Blog Tour: Seeds of Eden

About the Book:
Title: Seeds of Eden (The Concilium, #1)
Author: A.P. Watson
Publication date: January 25, 2017
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Synopsis: 

Haunted by visions of the execution of an innocent man, Evey discovers that the secrets of her past and a mysterious stranger are irrevocably intertwined.
Visions of decapitated corpses, pools of blood, and a masked executioner have haunted Evey for as long as she can remember. Torn between a life in the waking world and dreams of the dead, she realizes her normal existence is nothing more than an illusion. As the veil between reality and her subconscious dissipates, she begins to question her own sanity. Each night as she closes her eyes, she wonders what wrongs she committed to warrant such a curse.
When a handsome stranger suddenly appears in Evey’s life, he is able to provide her with the answers she seeks. However, the only thing more mystifying than Conrad’s appearance in one of her nightmares is the undeniable attraction she feels for him. It is only when he confesses their fates and souls have been intertwined for centuries that an ancient secret is revealed. Now, the two of them must outrun a great darkness or it will claim their lives again.

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Author Bio:

A.P. Watson grew up in the small, southern town of Estill Springs, Tennessee. Growing up in a rural town allowed her imagination to run wild, and Paige began making up stories in her head at a young age. This storytelling eventually transformed into a love of writing. She is currently penning her first trilogy, The Concilium Series, and is also planning to write four companion novellas to accompany it. She is an avid reader, enjoying a variety of genres and authors from Jane Austen to Charlaine Harris.
When she isn’t reading or writing, Paige spends the majority of her time dancing. She has been taking pole dancing lessons for the past three years and couldn’t be more in love with the sport. The blend of athleticism, grace, and flexibility required to dance continually challenges her and she strives to not only build strength but defy gravity, as well. Paige has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Nursing from East Tennessee State University. She has been a critical care nurse at Bristol Regional Medical Center for the last five years. She currently resides in Johnson City, Tennessee with her adorable dog, Elle.

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Review:

Seeds of Eden was a great start to a new series that puts a unique twist on the idea of demons/heaven and hell/reincarnation. While there were some aspects of the story that I didn't like that much, I did enjoy this book a lot and am interested in checking out the next in the series. The plot is fast-paced and exciting. I loved the world-building and there are a ton of cool historical elements incorporated into the story that made the entire book more fun to read. The story definitely lives up to the genre horror-romance!! There are many twists and turns (some of which are surprising and some which are more predictable) that leave the reader trying to figure out where the story will go next! However, I'll warn you already...there's a big cliffhanger ending!

Evey and Conrad are our 2 main characters and I really liked them. Did they blow me away, no, but I still loved their characterization over the course of the novel. I loved that Evey didn't take everything at face-value, and instead questioned everything Conrad told her. She was smart and while some of her decisions were a little questionable in my book, I can understand why she made the decisions she did. Evey was very strong-minded and I loved her independence. She was pretty relatable and an easy character to like. The addition of several other characters gave the story more depth than I was expecting in the first book, which was a nice surprise. I will forewarn you though, I would classify this as upper YA and not NA. The characters are in high school, and while there are some "racy" scenes, they aren't that bad that would push it into NA territory (at least in my mind). I also liked the strong female friendship that was featured in the story because it added another layer of depth that helped move the story along.

There were several things about this book though that made me give it 3.5 stars instead of 4. First was Conrad's character. While I did like him a lot, I never loved him. And considering he is the male lead, that gave me a bit of a pause when it came to rating this book. I think the thing that bothered me the most about his character was his persistence when it came to Evey. I understand that he remembers everything they have shared together, but I also felt that he never really gave her the opportunity to come her own conclusion about them being together. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly glad it wasn't insta-love, but I didn't feel like Conrad had the best intentions at times. It almost felt like he was more attracted to what Evey was and that "magical pull" she has toward everyone. And this is something that didn't really sit with me all that well. Additionally, I did think parts of the story seemed choppy, but I was reading an advanced copy so that could purely be the reason for this. Finally, I wasn't totally sold on Aden. He certainly is a terrible person, but as the villain in this book, I found him to be a bit dull and flat. Aden really is only seen in flashbacks (and even these are very brief appearances), and then a quick moment at the end. I know he'll be playing a much larger role in the next book based off of how this one ended, but his character didn't really line up for me in this book. There were a lot of discrepancies I felt, not his feelings toward Conrad...that I understood, but toward other characters. 

Overall, I would recommend checking this book out. It was a good start to the series, and the cliffhanger ending definitely leaves you wanting more. I do hope that the world is built even more in the next book and other characters are more fleshed out. If this happens, the book has the potential to go from good to excellent...and maybe even a 5 star read. Check this out when you get the chance!
                                     

Happy reading :)

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~Cassie