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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

It was only a wish. - My Soul to Keep (Rise of the Fallen #1) by Sean Hayden

"This is one of Hayden's best stories so far. Full of his trademark wit and humor, My Soul to Keep is his first young adult novel (and first of the Rise of the Fallen series!). Of course it slips into the paranormal genre as well and we get an added bonus of some romance!"Goodreads

Description:

It was only a wish. 
Connor Sullivan was painfully average. The very highlight of his existence was going to school, doing homework, and playing video games. He thought nothing would ever change that. Unfortunately, homework usually screws everything up.
A cut, some blood, and a hastily scrawled promise to sell his soul for his fondest wish...and all hell breaks loose. Literally.

The Demons take him up on his offer.
In a last ditch effort to keep his soul, he wishes to become one of the demons, or Fallen as they call themselves. Connor thought he had found a solution to his problem. He never fully understood the meaning of the phrase, "From the frying pan into the fire," until his wish was granted. The biggest catch?

Never ever fall in love with a human...
And then she walked into his school. Beautiful, red-haired, funny...and blind. Connor's heart didn't stand a chance. Neither did the Fallen's rules. He had saved his soul, but could he find happiness without hurting the girl he loved? Or would secrets Jessica didn't even know she had destroy them all?

You know your life sucks when your sister’s a vampire, you’re a demon, and your girlfriend is literally an angel. 

How could it possibly be any worse? Try having something ripping the souls out of your friends, ending up with a psychotic stalker, and having romantic urges for your best friend who also happens to be your demon mentor. Nobody ever said life was easy, but things went from bad to worse faster than you can say, “I sold my soul for a bag of Cheetos.

Just to add insult to injury, the Fallen have decided to give me a new job. While being a Reaper might sound good on a resume, ripping the souls from monsters isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure what the Fallen have planned for me. All I do know is if they don’t get my wildly powerful magic under control and teach me how to stay alive when everybody wants to kick my butt…all hell could break loose. Literally.

EXCERPT


Prologue

Ever have one of those bad ideas just pop into your head? You know the ones. They seem like a great idea at the time, but if you had stopped to think about it a moment…

I'm talking about those ideas where you just seize the moment and do what your heart tells you to. Then, after the dust settles and you get bandaged up, your parents say, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"But, Dad, I wasn't!"

I had one of those moments.

I guess if you want to be technical, I had a whole chain of those moments leading up to the big bang moment. The problem was I didn't have anyone standing around saying, "What the hell were you thinking?"

The moral of this story?

There are several.

First, stores don't sell black candles for a reason. They're bad news. If you happen to come across one in the mall that sells questionable items…walk away. Trust me on this one. Black candles are bad.

Second, always know what you want out of life. Coasting along, not caring about anything will get you into trouble. Maybe more than you can handle.

Lastly, if someone offers to grant you your fondest wish, wish for something you really, truly want. Wish for something that will make the world a better place or you a better person. Never ever wish to be a monster…

*****

When I opened the fridge, I'd been alone. The moment I shut it, Clarisse stood there with her hands on her hips. She looked down at her milk coated legs with more than a little disgust.


“What the hell? You could have ringed the doorbell, Clarisse.”

“Just be thankful I stopped you. Your fake stomach cramps would have turned into acute discomfort followed by projectile vomiting.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, noob. No more milk for you. You’re not a mammal anymore.”

“Excuse me?”

She sighed and waved her hand. Instantly her clothes changed into dry counterparts. “You heard me, and stop repeating yourself. You’ll learn over time. You are one of the Fallen now. You are not Homo sapiens, nor of the class mammalia anymore. Silly Fallen, Trix are for human kids. Technically, you can eat cereal, just not wet cereal. Sorry. Dem’s da rules.”

“If The Fallen can’t drink milk, why do you have boobs?” I blushed as soon as I said it. My mouth tended to be a little quicker than my head. Sometimes I had trouble with the filters.

About the author:
Born the son of a fire chief, Sean naturally developed a love of playing with fire. His family and friends quickly found other outlets for his destructive creativity. Writing is his latest endeavor.

Always a fan of the macabre, mythical, and magical, Sean found a love of urban fantasy and horror. After writing several novels in this genre, he found, fell in love with, and immersed himself in steampunk. He has always wanted to rewrite history and steampunk gave him that opportunity.

Sean currently lives in Florida as a fiber-optic engineer as well as an author. He was blessed with the two most amazing children he could ever hope for, has met the absolute love of his life, who coincidentally is his partner in everything. His hobbies include grand designs on world domination as well as a starring role in his own television sitcom. 


7 comments:

Patrick Siu said...

I have enjoyed learning about the book. Thanks for sharing it.

johnthuku0 said...

The excerpt was very interesting. I would love to read the whole novel. Thanks for the giveaway.

Unknown said...

Sounds like a good book, I really like the cover too, no guessing what type of book it is!!! That's great. thanks for the giveaway

smiles said...

This sounds sooo good! Like it'll have a complex story going on. Perfect for sucking me in and making me forget about the real world. Who needs to eat or sleep, anyway? :)

Fayth97 said...

I liked the excerpt!! Clarissa made me laugh..multiple times....yep,,,gonna have to read this one!!

Betul E. said...

Sounds really good!

wendy Hutton said...

sounds like a great read