With her family name tainted by her great-grandfather’s crimes, Meriden Cummings could only dream of fleeing her oppressive life. Then she unearthed a piece of tanned skin, and her blood revealed an ancient map adorned with Mayan glyphs, launching her on the journey of a lifetime. However, she finds herself bound to the map, and there is a cost to her newfound freedom. One that will torment her mind as well as her soul.
After being shanghaied by pirates, Gregory Wilson escapes to a small English village where he runs into an obnoxious auburn-haired beauty. When he learns she is about to set sail on dangerous waters, he signs up to join her crew, hoping to defend her from the pirates seeking her great-grandfather’s treasure. But, will he be able to protect her from the ghost that haunts her or the curse running through her veins?
I thought back to the night Baker had cornered us in the pub, rerunning every moment in my memory. “Meriden, there wasn’t any driver. The horse wandered into the alley on its own.” Though, I had to admit to myself, that seemed convenient.
“I know.” Her voice was barely audible. “But I saw him. His entire body is like my hand in my dreams, and his eyes are completely black.” She shivered, probably from a combination of her story and the cold breeze that whipped by. “And this wasn’t the first time. I’ve seen him in my village as well. I thought he was one of the Railings’ gardeners that died in the attack. Now, I think there’s something more to it. Like I’m either cursed or mental.”
God, she must’ve been terrified if she was confiding such things to me. “I doubt you’re either,” I told her. Yet something brought to mind what Baker had said.
“Her blood is cursed, Mr. Wilson. Tainted by her family’s greed. Much like your own.”
“When did you say you started seeing the ghost? Was it after the pirate attack?”
Meriden’s head shot up. “Yes, but not right after. I’d been out for weeks because . . .” She trailed off, momentarily. “Because of the map, which was created from my blood.”
By the look on Meriden’s face, she had drawn the same conclusion as I had. Bloody hell. Baker had been right. Her blood had been cursed, which was probably why she saw her veins turning black. I took the hand she kept rubbing and flipped her palm toward the starlight. Nothing visible, yet knowing it was there made me sick with grief. I pulled her trembling body closer and gently stroked her hair.
“Whatever this is, curse or otherwise, we solve it together. I promise.”
Meriden only nodded. Her mind focused on other things. I looked in the direction of the star she often wished upon, thinking of making a wish of my own—a wish that Baker was wrong—only to see a shadow in the distance.
“Meriden, toward the northeast.”
Meriden gazed over at the horizon. Without a word, she pulled a spyglass from a sack tied to the guardrail, extending it to its full length. “Frigate,” she said under her breath, then leaned over the rail to call into the night. “Sails!”
Kelsey Ketch is a young-adult/new-adult author, who works as a Wildlife Biologist and Data Analyst. During her free time, she can often be found working on her latest work in progress. She also enjoys history, mythology, traveling, and reading.
Title: Rogue Unbroken Author: Angie Day Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Kate had survived. She had lived through pain and torment and now she was on the other side, where all the happiness was supposed to be. But with Alec’s vengeful punishment for escaping him, she can’t touch anyone without hurting them.
Alec still wants to create a Level Five and he’s dangerously close. That power under his control would mean unraveling the world as it stands. The world Kate has not yet started to enjoy. She won’t be able to rest until her body, her mind is fixed, and Alec won’t get his beloved power without her help.
The two warring sides of Rogues and Shadows will have to meet. Kate will have to confront Alec and his cruel ambition once again. But every moment with the Shadows is detrimental to those she loves, especially Kylan. So she must find a way to outsmart the person who taught her everything she knows, the most feared Shadow in the world.
Kate is strong. She survived once. But even the strongest people can break with the right pressure, and Alec is ready to tear her life apart.
“No, it’s not.” I shook my head. “She doesn’t know what she wants. She’s too inexperienced with this life to understand what she’s asking for. I know better—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Thayer interrupted, glaring at me.
“Why not? Because you know I’m right? Someone else needs to make this choice for her, someone with a clearer head,” I explained, walking toward him.
Thayer flinched as I got closer. He stood up away from the wall so he towered over me.
“And that person is you?” Thayer gritted his teeth.
“Yes,” I huffed. “I’m apparently the only person in this room who knows what’s best for her.”
He shook his head and walked around me. “This is unbelievable.”
I turned and waited for him to explain himself. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at the ground while he thought.
“What?” I asked.
Thayer looked up at me with a calm face as he tapped his fingers against his muscular arm. A smile flashed across his mouth before he leaned in closer to me.
“I never thought I would say this, not after everything you’ve been through, but you sound like Alec.” Thayer narrowed his eyes at me.
“I do not.” I shoved him away from me.
“Sure about that?” Thayer caught himself on the back wall before turning to me again.
The words echoed in my mind.
I know what’s best for her.
She doesn’t know what she wants.
Those same words had come from Alec before I left the mansion the first time. The reasons he believed he needed to change my mind.
“The difference is, I’m not doing this for me! I’m thinking about her and what she needs. I’m thinking about you.” I shoved a finger at him. “You should be on my side. She’ll hate you once she realizes everything you took from her.”
“That’s exactly the reason Alec had for me changing your emotions!” Thayer shouted, raising his arms. “And you know what? For decades, that crap made sense. I believed him. But I’m not gonna let you trick me into meddling in someone else’s life, not when I just got away from that with him.”
“This isn’t the same.” I clenched my jaw. “You changed her emotions to begin with. She wasn’t like this when she came here. You did this to her.”
“Because she asked me to,” Thayer said. “That’s what I was telling her when I didn’t want you to hear. I asked her permission to do what I did. She said yes. That was a choice you were never given, and I’m sorry for that. But I won’t do the same thing to her.”
“Why not?” I stopped for a second. Thayer held his breath. “Why does she all of a sudden mean so much to you? You don’t even know this girl.”
“You’re right. I don’t know her. But neither do you anymore. She’s never been a Legend before and you have to accept the fact that she may want this life. She may like being a Shadow,” Thayer said.
I leaned away from him, taking in his expression. I wanted to see that he would falter, that he might obey me anyway. He stood firm and that only fueled the anger inside me.
“Thayer, just listen to me,” I pled.
“No, Mara. In this mansion, I’m the King and what I say, goes. I’m not changing Lisa until she asks me to.” Thayer stared at me with the most intense gaze that his brown eyes were capable of.
I thought about what he said, what I had said. He was right. Everything I wanted was exactly what Alec had wanted with me. I shuddered when I realized how alike the two of us really were. I stared at the empty room and felt like I was the only person in the world.
My hands balled into fists. I knew Kylan needed me, but I couldn’t leave, not with Lisa hanging on the edge of becoming Thayer’s newest Shadow. I hoped that Kylan could hang on for a little while longer.
Angie Day found her love of writing while in college where she studied psychology and eventually went on to a master’s degree. She noticed the need for romantic and fantastic adult stories that were still wholesome and clean. So, she took matters into her own hands.
The Legends & Shadows Saga is her debut series. When she’s not devouring the next book, she is spending time outdoors with her husband.
Title: Terra Nova Author: M.T.G. Series: Terra Nova #1 Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Evangeline is living the life of a normal teenager—going to school and hanging out with friends—until mysterious, severe symptoms begin appearing. After passing out in the middle of a party, life as she knows it spirals beyond her grasp. She is then diagnosed with a rare, genetic blood disorder that causes her body’s white blood cells to kill the red ones. In the delirium of her deteriorating health, a door to a parallel world opens before her; however, once she steps through it, the portal closes, and she is unable to return to Earth.
The place Evangeline now finds herself in is called Terra Nova, a world wherein vampires rule supreme, with no traces of humanity left to speak of. Curious but afraid, she quickly learns that Terra Nova is not the shadow-side of Earth, but rather the tragic result of government experimentation. In order to survive, she must keep her mind open and accept the changes her body is undergoing; soon enough, those who she initially thinks are murderers become her trainers, whose help she must enlist if she ever hopes to return home—and soon enough, a romantic bond begins to bloom.
Meanwhile, Evangeline’s brother and friends back on Earth try to figure out what happened to her, and how the government is involved, and how to bring her home. Unbeknownst to any of them is the mysterious outcast Bambi, whose secrecy disguises her power in making a devastating choice: save one world at the risk of destroying the other.
“Hello Evangeline,” Julia said with a nod when Evangeline was standing in front of them, “Eros says you are adjusting well. I am happy.”
“I’m Okay. Thank you for the room. It’s nice,” Evangeline forced the words out and they came out stiff and choppy. She wondered if she would ever be able to look at Julia without feeling a stinging sense of betrayal. Even if Julia had lied to herself like Eros said, how did that change the fact that she drove a person mad so that she could eat them?
Then Evangeline looked at Eros, curious that he had given her any credit when speaking to his mother and noticed that he was looking over her gown. Damn. This was probably not a go-outside gown, but a supper gown or a horseback riding gown or a God-only-knows-what gown and she would get to hear about being a simple peasant and not knowing the difference. He said nothing about it though and lifting his eyes off the dress to her face, stated before turning and leading them towards the entrance, “Ready? That was an effective smile. Let us see if you can hold it.”
When they stepped outside Evangeline immediately knew why Eros doubted her ability to hold a happy expression. She had not realized that what appeared to be most of the population of Latina would be all standing, awaiting their appearance. There were not hundreds, but thousands of grey skinned, human-like forms standing freakishly still, in every corner of the square in front of the castle and down each street coming out of it. Those that could not fit were inside the buildings on the balconies, in the windows and even on the roofs.
Their stillness, their intense, burning eyes, and their almost lifeless appearance in such huge numbers under nothing but the light of the stars made Evangeline gasp for air. She froze mid step, unable to move or breathe. Eros turned and smirked slightly before continuing forwards and she forced her body to move towards him, positioning herself between him and Julia.
MTG has worked in numerous positions, mainly in managerial and executive roles. Terra Nova, her first publication, is Book 1 of a series. The series’ concept emerged when she, like the protagonist, was diagnosed with the blood disorder paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), and her then-boyfriend (now husband) joked she was becoming a vampire. She currently works and resides in Canada.
