Synopsis:
Losses mount and deadly new threats converge in this next action-packed tale of the Arcana Chronicles by #1 New York Times bestseller Kresley Cole.
When the battle is done . . .
The Emperor unleashed hell and annihilated an army, jeopardizing the future of mankind–but Circe struck back. The epic clash between them devastates the Arcana world and nearly kills Evie, separating her from her allies.
And all hope is lost . . .
With Aric missing and no sign that Jack and Selena escaped Richter’s reach, Evie turns more and more to the darkness lurking inside her. Two Arcana emerge as game changers: one who could be her salvation, the other her worst nightmare.
Vengeance becomes everything.
To take on Richter, Evie must reunite with Death and mend their broken bond. But as she learns more about her role in the future–and her chilling past–will she become a monster like the Emperor? Or can Evie and her allies rise up from Richter’s ashes, stronger than ever before?
Buy Links:
Amazon: bit.ly/ArcanaRisingKindle
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Google Play: bit.ly/ArcanaRisingGooglePlay
Author Bio: Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series, the young adult Arcana Chronicles series, the erotic Gamemakers Series, and five award-winning historical romances.
A master’s grad and former athlete, she has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings.Her books have been translated into twenty foreign languages, garnered three RITA awards, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists, in the U.S. and abroad.
You can learn more about her and her work at www.kresleycole.com or www.facebook.com/KresleyCole
Kresley Cole’s Social Links:
Website: www.kresleycole.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KresleyCole
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kresleycole
Excerpt from Arcana Rising:
1
Day 382 A.F.
Death kept taking me farther from Jack. I stretched my arms out, fingers splayed toward the heat. “He can’t be dead.” I sobbed. “Can’t. NO, NO, NOOOO!”
“You want to follow the mortal? Get your revenge first. The Emperor mocks your pain.”
I could hear that fiend in my head–laughing.
The red witch exploded inside me, a force that could never be contained. I shrieked, “You will PAY!”
As the Emperor laughed, Death murmured in my ear, “I have your grandmother, Sievā. That was the gift I spoke of. We’ll teach you how to kill the Emperor. You’ll avenge Deveaux.”
“Don’t you understand? Jack’s not DEAD!” I screamed that over and over. “He’s alive!”
With my mind teetering on the brink, I spied something in the skies above us. I gaped, disbelieving.
Real? Unreal? Just before oblivion took me down, a mountain of water curled over our heads, racing toward that hell of flames.
Circe’s towering wave. Taller than a skyscraper.
–Quake before me!-
-Terror from the abyss!-
Richter and Circe’s calls boomed in my mind, jolting me back from the blackness.
“Come!” Aric snatched me into his arms and sprinted from the clash. “When they meet, the blast and then the flood…”
I stopped fighting him; the need to turn Richter’s laughter into screams clawed at me, which meant I had to survive.
Aric gave a sharp whistle, and a horse’s nickering answered. Thanatos. With me secure in his arms, Aric leapt into the saddle, and spurred the warhorse into a frenzied gallop.
We all but dove down a slope, then charged up the next.
I gazed over Aric’s shoulder as that tidal wave crested above Richter’s lake of lava.
Heaving breaths, riding faster than humanly possible, Aric kept Thanatos at a breakneck pace. Up another mountain face. Down its slope–
Circle struck.
A hiss like a giant beast’s. A detonation like a nuclear bomb.
The shock wave was so loud my ears bled. As loud as the roar preceding the Flash.
The air grew hotter and hotter. The ground rocked as a blast of scalding steam chased us.
BOOM! The force sheared the top off the mountain just behind us. Boulders crashed all around as we careened into yet another valley. Still we rode.
Aric grated, “Surge comes next.”
The ground quaked from the weight of an ocean of water. I could hear the surge shooting toward us. “Aric!”
He got as far as he dared, as high as he could. “Hold on.” Clutching me tight, he dropped from Thanatos who kept running.
Behind the cap of another mountain, Aric braced for impact. He wedged his metal gauntlet between boulders, wrapping his other arm around me.
Gaze locked on mine, he yelled “I’ll never let you go!” We each sucked in a breath.
The searing water hit. The explosive impact ripped me from his chest, but he caught my arm, clenching his fingers above my elbow.
Death’s grip. The ungodly force of the flood. My watery scream…
Aric never did let me go–
My arm…gave way.
My Review:
I have been waiting for ARCANA RISING by Kresley Cole for over 18 months. My poor heart was barely been able to deal with that ending from DEAD OF WINTER. Who would survive? Who would live? What would happen next? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? Gah! it was the sweetest torture that had me awake all night reading what indeed happened next.
Kresley Cole did not waste any time throwing me back into the chaos and drama of Evie’s world. BOOM! and there I am holding my breath not wanting to face what happens next, but damn I had to know. From the excerpt above you can tell that the excrement hit the oscillating rotary pretty hard and Evie’s world was literally ripped apart. Then reality came to haunt her and she became a woman obsessed. Her mission was clear and she was going after the Emperor and would not stop until he was obliterated. Dead, dead, dead.
Yet, although she had the fire of revenge within her she is weak and has to form an alliance of sorts with a character that is wicked sexy and who had some of the best dialogue in the ARCANA RISING.
“One second you’re crying, the next you’re scary. Then you’re really sexy. Then you’re sexy/scary”
I have to say that it is one of the best things about this series is it’s snarky dialogue that breaks up those darker moments that can be quite heart wrenching. I had a good chuckle from time to time and it helped because the stress of this book is insane. It was proven time and time again that you always have to be on your guard and that nobody can be trusted. Just when Evie has it all figured out then luck would work against her and she is tested beyond anything she has ever known.
My mind kept reeling with from the new characters, to the plot twists, losses and romance. Yes, romance that this new story delivered. Oh my! the romance factor in this book is off the charts HOT! Will I reveal with who? NO? that you will have to figure out by reading this gem but don’t think that is means anything because in this game, all rules are thrown out the window and it’s every card for themselves. Especially when the final page is read and you are left with a reveal that will leave you speechless.
MIKE DROP!