Fallen
The Chosen Series Book One
Christine James
Link to My Review (I read and reviewed awhile back)
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Action
Book Description:
Angelo searched for the one to save them for centuries. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect it to be a girl. From the beginning, he was drawn to her, but how could such a slip of a girl be the one to save mankind. He was supposed to train her and explain what she was, but how could he do his job and resist her at the same time? Could he put attractions aside and focus on his job and what he needed to do? It was just supposed to be a fun night at their small town carnival, but a bizarre encounter with a mysterious fortune teller changed Erin's life forever. Then there was the stranger, the man who she literally ran into. A beautiful stranger that wouldn't leave her thoughts and who suddenly haunted her dreams. Something about him pulled her to him, like an anchor sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Little did she know her life was about to change when he revealed to her that she wasn't exactly human, and that she was destined to fight the most powerful evil on earth.
Erin's life collided with Angelo's, and now they are both in for a ride as they fight for the world, and fight their attraction for one another.
***This book contains violence, adult content, and mild language
Fallen
Excerpt
Erin could see him standing across the street, looking dashing in a tuxedo and a broad smile. He held out his hand, beckoning her. She stepped down off the curve, but something caught her eye. Looking down, she saw she was wearing a beautiful red satin gown that shimmered beautifully in the pale street light. The strapless bodice fit snuggly, pushing up her ample chest, while the bottom fanned out gracefully in waves. On her feet was a pair of matching red heels with thin straps and sparkling rhinestones. Never before had she felt so beautiful.
She went into his arms with ease and he swept her along the street, dancing and twirling around to softly lilting music. He held her close, her body fitting to his easily. She could feel his heart beating steadily against hers. The same smell from earlier seemed so much stronger than before. His eyes were such a light shade of gray, they were almost transparent. Dense fog swirled around their legs as they twirled and moved as one.
Then something changed and they were no longer dancing. She was standing in the middle of the street alone, wearing her pajamas. Somewhere a streetlight began to flicker eerily. The light made the fog appear bluish white and very sinister. Erin looked around, frantically searching for Angelo. She found him standing at the entrance of the fairgrounds. He no longer wore the tux. Even in the darkness she could see his eyes were no longer shimmering silver, but dark gray bordering on black. His hair was pulled back tightly and his once beautiful face had turned stone cold and dangerous. He wore a black t-shirt tucked neatly into a pair of black cargo pants. The pants resembled the style that she’d seen paramedics wearing. The bottoms of the pants were tucked tightly into a pair of snugly laced, slightly worn, combat boots. Something glistened in his hand. It appeared to be a long blade that glistened in the dim light. Erin began to slowly back away, but he moved toward her. She could see he was saying something, but couldn’t make out the words.
Erin blinked and they were no longer standing in the middle of the street, but in the center of a meadow surrounded by trees. The loud sound of beating wings came from somewhere behind her, and briefly she thought of a horror movie where everything was in slow motion. She tried to run, but her feet felt as if they were encased in concrete. Slowly she turned. The sound of beating wings stirred the cold night air around her. When she looked up, huge black wings angled toward her. She tried to scream, but the smell of sulfur was suffocating. Angry red eyes glared down at her and pain suddenly sliced through her body.
She tried frantically to get away, silently willing her feet to move. She had to get away from the wings and the blinding pain, but the pain only intensified with each movement. Erin could smell something foul over the stinging scent of sulfur and she realized it was the unmistakable smell of burning flesh. She looked down and realized it was her flesh that was burning. She screamed as her sweats began to melt to her legs.
“Someone, help me!” she screeched, and the answer she received was an angry hiss.
Erin sagged to the ground in pain as the flames raged over her lower body; she could hear the harsh sound of metal clanging against metal. Another shrill hiss and screech sliced through the night and soon the flapping noise was gone. Everything was cast into silence. There was a dull roar in her ears, but the pain was slowly beginning to subside. Erin felt herself being lifted by a pair of strong arms. She looked up into the face of the body that cradled her gently. Angelo’s face was tight with rage as the muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched.
“What happened?” Erin muttered.
“Do not worry about it now,” Angelo said in perfect English.
“Hey what happen to your accent?” Erin said sleepily. She took a deep breath. It was the same scent from his hooded sweat shirt, covering her like a warm blanket, caressing her gently.
“There are a lot of things you do not know, and a lot of things you are about to learn,” he answered softly. He looked down and, in her groggy state, she noticed that his eyes were shifting colors again. They were getting lighter.
“I can’t... keep my... eyes open,” she whispered.
“Don’t fight it,” he said softly. Without another thought, Erin’s eyes slipped closed.
Risen
The Chosen Series Book Two
Christine James
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Action
Book Description:
Blaze and Angie were happy, or so she thought. There was a restlessness growing inside her that not even she could explain. How could she trust his love when she wasn't able to trust herself? They thought the battle was finished when they sent Satan back to hell, so how could they have known another threat, larger than Satan himself, was looming on the horizon? This time the stakes are higher and the game much more deadly. Something is coming and it will shatter everything they have ever known. Can they stop it before it has Risen?
Risen
Excerpt
Angie smiled back at Sable and for the first time in a long time she felt normal. He was the closest thing to a father figure she’d ever known. He was a towering six foot eight with arms as big and thick as a tree. Though he was over six centuries old he only appeared to be in his late thirties early forties. His eyes were dark brown, reminding her of a puppy. His head was clean shaven and he sported a flame tattoo starting on the top and fanning out down his neck, disappearing beneath his orange shirt. It had been far too long since she’d seen him and seeing him now made her homesick, or the closest she’d ever been to that feeling.
They talked for hours and when Angie looked at her watch, it said one in the morning. “Hey did you check in with the boys?” She asked Erin.
“No I guess I forgot.”
“Ah hell, they are going to be furious,” she said rolling her eyes.
“Come to think of it I haven’t heard anything from them,” Erin said.
A tingle of worry raced up Angie’s spine. She opened her mind and tried to connect with Blaze, but there was nothing.
Blaze, damn it, where are you? She waited for several long moments but there came no response.
“I can’t reach Blaze. Can you get Angelo?”
Erin pushed out with her mind and tried to reach Angelo but got nothing but darkness. She tried to sense him but only got a feeling of cold. Her eyes snapped to Angie’s.
“Something’s wrong. I can’t reach him nor can I sense him.”
Panic began to clutch at Angie’s chest as she reached out for Blaze again. She took a deep breath. “There has to be a logical explanation, right? We’re on the other side of the continent so it would be hard for us to sense them very strongly.”
Erin shook her head. “It’s not like Angelo to not answer me.”
Angie knew something was wrong but she didn’t want to accept it. She pushed her mind out once more and searched for Blaze. When there was nothing she tried Josh and then Eli. Suddenly a sharp pain ripped through her side. She doubled over, tears stinging her eyes.
Sable placed a big hand on her back. “Angelica, what is it?”
“Something…is… wrong… with Josh,” she panted. She grasped the edge of the table with her free hand.
As soon as Angie’s words were out a sharp pain tore through Erin’s midsection. She stood and clutched her stomach. “Angelo. He’s hurt.” The fact that she was suddenly able to sense his pain worried her.
“They’re in trouble,” Erin gasped.
Angie screamed as another pain tore through her other side. She could feel Josh’s pain as clearly as if it were her own.
“Something’s wrong. We’ve got to go.”
Sable stood. “Okay, everyone out,” he barked to the other people in the room. When no one moved he barked louder. “Now!” The tone in his voice sent everyone scrambling towards the exit. Once everyone was out he turned back to the girls.
“Go to them but be wary, and let me know as soon as you are safe.” He gathered Angie against him and kissed the top of her head. “God speed,” he whispered against her hair.
Angie stepped away from Sable and clutched Erin’s trembling hand.
With a thought they vanished.
“My God be with you,” Sable whispered.
Final Redemption
The Chosen Series Book Three
Christine James
Christine James
Link to My Review with an Author Interview with Her ideas of a Dream Cast
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Action
Book Description:
With Lilith on the loose and their circle fractured, The Chosen are wandering around lost, broken, and confused. Their friendships are being tested as well as their trust in one another. They've lost one of their own, and now new questions keep surfacing as a bout of unusual occurrences take place. What they didn't expect was an evil worse than Lilith herself in the works. Come join the Nephilim on one last journey.
Final Redemption
Excerpt
She didn’t feel pain as she drew the razor sharp edge of the blade against the soft part of her palm. Dark-red blood pooled along the gash. Stepping forward, Angie placed her hand on the large wall. When she drew it back, a bloody hand print was left behind. She watched as the rock wall absorbed the blood like a giant sponge.
Stepping back, she lifted her hands high above her head. She chanted low as her mother and Lilith stood close by watching and monitoring her ritual. Her midnight-black wings stretched to her sides and she could feel the Earth’s energy vibrating through each feather.
“Very good, my daughter,” Kali crooned. Angie ignored her and concentrated on the words of her chant. If she could not fully focus on what she was doing then everything they’d been through would be for naught.
The ground gave a low groan of protest and trembled beneath her feet. Finally, the rock wall hissed and began to split. Angie cleared her throat and began speaking.
“Iter! Egredere, et vocet te. Ego vocare te. Ego vocare te.” The Latin rolled off her tongue as if it were her primary language. She clapped her hands in front of her once and the sound rumbled like thunder, echoing all around them and causing the mountain to quiver.
She repeated the incantation in English, her voice strong and clear. “Open! Come forth, I summon you. I summon you. I summon you.” She slowly pulled her hands apart and the crack began to widen. The farther she opened her hands, the wider the fissure grew.
With her arms stretched out to her sides, Angie stared into the yawning black void in front of her. Wisps of thick, black steam snaked out of the darkness and curled around her legs.
“Come forth,” she demanded. “You are free.” Seven misty shapes drifted forward.
“Welcome,” Angie said anxiously.
“What year is this?” one of the shapes hissed. To Angie’s ears it sounded like the disembodied voice was coming out of a synthesizer, and she wasn’t overly sure which of the seven were speaking. It seemed like each one spoke a different word to complete the question.
“Two thousand and twelve.”
“We’ve been asleep for over a millennia,” they said. Suddenly the air around them crackled with tension as they turned towards Kali. “Ah, Kali, it’s so good to see you again,” they hissed.
Kali stepped forward and reverently bowed at the waist in front of them. “It is good to see you as well.”
“You’re feeling anxious,” they observed as they drifted closer, creating a tight circle around her.
Angie watched as her mother’s face blanched.
“It’s been a long time. Surely long enough to heal any grievances you harbor for me,” Kali stammered as she tried to back away. She stopped abruptly when her back collided with a shape.
Angie wondered how a figure that was misty and transparent could be solid.
“Do you know the remarkable thing about being trapped inside of a rock wall?” The voices began to rise in anger and Angie stepped closer, unable to take her eyes from the petrified look on her Kali’s face. She found pleasure in her mother’s terror. She could feel their anger dancing heavily around her. Her gaze darted to Lilith, who watched with eager anticipation as an evil smile tilted her lips.
“W-what is that?” Kali whispered.
“We’ve had plenty of time to think about revenge,” they hissed.
About the Author:
I'm a born and raised small town girl. I love fishing, camping, big and loud trucks, but don't let my boots fool ya, I can slip out of my boots and into a pair of heels in no time flat! I love books and movies and it seems that there is never enough time to read or watch them all. I bake and decorate cakes (in my free time) pffft what's that right?
My husband is my world. He has been my cheerleader as I strive to achieve my writing goals; he's helped pick me up and dust me off when I get rejected; he laughs with me, and more times than not he laughs AT me, and he lends a shoulder for me to cry on. He's my rock but more importantly he is my best friend. We have two beautiful sons, Dillyn (8) and Traben (2). They are my angels and by becoming an author I want to show them that their dreams can come true. I have something that not many people can brag about. I have my parents (both amazing God Fearing people married 31 years) and my AMAZING in-laws (married 44 years) these two couples are part of my inspiration. I am also fortunate to call my three younger brothers my best friends. I have a few close friends that have helped me come so far. I value my relationships and treat them all like rare gems, because they are all special and unique in their own way. I love making people laugh, no matter what. Life is too short to be so serious all the time.
Writing has always been a dream of mine. It's been a comfort when I'm hurting and an outlet when I'm mad. It is my security blanket.
I want to let you all know my own visual I have of some of these characters. Erin, I have an artist pic that shows an angle with the blonde hair, and lavender eyes, this could be Erin. That’s who I pictured. I found this pic on a free fantasy wallpapers website, here is direct link to this one, Fantasy Angel) But if to pick an actress, I would have to pick Claire Holt (Rebekah in the Vampire Diaries show)
Sources Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Kreuk, Phoebe Tonkin, Steven R. McQueen, Shemar Moore, Ian Somerhalder, The Rock, Claire Holt
