Another beautiful cover for A.M's new YA series, Cimmerian Moon-The Ashes That Remain Book 2. Looking for reviews for The Ashes That Remain. Since this is a series for the best reading experience the books should be read in order. They are not stand alone titles. If you are interested in reviewing the first two books, please scroll to the bottom of the post and click on the ARC link and fill out the form.
Title:
The Ashes That Remain
Author:
A.M. Griffin
Series:
Cimmerian Moon #2
Genre:
YA
Publisher:
A.M. Griffin
Release
Date: Summer 2014
Blurb:
We’re
at war against the aliens that have invaded Earth, fighting the only
way we can—by surviving. I have more than most people do, but
although I know it’s stupid to hold on, I can’t let go of what
might have been—can’t help dreaming of something more. No matter
how I tell myself it would be easier to do what everyone else wants
me to, there’s a part of me that can’t give in.
Making
the best of the situation is one thing. Settling, even to make other
people happy, is something else.
Then
we hear the alien mother ships have disappeared. Of course we have to
go and investigate. What we find lands us in a huge mess that we
somehow have to clean up and, as our little enclave is rocked to the
core with even more changes, I’m learning a hard lesson.
The
more things change—for the better or the worse—there’s no
fighting human nature, and building on the ashes that remain will
take everything we have. And maybe more.
**This
book is written in first person. Young Adult, but some scenes may be
too intense for younger readers.**
Excerpt:
We’re
in trouble.
Deep
trouble.
We’re
out in the open.
It’s
day time.
And
no matter how many times I’ve been to Detroit, it’s still an
unfamiliar city.
If
this were Oxford Township, we’d have known all the nooks and
crannies to hide in. But out here every building looks like a trap
and every street looks like a dead end.
A
blast erupts in front of us, sending snow and pieces of debris up
from the ground to pelt me in the face.
I
slide to a stop and lose my balance to fall on my side. “Shit.”
As
MJ runs by me, he grabs my hood, pulling me to my feet. I hear his
heavy breathing as we plough through the snow, hampered by the heavy
drifts but propelled to sprint by adrenaline and fear. The
increasingly louder hum of the spaceship whizzes through the air,
gaining on us.
“Take
cover!” Rocky yells.
The
spaceship cuts through the wind above my head. MJ and I turn down a
street and press ourselves against the side of the building. The
spaceship travels in a blur past us. When it passes, I poke my head
around the corner to see the ship make an angling turn back in our
direction. Everyone has taken cover and is out of sight, except for
Jorin.
My
heart slams in my chest as I watch him dive under a car. When the
craft makes a path toward where Jorin has hidden, I do the
unthinkable.
I
sprint from between the buildings and run across the street, drawing
attention to me.
“Sinta!”
MJ yells. “What the hell are you doing?”
One
shot at the car and Jorin is a goner.
Whiz,
boom! The
ground shakes underneath my feet as a blast hits no more than five
feet from me. I take off running in the opposite direction. Whiz,
boom! I
skid to a halt as another blast hit a few feet to my right.
“Over
here!” Rocky yells, flailing his arms in the air. “Come get me
you bastards!”
“This
way!” Ian yells, doing the same thing Rocky is doing.
The
spaceship can’t focus on three targets, so it fires behind Rocky.
Whiz,
boom!
“Come
on.” MJ’s strong hands grab me again, pulling me, urging me to
run.
Panic
engulfs me as Rocky runs by us. “That way!” He points to a narrow
passage between two buildings. “Come on!”
I
stay on his heels, too afraid to turn back to look at the spaceship
or to see if everyone is following us.
Whiz,
boom! Five
feet in front of us, the ground shakes. Chunks of the building we
were running toward erupts. Rocky makes a left. The GPS tumbles from
his pocket. I slow down just enough to grab it and stuff it into
mine.
Whiz,
boom!
So
close.
The heat from the
blast scotches the side of my face. From my peripheral vision I see
them, five lizards running our way.
In a flash Rocky
has his rifle in his hands, peeling off shots as we run.
They shoot back,
one of the bolts hitting Ian in his leg. He howls in pain, falling to
the ground. MJ and I stop, going back for him. MJ works on lifting
him, trying to put Ian over his shoulder. While he does, I cover
them, firing shot after shot at the aliens coming closer to us.
“Help us!” I
yell to Rocky and Jorin, but they’ve got their own troubles. Aliens
are chasing them. In a frenzy I look for Wade, he’s stuck in an
alien shooting match of his own.
I turn back to the
aliens that are now just a few feet away from us. I can’t let them
get to us. Panic rips through me.
Keep
them away.
They’ll tear us
apart without even trying. I empty both high-powered pistols in their
direction, trying to keep them at a distance, taking down one. I
reach underneath my coat, feeling the cool metal of my throwing
knives in my hands. One-by-one, in quick succession, I aim and let my
knives fly, hitting my target in the face. With each throw of my
weapons, I try to kill. My knives hit the lizard’s eyes and one
lodges in its skull.
It goes down.
Another lizard is
too close for me to throw the knife that I’m clutching in my hand.
I open my hand and let it drop to the ground. It’s no use to me
right now. Using both hands, I reach behind my back and retrieve my
swords.
“Leave me,”
Ian cries out. I glance at him and see he’s clutching his leg. His
face is twisted in pain as MJ positions Ian on his shoulder.
If MJ heard Ian,
he doesn’t pay attention, because he lumbers to his feet with Ian
dangling over his shoulder.
“Sin, let’s
go,” MJ says as he struggles to walk in the snow with the added
weight.
The lizard lunges
for MJ and, with a swish of air, I take off its hand. I make a quick
turn to the right and bring my other sword through its body where it
glides freely until it lodges in the middle. As I pull out, the
lizard falls on its stomach to land in a dead heap.
Another alien
heads our way.
Where
did this one come from?
I steady my feet
and ready my swords. “Get him out of here MJ.”
“Don’t you
dare leave her,” Ian yells. Just as I turn to tell them to keep
going, the lizard’s tail hit me on my legs and knocks me on my
back. I fall with an “oomph”.
“Sin!” MJ
screams.
The
lizard looms over me, his thin lips are pulled back to reveal his
pointy teeth, which drip saliva onto my stomach.
“You
belong to me,” it snarls.
It
leans down to me, arms outstretched.
I
aim my swords and thrust them both in its gut and twist.
Its
eyes widen in disbelief. Slowly the lizard begins to slip down my
swords. Its blood gushes down the metal to meet my gloves. MJ lets
Ian slide to rest against a bus, then uses his booted foot to kick
the lizard on its side. It falls, taking my swords with it.
I
struggle to my feet and, once there, I pull my swords from the
lizard’s belly.
“Aw,
shit,” Ian says. His eyes are on something past MJ’s and my
shoulders.
I
turn to follow his gaze. More aliens. I glance around wildly. Where
are Rocky, Wade and Jorin? I hear the gun shots in the distance but I
can’t see them.
We’re
on our own.
With
no bullets and no help.
“Sin,”
MJ calls. He holds his hand out and I toss him one of my swords.
We
can do this.
“Don’t be
idiots,” Ian says, shaking his head. “If you two stay, they’ll
just kill you.”
I lift a shoulder.
“Bet I can take out two,” I say to MJ.
He smirks. “Good,
leave the rest for me.”
“Show off.”
It was odd. Us
standing here, holding samurai swords and joking. About to die.
Author Bio:
A.
M. Griffin is a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner
(and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s
a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She
enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances
and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable,
open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas,
angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies.
Where
you can find A.M.:
Website:
http://www.amgriffinbooks.com
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