Title: Our Souls to Keep
Author: Gary Caruso
Genre: Dark YA, Romantic Thriller 15+
Blitz Host: Lady
Amber's Tours
Synopsis:
After
seventeen-year-old Wake Reynolds agrees to sacrifice his soul to protect his
suicidal mother from the fiery tortures of Hell, Satan strips him of his
humanity and forces him to become a demonic collector of souls. With no memory
of his human existence, Wake spends years in loyal service—but something within
him is changing. His stolen human emotions are beginning to return.
As
Wake struggles to keep his new sensations hidden, Satan orders him to corrupt
the soul of a pregnant girl, Annemarie. Beautiful, gentle Annemarie. From the
moment Wake sees her, she brings lightness to his blackened heart, dampening
his loneliness, fueling his passion. If he chooses to defy Satan and spare the
lives of Annemarie and her unborn child, his mother’s soul will writhe in
Hell’s deepest pit for eternity. Annemarie or his mother? It’s a choice no one
should have to make.
Gary Caruso lives in northern Virginia
with his wife Jill, but their favorite place is in Ohio with their three beautiful
grandchildren. Although Gary
is exhilarated when he sits down to write, teaching middle school science is
his first love. He’s passionate about empowering students to make thoughtful
decisions and positive choices in life. Gary
enjoys reading, especially fiction that blurs the line between what’s real and
what’s fantasy. He never imagined becoming a writer until an ordinary car ride
on a spring day jolted an unlikely thought into his head. Gary’s early experience writing is a reminder
that no matter how intimidating the challenge, action and determination are the
foundations for fulfilling any dream. Gary
has an insatiable love for writing, a blessing he’s excited to share with his
readers.
Links:
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Our-Souls-to-Keep-ebook/dp/B00CBPPML4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1367683787&sr=1-1
B&N link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/our-souls-to-keep-gary-caruso/1115147101?ean=2940016431963
The crowd thins,
eventually leaving Annemarie and me alone in the hallway. She gathers her books
and turns, quicker than I expect. I can’t maneuver out of her way. Our
collision is mild, but jarring enough to dislodge the books from her hands.
“I’m so sorry,”
she says as she kneels to pick up her scattered books.
I should be
helping her, but my eyes are fixed on her graceful movements. Her long brown
hair has fallen to the side, exposing the back of her softly curved neck, and
every reach for a stray book lengthens her back and shoulders, inviting my touch.
From the lowest point, just above the waist of her jeans, the tip of my finger would
snake upward, navigating the gentle ridge of her spine until my hand laces
through the richness of her flowing hair.
She tilts her head
upward and grins at me. “Are you okay?”
Her voice snaps me
from my fantasy. “Me? Yeah, I’m…fine. Oh, god. I’m so sorry. I should be
picking up your books. You’re…you know.” I point feeble-mindedly at her
extended stomach.
“Pregnant,” she
says as she stands and straightens her blouse. “It’s all right to say it. I
already know.”
The tip of her
tongue unknowingly caresses her lower lip and the gentle arc of her full upper
lip stretches, the smallest amount, as a smile slowly radiates across her
flushed cheeks. These emotions, human, raw and…hormonal, forgotten for so long,
now my only hope for clear thought is to suppress them. This has to be one of
Satan’s sadistic jokes.
I laugh from
embarrassment, but it’s the first time, in too long, that the sound of
untempered, unrestrained joy bubbles from my heart. How can she have this
warming effect on me? I want to say something cute and funny, but my mind is a
hornet’s nest of scrambled thoughts.
“You look
familiar,” she says. “Do we have a class together?”
I gaze into her
hazel eyes. I must appear flustered because she tilts her head and grins.
“No. I mean, I
don’t know. Today is my first day at this school.”
“Great. Welcome to
Roosevelt High School. My name is Annemarie.”
“I’m Wake.”
“Wake? That’s an
interesting name.”
“Yeah, I know. It
sounds like a funeral.”
“I like it. But I
have to go. My little guy keeps pushing on my bladder. Lately, I have to use
the restroom between every class.” She covers her mouth as if she gave too much
information to someone she just met, but her joyful eyes can’t hide the smile
hidden behind her hand.
“I can’t believe I
just told you that.” She starts to hurry away, but looks over her shoulder.
“See you later, Wake.”
I wave like an
embarrassed adolescent. What a lousy first impression. I sounded like a
bumbling, immature little boy.
I watch as she
continues down the hall. I’ve seen other pregnant women before. They were
clumsy, out of balance from carrying extra weight in front. But not Annemarie.
Her steps are graceful and refined, like she’s gliding on a frozen pond. The
gentle curves of her hips have remained slender, and sway hypnotically
side-to-side in a rhythm that matches the drumming of my heart.
What am I
thinking? Mooning about like a lovesick teenager. I can’t let my physical attraction
for Annemarie erode the resolve I’ll need to complete this assignment. Yet,
she’s the most beautiful… Does she even know how she makes me feel…how human?
I’m stuck in a moment reserved for young love. There’s nothing merciful about
denying the uninhibited excitement coursing through every inch of my body, but my
plan is already in motion. The fate of my mother’s soul is in my hands. As much
as I hate myself for thinking it, Annemarie’s beauty has to be extinguished. I
have to collect her. I know Satan is convinced these human emotions will help,
but right now, I wish I was a stone-cold demon. It would make it a lot easier
to incinerate her goodness from the earth.
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