Kiki Reader Loves Books: Deceived by HG Lynch * New Release *

Friday, November 17, 2017

Deceived by HG Lynch * New Release *

Deceived

Series: Blaze Trilogy #3

Author: HG Lynch

Release Date: 17th November 2017

Synopsis:

Sucking blood is the least of Anson's problems...

Life as a vampire at The Academy isn't all that bad for Anson, if you discount the daily beatings in Training and the fact that he hasn't seen his also-vampire girlfriend Poppy in weeks.

While Poppy is in Retraining, Anson has been learning to be a good vampire, with the help of his warlock half-brother, Leo.

But when Anson learns the truth behind his father's death, he vows revenge upon the leaders of The Academy.

If he's going to take on the most powerful vampires in the country, he's going to need some backup - which comes in the form of a slightly psychotic vampire named Shard, a silent genius called Wilt, a bi-polar Irish-man by the name of Shaun and of course, Leo.

Links:

US: www.amazon.com/dp/B077FJMSZC

UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077FJMSZC

Teaser #1:

Arrow. Aim. Release. Repeat. That was the pattern I’d been working on for the past fifteen minutes. I reached back over my shoulder, grabbed an arrow from the quiver on my back, nocked it, aimed, released it, and did it again. As fast as I could. I was practising both speed and hitting multiple targets.

I grabbed another arrow, nocked it, pulled back the string, raised my bow, and let it fly. And again. And again. The first arrow hit the centre target, the second arrow hit to one to the left, and the final arrow landed in the target on the right. The first two were bulls-eyes, but the third had struck the outer ring of the target. I cursed. For some reason, I kept having problems hitting that right-hand target.

With a sigh, I walked down the yard to retrieve the arrows. I’d been in the Training Yard for about an hour, too worked up to sleep. I’d started off doing homework, then I’d read for a while, but I hadn’t been able to focus on the book. My nerves were frayed, and every glance at my watch made me more agitated. So I’d given up on my book and grabbed my bow and quiver, and set about shooting things.

I reached the first target and started pulling out the arrows clustered in the centre of it. The sun was burning high in the endless pale blue sky, only a breath of a warm breeze whispering through the quiet pines peering over the Inner Wall. Birds were twittering to one another amidst the branches, their songs cheerful. Aside from that, it was silent.

Once I’d gathered all the arrows, I made my way back up the yard to where I’d left my book and my t-shirt. I preferred practising shirtless – I liked the freedom of movement and the feeling of the air on my skin. My hair was getting a little long, though, and kept getting in my eyes while I was aiming. And the sunlight had brought out the freckles across my nose, dark dots across my pale skin that I scowled at in the mirror. I’d counted them: thirteen. Unlucky thirteen. Maybe that was why I kept missing that right-hand target.

Still, I took up my usual position, feet braced apart, and nocked an arrow. I was bored of the speed-shooting now, so I took my time sighting up the target and adjusting my aim. Now that I’d burned off some of my anxiety, I was able to settle into the feeling of my muscles tensing, my fingers curled on the bow string, the gentle breeze flowing over my shoulder blades and through my hair. The target was sixty yards away, but it might as well have been six yards away, it was so clear in my vision. Even before I released the arrow, I knew I was going to hit it dead-centre, and the knowledge filled me with a sense of satisfaction and serenity.

A smile curving the corner of my lips where my knuckle rested, I started to release the arrow just as a cold tingle raced across the back of my neck. I gasped, jerking as my fingers slipped, and the arrow went wild, slamming into the centre of the right-hand target instead of the middle one. I stared at that for a second, amused, and the chill prickled at my neck again. Excitement and anxiety bubbled up in my chest. I knew what the tingle meant.

I turned around, and there she was, framed in the archway of the yard, small and beautiful as ever. Poppy.

Curious Fact #1: The name Anson was taken from a bad guy in Burn Notice, the spy TV show.

Curious Fact #2: The Blaze Trilogy was inspired by Maggie Steifvater's writing in the Shiver Trilogy. H.G. Lynch wanted to create a similar atmosphere, with the same level of detail, thus creating a more in-depth vampire novel than the usual, fast-paced fare.

Curious Fact #3: Half-way through writing the book, the author decided to remove a large section in which we followed Shard, in order to keep the book centered on Anson and Poppy. But she'd grown attached to Shard's character, thus spawning his own novella, which she is currently writing.