Ignite (Ignite #1)
by Erica Crouch
Published June 11th 2013 by Patchwork Press
ISBN (ISBN13: 9780991789740)
Series Ignite #1
Penemuel (Pen) fell from grace over a millennium ago, yet there are still times she questions her decision to follow her twin brother, Azael, to Hell. Now that the archangel Michael has returned, threatening Lucifer’s vie for the throne, she begins questioning everything she has always believed.
As Hell prepares for war - spreading a demonic virus and pilfering innocent souls to build an army - the lines separating the worlds blur. Fates erase and the future is left unwritten. Azael is determined that he and his sister will continue to serve as demons together, but for the first time in her life, Pen is not ruled by destiny. She has the freedom of choice.
With choice comes sacrifice, and Pen must decide which side she’s willing to risk everything fighting for: the light, or the dark.
About the Author:
Erica Crouch is a twenty-year-old living on the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland. She is currently working towards a degree in English and Creative Writing with a specialization in Fiction at Southern New Hampshire University. She spends all of her time writing and reading an overwhelming stack of books.
Ignite is her debut novel and she is currently writing it’s sequel - in addition to two other series! Erica has also written a stage play, NVRLND, and was recently acknowledged for her editorial work in Kellie Sheridan’s novel Mortality, released March 2013.
Outside of her interest in literature, Erica enjoys studying the humanities, including anthropology and mythology. She devours dark and fantastical books, inspirational musicals/plays, terrible and quirky television and an exorbitant amount of Jolly Ranchers. She is part fictional character, part cyborg.
Author Links
My Review of Ignite
I will keep this review spoiler free.
I absolutely loved this book! Wow, it was so different than the usual fallen angels’ books. I am not used to getting in the head of the “bad” one, the demon, but things change for this demon, and I ended up liking her a lot.
Now Michael (yes, the arch angel Michael) was amazing, so sweet and loved his innocence in this. You will understand why that is when you read it.
This book will hook you in right from the start. I didn’t like Pen’s twin brother, Azeal at all, he was truly evil and was glad when she got away from him for a time. ( some is a bit gruesome, so I think mature teens would be fine.
I am very anxious to read book 2, I sure hope it comes out soon. I loved this cover too, it’s pretty cool looking and fitting for the most part for the story. This is a true forbidden romance, and it really pulls the heart strings.
Here is a sweet swoon worthy scene for you:
I kiss him back harder, showing him I’m not as breakable as he thinks. Heat courses between us, traveling out from his touch. The warmth dances across my skin and penetrates into my veins, the blood coursing like fire following a rivulet of gasoline until I’m entirely consumed. I walk him backwards and shove him against the shower wall, sliding my arms up his chest and around his neck only to tangle my hands in his wet hair.
I want you. I don’t want anyone else. His golden voice is soft in my head, whispering like smoke from a snuffed candle. I gasp, breaking away. His eyes are bright blue and water clings to his coppery eyelashes. He stares at me unwaveringly. It’s you, Pen. It will always be you. I trace his lips with my finger, daring him to say it out loud.
And here is another that I like:
“You’re very trusting,” I laugh. “I could be walking you right over the side, leading you to your death.”
His grip tightens on my hands, but he smiles. “From the way you are leading me, I think you would be the first to fall. Plus,” he adds, shrugging his shoulders, “I think my wings may be of some help should you lead me over the edge.”
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars, and highly recommend it.
IGNITE Excerpt
It starts with a single familiar scream that echoes from deep within the forest. Fighting every instinct, I run towards it. The low hanging branches, which are thick and shadowy in the darkness, whip violently into my face. The scream hitches, ending abruptly, and suddenly the woods are quiet again.
I stop, bracing myself on the back of a large tree, and try to catch my breath.
Listen, I tell myself.
I focus on the sounds around me and try to make sense of the strange shadows that curl devilishly in the moonlight. There is movement, quick and soft. I hear a dull thud, peer around the tree, and see something small and thin slide off of a large sword that glints wickedly in the moonlight. A body. The figure falls limply to the ground. A tall, broad shadow stands above the crumpled figure.
Patience. I count to ten in my head, waiting for the shadowed figure to leave, but he doesn’t move.
I let out a soft huff of my breath, visible in the crisp, cool night, and run in the direction of the shadow. Faster, I throw myself into a full sprint until I reach the clearing, where I come to a stop. I draw my dagger quietly from my belt and wait.
The shadow remains still, unaware of my presence. I go to take a step forward but a second shadow glides up behind the first and I stop. This shadow is narrower than the first but equally as tall and strong.
I step forward, my dagger raised threateningly in front of me. “Turn around,” I demand. “Let me see your faces.”
The two figures ignore me. With their bare, muscled backs turned to me, I see them lean in towards one another and whisper between themselves, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. I circle around them carefully, keeping my dagger held high. Their heads are bowed low, and I cannot make out their faces.
Suddenly, the sharp and rusty smell of blood washes over me. But there’s something different about this blood. It doesn’t have the same intoxicating sweetness it usually does. Instead, it smells bitter, like garbage or rot. I freeze, look down at my feet, and see thick, dark blood sliding slowly across the ground until it seeps under my boots. I draw my eyebrows together in confusion.
Black blood?
I follow the viscid, black stream and find that it is spilling rapidly out of the chest, up the neck, and across the face of a thin, pale girl. There is so much blood caked to her face that I don’t recognize her right away, but she seems familiar.
I know her…
I raise my eyes back to the two men standing in front of me. Both of their chests are bare and their skin, one tan and the other pale, seems to be glowing in the moonlight. Their faces are masked in shadows.
The first shadow is holding a large sword in his hand, the black blood sliding down the shining blade, obscuring a thin inscription. He whispers to the second, “Take her soul.”
“Who are you?” I yell. “Show me your faces!”
Again, I’m ignored. They move carefully and slowly, like phantoms.
The second shadow bends down to the body and reaches into her chest. I see that he has a long welt along his forearm, and I lean closer. His dark hair shines blue-black in the silvery light.
No, it can’t be.
His hand searches inside the chest. “There’s nothing here.”
“Look again,” orders the first shadow.
There’s a pause. “Nothing.”
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