Thursday, April 24, 2014

"Skycastle, the Demon, and Me" by Andy Mulberry

REVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Skycastle, the Demon, and Me
(The Skycastle Series Book 1)
by Andy Mulberry


Skycastle, the Demon, and Me, the first book in a new series for children ages 7 and up, is ON SALE for only $0.99. Also available for $0.99: Skycastle and the Demonic Incident in Chinatown (NEW RELEASE).


You can read my review below as well as enter the giveaway. This book blast is brought to you by Mother Daughter Book Promotion Services.


Description
Skycastle, the Demon, and Me is the first in a series of middle grade books for fearless, adventure loving kids.
Jack Harper lives in an old castle turned museum. The day he calls Hell to order a demon is one of his more interesting days of his twelve year old life. One demon delivery later, Hell wants to be paid in gold. If you owe Hell gold but you can't pay, you're about to have a bad day!
Between you and me, Jack can't pay. He's in a bit of a hellish pickle.
WARNING…this book contains a scowling demon, bad decisions, a skeleton key, not foul but hellish language, an ordinary boy and an extraordinary castle. You’ve been warned.
Skycastle, the Demon, and Me: An unlikely friendship, a hellish adventure and cliffhangers aplenty to make reluctant readers turn the pages.

Book Trailer


Excerpt
What was the point of having a demon work for you if he was silently, demonically plotting to kill you? He could kill you with brimstone and fire. He could fiendishly curse you to death. He could do his demon thing and swallow you whole and your soul would be lost forever.
Forever!
I thought about that for a while.
Sometimes in life, you had to take a risk for the great good.
I stepped to the phone, picked up and dialed the number.
Then I hung up.
I was such a coward. I took three deep breaths, and then picked up the phone again. My hand was so sweaty I almost dropped the phone.
I dialed.
My heart was racing during the beep … beep … beep.
Someone picked up.

Review
Jack Harper lives in Greencastle, a museum and tourist attraction castle with dungeon and all. But as he says, "living in a castle wasn't as cool as it sounds," and "nothing exciting ever happened at Greencastle." That is, until he finds the mysterious note in the mouse trap under the fridge advertising for demons. What can possibly happen if he dials the number? So, Andy orders a demon because he thinks one might come in handy to give the tourists a friendly fright. "Sometimes in life, you had to take a risk for the greater good." The demon, Brinkloven Crowley the Third (or Brink for short), turns out to be a normal-looking boy, except for the fact that he has red skin and tiny horns peeping through his hair. And he likes to read! But what happens when Jack finds out the price of a demon and can't pay? How are they going to avoid the Collector?
The book gets off to a great start, with the prologue taking us right to the heart of the matter. However, I did find it a bit short and think the story could have been expanded with more instances of scaring the customers and a few more close calls with Jack's parents. But maybe that's just because I was enjoying it so much and wanted some more! There are also a small number of editing errors. Nevertheless, this book is a great blend of funny, scary and adventurous. I think boys especially will enjoy this series.

Praise for the Book
"I bought this book to read with my younger brother and we both loved it. I always try to encourage him to keep up with his reading but he’s usually not that big of a fan of books most of the time. To my surprise, he quickly became immersed into the story and I could tell that he was having just as much fun as I was reading it together. The story keeps up at a smooth and fast pace, which is of course very important in children’s books, and it’s adventurous and written really well. To say that I am satisfied with Skycastle, the Demon, and Me would be an understatement, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more releases by the author." ~ 5 Star Review, Jane L., Amazon
"The characters are well created and the story is exceptionally good. My great granddaughter just started reading it this morning and she is already pretty engrossed in the story. Great book. I definitely recommend." ~ 5 Star Review, Beverly C., Amazon
"Very well written story. Witty and charming for both myself and my son who is in 3rd grade. A great creative adventure about a demon and a boy. Looking forward to more in this series. I would highly recommend this book for kids around the 3rd grade. It’s action packed and holds my son’s interest. Filled with the stuff he loves. Thanks!” ~ 5 Star Review, M. Harbin, Amazon

About the Author
Andy Mulberry loves to write stories filled with strange adventures, odd characters and mysterious circumstances. To say she was born holding a book in her hand reading would be a gross hyperbole. She lives in Southern California with her scowling teenager, a chubby blue cat-beast, an imaginary dog and one leaky roof.




Giveaway
Enter the blast-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash.
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