Book Review – Titus Fogg by Aaron Piper

bookreview

Hello bookish friends!! Today, I have my review for Titus Fogg by Aaron Piper. This book was so fun to read and suprised me a few times. Many thanks to Aaron Piper for sending me a copy of this book. I honestly cannot wait to see what happens next!

divider3

titusfogg

aboutbook

Independently Published: July 25th 2018

Genre(s): Fantasy

Pages: Paperback 452 and Kindle Edition 328

purchaselinks

AMAZONBARNES & NOBLEKOBO – IBOOKS

synopsis

Titus Fogg hates magic, and with good reason. Born into a murderous family of cruel and powerful casters in modern Massachusetts, magic has contributed to every bad thing that has happened to him since birth. After finally managing to banish the most likely evil (but definitely dirty-minded) entity called Shade from his body to the sidelines as his shadow, Titus has the chance to have a normal, magic free, high school life. But, when Tess Roe, his classmate, neighbor and model of justice at their school realizes she can see the creatures Titus calls the Wyrd too, Titus must return to the world of the strange to help her. Soon Titus’s dark past comes to light as he must prove that he isn’t responsible for the death of one of Tess’s friends, and the theft of a magical book that could lead to the destruction of Arkham.

addongoodreads2

divider4

mythoughts

Wildly Imaginative, Spellbindingly Entertaining, and Wickedly Fun 

4halfhearts

What a marvelous debut novel! Titus Fogg was spellbindingly entertaining, wickedly fun, and a bone-chilling adventure that had me on the edge of my seat.

I love stories that can keep me on my toes and make me laugh. Titus Fogg by Aaron Piper definitely did that and caught me off guard with quite a few surprises. With plenty of action, humor, unexpected twists and turns, and spine-tingling suspense, the first book in the Wyrd series was a thoroughly enjoyable read that had me holding my breath a few times. It’s terrifying and absolutely enchanting at the same time. I was intoxicated with the magic, the danger, the unknown, and all the fantasy elements. I knew there would be some suspense based on the synopsis, but I honestly didn’t expect the story to be quite scary or gruesome. Some parts even gave me the chills… totally NOT a bad thing. I LOVE horror movies and being scared, so this absolutely made my reading experience more fun. The beginning did start a bit slow for me, but once it picked up, I was captivated and completely hooked!

I liked the world-building and all the magical aspects. I thought Piper created an amazingly dark, unique and intriguing world that had me engrossed. Even though some parts of the magic world felt a bit familiar, Piper weaved his own interpretations and ideas and that was interesting to read about. I enjoyed all the wonderful quirks, the weirdness, and even the ugly and frightening parts of this book. It was different in a good way and I had so much fun exploring this Wyrd world and going on this fantastical adventure with Titus, Tess and Shade.

Speaking of Titus, Tess and Shade, I thought they were such fascinating characters. Titus frustrated me quite a bit, but he’s such a likable anti-hero. Even if I didn’t always like or agree with his choices or how he went about to do things, he eventually warmed his way to my heart. Titus definitely had a softer and sweet side and I was able to see that in the way he always wanted to protect Tess and be there for her. I loved that Tess was no damsel-in-distress and she made sure Titus knew that. She was strong, feisty, brave, and determined and I really liked that about her. And then there’s Shade… sinister, snarky, and mysterious. Shade’s portrayed to be an evil creature, but he really wasn’t (at least not yet…) and I honestly really liked his character and found him very amusing. The supporting cast were quite interesting too and I can’t wait to meet other strange creatures and characters in the next book.

Aaron Piper created a wildly imaginative and chilling adventure about magic, friendship, and the unknown that had me flipping through the pages. I enjoyed the wonderful suspense, mystery, humor, and surprises. I also really liked that Titus Fogg addressed important issues such as bullying and its consequences and having the courage to do what is right. Overall, I really liked this book and I think both young and adult readers would too.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

divider4

favoritequotes

The world is what it is, beautiful, horrible, scary, and magnificent, exactly as it had been before, but now you see it differently.

Everyone’s capable of good. Deep down, everyone cares about the suffering of others.

Time is all we are given in this world, and we have no guarantee how much of it we will receive.

That was the cost of magic, beyond sacrifice, and the feeling of power that overtook a person. It was like being tapped on a path that led straight to a god. Power to change the world, power to bend it to one’s will. There was nothing else like it — no drug, no emotion, no sensation could compare.

 

divider4

abouttheauthor

aaronpiper.jpg

Aaron Piper grew up in farmlands of Ohio, reading anything he could get his hands on, in lieu of normal social interaction. When he complained one too many times about books he didn’t like, someone finally told him, “If you think you can do better, why don’t you write a book?” Many years and a minor in English from Ohio University later, he finished his first novel, Titus Fogg.  Currently, he lives in southern Indiana with his wife and daughter and have worked as a photographer and journalist for more than ten years.

authorlinks

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

 

divider3

Don’t forget to add this book on your TBR! And if you’ve already read it, let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day lovelies!!!

 

cropped-sincerelykjologo.png

Author Interview – Titus Fogg by Aaron Piper

 

authorinterview

Hello bookish friends!! Today, I have a fun author interview. Many thanks to Aaron Piper for taking the time to answer my questions. Hope you enjoy reading!!!

divider3

titusfogg

aboutbook

Independently Published: July 25th 2018

Genre(s): Fantasy

Pages: Paperback 452 and Kindle Edition 328

purchaselinks

AMAZONBARNES & NOBLEKOBO – IBOOKS

synopsis

Titus Fogg hates magic, and with good reason. Born into a murderous family of cruel and powerful casters in modern Massachusetts, magic has contributed to every bad thing that has happened to him since birth. After finally managing to banish the most likely evil (but definitely dirty-minded) entity called Shade from his body to the sidelines as his shadow, Titus has the chance to have a normal, magic free, high school life. But, when Tess Roe, his classmate, neighbor and model of justice at their school realizes she can see the creatures Titus calls the Wyrd too, Titus must return to the world of the strange to help her. Soon Titus’s dark past comes to light as he must prove that he isn’t responsible for the death of one of Tess’s friends, and the theft of a magical book that could lead to the destruction of Arkham.

addongoodreads2

divider4

What was your inspiration for Titus Fogg?

Short version; Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. Longer more accurate version; I actually got the idea by combining several ideas. The first influencer would probably be Rick Rhordian (Percy Jackson, others). His idea for books is to add old myth and gods to kids stories. I wondered what would happen if you did that with folklore, and strange creatures, but I didn’t like the idea of the noble hero that does everything fearlessly because he’s “the chosen one,” so I thought of Draco Malfoy.  He is not the chosen one, but he still has to be there the entire time because he has his part to play, but he is afraid, excited, proud, ashamed, all because he doesn’t have a prophecy protecting him.

Describe this book in 3 words.

Haha – Magical math magicians

What is your favorite part about being a writer?

Getting to hear people’s version of my world.  Listening to people talk about how they experienced the scenes or how they saw things happening.

Do you have any must haves when you’re writing?
Coffee, music…

Does any of your personality ever go into any of the characters?

Here and there, but not intentionally. I like logical conclusions, and have a off-kilter sense of humor with lots of sarcasm and sass.

Which author(s) have inspired your writing?

Lloyd Alexander, he wrote a magical coming of age story long before Rowling and his was magical, sad, real, and life altering.

Favorite snack while writing.

Gummy Bears

If there was a zombie apocalypse and you can choose 3 of your books to take with you which would you chose?

Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, World War Z, Fight Club.

If you were a superhero, what would your name be and what power would you have?

Be able to recreate any action I could see done once; Call me Monkey See (because if Monkey See then Monkey can do)

What advice do you have for writers in terms of dealing with favourable and/or unfavourable reviews of their published work?

I have a bit different view of it since I’m published in a daily variety through newsprint, but I apply the same rules. You learn more from mistakes than successes, and people have to be able to tell you what they think you did wrong. You have this urge to defend your work like it’s a baby, but like a baby bird sometimes it’s gotta be kicked out to fly or fall on its own. You learn from it and wish it the best but you won’t always be around to argue every point to every person.

If you could change one thing about our world what would it be and why?

I don’t know, I mean isn’t that what writers try to do in their books? We write about the things we image would happen if we changed something, even if its something small.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Write. It’s gonna suck, they’re be people who don’t like it, but you’ll get better, step by step, piece by piece until it gets to a place where you can use writing to tell about the world.

divider4

abouttheauthor

aaronpiper.jpg

Aaron Piper grew up in farmlands of Ohio, reading anything he could get his hands on, in lieu of normal social interaction. When he complained one too many times about books he didn’t like, someone finally told him, “If you think you can do better, why don’t you write a book?” Many years and a minor in English from Ohio University later, he finished his first novel, Titus Fogg.  Currently, he lives in southern Indiana with his wife and daughter and have worked as a photographer and journalist for more than ten years.

authorlinks

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

 

divider3

Don’t forget to add this book on your TBR! And if you’ve already read it, let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day lovelies!!!

 

cropped-sincerelykjologo.png