Sacred Bloodlines (Book
1)
by
Wendy Owens
Free
Everywhere
Blurb:
Tragedy has defined Gabe's short existence in this world. An
ominous darkness lurked on the edge of his existence until one day in a subway,
strange things start happening. A series of events lead Gabe into a new and
fascinating life filled with angels and demons, but he isn't sure if he wants
to be a part of it.
Gabe is thrust into the middle of this exciting world that is
full of things he has longed for in his life but it comes with a price. This
new life also promises constant terrifying dangers that Gabe fears he may not
be able to survive.
Excerpt:
Feeling confident the danger had passed,
Gabe climbed up onto the seat. He pulled the handle, pushing the heavy door
open with his feet. On the ground in front of him, he saw Uri on his knees
clutching an unconscious Sophie. Nearby, there was a small mountain of ash.
“Is she ...” Gabe paused, unsure what to
even ask. None of what had just happened made any sense.
“Help me get her in the back,” Uri said
with a strained voice, motioning to him.
Gabe quickly ran to Uri’s side and swung
around to hold her feet. Uri climbed in first, pulling Sophie in behind him as
Gabe guided the rest of her. Gabe thought about how he had admired her boot
clad feet when he first saw her. He wished with everything in him that she
would be all right.
“You come around this side and hold her
head,” Uri beckoned.
Gabe made sure Sophie’s lower half was
securely in the car, then closed the door as gently as he could. He rushed to
the other side of the car to take Uri’s place. As he came around the back, he
saw two more piles of ash where the creatures that were looking at him had
been.
He hesitated for a moment as Uri stepped
out of the way, allowing Gabe to slide into place, cradling Sophie’s head in
his lap. Even lifeless, she was beautiful, Gabe thought. Her skin was so pale;
it had a gorgeous alabaster quality to it. He wasn’t sure how she did it, but
he knew she had saved him.
Uri jumped quickly behind the wheel and
searched frantically for the keys. Gabe saw they were still dangling from the
ignition. Leaning forward, he placed a hand on Uri’s shoulder. Uri looked back
at him; Gabe could see the worry in his eyes. Gabe motioned toward the keys,
slightly clearing his throat. Uri looked down and with a sigh started the car,
pulling back out onto the deserted road. Minutes passed with Uri frantically
checking over his shoulder.
“How is she?” he finally asked Gabe.
Gabe looked at Sophie’s body, lying there,
unsure how to even answer that question.
“Seems to be the same,” he responded
honestly. “I don’t understand. What happened to her?”
Uri stared at the road.
“There’s a lot you don’t understand right
now, Gabe,” Uri answered, clearly not wanting to deal with a bunch of
questions. “All you need to know is Soph used every ounce of power she had to
save us.”
All of the questions Gabe had wanted
answers to suddenly didn’t seem important. He leaned forward and noticed Uri
had increased their speed to just over one hundred miles per hour, Gabe thought
it prudent to say something.
“What if we get pulled over? Might be hard
to explain what’s wrong with her.” Gabe had dealt with the cops enough in his
life. He knew what it would be like trying to explain a half dead girl in the
back seat.
“Right, right,” Uri responded without
changing speed.
“Caecus,” Uri stated in a powerful voice.
“What?” Gabe asked.
“Oh,” Uri responded realizing Gabe had no
idea what was happening. As they sped down the street, Uri searched for the
words.
“Look, I know this is all must seem pretty
messed up and I want to explain everything, really I do, but I think it’s
better if you wait and talk to Michael.”
“Can you at least tell me what you just
said? I heard Sophie say something back at the roadside I didn’t understand
either,” Gabe pleaded.
“At the manor we learn a lot of things,
one of the things they teach us ... some might call ... spells.”
“Like magic?” Gabe asked, trying not to
laugh. The more he thought about it the less funny it seemed. After everything
he had seen, did it really seem so impossible that magic existed?
“I suppose, but it’s the source behind our
magic that makes it work. It’s a divine power,” Uri explained, increasing his
speed even more. “I promise, if you have any questions after talking to
Michael, I will answer them for you. He’s the best one to explain all of this.
I put an incantation on the car so it’s invisible.”
“Yeah, right, we’re invisible,” Gabe said
in disbelief, but then suddenly remembered back to the subway and how the
officers seemed to not even notice them. “Wait, like you did in the city, with
all those police officers?”
Uri glanced back at Gabe, his worry giving
way for a moment to an impressed stare. “Exactly, I used a distraction spell on
them allowing us to sneak by cloaked.”
“So that scream wasn’t real?” Gabe asked.
Uri nodded his head affirmatively.
Gabe’s head felt like it was spinning.
Monsters. Magic. He had always worried about the evils he had known in the
world. Now it appeared there were unknowns that he always thought were make
believe to worry about, too.
He leaned back and looked at Sophie’s
face, as he did, his thoughts seemed to calm. He began to stroke her auburn
hair, admiring how soft it was. Captivated by Sophie, he didn’t realize his
hands had begun to burn. He heard Uri’s muffled voice and as he looked up at
him, he felt an overwhelming feeling of nausea and realized everything had
become blurry.
Uri was turned, looking at him, shouting
something, but at that point, Gabe couldn’t hear him. A moment later, Gabe felt
like the car was spinning uncontrollably. The nausea overcame him and he
seriously thought he might be sick. He looked down at Sophie to make sure she
was still all right. His hands were holding her head gently, but they no longer
seemed like his hands. There was a glowing, blue light coming from his palms.
He began to hyperventilate. Everything went black.
My Review: 3 stars
This was an interesting book. First in the series, as I understand it. There are four more after this one. I will have to say that when I started reading I was intrigued. I mean, who sees people with shadows around them and then bad things happen? Apparently Gabe does. And he's not the only one. Uri finds him and takes him back to where there are others like him. But then Gabe finds out about the prophecy, and his role in it. I'm not good with religious books, so this really wasn't my cup of tea. Wendy's writing was good and the story moved along at a good pace. Always something new happening. I thought it interesting that Wendy used Angel names for most of the Guardians.
Cursed (Book 2)
by Wendy Owens
Blurb:
Some people are born into love,
some people are born into war, when Gabe discovered he was a Guardian Angel,
his life was suddenly thrust into both. If this hidden war wasn't enough to
deal with, Gabe learns he is fated to be the great protector who will one day
deliver the last prophet to either safety or death. All of these revelations
didn't matter for Gabe, he only cared that his new life included Sophie.
Sophie and Gabe grew closer over
the summer. She is now a fixture in his life that keeps him moving forward.
Evil doesn't stop stalking him just because he found happiness. This time
darkness finds it's way into Rampart manor and Gabe will have to decide if he
is willing to risk everything to try and stop it.
The
Prophecy (Book 3)
by Wendy Owens
Blurb:
Five years have passed since Gabe
abandoned Rampart, deserting his destiny and closest friends. The struggles
Gabe has endured to stay alive have changed him, hardening him into a man
unwilling to trust anyone or anything, dealing with difficulties connecting
with the outside world.
Gabe has finally found a certain
paradise--a peace in solitude--until a familiar stranger shows up on his
doorstep, pleading for Gabe's help.
Now he has to decide if he is truly
content in his new life, or if he is willing to risk his solitary happiness for
a little piece of the world he left behind.
Should he choose to accept the most
important duty of his life, one failure could mark the beginning of the end for
all mankind.
The Lost Years (book 4)
by Wendy Owens
Blurb:
Gabe's world was forever altered by the people he came to know
and love at Rampart Manor. Although, it wasn't only his life that was changed
when he made the choice to leave them all behind.
During his five year absence, they each had a battle with
personal demons. Dina is faced with a moral dilemma, the path of good leading
to certain heartbreak, or evil, and a possibility of happiness.
Uri meets a mysterious woman who seems to have a lot of the
answers that he has been searching for, and she certainly has a place in his
heart, if he can only hold onto her.
Sophie is faced with choices she never knew would be so
difficult. The question now is: will the personal demons of the remaining
Guardians of Rampart be too much for them to overcome?
The
Guardians Crown
by Wendy Owens
Goodreads
Release Date: September 27th
Blurb:
Gabe
is finally forced to answer the ultimate question, will he give his life to
save the world? What about just to save the one he loves the most? The
Guardians struggle to find another way--ideas that don't involve Gabe's
death--to defeat Baal. Time is running out. What will Gabe choose? What price
will he pay for that choice?
Author Bio:
Wendy Owens was raised in the small college town
of Oxford, Ohio. After attending Miami University, Wendy went on to a career in
the visual arts. After several years of creating and selling her own artwork,
she gave her first love, writing, a try.
Since 2011, she has published a young adult
paranormal series, The Guardians, which will contain five books total, as well
as a novella.
Wendy now
happily spends her days writing—her loving dachshund, Piper, curled up at her
feet. When she's not writing, she can be found spending time with her tech geek
husband and their three amazing kids, exploring the city she loves to call
home: Cincinnati, OH.
Author Links:
Website: http://wendy-owens.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WendyLOwens
