Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
Release Date: December 15, 2014
What it's about: Gabriel Stewart helped his best friend Kellen St. James save the world from The Scourge in the Battle of Dublin. But before that? Gabe was just an ordinary guy who kept having dreams about a little boy with black hair and green eyes—a boy he hadn’t even met yet.
And even weirder? Gabe’s mind kept replaying these images on loop of things he’d never seen. He heard voices in his head when no one was around. And he actually blew off hot Valerie Gibbons to chase after the black-haired kid in the park. What was up with that?
As Gabe searches for the truth, fate continually puts him in Kellen’s path, but will he be able to stop the Children of Danu from stealing Kellen before the battle begins? What will it take for Gabe to become The Last Protector?
*The Last Protector is a companion novella--intended to be read after the other books in the series.
Release Date: December 15, 2014
What it's about: Gabriel Stewart helped his best friend Kellen St. James save the world from The Scourge in the Battle of Dublin. But before that? Gabe was just an ordinary guy who kept having dreams about a little boy with black hair and green eyes—a boy he hadn’t even met yet.
And even weirder? Gabe’s mind kept replaying these images on loop of things he’d never seen. He heard voices in his head when no one was around. And he actually blew off hot Valerie Gibbons to chase after the black-haired kid in the park. What was up with that?
As Gabe searches for the truth, fate continually puts him in Kellen’s path, but will he be able to stop the Children of Danu from stealing Kellen before the battle begins? What will it take for Gabe to become The Last Protector?
*The Last Protector is a companion novella--intended to be read after the other books in the series.
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo
Review:
I was so so excited when I heard Steph was writing a novella based on Gabe - he was always one of my favourite characters from The Star Child series, I was thrilled to see in the second book him having more of a leading role and even more so in the third so to have a whole novella from his point of view was really exciting! Being a companion novella, this story will really only make sense if you have read The Star Child series first but I guarantee if you love Gabe, you'll love this.
Gabe was always a favourite of mine because of his tone of voice and the humour and lightness he brought to an otherwise quite dark and intense storyline. I think all stories need that one person and in this one it was Gabe. The Star Child series is far from your ordinary day-to-day life but Gabe's wit and jokes and general "normalness" brings you back to Earth and makes you realise that these characters are still somewhat human after all. In The Last Protector, Steph doesn't stray from that very distinct voice that we all came to know and love and it was really eye-opening to see how far back Gabe's story actually does start - which you don't find out much about in the actual series. It's like a whole new story there, a whole new set of adventure that we didn't even know about that was kept completely secret.
As I've said about the previous three books, the thought and time and imagination that goes into this stories is phenomenal and I have so much love for all the characters and the story and for Steph for being such an awesome author! In all honesty, I think The Last Protector could have been longer - it wouldn't have changed how good it was and I think, Steph take the hint, that it could have easily been translated to a full-length novel. I would love to have heard literally the whole story but only from Gabe's point of view. I'm so glad Steph decided to write this and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next. She's got a lot to top but I have absolutely no doubt that it will be just as awesome.
Gabe was always a favourite of mine because of his tone of voice and the humour and lightness he brought to an otherwise quite dark and intense storyline. I think all stories need that one person and in this one it was Gabe. The Star Child series is far from your ordinary day-to-day life but Gabe's wit and jokes and general "normalness" brings you back to Earth and makes you realise that these characters are still somewhat human after all. In The Last Protector, Steph doesn't stray from that very distinct voice that we all came to know and love and it was really eye-opening to see how far back Gabe's story actually does start - which you don't find out much about in the actual series. It's like a whole new story there, a whole new set of adventure that we didn't even know about that was kept completely secret.
As I've said about the previous three books, the thought and time and imagination that goes into this stories is phenomenal and I have so much love for all the characters and the story and for Steph for being such an awesome author! In all honesty, I think The Last Protector could have been longer - it wouldn't have changed how good it was and I think, Steph take the hint, that it could have easily been translated to a full-length novel. I would love to have heard literally the whole story but only from Gabe's point of view. I'm so glad Steph decided to write this and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next. She's got a lot to top but I have absolutely no doubt that it will be just as awesome.
Giveaway:
Excerpt:
t was an ordinary Thursday, (or at least I thought it was going to be), when things got scary. As usual, I was
flirting with Valerie Gibbons by the lockers.
"You coming over after school?" Val toyed with the front of her cheerleading skirt.
I shook my head. "Not today." This weird sense of urgency had thrummed in my veins all day, like a Heavy Metal
bass line.
Go to the park, go to the park, go to the park...
Val pouted. "You aren't going to dump me, are you? I really like you, Gabe."
"Nah." I made sure no teachers were watching, and then gave her a quick kiss on the lips. My gut turned to jelly
when my mouth brushed against hers.
"Where ya going?"
I wished I could tell her the truth. "Ah, you know. I have to do some stuff with the 'rents this afternoon. I'll call you
later, okay?" I pushed down my guilt and smiled, trying to amp up my charm to the super mega-watt Gabe level.
"Maybe." Val sounded grumpy about it, but the corners of her mouth turned up when she spoke the word. "Bye.
With a quick turn, she ran in the opposite direction, leaving me alone.
After waiting a few beats, I closed my locker with a click. Shouldering my backpack, I ran out the side door and
hopped on to my red 10-speed and started to pedal.
Something pushed me, the same message on loop in my mind: Go to the park, go to the park, go to the park...I
tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. Maybe if I followed the voice, as freaky as that sounded, it would stop. The
thoughts and dreams would end.
And I wanted them to.
flirting with Valerie Gibbons by the lockers.
"You coming over after school?" Val toyed with the front of her cheerleading skirt.
I shook my head. "Not today." This weird sense of urgency had thrummed in my veins all day, like a Heavy Metal
bass line.
Go to the park, go to the park, go to the park...
Val pouted. "You aren't going to dump me, are you? I really like you, Gabe."
"Nah." I made sure no teachers were watching, and then gave her a quick kiss on the lips. My gut turned to jelly
when my mouth brushed against hers.
"Where ya going?"
I wished I could tell her the truth. "Ah, you know. I have to do some stuff with the 'rents this afternoon. I'll call you
later, okay?" I pushed down my guilt and smiled, trying to amp up my charm to the super mega-watt Gabe level.
"Maybe." Val sounded grumpy about it, but the corners of her mouth turned up when she spoke the word. "Bye.
With a quick turn, she ran in the opposite direction, leaving me alone.
After waiting a few beats, I closed my locker with a click. Shouldering my backpack, I ran out the side door and
hopped on to my red 10-speed and started to pedal.
Something pushed me, the same message on loop in my mind: Go to the park, go to the park, go to the park...I
tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. Maybe if I followed the voice, as freaky as that sounded, it would stop. The
thoughts and dreams would end.
And I wanted them to.
Where it all began...
Check out the other books in The Star Child series:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | All Romance | Indie Bound | Waterstones
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | All Romance | Indie Bound | Waterstones
About Stephanie Keyes
Stephanie Keyes grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
and spent years traveling and working as a Corporate
Trainer before she made the decision to pen her first
novel. As a teen, her family always accused her of having
an “overactive imagination.” Now, she’s encouraged to keep her head in the clouds and share her world with readers.
Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which currently includes The Star Child, After Faerie,
The Fallen Stars, and The Star Catcher, all from by Inkspell Publishing. The Fallen Stars was a 2013 semi-finalist in
the Kindle Book Awards. The Star Child has topped the Amazon best-seller list several times since its 2012
release. Steph writes YA novels because she’s a hopeless romantic who lives to believe that Magick truly does
exist. She is hard at work on a new YA novel.
*Author photos courtesy of Kristina Serafini Photo