The Girl and the Raven by Pauline Gruber
Series: The Girl and the Raven #1
Publication date: December 15th, 2013
Synopsis:
Good versus evil just got complicated.
Sixteen-year-old Lucy Walker just wants a normal life, until she learns she is half-watch, half-demon. Now she's got other problems, like keeping her demon dad from killing her boyfriend, the witches in her life from killing her demon dad, and her non-supernatural friends safe from both sides. She's walking a tightrope between good and evil, drawn to both, uncertain which she will ultimately choose.
The Girl of the Gargoyle by Pauline Gruber
Series: The Girl and the Raven #2
Publication date: June 26th, 2015
Synopsis:
Dating a gargoyle is great, until his family gets involved.
Being half-witch/half-demon and dating Marcus, a gargoyle and demon enemy, is complicated enough for Lucy. She can almost tolerate Jude, her demon father, forcing her to undergo combat training. But when Marcus's long-lost family returns to Chicago, her world begins to crumble. Marcus's mother wants him to leave to join the gargoyle clan; his father wants him to help kill Jude. There's one major problem with this: if Jude dies, Lucy dies.
Marcus will do whatever it takes to save Lucy and her father. Meanwhile, Lucy has her own plan and with the aid of a surprise newcomer, seeks help from the most unlikely-and dangerous-source.
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Excerpt - Chapter One
This is how life as I know it ends. One minute I'm sitting on the couch, watching my favorite TV show, carefully avoiding the burned crater in the center cushion, a constant reminder of The Incident. The next minute... I hear tires crunch over gravel.
My head jerks toward the window as a tingling sensation crawls down my arms. I mute the TV and hold my breath, listening. Best-case scenario, it's Ronny--the unemployed, soul-sucking boyfriend--dropping Momma off early. Or Mr. Bilmer, our next-door neighbor, arriving home from his weekly bowling night. Worst case? Best not to think about that. I reach under the cushion and retrieve my knife. My heart leaps into my throat when whoever it is tears off, sending rocks ricocheting off the side of our trailer.
I jump up from the couch, knife in hand and fling the door open. Glowing taillights retreat as I step onto the rickety wooden stoop. Once my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see her.
Not again.
Sure enough, I spot Momma dumped in a heap in the front yard. Ronny... soul-sucking scumbag.
It's the thirtieth of May and Momma just got her monthly disability check. So what did she do? Buy groceries? Take me out to dinner to celebrate the end of freshman year? No. She couldn't resist a party, especially one starring heroin.
"Come on, Momma." I grab her by the shoulders and try to hoist her up, eager to get her inside. Mrs. Albright and Ms. Bigsby, the nosey bodies across the way are probably watching.
Momma's stiff and heavy. And why does she feel so cool? I yelp as she slips from my hands and hits the ground with a solid thud.
What the...?
I stand frozen to the spot. I close my eyes against the sudden nausea. Goose bumps break out over my body. I swallow hard. Twice.
"Momma!" I force myself to grab her again, to shake her, ignoring what I already know to be true. "Wake up!"
Her body doesn't move right. Doesn't feel right. Bile fills my mouth and I lean over and spit onto the crunchy, dead grass. I run my hand along Momma's throat to that spot where her pulse should be. Nothing. My breaths are jerky, out of control.
"Come on, Momma! Please!"
I grab her thin wrist with my trembling fingers and press hard, desperate to feel something.
No... no... no!
I lay her arm across her belly and race to the trailer next door, my heartbeat thudding in my ears.
"Mrs. Bilmer!" I pound my fist on the flimsy door. "Mrs. Bilmer, it's Lucy!"
A light comes on and I hear the shuffle of slippers on linoleum.
"Mrs. Bilmer, please! I need your phone!"
"Don't you go beating down my door, Lucy Walker!" she says, opening the door a crack. "What's the matter? Problems with your momma again?"
"Call 911!" I choke. "Call them right now!"
My head jerks toward the window as a tingling sensation crawls down my arms. I mute the TV and hold my breath, listening. Best-case scenario, it's Ronny--the unemployed, soul-sucking boyfriend--dropping Momma off early. Or Mr. Bilmer, our next-door neighbor, arriving home from his weekly bowling night. Worst case? Best not to think about that. I reach under the cushion and retrieve my knife. My heart leaps into my throat when whoever it is tears off, sending rocks ricocheting off the side of our trailer.
I jump up from the couch, knife in hand and fling the door open. Glowing taillights retreat as I step onto the rickety wooden stoop. Once my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see her.
Not again.
Sure enough, I spot Momma dumped in a heap in the front yard. Ronny... soul-sucking scumbag.
It's the thirtieth of May and Momma just got her monthly disability check. So what did she do? Buy groceries? Take me out to dinner to celebrate the end of freshman year? No. She couldn't resist a party, especially one starring heroin.
"Come on, Momma." I grab her by the shoulders and try to hoist her up, eager to get her inside. Mrs. Albright and Ms. Bigsby, the nosey bodies across the way are probably watching.
Momma's stiff and heavy. And why does she feel so cool? I yelp as she slips from my hands and hits the ground with a solid thud.
What the...?
I stand frozen to the spot. I close my eyes against the sudden nausea. Goose bumps break out over my body. I swallow hard. Twice.
"Momma!" I force myself to grab her again, to shake her, ignoring what I already know to be true. "Wake up!"
Her body doesn't move right. Doesn't feel right. Bile fills my mouth and I lean over and spit onto the crunchy, dead grass. I run my hand along Momma's throat to that spot where her pulse should be. Nothing. My breaths are jerky, out of control.
"Come on, Momma! Please!"
I grab her thin wrist with my trembling fingers and press hard, desperate to feel something.
No... no... no!
I lay her arm across her belly and race to the trailer next door, my heartbeat thudding in my ears.
"Mrs. Bilmer!" I pound my fist on the flimsy door. "Mrs. Bilmer, it's Lucy!"
A light comes on and I hear the shuffle of slippers on linoleum.
"Mrs. Bilmer, please! I need your phone!"
"Don't you go beating down my door, Lucy Walker!" she says, opening the door a crack. "What's the matter? Problems with your momma again?"
"Call 911!" I choke. "Call them right now!"
About the Author:
Pauline Gruber is a self-professed music junkie, cat wrangler, and travel nut. She went to Paris in the 90's where she discovered a love of three things: croissants, old cathedrals, and gargoyles. Deciding that the paranormal world could use a new kind of hero, Pauline translated her fascination with the protective gargoyle into a suspenseful love story. She is the author of the series: The Girl and The Raven, The Girl and The Gargoyle, and the forthcoming novel, The Girl and The Demon. By day, Pauline is a legal assistant for a Chicago law firm where she steals identities and incorporates them into her books. If you tell anyone, she'll deny, deny, deny.
Pauline lives outside of Chicago with her precocious black cats.
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