Title: Beacon
Series: Ripped Tides
Author: Angela Brown
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Romance,
Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Interracial
Release Date: 21st November 2014
BLURB supplied by Bridging The Gap
Tsunamis reduced the USA into a shell of itself,
called The Fold. Surviving humans and vampires joined forces to form The Colony,
where registered citizens do as their told.
They donate blood quarterly
and dream of being chosen as Attendees for the Jubilee celebrations, that is,
everyone except Macie Breen. With high school graduation near, she’s anxious to
ditch the rules in hopes of starting a new life with Thane, an unregistered and
also her best friend.
Her hopes fizzle when Macie
is selected as an Attendee, forever registered. Any future with
Thane…impossible. Being chosen comes with another unexpected price.
Truths about The Colony blaze
into ashes and lies when she discovers the vampires haven't kept their part of
the bargain. Worst still, Macie’s life unravels as her stint in the city of
Bliss forces her to face daunting truths about who, and what, she really is.
PURCHASE LINKS
EXCERPT
As promised, a tent hid in the darkest corner. I
could barely make it out. Although my long sleeves kept me warm, the inside of
the tent felt cozy, quaint and much warmer since it blocked out most of the
wind.
“Didn’t think you’d make it.” He offered me a seat
on a pillow. I thought that was nice, because I didn’t much like the idea of
sitting on the ground.
“I try to be a girl of my word…I mean, when I can.”
Breaking my promise about donating still irked me. All I could do was hope he
understood. Although we never promised to share every little thing with each
other, we practically did. Keeping the bike incident from him needled at my
heart. I wanted to tell him, but I still didn’t know how to explain it.
“You’re right, Macie. We got different situations.
I shouldn’t have asked that of you in the first place. I overreacted. I’m
sorry.” He pulled his pillow closer and sat beside me. The tent grew warmer all
of a sudden.
“Good. I’d hate to lose my only friend over
something like that.” I tucked a few loose strands behind my ear. I had my hair
down the way he’d said he liked it. That was important to me. He was
important to me. Since the day he found me hiding in this very same spot, eight
years ago––a little girl crushed, confused, and alone––he’d become so much more
than a friend. I wanted him to know, so badly. But how to say it?
I checked out the rest of the tent. Small packs of
smoked meat and cheese. Two solar powered holo-visors he probably bartered to get
for us, green lit and fully charged. They probably had some cool movie from the
banned list on them…hopefully a horror one. There was even a flower. A
flower?
“Look, can I confess something to you?” His
question pulled me from my little survey and stopped my heart. Maybe I wasn’t
alone in feeling something special between us.
“Sure. Go ahead.” I gathered my hands in my lap to
hide my trembles. I don’t know why I was so nervous. It was just Thane. Okay,
so yeah, maybe that was why I couldn’t still my pounding heart.
He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure how you’ll
take it.”
My body fought every command. Don’t look at
him. That failed, as my gaze trailed the leanness of his arm. His skin held
a soft glow, a moonlit cascade that clung to him like an aura. First time I
noticed it.
Don’t stare at him. That failed, too.
He took my silence for listening. “I didn’t know
what to expect when I first met you. You were so young, innocent, and
beautiful.”
The air grew shallow. A breath stuck in my throat. Don’t
look in his eyes. Quicksilver pulsed, radiating as I failed that command as
well.
“We’re not kids anymore, Macie. You’ve learned what
little The Colony had to say about the vampeer, wights and devil spawn. There’s
something else they’ve hidden from you. From all registered citizens. I’ve
wanted to tell you for a long time why we met. Just how
special you really are. But you won’t want to be my friend anymore once you
know the truth. Losing you would be…”
Words trickled from my mouth unfiltered. “I, what
do you mean I wouldn’t…”
He turned to me, chewing his bottom lip. The last
time he did that was the day I broke first blood.
We were playing at knight warriors, a favorite of
ours since we were kids. I thrust my wooden sword forward. It clattered to the
ground as I doubled over from a sharp spasm in my stomach. I tried to shoo
Thane away, deal with the pain on my own. But, noticing the grimace on my
face––I really tried hard to be quiet, but I cried out anyway––he wouldn’t have
it. When he glanced at my yellow cargo pants, he chewed his bottom lip, eyes
wide. My gaze trailed down to the bloody mess I’d become. My face couldn’t have
flashed hotter if I set it on fire.
Now he was doing it again, chewing his bottom
lip. What could he possibly have to say? He opened his mouth to
speak when the tent flap ripped away. We jerked our heads around to face a tall
being covered in shaggy, brown fur from scalp to hoof. A shadowy glow encircled
it like a dirty aura. Two arms protruded from both sides. Jagged teeth crowded
its mouth. Drool leaked down its chin. Reptilian eyes shone bright white with a
red slit down the middle. One set of eyelids blinked side to side as the second
set followed up and down. It snarled, spat and drooled some more. My bladder
felt one moment away from losing it.
“Frag me,” I whispered, as my world collapsed into
a nightmare.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
contemporary - mostly young adult - fill her growing library of books.
Mother to a rambunctious darling girl aptly nicknamed Chipmunk, life stays busy. Her favorite quote keeps her moving: "You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result." ~ Mahatma Gandhi. She's released Neverlove and They All Fall Down of the Shadow Jumpers series, Frailties of the Bond and Atone of the NEO Chronicles, and BEACON, a YA urban fantasy dystopian published by Evernight Teen publishing.
AUTHOR LINKS
e-mail
tomewriter@gmail.com
Facebook
https://twitter.com/ALBrownwrites
Goodreads
Goodreads
CHARACTER INTERVIEW
What
word best describes true love?
Forbidden
Finish this sentence:
When I think of love, I think
of __Macie_____
What’s your ideal romantic evening?
Sitting outside
with Macie under the stars and what’s left of the moon.
But that’s only if she
wants to.
What’s the perfect Valentine’s Day gift?
We, uh, I
never really got to think about that.
Did you ever think you’d found that perfect love? What happened?
I wasn’t supposed to find love…
What are the ideal traits you’re looking for in a forever love?
A beautiful heart, energetic in life, hopeful…all things Macie is
but I’m not supposed to have.
What song title best describes your relationship track record: “Nothing but a Good
Time,” “Turn Me Loose,”“Shot Through the Heart
(You Give Love a Bad Name)”,
“Money Talks/Material Girl”,
“Looking for Love in All The Wrong Places”?
More like Goo Goo Dolls “Iris”
What do you find the most appealing about a committed relationship?
I, well, I don’t know. I’ve had a committed friendship with Macie.
Does that count? If so, well, she’s
what’s most appealing. Her smile, her laughter,
the way she looks at me like I
matter to her somehow.
Why are you still single?
Because I’m supposed to be.
What type of man/woman are you instinctively drawn to?
I, I don’t know how to answer that, honestly.
What’s an absolute deal breaker in a relationship?
I
don’t have any since I haven’t had a relationship other than my friendship with
Macie. Before Macie, things were complicated.
What was your first opinion of each other?
I
thought Macie was beautiful. She probably thought I was crazy for talking to
her since everyone else abandoned her.
What first attracted you to each other?
She had no
one. I chose to be her someone.
What kept you from acting on that attraction?
We
were kids when we first met. We weren’t thinking about things like attraction.
But now that we’re older, I’ve just had a hard time of things when
I think
about what I’m really supposed to be doing.
Who made the first move and what was it?
Me, at
least I tried to but we got interrupted. You’ll never believe what it was.
What would he/she have to change to make this relationship work?
Macie wouldn’t have to change a thing, well, other than that whole
registered-for-life tag.
What would you be willing to change to make this relationship succeed? Actually, I did change, but not in the way anybody expected.
What’s the best thing about the two of you together?
Macie is everything I never knew I needed.
What are you most looking forward to as a couple?
Surviving
What could stand in your way?
Uh, the things
standing in our way are more than I care to count,
but I’m willing to try if we
can survive.
***GIVEAWAY***
$25 Evernight Teen Gift Card
Thanks so much for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting! I like the blurb. It almost reminds me a little bit of The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.
ReplyDelete