The Temptation Of Adam

Author: Dave Connis

Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Genre/Themes/Demo: YA, Contemporary

Release Date: November 21st 2017

Page Count: 244

Format: ARC provided by Thomas Allen & Son

ISBN: 9781510707306

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Author Website | Amazon | Chapters/Indigo | Goodreads

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*Disclaimer: A copy of The Temptation Of Adam by Dave Connis was provided to me via Thomas Allen & Son in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion in any way.

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Synopsis

Adam Hawthorne is fine. Yeah, his mother left, his older sister went with her, and his dad would rather read Nicholas Sparks novels than talk to him. And yeah, he spends his nights watching self-curated porn video playlists. But Adam is fine. When a family friend discovers Adam’s porn addiction, he’s forced to join an addiction support group: the self-proclaimed Knights of Vice. He goes because he has to, but the honesty of the Knights starts to slip past his defenses. Combine that with his sister’s out-of-the-blue return and the attention of a girl he meets in an AA meeting, and all the work Adam has put into being fine begins to unravel. Now Adam has to face the causes and effects of his addiction, before he loses his new friends, his prodigal sister, and his almost semi-sort-of girlfriend.

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What I Liked

The harder topics. The Temptation of Adam deals with a lot of heavy topics, but focuses mainly on addiction to various vices. We have characters who are addicted to drugs, our main character, Adam, who is addicted to porn and other characters whose addictions are in constant change. I feel like a lot of young adult novels have been tackling these heavier topics lately and I absolutely love that. We need teens to be exposed to more books like these, especially if they can help them get through their own addictions.

The sibling relationship. I loved the relationship between Adam & Addy. Throughout the book, we see how their relationship evolves from anger and confusion to understanding and love. These two have a great sibling bond and I loved each and every scene that showcased the two of them together.

The writing style. These characters have a specific way of speaking that just reminded me so much of the characters found within the novels of John Green. I liked that these teens had realistic and believable voices that didn’t feel forced or fake. The dialogue throughout the novel was witty and memorable, just the way I like it.

The self discovery. As mentioned above, The Temptation Of Adam deals with a lot of hard and heavy topics. This story showcases both the positive and the negative outcomes of addiction and what teens face when trying to overcome their addictions. Some are able to push through and do everything they can to get better while others, sadly, succumb to them. I love that The Temptation Of Adam explored the idea of self discovery by blending a coming of age story with one that deals with addiction.

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What I Didn’t Like

The pacing. There was a lot going on within The Temptation of Adam. We had a few different storylines happen within a short amount of time. I kind of wish that the story focused more on the addiction and healing process rather than adding in a few other subplots such as the story revolving around Mr. Cratcher. At times, it felt like there were a few too many stories being told.

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Overall, I think that The Temptation of Adam is a great story that deals with a lot of heavy topics that are hard to talk about, but that need to be talked about. As mentioned earlier, books like this one are very important, especially for teen readers, and I think it dealt with the concept of addiction really well. I can’t wait to see what Dave Connis releases next!

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Q&A with Dave Connis

Q. Was the transition from writing music to writing your debut young adult novel difficult or did it come naturally?

In it’s most simplest form, aka me pouring into a creative outlet, the switch was pretty easy, but songs are so so much shorter than novels. Learning to write a book was such a different experience than learning to write songs. They’re both creative and use words, but they don’t have very similar literary processes once you get past that. However I will say the lessons I learned from book writing have impacted how I write songs. Mainly in that I just consider the words I use a lot more.

Q. I absolutely love the cover of the book! I’m always curious to know how much say you as an author has when it comes to designing the book cover! Were you a part of the overall process?

Aw, thank you! I do too. I think the process varies from publisher to publisher, but what I did with Sky Pony was create a mood board on Pinterest. It had posters, album art, book covers, pictures, fonts, etc that I really liked and thought fit the aesthetic of TOA. They gave that to their designer, and he started making drafts of covers surrounding that aesthetic. We went through three or four versions of the cover before we came to this one, and then we iterated on this one a little bit with different colors and such. I almost chose a blue version of this, but red won out.

Q. Have you ever loved a book so much, but literally have seen no one talk about it? What is your favourite under-appreciated novel?

Yes! I feel that way about Harry Potter. Just kidding. I LOVED Brooks Benjamin’s MY SEVENTH GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS, but I don’t see it pop up a lot. It’s just so good and hilarious.

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Giveaway

Winner will receive:

• 1 finished copy of The Temptation of Adam by Dave Connis
• 1 digital copy of Dave’s companion album, Looking for Eden, courtesy of Dave Connis
• 2 mini journals courtesy of Sky Pony Press

Details:

• Canada Only (full rules found in the T&C on Rafflecopter)
• Giveaway ends on November 9th at 12:00AM EST
• Winner will be drawn randomly through Rafflecopter, contacted via email and will have 24 hours to claim their prize

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

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Playlist

To listen to my carefully curated playlist inspired by The Temptation Of Adam, click here! This playlist also features songs by the author, Dave Connis!

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About The Author

Dave Connis has held all manner of job, from ballroom dance instructor to construction worker. He is now a community manager at Code Corps, a platform where people can donate time, talent, and money to projects for social change. He also works as an assistant youth director at his church, Rock Creek Fellowship. He has a bachelor’s in community development with a focus on international economics from Covenant College. He is a member of the SCBWI. He lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife and son.

Follow Dave on Social Media:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

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Thank you for reading & don’t forget to check out the other posts on this blog tour!