting things to learn and so much of information to keep tab on. At times, I found myself getting a wee bit confused about what was going on.

I have mixed feelings about the two arch rivals, Gideon and Reuel, who each have their own strategies and prophecies that they are both trying to bring into focus. 

Erin and Seth both have large families and many friends who they meet in their time travel as well. Basically, the whole story revolves around Erin and Seth breaking a long living curse with the help of the Pledged diamond and all Guardians and Gefallen. There were plenty of side characters in Pledged, and they were all extremely unique in their own way and are well portrayed. As a protagonist, I could easily relate to Erin. She is a nice and really cool girl. She was just great! 

As for Seth, I do feel bad for him because of all that he has had to go through and all the secrets that come flying toward him later on. But as a guy, he was practical, though a bit too 'pushing away and no attachment' types. Having said that, I think from Seth's POV, it was totally understandable. 

The Erin and Seth scenes were a lot of fun to read. 

Pledged is set up in Shenaya, Africa. It was really cool to get to know about it. Overall, I think Pledged was a good read. Because of the length, I did think that it was dragged, but being a fantasy novel, I guess that's how it's supposed to be. Unlike many readers out there, I'm a huge fan of cliff- hangers, and so I really liked how Pledged ended. At the same time, however, I’m sure it’ll be fascinating to know what happens next. 

RATING:

X 3

MY FAVOURITE QUOTES FROM PLEDGED:

I am sharing some of my favourite quotes from Pledged. Hope you enjoy reading! 

*"But I'm not here to teach physics. It's a history lesson you need." -Nathan

*"Before you get carried away with your exuberance, you can't change the course of history. What is, will be. Come what may." -Nathan 

*"Guardians don't make people do anything. Human choice is just too precious for that." -Kate

*"Love. Such a tedious emotion. But strong enough to melt a frozen heart." -Reuel 

*"He hates her, but he wants her. He loves her, but he wants to kill her. He wants to run away, but he keeps coming back. Reason has no sway." -Stephanie 

*Every cell in his body is probably screaming at him find a way out of this mess. No wonder he can't really focus on anything else. 

*He's gentle. And caring. And smart enough to know that conflict rarely solves things. In fact, he's the perfect match to my personality. No wonder my spirit loved him so much and for so long. 

*"See, soul mates - they find each other in the end."-Erin 

*Her eyes - the colour of a crystal green sea - looked at him with such wonder. He longed to hold her, to kiss her, to twirl her hair. But he didn't. Instead, he stepped away from her. 

ABOUT GWYNNETH WHITE (IN GWYNNETH'S OWN WORDS FROM GOODREADS): 

I have spent my entire life living in a parallel universe of make-believe characters, only coming back to reality for long enough to check that no one burnt the house down in my absence. A few years ago I decided to commit some of those ‘friends’ and their stories to paper. The ‘Soul Wars Saga’ comprising ‘Pledged’, ‘Sacrificed’ and ‘Saved’ is the result of those efforts. Before that I co-authored two non-fiction travel books – ‘The Complete Guide to 4x4 Trails’ and ‘The Ultimate 4x4 Guide’. Both books became instant best-sellers in South Africa where I live. And before that even, I studied a degree in African History and Politics at the University of Stellenbosch. When I’m not writing, I am a wife to Andrew and a mom to Stephanie, Erin, and Kate, our teenage daughters. My family and I live in a small town outside Cape Town with two dogs, a cat, a horse, and some neglected fish.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

Gwynneth White

We have with us today, author Gwynneth White, who has kindly answered all our questions. Thank you so much for being here, Gwynneth! 

Hello Sarika, thank you for having me on your blog. I really appreciate it. 

1) Can you tell is a little bit about your book? 

Pledged unashamedly explores good and evil. I wanted to write about how ordinary human beings, without any special powers, would react when confronted by difficult – often grey – choices. That all sounds dreadfully dull . . . I promise you, it isn’t! Pledged really is two books in one. When Seth and Erin go back in time to Shenaya, they meet Sophia and Caleb, Jared and Talitha. These four teenagers have their own story, which runs parallel to Seth’s and Erin’s experience. And because they lived in the past, their lives and their choices are impacting on Erin and Seth today. But there is nothing Seth and Erin can do to change the past. This makes life really challenging for them - and provides lots of action, adventure and some romance for the reader. By the way, Pledged is part of the Soul Wars Saga trilogy. 

2) What inspired you to write Pledged?

It was a process. The soul mates came first because I love the concept that we knew and loved our life partners before we were born. Then came the demons and angels . . . while I was writing one of the many drafts of Pledged, my mother contracted cancer. After she died it seemed like I heard her voice in my head, encouraging me to finish the series. Thus the involvement of the dead – angels and demons – was born. And finally the time travel? Well, at first Pledged was set in ancient times, but I decided it needed a modern twist. Enter Seth and Erin. With their story came the diamond Seer-Stone which enabled them to time travel. So I guess the creation of Pledged reflects the many layers contained in the actual story.

3) I really like Erin as a person and I could easily relate to her.

Which Pledged character do you relate to the most?

Jared. I just love him. If anyone has leapt off the page for me, it’s that sardonic, arrogant young Warlord. He’s not uber good-looking, but he’s got a strong, commanding face, which pretty much tells the world what he’s about. When you first meet him, you’ll find him hugely egotistical, but if you win his heart, he will be loyal to you unto death.

  

4) I read that the location used in Pledged is based on your own journey to Africa. Can you give us details about that?

Because I live in South Africa I’ve had ample opportunity to visit Botswana were modern-day Pledged is set. In fact, I even lived in the wilds of Botswana for a year, running a luxury game lodge in the Okavango Delta. The experience was magical, giving me insight into some of the superstitions and myths you will find as you read Pledged. A good example of that is the legend of The Lost City of the Kalahari on which I based my mythical Shenaya.

5) Pledged is about connection between two people as soul-mates.

Do you believe in the concept of soul-mates?

Definitely. I also believe in the eternal nature of the human spirit. And, as weird as it sounds, I have no doubt that our spirits lived before our births into mortality. Thanks to that, I believe, we chose our partners before we even came to Earth.

6) What can we expect from the next book in the Soul Wars Saga, Sacrificed?

The by-line for Sacrificed is: Everyone has a soul mate. But what happens if the only way your soul mate can live is for you to die? In Sacrificed life is very dark for all the characters, both modern and ancient. Reuel seems unstoppable, betrayals are rife, and relationships are shattered. I’m sorry to say, but it ends on another cliff hanger.

7) What do you do when you are not writing?

I’m a mom to three teenage girls, which takes up a lot of time, but also gives me great joy. When I’m not making their lives happen, I devour books, watch movies (preferably on the big screen), and grow stunning roses. I also love to travel, especially on boats and trains.

  

8) Do you have a favourite place where you like to read/write?

I have two favourite places: in bed or at a small desk in my bedroom, overlooking my rose garden.

Now that your readers know a little about me, I’d love to get to know them. They can befriend me at:

Twitter: @GwynnethWhite

Facebook: Gwynneth White

Goodreads:  Gwynneth White

Blog: Today In Shenaya

Email: gwynnethwhite(at)4xforum.com

Pledged is available at:

Barnes and Noble:  Pledged by Gwynneth White

Smashwords:  Pledged by Gwynneth White

Amazon:  Pledged (Soul Wars Saga) by Gwynneth White

You can get in touch with Gwynneth at the links she has provided. She will be glad to hear from you! 

Also, let us know what YOUR favorite place is to sit and read in the comments. It gives you an extra entry in the giveaway too. :) 

GIVEAWAY:

Now onto the giveaway! Gwynneth has generously offered Smashwords coupons of her first book in the Soul Wars Saga trilogy, to TWO lucky readers. 

Smashwords is easy to use. You just have to redeem the coupon code and download the book in the e-format of your choice. 

Giveaway rules are simple: 

• Enter by filling out the Rafflecopter form for the giveaway. 
• Winners will be announced here on the blog and also emailed, after which they will have 48 hours to respond  or else we'll be compelled to choose another winner. 

Also, the giveaway is INTERNATIONAL. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That's all, guys! Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the post and may the odds be ever in your favour! Happy reading! :) 

Sarika