Free Ebooks ~ 3/30

Free Ebooks ~ 3/30

Hello and hi! It’s been a while. 🙂 Here are some currently free ebooks—free at the time of this posting, so hurry.

Ella’s only friend (and crush) lives on the other side of her phone’s screen. She and Baller929 know everything about each other.

Except their real names.

When they have a chance to meet at the school dance, Ella must decide: is revealing her identity to Baller929 worth the risk?

Is this her chance at something more than friendship? Or will Baller929 ditch her when he finds out that Ella’s the geeky girl at the bottom of the totem pole?
Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
And then he opened his mouth.
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.
The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.
If I don’t kill him first, that is.
Zera is a Heartless—the immortal, unaging soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.
Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum: if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy Zera’s heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.
Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him—every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him—until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.
So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.
Winner takes the loser’s heart.
Literally.
What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other?
As the future Queen of Arendelle, Princess Elsa’s life is full of expectation and responsibility—not to mention, questions. What type of ruler will she be? When will she have to pick a suitor? And why has she always harbored the feeling that some critical piece of herself is missing?

Following the unexpected death of her parents, Elsa is forced to answer those questions sooner than she’d hoped, becoming the sole ruler of her kingdom and growing lonelier than ever. But when mysterious powers begin to reveal themselves, Elsa starts to remember fragments of her childhood that seem to have been erased—pieces that include a very familiar-looking girl. Determined to fill the void she has always felt, Elsa must take a harrowing journey across her icy kingdom to undo a terrible curse . . . and find the missing Princess of Arendelle.
Perfection comes at a price.
As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.
Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows…and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.
But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving…and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.
For fans of Keira Cass’s Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.
What would you kill for?
After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.
This year, it is my turn.
My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and return the Westfall family to power.
But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.
Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…
On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.
Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?
Life was normal for Nikki until otherworldly wolves chased her through the woods near her high school. Now she’s a target for a myriad of supernatural beings.

Three half-human, half-angels are sworn to protect her. Complicating life further, Mace, Raven, and Vine–the Halflings–are the swoon-worthy new guys at her school.

For the Halflings, safeguarding Nikki isn’t just an assignment. All of humanity hangs in the balance.

Together, they outsmart the demons hunting her, but when Nikki’s name is connected to a research laboratory bent on world domination, the stakes rise.
Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn’t forgotten their warning to “stay away.” For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the “special gifts” that must be left at the back of the property.? ?
Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, he takes Salome’s life in a new direction. A direction where she’ll have to decide between her longtime crush, Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin, who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop.
An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.
Strange things are happening in Neverland…
Although Angelina McFarland loves reading fairytales, she never dreamed of falling right into one. Literally! But who is this flying boy who saved her? And why doesn’t he want to grow up?
Desperately trying to find a way off this cursed island, Angelina runs into a ruthless pirate. Hook captures her and keeps her trapped on the Jolly Roger to lure the flying boy out of his hiding.
But is James really the heartless man she heard about? The more time Angelina spends with him alone, the more she starts to wonder who actually is the bad guy in this story… and who isn’t?
“Any last words?” Hook asks me.
“Go to hell, you freaking…filthy…godforsaken…”
Our noses almost touch as he dips his head and brushes a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Angel, the word you’re looking for is pirate.”
I was born more than a thousand years ago.
Put into a cryogenic tube at age seventeen, forgotten during a holocaust that decimated the world, I’ve finally been awakened to a more serene and peaceful future.
But things at the hospital are new and strange. And it’s starting to scare me.
Everyone is young. Everyone is banded and tracked. And everyone is keeping secrets.
The cute geneticist Michael Bennett might be the only good thing in this crazy new world where “life is precious” but no one seems free to live it. The problem is, I don’t think he’s being totally honest with me, either.
When I’m told only I can save the human race from extinction, it’s clear my freeze didn’t avoid a dreadful fate. It only delayed the horror…
In the domed city of Evanescence, appearance is everything. A Natural Born among genetically altered Aristocrats, all Ella ever wanted was to be like everyone else. Augmented, sparkling, and perfect. Then…the crash. Devastated by her father’s death and struggling with her new physical limitations, Ella is terrified to learn she is not just alone, but little more than a prisoner.
Her only escape is to lose herself in Nexis, the hugely popular virtual reality game her father created. In Nexis she meets Guster, a senior player who guides Ella through the strange and compelling new world she now inhabits. He offers Ella guidance, friendship…and something more. Something that allows her to forget about the “real” world and makes her feel whole again. But when their separate worlds collide, Ella will have to choose between love and survival. Because Nexis isn’t quite the game everyone thinks it is.
And it’s been waiting for Ella.
In the Diamond Kingdom lives a cursed prince who can influence the weather with his mood swings. The endless winter makes living there almost unbearable. Yet, no one can leave since they are all as cursed as their prince.
Each year a maiden is chosen to be sent to the Diamond Palace. Her task—to seduce the prince and make him fall in love so that the curse that plagues their kingdom and afflicts the royals is lifted.
This year, it’s Claire’s turn to participate in the selection. She’d rather eat ice than be chosen. Not that a commoner would have a chance among all the noblewomen who dreamed of being the queen. Especially against the beautiful daughter of the regent.
When a surprising choice is made, Claire’s fate is sealed. However, the cold and beautiful prince presents himself a bigger challenge than she expected. He refuses to acknowledge her existence. At the palace, Claire’s only solace is the fairy godmothers who tend to everybody’s needs.
Everybody will freeze to death if Claire can’t bring some joy to the prince’s heart. Yet the prince’s attention might be a death sentence to her once the one who cursed him comes to terrorize their lives and destroy all that the prince treasures.
Mini-Reviews ~ What I’ve Been Reading Lately

Mini-Reviews ~ What I’ve Been Reading Lately

Sometimes I read really good books but don’t have a lot to say about them. Here are some books I’ve read lately (or this year).

I read book one and two of this series. I rated Worlds Away four stars on Goodreads while Worlds Collide (book two) was three stars. This series won’t be for everyone but I think a lot of readers will like it. I’m not going to finish the series simply because I lost interest–I’m not very good at completing trilogies and so forth.
I’ve posted reviews for Aya Ling’s other books on this blog previously but I didn’t for The Cursed Prince. I enjoyed the book and I love everything this author writes. If you haven’t yet, check out her work.
Leigh Walker + Vampires + Shifters = Perfection.

This book was amazing.

I haven’t read a lot of mermaid books but The Mermaid Trials will likely reign as my favorite for a long time. Maybe even forever. The worldbuilding, the characters, and the trials themselves were all very interesting.

I’ll be reading book two for sure.
Beautiful writing. I need to read more from Nina Clare.

I cannot express how much I love this book. And for K.M. Shea to give me vampires? I’m over the moon, rocketed by joy. Thank you.

Love. Love. Love. And such beautiful illustrations.

A unique re-spinning on Sleeping Beauty and my favorite at the moment.
Really great series. Five books are currently out.
Spindles and Spells is a promising opener to a new, exciting series. If you love reading fairy tale retellings in any shape or form, add this book to your list. I read a lot of retellings myself, so I’ll certainly be keeping up with Laura’s books.
Review: The Priestess Trials by A.A. Lee

Review: The Priestess Trials by A.A. Lee

Title: The Priestess Trials
Author: A.A. Lee
Pub Date: March 3rd 2020
Pages: 278
Amazon|Goodreads

Famine. Slavery. War. Survival.

When hunger strikes her village, Tala, a war orphan, thought marriage was her ticket out of slavery. But her strategic move only leads to desperation. She’s forced to run from her fiancé to escape the same fate as his three previous wives, who died at his hands.

The Priestess Trials may provide the cover she needs to prevent her disastrous marriage, but it’s even harder than she thought it would be. Her competitors are years ahead of her in skill and social class. Her dark skin and short hair mark her as a slave, and that makes her the target of their ire.

Will she endure their cruelty to save her life and become a priestess, or will she abandon her plans altogether and spend the rest of her life in dire straits?


The Priestess Trials is an exciting, wholly imaginative Asian-based YA novel that is sure to surprise readers until the very end. A.A Lee knows what she is doing (clearly, she is a priestess of words).

The world–or in this case the villages–Lee creates is one of stark realism. It’s a grim time for women. There’s no sugar coating the treatment of people like Tala and the attitudes of those around her. Just when you think things get better, they don’t.

The ending was unexpected but I liked it. Lee is definitely an author I will read more from in the future.
Angel Born (Halflings #1) by Heather Burch

Angel Born (Halflings #1) by Heather Burch

Title: Angel Born (Halflings #1)
Author: Heather Burch
Pub Date:  February 1st 2020, HezLand Publishing
Pages: 310
Amazon|Goodreads

Life was normal for Nikki until otherworldly wolves chased her through the woods near her high school. Now she’s a target for a myriad of supernatural beings.

Three half-human, half-angels are sworn to protect her. Complicating life further, Mace, Raven, and Vine–the Halflings–are the swoon-worthy new guys at her school.

For the Halflings, safeguarding Nikki isn’t just an assignment. All of humanity hangs in the balance.

Together, they outsmart the demons hunting her, but when Nikki’s name is connected to a research laboratory bent on world domination, the stakes rise.

I own the original books of this series. I think book one was originally called Halflings but I never actually got around to reading them. So I don’t know if there are any content differences between the old books and this new release.

Angel Born is a fun, fast-paced story about a not-so-regular girl and her halfling guardians (half-humans/half-angels). Nikki’s in danger but it’s not yet revealed exactly why she’s being targeted by the agents of Hell. There’s a dash of love, despair, and plenty of angst.

There’s sort of a love triangle. I usually do not like love triangles but I don’t dislike it here. Readers will have a favorite of the two, that’s for sure.

Review: Cursed Fae (Dark Thirst Series #1) by Sarah Tobias

Review: Cursed Fae (Dark Thirst Series #1) by Sarah Tobias

Title:Cursed Fae
Author: Sarah Tobias
Pub Date: January 30, 2020
Pages: 335
Amazon|Goodreads

Emily desperately wants a name for what she is. For what is changing her. So does the guy who hunts her.

Emily learned early to keep her head down. After her mother was committed to a mental institution and Emily went to live with her aunt, there was no more talk of monsters and creatures from other worlds—or that Emily is one of them.

Living a life of quiet solitude as a barista and waitress in New York City, Emily’s only complication is her unabashed best friend, and that’s the way she likes it.

Until the day something shifts in her blood.

It might have something to do with the alluring man who strolled into her coffee shop in the dead of night, the one who sent shivers under her skin unrelated to supernatural stirrings.

Or, more likely it’s the shape-shifting eyes and growing fangs she keeps thinking she sees in people she knows.

As Emily learns that her world has been infected by fae that consume human souls and fit seamlessly into the bodies they empty, she must also accept that she could be one of them.

Yet, she is different from the rest, because her fae didn’t inhabit her, it was awakened. And it wants her to succumb … to her destiny. Too bad that cute guy from the coffee shop has been sent to kill her before she reaches it.

Darkly intense with more fangs, claws, and grim reality than your typical fae-centered books. These fae are invasive and decidedly deadly.

Emily, our level-headed mc, learns her world is a lot more heinous in terms of the supernatural than she previously believed. First, she’s not completely human and, secondly, she’s in danger and perhaps a danger to those around her.

I like her character. She is strong in a not-so-cookie-cutter way. The one thing I don’t like is her mysterious connection (if it’s a connection–not so sure what it is) with Asher. I don’t particularly like Asher or his sister (I want a fae to eat her and be done with it). I don’t ship/want Emily to get with him later on.

The only other character I liked was Derek–which is likely to be a tragic mistake on my part.

I’m not sure if I’ll read the next book. I like the story but I don’t like the idea of Emily/Asher, so I’m conflicted.

Overall, Cursed Fae is well-written and has an intriguing plot. A lot of readers will love this book.

Book Spotlight: Something Unusual (An Of Vampires & Witches Prequel) by Kit Winters

Book Spotlight: Something Unusual (An Of Vampires & Witches Prequel) by Kit Winters

Title: Something Unusual
Authors: Kit Winters
Pub Date: Gossamer Wings & Ink Press, February 5, 2020
Pages: 78
Amazon


Cilla D’Ponte attracts trouble.

Mathias Smith defines it.

Considered the black sheep of her family, Cilla left her coven behind in favor of an entirely different world: college. However, there’s more in the mortal realm than she suspected, and when a stranger uses dark magic to steal her friends, she’ll face anything to get them back.

Being a blood-sucking parasite himself, Mathias knows those “friends” aren’t good for her; what he doesn’t know is why he cares. From the second he witnessed her exploding cinnamon buns, Cilla’s mystery had wrapped itself around his mind. No matter how he tries, he can’t seem to untangle her from his thoughts.

Whether their meeting is destiny or fate has yet to be determined. All we know is the start of something big often comes in little packages…

Get this prequel free by signing up to the Wands & Fangs newsletter on Story Origin

About the Authors

We are a dastardly duo of friends (Kit and Winter, respectively) who had a dream to take the world by storm using the universe our imaginations created. Both of us are lovers of writing in our own respects, but what is strong alone is often unbreakable together. We’ve toyed with the idea of starting a joint empire for several years now, and it has finally begun… (Indeed, the dreary nine to five at last got to us, pushing the last bit of our sanity over the edge.)

We invite you into our world, our stories, and the chaos sure to sprout from them. We hope you’ll sit down, relax, sip some tea, and have a cookie with our little witch Cilla and our dear vampire Mathias as we explore their adventures together.

Twitter|Facebook|Newsletter

Ebook Freebies ~ 2/4

Ebook Freebies ~ 2/4

One Black Rose: Sixteen-year-old Autumn goes to stay with her friend Carley in Castleton, Maine, for the summer. As soon as she arrives she meets Holt Roth and Samuel Cheshire. Her reaction to Holt is strong, her reaction to Samuel is shocking. It turns out both guys are fairies, and Autumn is caught between her own desires and the Fairy Courts. 
August: As the saga continues, trusts are questioned.
Autumn: Autumn, Holt, and Samuel face their biggest test yet, and Autumn will finally have her Rose. 
Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one.

Remaining means giving up all she’s known and loved . . . and leaving means forfeiting what she’s come to know–and love itself.
Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. In Book One of the River of Time series, Gabi and Lia are stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, boring, and dusty archeological site . . . until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

And thus she comes to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle–a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?
Being a teenager is hard, being a dead one is worse.
Forgotten and left behind, a ghost roams her abandoned family mansion, counting spiders and scaring intruders while she waits for her sister’s return. She’s been waiting for generations.
And then everything changes.
An almost familiar girl moves in, the mysterious boy from next door starts visiting… and an opportunity presents itself. An opportunity that could help bring her sister home.
Now if only the living would stop messing everything up.
Dead Girl Haunting is a light-hearted tale about a ghost failing at playing cupid, fighting phoney ghost hunters, occasionally haunting the living, and maybe, sort of, finding peace.
Devin doesn’t want to get married, but he wants to be a frog even less.

Knight errant Devin takes a shortcut through the woods, only to be captured by fairy forces. The fairy queen has run out of breathing males to fight for her hand, and Devin, while not ideal fairy stock, is breathing—for now.

Telling a vain fairy queen you’d rather not be her one true love is a ticket to life on a lilypad, so the knight agrees to face three challenges to win Queen Agalea’s hand. When a clever servant girl offers to help him navigate the trials in order to stop the constant bloodshed of the courtship ritual, Devin jumps at the chance.

Cat-Elf Sevaine’s only goal in life is to stop Agalea from killing off every male she gets her hands on. When cocky but quick-on-his-feet Devin stumbles into her world, she may finally have a champion who can beat Agalea’s cruel games—if she can resist falling in love with him herself.

With Sevaine’s help, Devin balances “flirting” with his “beloved” and overcoming tasks specifically designed to kill him. But even if he defeats Agalea’s challenges, will happily ever after be possible if he’s fallen for his new partner in survival?

Free as of this posting.

Review: Fostered Reality (The Kryptos Chronicles #1) by L. Danvers

Review: Fostered Reality (The Kryptos Chronicles #1) by L. Danvers

Title: Fostered Reality (The Kryptos Chronicles #1)
Author: L. Danvers
Pub Date: July 31st 2018
Pages: 178
Amazon| Goodreads

I’d heard that books are gateways to new worlds.
I just didn’t think that meant literally.

Writing was my escape from life in foster care. But I never imagined the new pen I found would unlock a portal to the chaotic alternate universe in my story.

Now my pen’s back on Earth, and I’m here on the Kryptos–a spaceship headed for the volatile Quadrant Four. And after a series of deadly attacks, I’m assigned the task of figuring out who’s behind them.

No pressure, right?

But I’m determined to get to the bottom of it. Because I finally feel like I belong–and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my new family and friends.

I wrote the first part of the story. But without my pen, will I find the power within me to shape how it ends?

Buy Fostered Reality today to get whisked away on an action-packed space fantasy adventure… 


I don’t read a lot of sci-fi and I’m extremely picky about the ones I do read. It’s because I don’t like pages upon pages of science-heavy, overly technical stuff (just my preference).

L. Danvers has been on my to-read list for a while now, so I thought I’d begin with The Kryptos Chronicles. This book was just right up my alley. It was fast paced, fun, and quick to finish. There’s a lot of potential here. I’ll be reading book two to see what the mystery will reveal about the events of this book.
Book Blitz + Giveaway: The Not-So Dead by Isaiyan Morrison

Book Blitz + Giveaway: The Not-So Dead by Isaiyan Morrison

The Not-So Dead
Isaiyan Morrison
(The Dead Series, #1)
Publication date: January 21st 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult

All Faye wants is another chance at being normal: hanging out with friends, playing video games, reading the latest Manga… As a wraith, her craving for a normal existence seems forever out of reach. When she makes the move to the small town of Hueman, Texas with her not-so dead nomadic family, she prays this fresh start will be the one that sticks.

Until… one of her kind is murdered by a mysterious man in a black mask.

With only Carter, an unlucky human witness, by her side, Faye must find a way to prevent the body count from rising and protect her family’s secret identity. As the man in the black mask lurks in the shadows waiting to strike again, her choice becomes a matter of life and death.

In the face of true evil, being normal is overrated.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

As far as Faye knew, explorers explored, but she didn’t tell Maddy that. She probably would have stayed there waiting for Dusk to come back, but another person shakily emerged from inside the club. It was the guy from before, the one she had fed on. He swayed, and his legs shook heavily as he turned toward her and made eye contact. That was when she decided to leave. She grabbed her backpack from the ground, stuffed her gaming device back into it, and jogged off after Maddy.

“Hey! Wait!” She heard the man shouting after her.

She caught up to Maddy and dared not to look back. The man chased after her, and when he caught up with them, he grabbed Faye’s arm and forced her around. His eyes drooped. “What did you do to me?” he mumbled.

Faye didn’t know what to do. She drew closer to Maddy, even reaching out to take her arm. Then he was gone.

There was a brief eddy of wind as Maddy moved faster than a human eye could follow. She took hold of the situation and forced the weirdo to release his grip before she tossed him into an alley. His body slammed against the wall, and she stood over him a second later.

The veins underneath her skin pulsated red, and with both hands on his face, she fed.

Then it was over. He crumpled to the ground, and she dragged him behind a dumpster. None of the passersby noticed what had happened.

“That’s how you take care of drunken idiots.” She wiped her hands and strolled down the street.

“Did you kill him?”

Maddy shot her an evil glare. “I should have, but no, he’ll wake up in a few hours.”

“Th-thank you,” Faye mumbled.

Maddy sneered. “Don’t thank me. Next time, stand up for yourself, Dora. You could have done that just as easily as I did.”

She turned and continued moving down the street, away from the center of town. Faye followed. They walked for a while in silence. Maddy was right; she could have handled the guy as easily as she had. So why had she been so scared?

“I’m Asian,” Faye muttered.

“What?” Maddy asked.

“I’m not Hispanic.”

Maddy stopped and whirled on her. “What?”

“Dora isn’t Asian.” Faye avoided her eyes.

Maddy threw her hands up. “I don’t call you Dora because I think you’re Hispanic, dumb ass. It’s ’cause you carry that stupid backpack everywhere.”

“I carry my games.”

“You carry kid toys, like your games,” she said. “You know, Dora, you could use those to lure stupid nerds like that boy, but you don’t.”

“Carter?”

“Whatever the boy’s name is. I mean, why hang out with that if you aren’t going to at least try him?”

“I didn’t want to leech off him.”

“My God, you’re just annoying as all hell, aren’t you?” Maddy turned down a side street. “After two years, you’d think you would’ve grown into this by now, but no. You still get all depressed when it’s time to eat.”

“How long did it take you to get used to it?”

Maddy slowed her steps. “As soon as it happened. I had no regrets. Actually”—she faced Faye—“I was happy it happened. I felt special because the wraith who did this to me chose me. He could’ve killed me after he took what he wanted, but he didn’t.” She jabbed her finger in Faye’s chest. “Instead he took it all and he made me into what I am now. He understood that taking only a little doesn’t stop the hunger.”

“We take just a little so they won’t end up like us. That’s what Dusk says.”

“If you always do that, you start to rot and smell like death. Eventually you need to take it all.” She rolled her eyes. “Maybe you want that to happen to you again? You want the death splotch.”

Faye remembered the moment vividly. First it had started with a small blemish on the skin. Then it spread all over her body, leaving a putrid stench that even her acute sense of smell couldn’t take. “But I don’t want to kill anyone.”

“It’s a little too late to be the pacifist,” she growled. “We all do it, even Dusk. How do you think he was able to survive after all these years? We have to eat, Faye. If we don’t, we die.”

Faye started to follow her but stopped. As she thought it over, she realized Maddy was right. Sucking away the essence from unsuspecting people was part of her new life, a life she hadn’t asked for. It wasn’t easy to accept and fit in with the rest of them. How could they expect her to only after two years? They were much older and had more experience. They had time to adjust while she was just learning how to work with her newfound abilities. And what kind of wraith didn’t enjoy leeching, knowing full well they had to in order to survive? She hated it and the stereotypes that came with being what she was.

“You already did it once. You took too much and the guy became one of us,” Maddy added. “And it felt damn good, didn’t it?”

Faye nodded.

“So, stop fighting your stupid emotions and do it again.”

“Well, why didn’t you want to kill that boy back at our old home?” Faye asked.

Maddy stopped abruptly. “That was different.”

Faye walked around Maddy and faced her. “Was it because you liked him?”

She folded her arms. “Dusk told you that, didn’t he? As usual, he likes to keep out the important details, make himself look like our leader who can do no wrong. You think he’s squeaky clean, don’t you? You think he has all the answers, but he doesn’t. He’s just as dark and evil as any wraith. We all are.”

Faye felt something sharp jab into her shoulder, followed by a burning sensation. She hadn’t felt that much pain since she’d been turned. She screamed before Maddy took hold of her and whisked her down the street.

They stopped and hid behind a parked car. Faye reached up and gripped her shoulder, finding a wooden stake embedded in her skin. Cold, thick blood oozed from a puncture wound. “What did you do that for?” Her blood was as dark as hematite. Wraith blood usually was.

“Shhh.” Maddy’s eyes revealed confusion and fear. “That wasn’t me, you idiot.”

A tall figure loomed across the street, wearing olive cargo shorts and a black tank top that exposed pale, muscled arms underneath. A belt wrapped around his waist held sharpened stakes of varying sizes, and he held a machete in his left hand and a crossbow in the other. However, it was the oval-shaped black mask covering his face that made Faye melt with slight fear. With narrow, vertical slits across a long slit in place of their mouth, the individual looked more beast than man. She also saw a weird mark, the Roman numeral three etched just between the eyes.

“Hold still.” Maddy grabbed the stake and yanked it from Faye’s shoulder.

The pain was excruciating, but immediately dissipated.

“Who is he?” she whispered to Maddy.

“Whoever he is, he’ll be sorry for attacking us.” She stood from behind the parked car. “Stay here. I’ll take care of this idiot.”

“But why would he throw a stake at—” Faye didn’t get the chance to finish her question as Maddy rushed across the street. Faye immediately thought back to what Carter had said about vampires and vampire hunters, but they didn’t exist. Even if they did, they didn’t hunt wraiths.

She stumbled to her feet and watched as Maddy’s fist whipped at incredible speed at the man. He ducked under her arm, and with the machete, he sliced at her right arm.

She screamed as it fell useless at her side. She leapt backward when the man kicked her in the stomach and sent her backward onto the pavement. He aimed the crossbow at her chest and pulled the trigger.

Author Bio:

Isaiyan Morrison was born and raised in Minneapolis, but her heart is in the impressive magical worlds she dreams up. She hopes to share her love for world-building with her readers and help guide them through the extraordinary settings she creates.

Her other passions include reading, and researching historical events. She also enjoys gardening, gaming, and spending quality time with her three cherished cats and beloved pitbull.

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Review: The Rose and the Thorn: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling by Katherine Macdonald

Review: The Rose and the Thorn: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling by Katherine Macdonald


Title: The Rose & The Thorn
Author: Katherine Macdonald
Pub Date: August 27th 2019
Pages: 455
Amazon|Goodreads

A gripping and mesmerising retelling of a classic story, filled with romance, mystery and intrigue.

There is a pale, penetrating loneliness etched into the walls of this forgotten place. A kind of loneliness made living… is this what it feels like to be a ghost, alone in some kind of half world?

Taking shelter from a storm, Rose accidentally strays into a deserted fairy realm, and finds herself trapped there with only a mysterious talking beast for company. Although initially reluctant to befriend her strange companion, Rose quickly finds herself growing closer to him. She names him Thorn, and as the castle blossoms into a place of beauty, so too does their friendship. But something else lurks within the walls, a dark force that will stop at nothing to be free once more…

If Rose is to survive and lift the curse placed upon the castle, she will have to face her fears and conquer the nightmares that have haunted her since childhood, as well as confront the terrifying creature that stalks the shadows in the night.

A passionate retelling of a classic tale, fairy tale fantasy meets Gothic. Will have you sobbing and laughing, and truly believing in the power of true love. 

Katherine Macdonald offers a beautiful, slow burn retelling for us fairy tale fanatics to savor like a fine piece of chocolate. I, for one, can’t get enough retellings. I will read them all. I’m pleased with The Rose and the Thorn and I’m looking forward to see what else this author will release in the future.

((And, boy, was this book massive. 455 pages. The longest B&B retelling I’ve ever read.))