The Third Fate Virtual Book Tour: Review, Giveaway and Interview!

Welcome to my stop on The Third Fate Virtual Book Tour! I've got some goodies planned for all of you! First up, we have an interview with the author herself, Nadja Notariani. I had a blast talking with her, she is absolutely adorable! Her answers truly reflect her fun and sweet personality. At this stop you can also read my review for the book and enter to win an ebook copy of The Third Fate courtesy of Nadja and IO Tours. Now, without further ado...

Wicked Interview with Nadja Notariani

Hi Nadja! Welcome to Wickedly Bookish! I'm really excited to have you stop here for your tour today.

Oh!  Thank you so much for having me.  Love your blog title, BTW ;}

Why thank you! The Third Fate is a paranormal romance. You appear to dabble in romance sub-genres as you've also written a contemporary/sports romance Claiming The Prize and an historical romance Her Dark Baron. Which romance genre have you most enjoyed writing so far?

All of them!  Ha.  When I was writing Claiming The Prize, I loved it best, when Her Dark Baron, I loved it best.  The Third Fate is the same.  Exploring the different sub-genres has been so educational for me as a fairly new writer.  I love the subtle differences I'm discovering about what appeals to readers in each group.  I can't wait to delve into this further as I explore new stories.

We love Highlanders and vampires here at Wickedly Bookish, but vampire highlanders? Yes please! How did you decide to combine these two mouth watering elements?

It was an unexpected epiphany, I'll tell you that much.  Strapping Highlanders inspire me – in Oh!-such-wonderful-ways... but I digress...ahem.  

I devour Highlander stories.  There's something about that brogue that gets my hair up.  I had this great storyline in front of me with The Third Fate (at that time un-named), and I so wanted to write a paranormal romance, but geez-oh-wheeze I wanted to write a Highlander novel.  So...I did what any greedy, er, I mean sassy, smart woman would – and combined the two.   

Sounds like the perfect solution to me! Paige, the heroine of The Third Fate, studies Gaelic and Druid culture and mysticism. What kind of research did you do for this aspect of the novel?

The research for The Third Fate was so interesting.  Before writing this novel, Celtic lore was not a topic I had much knowledge about.  

It was eye-opening to discover how the Celtic traditions and legends differed between the Irish, the Welsh (going so far back as the Fenn), and the Scots.  Before this research I thought of the Celts in terms of being one ancient religion/peoples.  Boy was I wrong.  Each area had specific gods/goddesses and beliefs.

It was a bit difficult to navigate at times.  I wanted to craft a cohesive back-story for the origins of the vampire that stemmed not from the traditional vein of Eastern European legend, but from Celtic lore.  To do that, I blended various themes from the mix of Celtic nations.  Pwyll's story and those of the god, Arawn became my narrowed focus after some serious reading.  

  

There were quite a few side characters introduced in this book that I was interested in knowing more about like Lara, Brooke, Rowan, Alden, Ewan, Eagen, and Raven. Is there any chance readers may have sequels, novellas or spin-offs featuring these characters to look forward to?

Don't I hope so!  Ha!  Like you, I became more interested in my secondary characters as The Third Fate progressed.  Inner Critic and Ambitious Addie are spiking some fun ideas back and forth over the volleyball-net-of-creativity in my brain.  I'd love to develop a storyline with the god Ankou and Rowan – playing off the idea of the old Persephone/Hades myth.  What fun would that be?  Brooke and Lara are almost certainly going to have to be dealt with...especially since I left them in the care of those naughty Garrow brothers!  Raven??  Hmm.  Maybe.  But most intriguing, for me, was the appearance of Angus at the story's end.  A man who wants to forget (and is a Highlander!!??  Gah!)....Oh!  Don't I love me a tortured man!  He's got potential...

Nerdy Confessions!

It's time for a new interview segment I'm trying out here on Wickedly Bookish. As I myself am a nerdy girl of epic proportions, and I believe we all have a nerdy side, I'd like to hear about yours! I'll start you out by offering up a confession of my own.

My nerdy confession is that I've always been a big fan of science fiction and am currently obsessed with Doctor Who. 

So tell us Nadja, what is your nerdy confession?

Self proclaimed nerd, here, from way back.  Phew.  It was all about high grades, math ♥...  Okay, okay...I confess there may have been a bit of bra-stuffing and lip gloss thrown into the mix with a few crushes.  

Hmm, Jessica...I've got a few nerdy confessions sure to make you laugh.  So what does a nerdy girl look like??

Rush fan.  I totally dig their reflective and introspective lyrics and amazing music.  That's this nerdy girl in a nutshell.  One of my favorite Rush songs is Limelight.  

Nose-Stuffed-In-Book.  (needs no further comment for fellow nerds to understand/swoon)

I recently read a vampire book in which a secondary character, a nerdy vampire named Matthias got my panties in a bunch.  I promptly contacted the author and requested he write a story for my sexy-nerdy-blood-sucker...it's in the works.  In the meantime, he wrote a little piece of flash fiction just for me about this character.  What. A. Nerd. I. Am.  I don't give a whit, though.  Smart is sexy.

 

I definitely agree! That's why I'm so proud to be a nerdy girl myself. Thank you so much for answering my questions and offering my readers this great giveaway of your book The Third Fate. It was a pleasure to get the opportunity to read and review your book.

*blushes*  Thank you!  It's great to have met you, Jessica.  And I hope to visit again.  Who knows...maybe one of the side characters from The Third Fate will be center stage then?  Ah!  Sweet hopes and dreams. :)

It was great to have met you too Nadja! I look forward to having you back! Don't forget to bring those sexy highland vamps back with you! 

Review
 

The Third Fate

Nadja Notariani

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Highlander

Rating: 3

Paige is a shy librarian who spends her free time steeped in the lore of the ancient Celts rather than living it up like other young women her age. Her world is turned upside down when she meets Cael, a vampire with a tragic past. Soon Paige finds herself not just studying the lore she so loves, but living it in this sexy new paranormal romance.

I'm a long time lover of vampires, but lately I've been feeling the whole thing has been a bit over done. So what convinced me to pick this one up? Two words; vampire highlander. That's right not only is Cael a sexy vamp, but he's also got the whole super alpha Highlander attitude. *swoon!* There was just no way I was going to pass up a tantalizing concept like that! I have to say Cael had quite a few lines that made me shiver.

"Shh... lass," he crooned. "Let me love ye; I was meant to love ye."

Although shy and a bit subdued, Paige never hesitates to stand up for herself and fight for those she loves. I adored that about her! She had her plate full with finding out her half-vampire heritage and becoming a target. I can't stand a wimpy heroine and was very pleased with Paige's ability to evolve throughout the story even as she was going through her transition from human to vampire.

"I cannot keep running.

The thought was freeing because she realized that she did not want to run from this man.

Ye couldna escape me if ye tried lass."

Although I enjoyed Paige and Cael I felt like the one downside to this story was that there was so much going on. I didn't get near as much time as I would have liked with the hero and heroine. There were so many side stories going on with secondary characters that I became easily distracted from the main story. I think this story would have been a 4 star for me if it had been a bit less cluttered.

In the same breath, the plethora of intriguing secondary characters did spark my imagination and I found myself wanting to know more about each of them, but within their own stories. Luckily, I got the chance to interview Nadja and ask after any potential sequels or novellas. She confirmed that these characters have also had her brain spinning and she is tossing around some ideas! I can't wait to spend some more time with those mischievous Garrow brothers!

Although this book in itself wasn't amazing for me, I still enjoyed it. I see a lot of potential for future tales within this lore and look forward to reading them! I always say you have to give any series a two to three book chance before passing judgment. Thus far my final ruling is Nadja Notariani is a romance author to look out for! I plan to follow her releases with giddy anticipation

 
Giveaway details

One lucky reader of Wickedly Bookish will win a ebook copy of The Third Fate by Nadja Notariani courtesy of the author herself and IO Tours. This Giveaway is open internationally!  Participants may enter May 11th - 12th up until the virtual book tour's end.
Entries can be gained in a variety of ways as stated in the Rafflecopter. In order to be fair to everyone, all entries will be checked so please be honest! If I find an invalid entry, it will be removed from the giveaway. As following Wickedly Bookish is a mandatory entry, if I do not find your name in my list of followers, all your entries will be removed from the giveaway. I would much rather skip over this stuff and just get to the fun, but it has happened before, so I need to state it all before the entries are collected.   Winners will be chosen within 24 hours of giveaway's end and will be notified by email. If you are a winner, you will be expected to claim your prize within 48 hours of receipt of email or another winner will be chosen.  To Enter:  1. Be a follower of Wickedly Bookish2. Provide a valid email address 3. Be 18 years old or older4. Fill out the Rafflecopter below

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