Seventeen year old Hannah Walker can tell when people are lying and she hates it. This magic has been with her since she was born and no one has taught her a thing about it or why she has it in the first place. The only thing she knows is that if it’s discovered, she will be put to death. Not even being the second daughter of Port Ankura’s manager will save her from the strict laws put forth by the regency concerning magic.
When Hannah’s best friend is found brutally murdered, Hannah vows to solve who committed such a vicious act no matter what the cost. She enlists the help of businessman Adrian Blood, a man as wicked as he is handsome, in hopes to use his vast resources to find the killer. He owes her a debt after she saved his life and exposed her magic to him in the process. They strike a bargain: help her find out what happened to her friend and she’ll use her powers to tell him who wants to kill him.
Clues begin to pile up, hinting that the murderer isn’t a man at all, but a Blood Mage. Blood Mages are thought to be stories that scare wicked children into compliance. They live on their ships during the day and terrorize land at night, feeding on blood of the innocent to survive.
As they chase down leads and sneak into the morgue in order to inspect the body, Hannah starts to feel things for Adrian she shouldn’t. Not only is Adrian dangerous, but there’s something she can’t quite put her finger on. More than that, Hannah knows Adrian is keeping a secret from her. Can she learn to trust him anyway, even knowing that whatever Adrian is hiding might be the key to everything?
SEA & ASH has the dark paranormal mystery of the STALKING JACK THE RIPPER COLLECTION by Kerri Maniscalo, and the forbidden romance of FROM BLOOD AND ASH by Jennifer L. Armentrout. It is the first in a trilogy.
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
EXCERPT
“This is my bedroom,” he remarked, heading over to the trunks at the foot of the bed with a feline grace that was difficult to look away from. Each step he took, even as he walked away from me, was poignant and powerful. He commanded the room.
My heart quickened, my eyes darted around, and I took a step back. Realization settled. I was in Adrian Blood’s bedroom all by myself, and the only way out was behind me.
I took another step back, keeping my eyes focused on him the whole time.
He opened the trunks and began to rifle through his things. The silence filled the room as I took another step back, the door hitting my back.
Adrian turned. My eyes darted to his hands, noticing clothing in them. I shivered. I longed to get out of my wet clothes but doing so would mean my skin would be touched by something that had also touched Adrian’s. I hesitated.
“Stubborn fool,” he said, taking a step towards me. “Does your pride know no bounds?”
“This is not pride, but propriety,” I shot back. “It would be unseemly if I wore your clothes.”
“Would you rather be unseemly or caught with a cold?” He dropped the clothes by my feet. “Tell me, how would you explain that to your father, when he expects you to be the good girl he thinks you are?”
As much as I hated to admit it, Adrian was right. If I caught a cold, I would have no way of explaining myself.
“Fine. Would you mind turning around?” I reached behind me and removed my dress. It easily came undone, leaving me in nothing but a corset and petticoats. I sucked in a breath and shot Adrian a glare. “Well?”
“You may need assistance with your corset,” he pointed out. “The rain has a tendency to tangle things together.”
I slid off my coat before reaching behind me to pull the lace from my corset just to prove him wrong before insisting he refrain from looking at me but found that the rain had made it more difficult to unknot. I clenched my teeth together to keep myself from grunting out loud and yanked. It refused to budge. My face turned red but I locked my jaw. I would not ask him for any sort of assistance.
“Like I said, stubborn fool,” he muttered. “Hugstari.”
His hands ghosted over my skin, moving my fingers off the lace so my arm fell slowly down to my side. I should have pushed him away. I should have turned and walked out of the door.
With nimble, strong fingers, he undid the knot and began to tug the lace out of the corset. A gentle coolness swept across my chest, and I sucked in my stomach, crossing my arms over my torso in hopes that they might assist with keeping me warm. My spine straightened, alerted to the fact the corset itself had opened up in the back, leaving me entirely exposed.
Without warning, a fingertip brushed my spine and my eyes snapped open as I let out a hiss. I glanced behind me, glaring. “Don’t touch me,” I snarled.
He took a step back. “You have nothing to fear from me,” he said. “If I wanted to consume you, I would have already.”
I shuddered. I had no doubt he would have.
I don't speak in third person (normally) nor do I wear glasses (except when I'm feeling particularly mischievous). I'm lucky to have found my soul mate at the ripe old age of 22, even though he frustrates me on purpose to get a reaction out of me. We live near Disneyland, have two rambunctious female puppies, and have two beautiful girls. He has two amazing boys, and has gotten me hooked on Smallville, watching soccer (okay, okay FOOTBALL - FC Barcelona, baby!), and Cancun Juice.
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