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Saturday, June 2, 2012

Giveaway and Book review of Servant of the Goddess


Book Review of Servant of the Goddess Sponsored by Bewitching Book Tours

Servant of the Goddess
Book Four of the Immortyl Revolution

Book Synopsis:

From the ashes of the first battle of the Immortyl Revolution, vampires Mia Disantini and Kurt Eisen set out to build a new Immortyl society.

Trouble arrives in the person of Cedric MacKinnon, a runaway adept of the ancient arts, who brings tidings of upheaval at the chief elder’s court that threatens everything Mia and Kurt have accomplished.

Mia finds it hard to resist when Cedric pledges his service and tempts her with the legendary skills he learned as an Immortyl courtesan.

Facing opposition from both within and out, Mia begins to doubt Kurt is up to the task of leading their followers to his vision of an Immortyl Utopia.

Torn between her loyalty to Kurt and Cedric’s insistence that she is the earthly manifestation of the Goddess Durga and destined to lead, Mia confronts the greatest challenge of her life.

Web and Buy Links
For excerpts of the Immortyl Revolution Series, character profiles and the Immortyl Lexicon visit www.deniseverricowriter.webs.com
For insider information on the series visit www.ImmortylRevolution.blogspot.com
@cedricmackinnon
Servant of the Goddess Trade PB: http://amzn.to/K8uwPb
Servant of the Goddess Kindle: http://amzn.to/J0R2Id
Barnes and Noble:
Servant of the Goddess Trade PB and Nook: http://bit.ly/IIz7ru
Other Books in the Series:

My Fearful Symmetry
Book Three of the Immortyl Revolution

For nineteen-year-old Cedric MacKinnon, the promise of eternal youth and celebrity sounds like a dream come true.

It becomes a nightmare when a master vampire plucks the boy from the London streets and spirits him away to India. In the fabled ashram of the adepts of the ancient arts, Cedric undergoes the grueling process of training as a temple dancer and courtesan.

With the threat of revolution hanging over court, the chief elder employs the boy he names Shardul in dangerous games of seduction and intrigue.

Hated by the chief’s mistress and abused by those he entertains, Cedric struggles with his vision of a violent destiny that seems to come from Kali herself.

Twilight of the Gods
Book Two of the Immortyl Revolution

Narrowly escaping the implosion of Genpath laboratories, vampires Mia Disantini and Kurt Eisen are on the run from Gaius Lupus, their rival in the Forbidden Science

When Kurt is captured by their enemy and rescued with the aid of feral vampire kids known as sewer rats, Mia witnesses firsthand the charismatic spell her lover casts over these would-be revolutionaries. 

Setting up base in Manhattan, Kurt builds his forces, while independent-minded Mia navigates the minefield of sewer rat politics,which she finds very much a man’s world.  With the threat of war with Gaius drawing ever closer, Mia and Kurt face challenges to their relationship and their freedom. 

Cara Mia

Book One of the Immortyl Revolution

Mia Disantini is a vampire who wants to walk again in the sun.  Enslaved and plunged into the unenlightened Immortyl culture, fiercely independent Mia struggles for freedom. 

Trained as her master Ethan’s “Bird of Prey”, she becomes the pawn of their enigmatic elder, Brovik, in his intrigues concerning the forbidden science.  Cast out into the streets of Manhattan by Ethan, Mia finds love and compassion with Kurt Eisen, who shares her slave status and discontent. 

Together the lovers steal their masters’ secrets and deliver them to Genpath Laboratories.  Duped and imprisoned by CEO, Lee Brooks, Mia calls upon the aid of neuroscientist, Dr. Joe Ansari. 

But Mia and Kurt are hunted for their crime, and time is running out. 

Author Information:

Denise Verrico is a New Jersey native who grew up in Pennsylvania.  She is the author of the Immortyl Revolution urban fantasy series published by L&L Dreamspell.  Denise was chosen as a presenter at Ohioana Book Fair in 2011 and 2012, and her books are part of the collection at the State Library of Ohio. Currently, she’s a member of Broad Universe and two writing groups.  She attended Point Park College in Pittsburgh, where she majored in theatre arts, and was a member of The Oberon Theatre Ensemble in NYC with whom she acted, directed and wrote plays. Denise is a roller coaster fanatic and lives in Ohio with her husband, son and flock of six spoiled parrots.


Excerpt Servant of the Goddess

Sudden shouts battled against the sound of the wind. I peered down the block. Teen-formed Immortyls, sewer rats, closed a circle around a tall male, who held his hands high above his head. From the direction of the wind, I couldn’t yet ascertain this stranger as mortal or Immortyl. Best to investigate. I ran toward the disturbance, wrapping my fingers around the Glock strapped to my hip.

A shrill whistle split the air. Two of the sewer rats lunged for the stranger. He crouched and pirouetted on one leg, letting loose a rapid succession of kicks that knocked his attackers sprawling onto the sidewalk. A rat named Tommy growled and launched himself at the stranger. To my amazement, the stranger leapt high into the air and hovered there for a moment like a falcon before lashing out with both feet. Tommy’s head snapped backward, and he flattened against the pavement. The remaining rats hung back.

The slender figure of a boy maybe eighteen or nineteen touched down and crouched again, poised to strike. No mortal could perform such maneuvers with this speed and agility, not to mention almost ballet-like grace. The Immortyl’s face betrayed raw emotion, indicating he was new to the blood, probably not much older than his form suggested. Eamon, the rat pack leader, drew and aimed a pistol at him. The stranger raised his hands above his head once more.

I gave a sharp whistle for Eamon to stand down. “What’s going on here?”

Eamon lowered the gun and spit on the ground. His forever-twelve-year-old face scrunched up. “We found this one skulking about,” he said. Even after a century and half in New York his speech still gave away his Dublin origins. “Says he’s come from the chief elder’s house.”

The wind kicked up harder. Long, auburn hair whipped about the newcomer’s face. He shivered, hugging an Indian-styled shirt around him. Traces of black kohl and sienna rouge clung to his eyes and mouth, as if he’d scrubbed the paint off in a hurry. The make-up and impractical clothing pointed to origins more exotic than the russet hair and milky complexion suggested. His story sounded plausible. However, the odds that this kid had escaped the chief elder’s compound near Calcutta and made it all the way to New York on his own were unlikely. No slave had ever left there of his own accord.

Kurt had stood trial at the chief elder’s court for inciting rebellion. He’d told me that the chief, Kalidasa, employed state-of-the-art security, as well as vampire-eating tigers. The place was a veritable fortress. Still, there was always a first time, and this newcomer had held his own against Eamon’s band.

I had to admire the kid for standing up to Eamon and his thugs.

The pack leader and I didn’t care much for one another, but he’d fought for Kurt in our recent war with a rival elder. For political reasons, I forced myself to take a civil tone with him. “Did you bother to ask his business before you ordered an attack?” I called to the newcomer, “You--come here.”

The boy lowered his hands and slinked forward. I’d never seen a man move quite like this, with delicacy just brushing the feminine, yet suggesting coiled up, sinewy strength like a jungle cat. Instinct prompted my hand to reach for the Glock concealed on my hip. The kid had danger scrawled all over him in big garish letters.

“Is this true?” I asked.

“I ran away from court,” the boy replied, his speech tinged with a Scottish burr. “I’m seeking refuge here.”

The plaintive tone struck a chord in me. I sized him up again. His winsome looks didn’t belong to the usual brand of vampire assassin, but to a household slave chosen for his decorative value. Still, his swift feet could kill if given the chance. Wouldn’t it be just like Giulietta to send death in such an appealing guise?

“Kurt’s counselor, Chase Powers, can vouch for me,” he continued. “Take me to him.”

“You know Chase?”

“We met in India during Kurt’s trial. He said I’d be welcome here. Please Miss. You have to believe me. I’ve come such a long way and got nowhere else to go.” Desperation filled the spooky, green eyes. They almost glowed, more like a cat’s than a man’s. “There’s probably a bounty offered for my return by now.”

“What did you do?”

“It’s not what I did. It’s what I am.” He held out his hands. Henna tattoos snaked around the wrists and tops, elaborate whirls and spirals. “The marks of my order. I’m an adept of the ancient arts.”

He was an adept? I’d always imagined these temple devotees and de facto courtesans as Indian in origin. I gave the boy a closer look. His clothing had seen better days, but the sinuous way he moved made them a fashion statement. You couldn’t deny the perfection of feature and figure required of his order. He stood out from Eamon’s mangy lot like an emerald in a box of Cracker Jacks.

Book Review:

                When I first started reading this book, I thought it would be another Vampire story.  You know, rebellion in the ranks, fight and bite, drink some blood, make love, happy ending.  And some of those things happen, I mean they are vampire so there is fighting, biting, drinking blood, and making love; however this book is so much more than that.  This book includes a group of people who are discriminated against and who have come to a new land to try and make a better life for themselves (sounds a little like the history my daughter is studying in her American History class right now).  There is also the struggle for equal rights, woman’s liberation, and the struggle to be recognized for more than what you appear on the surface.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, you get all the vampire angst, but so much more.
                I was impressed with the weaving of the story.  The story transcended the genre and was a story I was genuinely interested in as a story line rather than as a gimmick to show off the vampires.  I enjoyed reading about the struggle to fit in and to triumph over the “disease” of vampirism.  I will be interested to read further stories to see how things work out in the end.
                I have not read the first three books in this series, and while it might have given me some background information that I had to ferret out as I went, I was able to read this book as a stand alone novel.  I give this book 4 out of 5 clouds.
This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

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