15-year-old Connor impulsively creates a spell with a black candle and his blood. He makes a wish and grants his soul to whomever will fulfill his wish. When someone shows up to collect on his impulse, Connor figures out how to outsmart the Fallen. At first I thought this book was trying too hard to be cutesy and clever but then I got used to it or it got better. After all there is a fine line between funny and annoying. But once the writing got better, I was liking the book a lot. I liked Connor and I liked this fast paced story. This book ends with a cliffhanger. I look forward to reading the next installment. 4 stars.
This book starts right where the last
one left off with Connor's sister rising as a newly made vampire.
Connor is kind of a super or uber demon and he is still trying to
learn about his abilities and his place in the demon/angel hierarchy.
The writing is better in this one. The cleverness and sarcasticness
is a bit more down played and subtle. This is another fast paced
story. Connor is a really good character, even though he has all
these powers he is still really funny with his 15-year-old
awkwardness and dealing with his relationships with (gasp) girls. 4
stars.
by
Sean Hayden
Your
Soul to Take
By Sean Hayden
Book 2 of Rise
of the Fallen
Young Adult
Paranormal Romance
Word Count: 67
000
Pages: 233
ASIN:
B00LR89QLS
Blurb
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.
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Author Bio
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 endeavour
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.
Excerpt:
Chapter
1
I must have cried myself out. The
tears stopped falling and I breathed in through my nose. I stood up
and looked down at my baby sister lying there. I kissed my fingertips
and touched her forehead.
“Goodbye, brat,” I whispered.
“Stop calling me brat.”
Caelyn’s eyes opened. Her
irises were blood red. She gave me an impish smile and bared her
fangs.
Little sisters suck.
I should have felt five million
things, relief that my sister was still alive, sort of, being the
foremost. The only thing I could really
think about was how to
tell my parents. Um…Mom,
Dad, your daughter's a vampire…Yeah,
that probably wouldn't go over too well. As awkward as it was, I
reached down and hugged her for all that she was worth.
"Are you insane? Get off
me!" She squirmed in my hug and got her hands on my chest. When
she tried to gently push me away, she ended up throwing me halfway
across the room. I skidded to a stop on the linoleum floor without
crashing into anything. Caelyn sat up on the morgue table with a
horrified look on her face. "What just happened?"
She looked around and knew. She
knew where she was and why she was there. She stared down at her
hands. Sure enough, she'd grown talons just like Brett had when he
became a vampire. Caelyn knew exactly what she was, but the look she
gave me begged for me to tell her something different, that she was
wrong.
I couldn't. I gave her a slow
nod, confirming her fears and completely destroying the last bit of
hope she might have had.
My sister and I hadn't gotten
along since she was two. Giving her horrible news had always been one
of my favorite recreational sports. Hey,
Cae, Mom found that test you were trying to hide. Hey, Sis, Dad found
out you kissed Chuck. That
sort of thing had given me more satisfaction than my PS3 ever
had. Unexpectedly,
that one simple nod, telling my sister her worst fears were true and
that she was a vampire, made me feel a little sick to my stomach.
"Cae, I…"
Her face crumpled into a mask of
anguish. I heard the first tear hit the metal table beneath her
before the first sob escaped her lips. I was back across the room
before the second one fell. The first hug I had given my sister was
awkward. She didn’t want me hugging her. This time she collapsed in
my arms and accepted it. Maybe even needed it.
"What happened?"
Her question kind of threw me off
guard. "We thought you were dead," I said, thinking she
meant how she ended up in the morgue.
"I swear, Mom and Dad
dropped you when you were a child. I know
why I'm here. I meant
why am I alive? Why do I have talons? Am I a vampire like that
asshole who broke into the house? Am I going to stay this way? What
am I going to do now? More importantly, what the hell are you? I saw
you! You had wings? Connor…"
"Wait! Slow down," I
said and pulled away. I leaned against the table and she tightened
the sheet around her. "I don't know how you became a vampire.
I'll be honest. It's not supposed to happen that way, but I'm glad it
did. I'd rather have a fangy sister than no sister." I gave her
a little smile and she rolled her eyes. Typical Caelyn.
"What do you mean it's not
supposed to happen that way?"
"Vampires. What happened
wasn't how it was supposed
to happen. Somebody
can wish to become a vampire, but they can't make anybody else a
vampire against their will. It doesn't work like that."
"What doesn’t work like
that? What the hell are you talking about and more importantly, what
the hell did they turn you into?"
Dad's cough from outside the door
stopped our conversation.
"Listen, Cae. I promise to
tell you everything
as soon as we get out of here and I figure out what to tell Mom and
Dad."
She nodded and wiped the tears
rolling down her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Okay."
I needed help. "Stay right
here. Play dead," I added with a small, sad smile that actually
made her give a short bark of laughter.
"I think I can manage."
I nodded and made my way to the
morgue room doors. I glanced through the window and saw Dad standing
in the hallway looking like… Well, looking like his daughter had
just died. I pushed the door open and he looked up from the floor.
"You ready to go, Connor?"
"Dad," I said and
looked him right in the eye. "You need to wait here for a
moment. Do not go
into the morgue." I used my power just like Clarisse had taught
me to. He would obey. He didn't have a choice. His eyes glazed over
and he stared straight ahead.
I ran through the halls of the
hospital to the waiting room where I'd left Clarisse and my mom
sitting and crying. Clarisse saw me–or felt me–as soon as I
entered the room. I gave her a panicked smile and whispered, "I
need you," as quietly as possible. I knew she would be able to
hear me. She gave a small, almost imperceptible nod and patted Mom's
leg.
"I'll be right back, Mrs.
Sullivan. I need to use the restroom."
I slipped back out into the hall
before my mom could see me and waited for her.
"What's going on?" She
sounded halfway between hopeful and worried.
"You're not going to believe
this. Follow me."
"Believe what?"
"Don't ask. Just follow me,"
I said and led her back to the morgue.
Clarisse barely gave my father a
glance as we entered. Caelyn was lying back on the cold metal table
completely unmoving. She looked dead again.
"Connor. I already said
goodbye…"
Cae's eyes opened and she let out
a little, "Boo!"
"Well, shit," Clarisse
said deadpan.
