Blog Tour, Guest Post + Book Review: Lie or Die: Blood Moon by A. J. Clack

Lie or Die: Blood Moon by A. J. Clack

About This Book:

First Thoughts

I adored Lie or Die last year, and was so grateful to be asked to be on the blog tour for it then, and now! Getting to revisit Kass and friends, plus the mind games and thrills that came along with the first book was so exciting. I knew as soon as I’d finished it last year that I would love a sequel, and A. J. Clack delivered and then some with Blood Moon.

My Review

Kass is still recovering from the events of Lie or Die. Losing people right in front of her, being duped by mastermind Skye, and feeling the guilt of death in her hands, has taken it’s toll. She doesn’t know what she’d do without her best friend Lewis and new-love Rhodri. Thea, her other best friend who had reeled her into the first Lie or Die game, Mafia, has gone off-grid after suffering her own trauma from the events of the game. Everything is heading toward rehabilitation for Kass and friends, though Skye is still on the run. That’s until a box gets delivered to her house—the initiation of a new game, Werewolf, coming with a warning and a life hanging in the balance if she should decline.

Suddenly, Kass is thrust back into the twisted games that she knows must be Skye’s doing. Werewolf is nothing and everything like Mafia. Now there are peasants and werewolves, hierarchy and motives. Though the look might be different on surface level, the games are just as eerily threatening and treacherous. With Lewis and Rhodri, plus a variety of other familiar faces vowing revenge against Skye, the game begins. The players thought they knew how the game worked after the last, but the tables have very much turned when they realise all is not what it—or who—it seems. The threats and the wolves are real, and Kass finds herself in enemy territory, faced with a startling revelation when her life and heart is on the line—in this game, you can’t trust anyone. And she’s finding out that the hard way…

Overall, Lie or Die: Blood Moon was sharply smart, entirely enrapturing from start-to-finish. Just like it’s predecessor, I was hooked from the get-go, pulled into the dark and wicked games that were twisty and cut-throat. A. J. Clack has a way of modernising and reinventing games, adding another tantalising layer of mystery and anticipation, whilst playing into the reality TV feel we all know and love. Kass is a character that I cannot help but root for, and there were so many times she showed bravery and rich character development, shaping her even more as this heroine I love to support. The wavering lines of trust, misdirection and friendship are rife and powerfully riveting in this stunning sequel, and I think that fans of thrilling mysteries that make you question everyone and everything will eat this up, just as I did. I cannot wait to read more from A. J. Clack—this has cemented that she’s a firm favourite for me.

RATING:

How a popular party game became a worldwide sensation, a Guest Post by A. J. Clack

When I had the idea to create a story based on one of my favourite party games, Mafia created by Dimitri Davidoff in the mid 1980’s, I had no idea that The Traitors would soon take the same game premise and make an actual Reality show which would become hugely successful on a worldwide stage. Okay, so I don’t have Claudia Winkleman in my books, but with the freedom of fiction at my disposal I was able to create a world that The Traitors couldn’t, taking the action to its most extreme conclusion in order to ask the question – how far would you be willing to go for fame and fortune?

I’ve been blown away by the success of Lie or Die and was really excited to write the sequel. Lie or Die: Blood Moon  was always intended to be based on Mafia’s sister game – Werewolf, created by Andrew Plotkin. The game is pretty much the same but in Werewolf, you have (you guessed it) Werewolves instead of Mafia and a freedom to create additional characters with their own specific actions.

For the sequel I wanted to come back even stronger than before and create a world based on a location shoot. Instead of being locked inside a set, the contestants have to navigate an outdoor environment and a much bigger world. With this show I wanted to challenge the contestants even further than in Lie or Die and really explore the extreme lengths some might choose to go and how much they would be willing to sacrifice to gain the ultimate prize.

The game itself gave me a lot more freedom to explore new characters. With the Werewolf theme and my previous antagonist still at large (no spoilers here!) I was able to take the game format to a new level. The castle setting just came naturally, I mean why wouldn’t you? Caerphilly Castle was the perfect setting for this ultimate survival show, dark, moody and a little bit dangerous, it was perfect location to house a group of revenge filled, fame seeking, fortune hunting contestants. It created a real life medieval locked set of vast proportions in which my imagination could run wild. And it did! Within the confines of the castle walls, I was able to create ever more dangerous challenges and tasks and create terrifying and deadly monsters which challenged the contestant’s strength, cunning and daring to the max.

As the reader, I hope you find Lie or Die: Blood Moon as much fun to read as I did to write. And if you enjoyed the game why not grab a group of friends and have a go at home. It’s easy – there’s only one rule. TRUST NO ONE.

I hope you enjoy!

A J Clack

Let me know your thoughts in the comments or via social media to keep the conversation going, and do check out all the other stops on the celebration for Lie or Die: Blood Moon!

Happy Reading!

Becca