Library Girl Reads & Reviews: Excerpt: Jack Templar Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus

Today I want to introduce you to a great book. Jack Templar Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus is a fantasy adventure story for middle grade readers. For more monster hunting adventures, please check out the online tour that Jeff did with GWR Publicity at the beginning of December. The adventures continue with the tour currently happening via I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

Intermission

OK, so we need to take a break in the story to take care of a little business.

Like I mentioned when we started, since you made the decision to read this book, you’ve opened yourself up to attack by any monsters who might be in your area. As you’ve seen so far, monsters can lurk in the unlikeliest of places. They can be teachers, gardeners, cashiers, or strangers walking down the street. (I have since discovered that most, but not all, school principals are monsters.)

Sometimes they are not disguised as humans at all. Sometimes they just stay in their monster form and slink in the shadows, coming out only at night to prey on their victims.

And by victim, I mean you.

Hey, I warned you not to read this book, but noooooo…you wouldn’t listen.

The good news is that by reading this book, you’ll be able to properly identify different types of monsters (even if they are in their human disguises.) I wish that I had time to train you on how to take them out like the butt-kicking monster hunter I know you are, but we’re not going to be able to do that until later.

So, until then, there are some things you need to know and some precautions you should take:

1. Reading this book attracts monsters. You emit an energy that monsters can sense and use to track you down. So, you’re most likely to have monsters find you while you are reading this book.

2. Read this book in a secure place. In your house when it’s all locked up is best. (If you’re in your house right now, put the book down and check to make sure all the doors and windows are locked. Go ahead, I’ll wait.)

3. If you can’t find a secure place to read and you just can’t wait, at least read on the move. Change locations every ten minutes or so; that way, the monsters will have a harder time zeroing in on your location. The car is perfect for this, since you’re constantly on the move. (You might want to close the book in a traffic jam when the car stops.)

4. Don’t ever read out in the open for long periods of time. Sitting under a tree in an open field with no one else around? Not so good. You would be a prime target for harpies, giant earthworms, wood trolls, ogres, faeries (not the cute kind), leprechauns, werewolves, various undead entities…the list goes on.

5. Don’t tell your friends about this book unless you’re prepared to share it with them.

That last one is seriously important. If you tell them about this book and what’s in it, that might be enough to drag them into this world along with you. Without knowing why, your buddies will be chased by monsters without the benefit of being told how to protect themselves.

Trust me, you don’t want to wake up one day and find out your best friend got snatched up and eaten by a coven of vampire zombies, all because you were yapping to him at lunch about this super cool book you’re reading.

So, what if you’re the kind of person who just can’t keep your big mouth shut? (You know who you are.)

Here’s the rule:

You can tell your friends about the book, but only if you have them read through the warnings first and make their own decision, just like you did.

Then, after being properly warned, if they still want to make the same bone-headed decision you did and read the book, then you can go ahead and let them.

Just make sure they lock their doors too, because the monsters will find them. Just like they are on their way to find you, even as you read this page. I’m not kidding. Go lock those doors. Right now.

OK, back to the story. I hope this next part doesn’t freak you out!

About the Book:

Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family business. Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that children are offlimits... until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.

As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.

Buy Jack Templar Monster Hunter on Amazon: eBook or Paperback

About the Author:

Jeff Gunhus is the author of the Middle Grade/YA series The Templar Chronicles. The first book, Jack Templar Monster Hunter, was written in an effort to get his reluctant reader eleven year old son excited about reading. It worked and a new series was born. Jeff is also the co- CEO of College Works Painting, a national company with over 4,000 employees that has been featured in national media for its unique opportunity for college students to learn entrepreneurial skills. He is the author of the motivational career guides No Parachute Required (Hyperion) and Wake Up Call (Seven Guns Press). After his experience with his son, he is passionate about helping parents reach young reluctant readers and is active in child literacy issues. As a father of five, he leads an active lifestyle in Maryland by trying to constantly keep up with his kids. In rare moments of quiet, he can be found in the back of the CIty Dock Cafe in Annapolis working on his next novel.

Connect with Jeff on his website * Twitter * Facebook

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.