Accepted Readers,I am delighted to share the newest release from L.C. Spoering, At The Edge of The World! This YA, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance will leave you gasping for air.
Keep reading for more information about the book, including an excerpt and my review! Woot!
About the Book
At the Edge of the World
L.C. Spoering
Available: August 26, 2014
Format: E-book (Paperback Coming Soon)
Genre: YA, Magical Realism, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Length: 52,000 words // 107 pages.
Lost in the chaos of Venice Beach, among the homegrown freaks and
weirdos, the tourists and life’s forgotten people, one runaway is just
another face in the crowd—and this is just how Shane likes it. Torn
between the home he left behind and lure of the ocean he ran to,
something has tied his fates to the beach, and he is not the only one.
She is a famous mystery: the Venice Skater Chick. Shane has loved her
since his first night on the beach. Others are watching her, too—and at
least one wants her dead.
A mystery unfolds between the famed boardwalk, a dusty record store, a
cramped apartment and a hidden cave. Under the gathering storms, Shane
makes a desperate attempt to protect the girl he loves, and the life
waiting for him on the other side.
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Excerpt:
At The Edge Of The World
At The Edge Of The World
“Hey!”
The voice came from far off, and right behind him at once. Shane
startled, stumbling back so he landed on his butt, the damp earth
seeping through the abused fabric almost instantly. He would be upset
about that later, but, for the moment, he was feverishly scanning the
canal for whatever neighbor had finally noticed his encroachment.
No one.
His gaze lit on something silvery on the other side of the canal,
crouched behind a paddle boat, glossy fingers clutching at the side,
hair a wild mess over her shoulders.
“What are you doing?” he demanded before he could think of something else to say.
Her eyes darted from side to side, and then her focus retuned to him. “What are you doing?” was her return, like an echo.
That was a better question, maybe. Maybe she lived there, and it was Shane sneaking around where he didn’t belong.
“I’ve never really looked at them,” he said, finally, shifting his legs
closer and tucking his feet under him; his ass was already wet, there
was nothing to do about that.
“The canals?” Again her gaze swept up and down the expanse of water and
then — then — she smiled. It was the first smile he’d ever seen on her
face, and it made his heart stop cold in his chest, painful and swollen.
“They’re not really for… people like me,” he finished, gesturing down at
his long body, the jeans that were a permanent shade of grey, the
frayed and stained hoodie.
She studied him from across the water. The sun glinted off it at crazy
angles, moving stars in front of his eyes even as he squinted against
the glare.
“You never come back here because you don’t belong?” She sounded
surprised by this, as if the words sounded strange in her own mouth.
“I guess you could put it that way,” he agreed, scratching at the back
of his neck, the sweat gathering there, making his fingertips sticky.
“Oh.” Her fingers curled against the hard plastic of the paddle boat
and, for a moment, he thought he glimpsed gloves on her hands, the
usual, but in some kind of shimmering green.
They disappeared behind the boat. “Turn around,” she commanded him.
There was no reason for him to obey, but he did anyway, shifting up on
his knees, moving in the mud and moss, so that he was facing the house
on the side of the canal. It was larger than anything he’d ever lived
in, thousands of dollars of real estate filled with furniture that, from
his vantage point, looked un-sat-upon, perfect and magazine ready. He
counted his breaths, each one in and out, ten, and then twenty, and at
thirty, he vowed to turn at fifty, sure he was being had, and at
forty-two, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
With his knees on the ground, she stood above him like a sentry, more so
than she had on the beach. He saw her feet were bare again, and the
jeans she wore were soaked to the knees, clinging to her skin like a
second layer. She was wearing a tank-top, blue, and gloves, but yellow,
knit and odd against the wet of her skin.
“How’d you get across?” he asked, struggling to his feet, slipping in the moss.
She looked over the water with a sort of casual disinterest, even as her
hand shot out to catch his arm and bring him up to his full height,
taller than her, but only just.
“I just did.”
MY REVIEW
Writing Style:
L.C. Spoering's writing is spellbinding and elaborate! The magical realism will leave you breathless! I've sampled her work before in a novel she co-wrote with another author Laila Blake, After Life Lessons, which I loved! This is the first novel that I've read by her that is entirely just purely her writing, needless to say, I wasn't sure what to expect from her by herself but I am pleased to say I was stunned.
My Opinion:
The enigma that is Maya will keep you guessing until the very end. She is a complicated character that demands your attention from the moment she is first introduced. You can't help but to adore Shane, he is so relate-able. While Maya is reserved with her emotions, Shane wears his on his sleeve. I guess the old saying is true... opposites attract. Together this couple ventures to the edge of the world and discover the heavy-handed blow of irony. I cannot go into further details without exposing major spoilers...just be warned sometimes things are not how they appear to be.
I was heartbroken by the ending of this novel. I just can't believe how everything panned out. I wanted to cry, scream, and shout. I don't understand how it caught me so off guard because as I reflect on the plot, I realize there was a lot of epic foreshadowing throughout the chapters. That doesn't change the fact that I loathe the outcome. Things could have been... should have been completely different.
To-Read or Not To Read?
I say read. You have experience the beautiful world created in this novel. Maya and Shane are waiting to leave their magical impression on you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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