Undertow (Undertow #1)
by K.R. Conway
Release Date: 10/18/13
Summary from Goodreads:Luckless Eila is unknowingly the last of her kind: Rare. Gifted. Breakable. Stunning Raef is her kind's historic enemy: Soulless. Lethal. Lost. A legendary death 160 years before would set their lives to collide, forcing a beautiful killer to become a savior, a simple wallflower to become a warrior, and ruthless destiny to become a death sentence.
SUMMARY:High school senior Eila Walker knows that good luck skips over her like an Easter Bunny on Speed. So when she inherits her grandmother's million-dollar Cape Cod home, she is downright shocked. And yeah, her new town isn't perfect: the cheerleaders are heinous clones, the local undertow can kill ya, and her Great Grams was supposedly fried by lightning in the harbor square. Still, Eila is hopeful her luckless days are in the past . . . until history decides to repeat itself.
A self-proclaimed loner and previous-social reject, Eila thinks she's hit the jackpot when drool-worthy Raef O’Reilly becomes her friendly, yet weirdly protective shadow. But being hauled beneath the waves by an unnatural undertow slams the brakes on bliss – especially when Raef storms to her aid with coal-black eyes and iron-like strength.
Eila, entirely freaked, demands an explanation and Raef comes clean, revealing that neither of them are average humans but rather the genetic remnants of an angelic pissing-match gone wrong. Eila supposedly can channel the power of human souls, while Raef is quite adept at stealing them. Even worse, the legend about her ancestor isn't such a myth, since Eila’s grandmother was one kick-ass warrior until her lightning-like power backfired. A power that is written all over Eila's DNA.
Now sought by Raef’s own family for her destructive ability, Eila must trust him to watch her back. But when a quest for information goes terribly wrong, Eila is suddenly left with only two options: become a weapon for the enemy or follow in her Gram’s fearless footsteps to save those she loves. Unfortunately she needs a willing enemy to ignite her suicidal energy and the only one she trusts has been guarding her butt and scorching her lips.
About the AuthorI have been a journalist for 15 years and serve on the Board of Directors for the Cape Cod Writers Center. I also drive a 16-ton school bus because I am ENTIRELY NUTS.
In addition to working jobs that should come with a warning label , I hold a BA in Psychos (Forensic Psych), torment the tourists about Jaws, and occasionally jump from the Town Neck bridge in an attempt to reclaim my youth.
I live on Cape Cod with two smallish humans who apparently are my kids, my fishing-obsessed husband, two canines (adept at both flatulence and snoring), and a cage-defiant lovebird that sleeps in a miniature tent. Nope - that's not a type-o. The bird is quite the indoor camper.
I was the last one? The last . . . Lunaterra? “I’m all that’s left?” I asked, my voice so small that I wasn’t sure anyone heard me. Had every one of my kind been killed? If true fighters didn’t make it,
how on earth were we ever going to come out alive? Raef had heard me. He stopped arguing and looked down to where I kneeled by the door. Sadness and anger brushed across his face. “Possibly. Probably,” he replied, dropping down to find my eyes. “You are not going to die. We are going to keep you safe, do you understand?” His voice curled with a dark, knightly devotion that almost made me believe him. I glanced at Ana and MJ, who were watching Raef and I. They could easily have taken their talents and chosen not to stand and protect me. They could have hidden from Dalca’s screwed up assignment and declined what was beginning to sound like a suicide mission. I needed to find my ability. I needed to perfect my lethal talent if I was to protect my two friends and two boys who no doubt had a bounty on their immortal heads. I needed to shift the balance of power in our favor and I needed to evolve on a seriously accelerated timeframe.