Today we kick off the blog tour for Atoned: The Wardens: Book 1 by Steve J McHugh.

Here’s the blurb

Civil War tore across the Union Empire, leaving countless dead in its wake. It was a war started by one man, once beloved by the Empire. His betrayal still lingers in the memory of those who lived through it.
Decades later, his son, Felix Drake, is a Warden tasked with both protecting the ruling members of the Union Empire and its Council, and bringing those powerful and influential people to justice should they break the law.
Drake protects the very Empire his father sought to destroy.
When two members of a Council family are murdered, Drake and his team investigate, only to uncover corruption, resentment, and yet more death.
As the case deepens, Drake is forced back into a life he’d left long ago, bringing with it the same disdain and anger from the very people he’s sworn to protect.
However, he’s no longer a helpless child, and the people who try to intimidate him now are about to discover that Drake is so very much his father’s son.

Review

What a cracking start to a series! The book starts strong as we are quickly introduced to the two  main characters.. it’s a typical good versus bad yeh? Oh you are so wrong.. there’s so much more depth to this tale.

Many years ago there was a civil war… a civil war that nearly tore the world apart.. fast forward and we meet Felix Drake, a Warden.. tasked with protecting those his father tried to kill during the war.. he betrayed those Felix now protects..Felix wants nothing more than to forget the past.. he knows if anyone finds out who he actually is then he life will change drastically.. no one would trust the son of a traitor after all!

He’s remained hidden for a while but it’s time to return to the place he once called home.. his friends have been murdered but why?.. as soon as he arrives all hell breaks loose..

Felix knows Sabas Gossard has something to do with this but he needs to prove it.. Sabas was put in prison by Felix so how the hell is he already free? Yeh that’s right.. corruption..

It’s no surprise to me that there’s deceit from those in power but just who the players are shocks Felix..surely not? Plus there’s someone working in the shadows.. will we find out who is orchestrating these events? And what’s the endgame?

There’s lots of different characters and roles but everything is introduced nicely for the reader to take in, and the attention given to the development really helped this stroy come alive.

I particularly like Bokk, Felix’s security synth.. Bokk once belonged to his father, and I felt Bokk played a pivotal role which I hope gets expanded upon as there’s the interesting idea of these synth developing personalities.

The plot of the book develops at a swift but nice pace and hints there’s some good things to come. As setups go Atoned has it all, great characters and so much potential clear and ready to pour out.

There’s hints of past events becoming a focus.. were the events that played out during the war exactly as they seem? Or was there more to it? And what does this mean for Drake? He’s got his own sage abilities coming out.. but he seems special..and I’m excited to find out why!

This is my first foray into the authors imagination, and I was wonderfully impressed with the flow and development.

5/5 Stars

My thanks go to the author, publisher and Zoé @ zooloosbooktours.co.uk for having me on the tour!

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Why not follow the tour?

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Author’s Bio

Steve is a bestselling author of Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction books. His novel, Scorched Shadows, was shortlisted for a Gemmell Award for best novel. He was born in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, but now lives with his wife and three young daughters in Southampton.

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Author’s Links

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevemc79/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/hellequinchronicles

Twitter : https://twitter.com/StevejMchugh

Website : http://stevejmchugh.wordpress.com

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Book Links

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/197452731-atoned

Buy Links – https://mybook.to/atoned-zbt

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