The Cauldron Stirred
Guardians of Erin, #1
Guardians of Erin, #1
by Judith Sterling
Publication date: July 21st 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Publication date: July 21st 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
BLURB
Ashling Donoghue never dreamed
moving to Ireland would rock her perception of reality and plunge her into a
mystery that brings legend to life.
At seventeen, she’s never had a
boyfriend, but she feels an immediate connection to Aengus Breasal, the son of
the wealthy Irishman who’s invited her family to stay at his Killarney estate.
For the first time in her life, a guy she likes seems attracted to her.
But Aengus is secretive, with
good reason. He and his family are the Tuatha Dé Danann, ageless, mythical
guardians adept at shifting between this reality and the magical dimension
known as the Otherworld. Evil forces from that world threaten the Breasals, the
Donoghues, and all of Ireland. Ashling must open her heart, face her fears, and
embrace a destiny greater than she could ever have imagined.
Buy Links:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
EXCERPT:
The
night air was deliciously cool. Moonlight and darkness held equal sway over the
backyard thanks to the shifting clouds. I dashed across the lawn and halted in
the exact spot where Aengus had stood. Panting, I looked around, willing some
kind of clue to materialize.
The
ruins in front of me darkened as large, heavy clouds swallowed the moon whole.
The wind tugged at my long, loose hair and pajamas. Tiny raindrops spattered on
my nose and cheeks. I turned my palms to the sky, and cold rain pelted them.
“Great.”
Intending to return to the house, I swiveled around.
I
gasped. My right hand flew to my chest. “Aengus?!”
The
man himself stood an arm’s length in front of me. “Why are you here?”
“You
scared the crap out of me!”
“Whisht!”
“What?”
“Shush!”
Pop!
The
strident sound came from the ruins. I whirled around and stared at the dark
keep.
Aengus
grabbed me from behind. He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. I
reveled in the feel of his taut body, of his warm flesh against mine.
Suddenly,
everything changed. The rain stopped. The wind died. The entire landscape was
bathed in the soft hue of twilight. Breasal Castle looked brand spanking new,
just as it had during the bizarre dream in which I brought Aengus to the
cottage. But this time, I knew I was awake.
Dumbfounded,
I gawked at the medieval magnificence before me. I had no idea what had
happened and no desire to pull away from his embrace.
His
lips brushed my right ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “This way.”
His
right arm released me, and his left slid down to my waist. Maintaining body
contact the entire time, he steered me toward the stand of oaks on our right.
Once
sheltered by the trees, he turned us around so we faced the castle.
“Are
we hiding?” I whispered.
“We
are.”
“Why?
And what just happened?”
“I
can’t say.”
“Can’t
or won’t?”
“Both.”
Until
that moment, I’d forgotten I wore pajamas. Now I was acutely aware of it. Satin
was pleasing to the touch, but something told me my attire had nothing to do
with his grip on me.
I
looked up at him. “Not that I mind, but why are you holding me so close?”
His
hand tightened on my waist. “It’s necessary.”
“I
don’t suppose you can explain that, either.”
With
his gaze locked on the castle, he shook his head. He pressed his right forefinger
against his mouth in a silencing gesture. Then he pointed up at the keep.
High
on the battlements, the black-haired woman from my dream—and from Branna’s
painting—paced back and forth. Her hair whipped about her pale face and slender
frame.
She
paused beside a gap in the crenelated wall and glared down at the fairy mound.
Her colorless lips curled into a sneer. Then her human form morphed into a dark
shadow, which fragmented into what seemed a million black particles. They
swarmed into the air and shot across the twilit sky, disappearing into the
distance.
I
took a deep breath. “So she’s real.”
He
nodded. “She’s real, to be sure. Come.” With his arm still hooked around me, he
led me out of the woods and toward the fairy mound.
Buy Links:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
Author Info
Judith Sterling's love of history
and passion for the paranormal infuse everything she writes. Flight of the
Raven and Soul of the Wolf are part of her medieval romance series, The Novels
of Ravenwood. The Cauldron Stirred is the first book in her YA paranormal fantasy
series, Guardians of Erin. Written under Judith Marshall, her nonfiction
books--My Conversations with Angels and Past Lives, Present Stories--have been
translated into multiple languages. She has an MA in linguistics and a BA in
history, with a minor in British Studies. Born in that sauna called Florida,
she craved cooler climes, and once the travel bug bit, she lived in England,
Scotland, Sweden, Wisconsin, Virginia, and on the island of Nantucket. She
currently lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and their identical
twin sons.
Author Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment