Excerpt – These Violent Nights by Rebecca Crunden @rjcrunden #fantasy #scifi #newrelease

StoreyBook Reviews 

 

 

Synopsis

 

Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.

War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.

Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.

And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.

But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.

 

 

 

 

Amazon

 

 

Excerpt

 

Excerpt from These Violent Nights (2021) by Rebecca Crunden, p. 143

‘You can be whatever you want in whatever world you’re in.’

‘No,’ she retorted. ‘You really can’t.’

‘Maybe not easily. But you have to try.’

‘Does that argument work for the ones who died before they had a chance?’

He held her gaze openly, a dark eyebrow arched. ‘Arguments are arguments with or without luck,’ he replied. ‘Sometimes life is disgustingly unfair. It doesn’t change the fact that you have to keep trying to live life as you want it to be. If we let the pain cripple us, there’s no hope for anything.’

‘I don’t have any hope.’

‘Of course you do.’

Her scowl deepened. ‘You say that like you have the authority to say it.’

‘I know you hope for humans to return,’ he countered. ‘I know you hope for a future for you and Thistle. I know you hope that, despite everything, you’ll be proven wrong about us. And even if you don’t want to believe that they do, you hope that good things still exist. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t fight to stay alive. I’m not saying any of this to mock you, Rose. I’m saying what I know about you. What you’d admit to Thistle but won’t admit to me.’

Indeed, rather than admit he was entirely right about how much and how adamantly she hoped for all those things, she said instead, ‘If you know already, it would just be redundant.’

‘Yeah,’ he muttered, scratching at his beard. ‘But getting to know you would be nicer if it didn’t feel like you have no interest in getting to know me.’

 

 

About the Author

 

Rebecca Crunden is an indie author of fantasy, science fiction, and romance who lives in Cork, Ireland. To date, she has published one series, three standalone novels, a novella, and various short stories. Her most recent novel, These Violent Nights (2021) is set in a futuristic world that blends fantasy and sci-fi.

 

Website * Twitter

Recommended Posts

excerpt fiction Guest Post mystery Supernatural women

Excerpt & Guest Post – Raising the Dead by Jayne Lisbeth

    Synopsis Emeline Upswatch, a naive 20-year-old bride, is grief-stricken after the deaths of both of her beloved parents. Now, Emeline believes she has made a grave error in moving with her husband, Randy, from her California Delta childhood home to unknown Charles Town, Virginia. She questions her marriage and herself. Marooned in grief […]

StoreyBook Reviews 
5 paws Book Release Review romance

Review – If Tomorrow Never Comes by Allison Ashley

  Synopsis Fated mates | Crossed paths | Cancer and remission On the eve of her stem cell transplant to treat her leukemia, Elliott Holland decides to live like it’s her last night on earth. It’s destiny when she crosses paths with a handsome and charming stranger, Jamie Sullivan. The chemistry is magic. So is […]

StoreyBook Reviews 
Book Release excerpt fiction LGBTQ+

Excerpt – Rabbis of the Garden State by Daniel Meltz

  Synopsis In the suburbs of New Jersey, where temple gossip flows like Manischewitz wine, eleven-year-old Andy becomes entangled in a whirlwind of maternal quirks and religious intrigue. His mother’s bizarre obsession with Rabbi Landy transforms their once-quiet life above a candy store into a tale of surprises. Andy’s world features a colorful a fiery […]

StoreyBook Reviews