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Lucifer

(Sons of Old Trilogy, Book 1)

Author: Annabell Cadiz

Genre: New Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Supernatural

Published: January 31, 2013

 

Synopsis: Have you ever wondered what could be hiding in the shadows?

Well, for eighteen-year-old Zahara Faraday, she doesn’t have to wonder. You see she comes from a lineage of Light Witches, those who have chosen to help protect and serve between the supernatural world and the human world. The only problem is Zahara, like her father Solomon, is as human as a human being can be whereas her mother, Mia, and her Aunt Catalina, were born as Light Witches. As a family they hunt down rogue supernaturals—creatures who harm humans or who have committed an act against their kingdom. 

Zahara’s hunting skills are usually kept dormant since her parents would prefer she live life as a normal human girl without knowledge of the supernatural world. She plans on doing just that—except when she finds a couple being attacked by fairies, she has no choice but to step in. Before she can return to pretending to be blissfully ignorant, Zahara encounters a problem she isn’t the least equip to handle: Bryan Hamilton, the good looking new co-worker she has to help train. In a heartbeat, her best friend, Becca King, has set her up on a double date with herself and her new crush, Rekesh Saint-Louis, who happens to be the most powerful leader of the biggest Imago Coven in South Florida –supernatural creatures with the ability to control water . . . and suck out human souls. 

Zahara has no time to focus on how she’s going to explain her double date with her best friend and the enemy they have a tentative truce with to her parents because soon one of the members of Mia and Catalina’s coven is found murdered with a strange tattoo of a snake with wings carved into his arm.

Zahara is then thrown into a whirlwind battle with an angel determined to have revenge against God, an Imago coven she doesn’t think they should trust, and slew of dream-eating fairies and powerful Nephilims, hybrid children of angels and humans, more than happy to rip her to shreds.

Normal just got a deadlier definition.

Excerpt

The fairy moved slowly, his eyes roaming the park for movement. He sniffed the air as the breeze wafted through the bushes then turned his attention sharply back to the bushes. Zahara jumped back to her feet to steer him away from Becca and took off running. The fairy ran after her, moving so fast Becca thought he could merge with the wind. She let out a long breath and stumbled out of the bushes, knowing her best friend couldn’t fight him alone.

Zahara just ran, trying to find a place to hide and catch her breath, but seeing none. She staggered forward as the wind pushed her from behind and was suddenly gripped by the neck by a hand composed of pure muscle. The fairy threw her onto the ground and raked his nails across Zahara’s face. Zahara managed to cover her face with her arms, and cried out as she felt the skin ripping open.

“Hey! Get the hell away from my best friend, you demon, tree-hugging bastard!” Becca yelled and rammed herself into him. She fell to the ground with the fairy and drove the dagger into his side as hard as she could. She flipped herself up off the fairy and jumped back to her feet, standing hunched forward with her muscles locked as the fairy stood.

He removed the dagger from his side and threw it onto the ground, eyeing Becca with a hard glare. Zahara aimed another arrow at him, but the fairy swung his arm out, throwing Zahara into the air with the strength of his power. He pounced on Becca, who managed to dodge him and stay on her feet. She eyed the dagger quickly, trying to measure how far she would have to jump to retrieve it. The fairy moved toward her and Becca leapt, except she couldn’t move. Her arms and legs were as rigid as an iron board. She couldn’t even blink.

The fairy curled his lips into a wicked smile and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back forcibly and bringing his lips to hers. Becca tried to close her eyes. If she closed her eyes than he wouldn’t be able to steal her memories or her dreams, but she couldn’t make her eyes listen. Her brain was sending out a loud warning signal, but nothing was happening. The fairy opened his mouth slightly and inhaled deeply. Becca saw the memory before it left her. It was the one where she had gone to the Father-Daughter Dance at church with her dad the year before. She could feel the memory fading, her dad’s smile and warm arms around her disappearing into darkness, as the memory was sucked out through her lips, a thick layer of blue, corporeal energy, before being transferred into the fairy’s mouth. Becca could feel tears streaming down the side of her face.

Zahara got onto her knees, and wavered back and forth as she tried to shake the pain out of her head. She grabbed another arrow from the canister strapped across her shoulders and aimed for the fairy. She blinked a few times, since her vision was still out of focus, shifting between seeing Becca and seeing a blurry version of her. She shut her eyes tightly and opened them again, staring intently at the fairy, and shot off the arrow. The arrow bounced off some kind of shield the fairy had put into place.

Zahara growled underneath her breath and took off running toward Becca and the fairy. She could see the blue stream of energy escaping Becca’s lips and felt her heart pounding in her veins as she roared and launched herself at the shield. The fairy paid no heed to Zahara’s attempt to save her best friend. Zahara pounded her fist against the invisible shield. She stepped back, breathing hard, and stabbed one of the arrows into the shield as hard as she could. The shield cracked and burst open as the tip of the arrow set itself on fire.

The fairy hissed at Zahara and threw Becca onto the ground. Zahara tried to aim the arrow at the fairy, but was once again thrown back by his power. Zahara lifted her head and grabbed the bow. She tried to get to her knees—every muscle in her body protesting—so she could aim another arrow, but the fairy threw her back again. Zahara cursed under her breath as her bow flew out of her hand and she was smacked into the back of a bench.

Zahara looked up toward the fairy, feeling behind her back for another arrow, but finding none. She cursed under her breath again. She had forgotten to restock them after training. The fairy was moving with slow steps, his eyes blazing in triumph as he neared her. He was enjoying having finally worn out his prey and Zahara scowled at him.

Suddenly, the fairy turned his head sharply to the right and another figure emerged. Zahara’s shoulders slumped back. She could not handle fighting off two of them; she wasn’t even sure how to defend herself against one of them without any kind of weapon. But Zahara realized the fairy wasn’t moving anymore. He was crouched forward and his hands were in fists. Zahara looked at the new figure and cringed. It was Rekesh. His skin revealed his true nature as he slid off the glamour and the moonlight caressed his bare neck and face, turning his skin silver.

Rekesh was an Imago, a creature born of a mermaid and the fallen angel Kutiel. He could move ten times faster than any human and had the strength to rip a human apart with his bare hands. During the day, he looked like an ordinary person but at night, in the moments Rekesh dropped the glamour of magic, his skin would turn silver because of the power of the moon. The moon controlled the ocean and since his ancestry connected to the water, when nightfall came, his strength increased, and so would his power to control the element of water, if he had not been exiled from the Celeste Kingdom. Rekesh, like any Imago exiled, was stripped of his elemental power, but that did not make any less dangerous.

            “You have one chance to make this easy for yourself,” the Imago spoke out. He had his hands placed behind his back, eyeing the fairy with patience as if he were training a puppy.

            Zahara used the back of the bench to help her rise slowly to her feet, keeping her eyes on the fairy and Rekesh.

            “This does not concern you, Moonlighter,” the fairy spat. 

            “Attacking humans is against the law, Pixie,” Rekesh said. He had not moved. His demeanor was as relaxed as when he had first stepped into the battle.

            The fairy curled his lip at the last word. “You are no longer part of the Royal Court. I do not answer to you.”

            Zahara inched toward her bow, which was stuck in a bush twenty feet from where she stood.

            “You are in my domain. Any supernatural creature caught attacking humans will be captured and returned to the Kingdom from which you were exiled for sentencing. Now, I can see you will not make this easy for yourself, so I suggest enough of the idle pleasantries,” Rekesh said, before he launched himself toward the fairy so fast Zahara barely had time to take a breath.

            Zahara took off running as Rekesh and the fairy fought, moving with the wind. She could hear the thundering of fists and the cracking of broken bones, but could not see them. She didn’t care. She ran to Becca, determined to get them out of there before either one of the supernatural creatures had time to recover.

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About the Author: Annabell Cadiz was born in the sweltering heat of South Florida. She was raised surrounded by Puerto Rican chefs and band of siblings that weren’t all related to her. A self-proclaimed nerd and book-a-holic (her room does hold much evidence to prove her claims are justifiable), she created TeamNerd Reviews to showcase her EXTREME love for novels where, along with her best friend, Bridget Strahin, she hosts book reviews, interviews, giveaways, Indie Shoutouts and much more. She also blog tour services for authors. She also had the pleasure of being published in three separate issue of Suspense Magazine. She also adores Cinnamon Teddy Grahams, has an addiction to Minute Maid Orange juice, and is a proud Jesus Freak. Lucifer is the first book in the Sons of Old Trilogy.

 

 

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Book Review # 2 Automatic Woman by Nathan Yocum

It is no secret that I love steampunk. Steampunk itself started off as a small literary genre, or least a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy that includes social or technological aspects of the 19th century (such as the steam) usually with some deconstruction of, re-imagining of, or rebellion against parts of it (the punk aspect). Steampunk doesn't stop at literature-there is steampunk music, clothes, jewelry, performance art, philosophy and films. In recent years, the subgenre has expanded and gained more popularity among mainstream society.

Automatic Woman has a main character that isn't the handsome loner with a tragic backstory, the Liam Neeson /Jason Statham type heroes in such movies as Taken and Taken 2 or Crank or the wealthy playboy with a heart of gold. Instead, it uses what can be described as a typical British bloke. Make that a fat British bloke named Jacob "Jolly" Fellows with the knack of breaking skulls who works for the Bow Street Firm as a thief catcher and his size happens to also make him one of the best thief wranglers in the business. Don't ask him to tell a joke. Even though that Jolly isn't eye candy, he isn't a mindless brute either. Despite his weight and not being school smart, he makes it up for being able to thinks well on his feet, and relies on observation and intuition.

He also has street smart skills that help him in the story. And anyone who has ever read any of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can see the influences sprinkled throughout the entire book. Why even Arthur Conan Doyle makes an appearance as a character along with Bram Stoker, Charles Darwin, and Grigori Rasputin. And the best part is that these historically characters are added in but it makes sense to the context of the story. It never came across as random or a poor attempt made by the author to add real historical figures to make the book seem historical plausible.

Automatic Woman is set in an alternate late 19th century London. I was able to suspend my belief and allowed myself to be lost in the story instead of focusing on the minutia. It starts off with a bang- Jolly Fellows latest case involves tracking down and finding a life sized automatic ballerina called the Swan Princess. Yet this case causes him to be thrust into murder and conspiracy. Jolly Fellows finds the Swan Princess who killed her creator before attacking him. He wakes up to find that he's been accused of murder; time is ticking as he tries to clear his name.

The suspense never lets up-not even for a moment- as we follow Jolly on his adventure. The pacing was fast but not too fast that you became lost and didn't know what was going on. The world building is subtle; descriptive but without endless pages of minutia. And there was never a massive info dumps. You get a clear picture of an alternative Victorian London but are left with enough room to fill in the details.

With villains you love to hate and a likable hero, Automatic Woman is one of the best stories I've read in a while. The ending itself leaves you hanging-but in a good way- the mystery of the automatic woman remains at the end, visible but just out of reach, as you know that a sequel is in the works. Just like Guy Richie's Sherlock Holmes-its action packed and has a gripping plot. I looking forward to reading the sequel and hope this develops into a series.

Review: Wild Children by Richard Roberts

When it comes to books, most of them can be fit into certain genres easily. Others it is more difficult and complicated if it belongs into one or more genre or sub-genre. But for Wild Children, it is hard to put a finger on which genre(s) or sub-genres it belongs to. It is high fantasy yet has a degree of mystery and quirkiness not found in most literature today. It reminds me of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas in that it is strangely beautiful.

The cover alone caught my interest. By the first page, I couldn't help to find myself smiling. It had such a distinct voice that I found myself unable to put it down (well I had to at some point because I had to go to bed but you get the idea). The voice of this particular character in Act One, Bray caused me to like her and want to know more about the world that she lived in. Everyone knows about the phrase "Oh he/she is a wild child" or the "wild children" coined for children who seemed to be raised by animals.



But no one to my knowledge actually used the phrase to describe an actual being. In Wild Children, children are bad; they punished and are turned into an animal which marked their crime. Wild Children also are young forever and even though they live much longer than humans but they will eventually die. Provided that they aren't killed by humans of course. Wild Children are enslaved and viewed as subhuman beings that are abused and mistreated.

This is justified by the fact that they are "demons" and are "evil", ultimately corrupting their owners with sin. It is dark at times but it is not too dark. It didn't sugarcoat the horrors that went on (and trust me they weren't the Disney kind) but it never went to another extreme where it was too graphic. While some might find the darker material unpleasant (which it is), in some ways it mirrors our world and its history. I saw a parallel between what the Nazis and the war crimes committed by the Japanese in World War 2.

Both felt justified morally in committing great atrocities and thought they were superior also having certain types of people grouped as subhuman races. And these “subhuman” races were the dregs of society and deserved to be enslaved and exterminated. These "subhuman" races were also considered stupid and inhuman and the Wild Children were viewed in the same way. Both the Wild Children and those deemed inferior by the Axis of Evil, were the scapegoats when anything went wrong. This parallel can be seen close to the end where there is a huge movement to rid the city of all its Wild Children.

The ending wasn't "gum drops and unicorns" where everyone lived happily ever after, it wasn't a tragedy either. In some ways, it was a bittersweet ending. Depending on how you looked at it, you can view in different ways. The ending itself shocked me-but in a good way. Nowadays there are many books that start off brilliantly but the ending is often quite disappointing.

But Wild Children on the other hand has an ending that I didn't see coming. Some questions are never answered in Wild Children and while it can be at times frustrating, it allows the reader to draw up their own conclusions. Are Wild Children really evil creatures or are they touched with some divinity such as the dove Wild Children who some believed look angelic? One reviewer talked about how the religious overtones were overbearing and preachy, I'd disagree. Theology was used and served as a huge influencing factor in the story but it never came across as trying to preach to the reader about religion.

If you tolerate and respect religion as a whole, I don't think you will have a problem with it. Being spiritual, I can honestly say that I have read some books where the religious beliefs/values so judgmental and preach about how their values are the best that it feels as if you are beaten over the head with a golden plated Bible while someone is yelling "Be gone Satan!"

Wild Children is quite thought provoking and leaves itself open for discussion. It makes you think without making you feel like an idiot, being bogged down in things that make it available to be understood by “elevated” and or cerebral people. Like what another reviewer said, each "act" is like a stand-alone short story but they are all tied together nicely. You are never confused or wondering why the acts were added in the first book. It built upon the story that you knew but you were hearing about it from each of the different characters.

The language itself wasn’t dumbed down but I didn’t have to reach for a thesaurus every time I read a paragraph. The dialogue was authentic and sounded like how children would speak. I never thought “This is another author trying to sound a kid.” It was intelligent without being convoluted. Like how certain types of music "speaks" to people and moves them while other types of music might some people hate or can try to appreciate what it contributed to society or its particular genre. The same can be held for books.

While Wild Children isn't for everyone's tastes, it certain has a market and an audience it is reaching. If anyone loves any book that is quirky or a little out there, with a mixing of imagination and creativity, then they should read Wild Children.

I would be looking forward for when I can buy the paperback copy and put it in my bookshelf.