Title: Speak of the Devil
Series: Book #1 in the Speak of the Devil series
Author: Shawna Romkey
Genre: Paranormal YA
Release Date: April 15th, 2015
Blurb
After dying with her two best friends in a tragic car
accident, Lily comes back to life only to wind up in the middle of a war
between good and evil at a time when God has disappeared.
What happens when falling in love and
falling from grace collide?
After dying in a car accident with her
two best friends, Lily miraculously awakens to grief and guilt. She escapes to
her dad’s to come to terms with the crash and meets some people at her new
school who seem all too eager to help her heal. Sliding deeper into sorrow and
trying to fight her feelings for two of them, she finds out who…what they really are and learns they are
falling too.
Can she find the strength to move on
from the past, reconcile her feelings for Luc, figure out a way to stop a
divine war with fallen angels, and still pass the eleventh grade?
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5 STARS!!!
Wow ok LOVED this book! Like seriously loved! It was a little different than what I though I expected, but that is a really great thing. As soon as I saw the beautiful cover and read the blurb, I know I just HAD to read this book, and by the time I finished the book had exceeded my expectations.
What a powerful story of the fights between good and evil.
I felt so bad for Lily. In high school she loses her two best friends, and she herself also dies, in a car crash. Miraculously, Lily is brought back from death, but she finds herself being thrown into a awful depression that no seventeen year old girl should have to go through. Unable to face all the reminders of her friends deaths, she moves away to live with her father and his family so she can finish up high school, and hopes to be able to get away from the memories, move on, and maybe even find a bit of happiness. What she didn't realize was that she moved smack dab into the middle of something big.
She befriends a group of seniors theater students at her new school, and from that day forward her life will forever change. Mo, the goofy yet adorable theater boy takes an immediate liking to Lily, and she instantly opens up to him and his friends. She finds a attraction to him, but its nothing like the pull she feels from his friend Luc. With Luc it's a NEED to be around him. A NEED to feel his presence. Luc's eyes and touch provide her with a warmth unlike anything else, and with Luc she feels safe. She feels like maybe she can finally get over the past and move on. There is an inexplicable pull she feels towards him.
Lily soon finds herself in the middle of a war between good and evil… between the angels/guardians, and the fallen. She quickly learns who she can trust, and who has fallen from the graces. When it's found that Lily has abilities that no mortal should have, and that she may be the Angel's only hope and connection, Luc and the guardians desire to keep Lily safe grows, and the fallen now want her dead.
Romkey did an amazing job with her descriptive writing and gripping story which left you wanting more. The characters were incredible, both the good and the bad, and Luc was one of the most intriguing and lovable characters ever. I will be anxiously awaiting book two. Very very anxiously awaiting LOL.
Even if you are not a lover of paranormal, I highly suggest you take a chance on this story. It really is something else, and is not the fairytale and imaginary creatures you come to expect when you hear the word "paranormal"… it's so much more than that. The ideas and stories of Angels and Demons are as old as we, and this gives you a look into the concept of them without being preachy or unrealistic. While this book was a great work of fiction, it did touch on some topics that borderline various beliefs and really opens your eyes and makes you think "what if".
Book Trailer
Excerpt
Rain fell, not uncommon for late spring in Missouri. “If you don’t like
the weather here,” my grandfather would say, “wait five minutes.” Of course,
I’d visited distant relatives in Maine once before, and they said the same
thing.
Julie fumbled with
the wipers while I pulled the sun visor down to check my face in its little
rectangular mirror, even though I’d only left my vanity like five minutes ago.
The lights on either side lit up the interior of the car. I reached into my
tiny party purse to find my lip gloss, which was easy to locate since I’d only
packed the essentials in my bag: phone, some cash, and make-up. As I glanced at
myself, I saw Mike in the reflection, smiling at me from the back seat. I stuck
my tongue out at him, making him laugh, and put on the lip-gloss, fully aware
of how flirty I acted.
The windshield
wipers couldn’t keep up with the sudden downpour. The pitter-patter turned to
thumping. Hail came down in gumball-sized pellets. “Damn.” Julie jerked the
steering wheel to keep The Whale off the curb.
“Slow down, Jules.”
Mike gripped Julie’s headrest. “We can pull over until it passes.”
“Yeah.” She
squinted to see the road before her.
I pressed my lips
together to smooth out the gloss. “Damn is right. I didn’t bring a jacket.”
The Whale swerved
to the right crunching along the gravel on the side of the road. I braced
myself in my seat. Julie leaned up to the steering wheel and peered over it as
my grandmother sometimes did when she drove. I squinted because of the stupid
light up visor mirror. I slammed it shut, but Julie panicked and over
corrected, pulling The Whale to the left and careening over the yellow dotted
line in the middle of the street.
“Julie!” Mike
shouted.
Time slowed and
ticked out in heartbeats.
Ba bum.
Julie cringed, her
hands moving up to shield her face. Her head turned away from the highway.
Ba bum.
Mike reached
protectively from the back seat.
Ba bum.
The headlights
illuminated the rail of the overpass.
Ba bum.
The car hit the
rail on the opposite side of the road with a hard thud.
Ba bum.
Crap. We’re going
over the bridge.
Ba bum.
The Whale’s nose
pointed down toward the water.
Ba bum.
A jolt forward and
my forehead slammed into the dashboard.
Ba bum.
The Whale flipped
in the air. I’m upside down.
Ba bum.
Pain.
Ba bum.
Did my mom say
good-bye when I left?
Ba bum.
Cold water rushed
into the car.
Ba bum.
Is this it?
Ba bum.
I can’t breathe. Oh
my God, I can’t breathe. I can’t see or breathe!
My heart quickened.
It pounded. The Whale leaned on its side under the surface of the water which
rushed in fast, and I couldn’t see a damn thing.
Calm, stay calm.
Don’t panic. They say when you’re drowning not to panic because you use up your
air faster.
Dammit, am I drowning?
I tried to get
myself upright and jerked out of my seatbelt. Luckily, it gave way. I fought
the latch to open the door facing up, but the pressure of the water from Black
Water River held it closed, trapping me inside.
Jesus. I know this
river. It’s more of a creek. It can’t be more than fifteen feet across and ten
feet deep.
I pushed at the door. Opening my mouth to scream, I swallowed water.
I couldn’t see or
hear Julie or Mike. My watch ticked. Or was it my heart beating?
Ba bum. Ba bum. Ba
bum.
Darkness.
Silence.
Cold.
Wet.
Defying gravity.
Nothing.
The dreams came.
Like a good sleep you don’t want to wake up from. I felt heavy and floaty. I
wore this long white gauzy gown and the wind blew my dress and my hair like in
some feminine hygiene commercial. I could breathe slowly and deeply. Completely
relaxed and at peace, but I was alone.
I floated along in
a white space for a while. Drifting. Breathing. Relaxing. Had I gone to a spa?
After an immeasurable amount of time, others appeared. They wore white
clothing, too, and they floated like me, reaching out. They opened their arms
as if to welcome me to them.
I stopped and
frowned. I heard no sound, and I didn’t know who these white floaty people were
or why they welcomed me. They smiled, genuinely happy, and held their arms out
to me. I panicked.
Where’s my mom? My
family? Wait, Mike and Julie were just with me, where are they? Are those
wings?
I noticed the others floating with me had white feathery wings.
“Lily,” one of them
called out.
Holy hell. I’m dead.
About the Author
Shawna grew up around
farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of Kansas, was raised
in the US but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons,
one rescue dog and one overgrown puppy from hell. She’s a non-conformist who
follows her heart.
She’s taught
English at the university and secondary levels for close to twenty years and
can’t quite fathom how all of her students have grown up, yet she’s managed to
stay the same. She’s a huge geek and fan of Xena, Buffy and all kick ass
women, and loves to write stories that have strong female characters.
Thanks so much for hosting this and for the fab review!!! <3
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