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Darkness Watching
by Emma L Adams
Release Date: 10th October 2013
Publisher: Curiosity Quills
Genre: Urban fantasy/paranormal
Target Audience: Upper YA/New Adult
Summary from Goodreads:
Eighteen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she's losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back.
Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere - little knowing that it isn't coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world.
All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life - but demons never give up, and their focus on Ash has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she's looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is.
In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be...
Target Audience: Upper YA/New Adult
Summary from Goodreads:
Eighteen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she's losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back.
Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere - little knowing that it isn't coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world.
All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life - but demons never give up, and their focus on Ash has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she's looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is.
In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be...
Excerpt
David turned to me. "You okay? I saw that girl
stand on your foot."
"I'll live," I said, examining the ugly
purple bruise already forming. "Ouch."
Then I saw something that chilled me instantly. Not
two feet away from me―one of those dark spaces, a patch of nothingness, like a
tear in the universe. I stared helplessly, waiting for the inevitable pair of
malevolent purple eyes to meet mine.
But there was nothing there. Just blackness.
"Ash? What're you looking at?" said
Sarah.
"Nothing," I said, tearing my gaze away.
"Thought I saw someone I knew."
Out of the corner of my eye, I continued to watch
the dark space.
"I think clubbing's kind of overrated,"
said Alex. "Yeah, it's fun for a bit, but I'd rather be watching a film or
sitting in a pub or something."
"Ditto," said Sarah.
I shifted my gaze back to the dark space- and I
almost stopped breathing. Something stepped
out of the darkness.
The something
was a shadow, black as the gap itself, hunched and shapeless, but as it
moved, it seemed to solidify into an animalistic shape, crouched on all fours.
Shadows blurred around it like a long shaggy coat.
This was no demon; it was something else. I could
hear its soft footfalls on the pavement. This creature was here, physically, not hiding behind a dark space. Before, I'd
always instinctively known the demons weren't part of the world as I knew it.
But this creature was as solidly here as I was.
I backed away, almost tripping over the front step
of Satan's Pit.
"Ash? You okay?"
"Fine," I said, amazed at how steady my
voice sounded, despite the tremors that made my heart rattle against my rib
cage. "It's really cold out here. I think we should go back inside."
"You sure?" David looked at me
doubtfully. "Okay, then."
Coward. A sharp voice in my head berated me for running
away. But I didn't want this, not now. Not now I'd almost regained a normal
life.
But before I could follow Alex, Sarah, and David
back inside, someone grabbed my arm.
"It's sensed you," a voice hissed. 'You
can't go back in there."
I turned. It was the girl who'd knocked into me
earlier, the red-haired girl from the car.
Swaying unsteadily on her three-inch heels, she
pointed at the creature, which crept closer until its muzzle almost brushed my
feet. It looked like a shadowy, oversized fox, but the eyes it fixed on me were
crimson, like bloody gouges in its face.
I felt an icy claw grip my heart, rooting me to the
spot.
"Shit," I whispered. "What the hell
is that?"
"A shadow-beast. It can't see you, but it can
sense you," whispered the girl. "Move."
But I couldn't move. I was backed up against the
door to Satan's Pit.
The girl swore, stepping back to stand beside me.
Dark tendrils rippled across the pavement like a creeping plant. The creature
edged forward, raising its head to bare two rows of teeth. Shit, I thought. It's really
going to kill me.
The girl cursed, and moved in front of me, taking
something out of her bag so fast her hands appeared blurred. A plain, black
Japanese-style fan, patterned with flames. She held it out in her right hand,
between us and the creature.
Confusion leaked through my terror. What's she doing?
For a second, I saw something flicker down her arms
to her fingertips, then flames appeared out of nowhere, igniting the fan. She
made a threatening motion toward the creature, which let out a high-pitched
squeal. Faster than I could blink, it leapt at the dark space, vanishing into
nothingness.
The girl flicked the fan, and the flames receded,
becoming a simple pattern once again. She snapped the fan back into its case
and stashed it in her bag. I couldn't stop staring at her, speechless.
Buy Links:
Amazon * AmazonUK * Barnesand Noble * Kobo
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Reviews of DARKNESS WATCHING:
"Emma is an
amazing writer. She has become one of my favorites. I couldn’t put Darkness
Watching down." - Diane at A
Creative Mind
"Darkness Watching provides an original world that is fully complete and from a teens POV. It was dark and entertaining and sometimes teen books don’t go full out, this one did. The world building was truly strong in this novel." - Lexi at Book Bliss
"Like good books should, Darkness Watching left me pondering the story after I'd finished reading AND left me wanting more. Adams built a strong world for readers to be immersed. But the regular world retained full realism. Normal every day teen situations felt completely believable." - Erin at Erin Albert Books
I have to say, I didn’t see the ending coming! ... the final showdown left me speechless (You will have to read it!)" - Julia at Never Judge a Book by its Movie
"This was entertaining from the start...I didn’t want to put it down, and fans of urban fantasies I think will enjoy this. Darkness Watching was definitely worth the read." - Jenea at Books Live Forever
"This book is unique, fun and interesting. I kept wondering what was going to happen next...I felt that this book was well written and It was hard to put this book down once I started. " -Jessica at Eat Sleep Read
"Darkness Watching provides an original world that is fully complete and from a teens POV. It was dark and entertaining and sometimes teen books don’t go full out, this one did. The world building was truly strong in this novel." - Lexi at Book Bliss
"Like good books should, Darkness Watching left me pondering the story after I'd finished reading AND left me wanting more. Adams built a strong world for readers to be immersed. But the regular world retained full realism. Normal every day teen situations felt completely believable." - Erin at Erin Albert Books
I have to say, I didn’t see the ending coming! ... the final showdown left me speechless (You will have to read it!)" - Julia at Never Judge a Book by its Movie
"This was entertaining from the start...I didn’t want to put it down, and fans of urban fantasies I think will enjoy this. Darkness Watching was definitely worth the read." - Jenea at Books Live Forever
"This book is unique, fun and interesting. I kept wondering what was going to happen next...I felt that this book was well written and It was hard to put this book down once I started. " -Jessica at Eat Sleep Read
About the Author
Emma spent her childhood
creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality,
so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy and paranormal
for young adults. She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first
opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three
years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured
a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She
also wrote various novels and short stories. These included her first
publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a
homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).
Now a reluctant graduate, she can usually be found in front of her writing desk, creating weird and wonderful alternative worlds. Her debut novel The Puppet Spell, published in January 2013 by Rowanvale Books, is a fantasy tale for young adults and the young at heart, inspired by her lifelong love of the fantastical, mythology, and video games. Emma also writes supernatural fantasy novels for older teens and adults. Her next book, Darkness Watching, is the first in the upper-YA/New Adult Darkworld series, and was published in October 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press.
Now a reluctant graduate, she can usually be found in front of her writing desk, creating weird and wonderful alternative worlds. Her debut novel The Puppet Spell, published in January 2013 by Rowanvale Books, is a fantasy tale for young adults and the young at heart, inspired by her lifelong love of the fantastical, mythology, and video games. Emma also writes supernatural fantasy novels for older teens and adults. Her next book, Darkness Watching, is the first in the upper-YA/New Adult Darkworld series, and was published in October 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press.
Author Links:
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