Kissed (The Thorn Chronicles #1)
Check out on Goodreads!
Purchase on Amazon!
Synopsis: Trapped in a dark cult,
sixteen-year-old Naomi Aren has lived a quiet, albeit unhappy, life nestled
deep in the hills of the Ozarks. With uncut hair, denim skirts, and only roses
for friends, Naomi seldom questions why her life is different from other kids
at school. Until the day her abusive father, who is also the cult’s leader,
announces her wedding. Naomi must marry Dwayne Yerdin, a bully who reeks of
sweat and manure and is the only one person who scares her worse than her
father.
Then she meets Kai, the mysterious
boy who brings her exotic new roses and stolen midnight kisses. Kisses that
bring her a supernatural strength she never knew she had. As the big day
approaches, Naomi unearths more secrets of about her father’s cult. She learns
she has power of her own and while Kai may have awakened that power, Naomi must
find a way to use it to escape Dwayne and her father—without destroying
herself.
SNEAK PEEK
My father and Mr. Yerdin talked of politics and religion, not
once acknowledging that anyone else sat at the table. Of course, I shouldn’t
have been surprised since more than one sermon had been preached about the
place of women and children. We were inferior and didn’t deserve an opinion
that differed from our husbands’ or fathers’, so it was best that we just
didn’t say anything at all. As the conversation turned to the medical
experiments Dad performed on the dog that had been dumped in our yard last
week, I tuned out and tried to think of what I would get if I crossed an
Iceberg rose with a Sunsprite. A nice pale yellow and only a few thorns. Could
be interesting. If Grandma were still alive, she’d appreciate it.
A quick glance at the clock told me they’d only been here
forty-five minutes, but it felt like days. After another excruciating hour,
Mother presented the cake. The carrot cake (my father’s favorite) had sixteen
candles on it. I had not had a cake with candles since my eighth birthday. On
that day, the cake was chocolate, my favorite, but that was before Father went
insane. I missed those days, the ones before he went crazy. When he would come
home and take me canoeing and fishing. When we would wake up early on Saturdays
and go to breakfast at Sheila’s Café. I blinked back tears thinking of the
father he used to be.
After the cake, I moved to help my mother clean up, but
Father put a hand on my wrist, a signal to stay seated. The skin burned where
he touched it.
“See,” my father said, “she’s obedient.”
Mr. Yerdin grinned. “Yes, of course she is. I wouldn’t expect
anything less from you, Dr. Aren. Dwayne, what do you think?”
Dwayne shrugged and shifted his eyes. Me, I kept my mouth
shut and listened for the words that weren’t being said.
Mr. Yerdin eyed me up and down. “Well she certainly has the
required blond hair and blue eyes.”
“And she’s a virgin.” My father spoke this a little too
loudly and I flinched. My mother paused before picking up Mr. Yerdin’s plate.
She met my father’s eyes and nodded. Then the corners of her mouth turned up
ever so slightly.
My stomach sank at the thought of what my birthday surprise
would be. Although part of me did not want to hear the rest of the
conversation, but to escape back into the quiet world of flowers and dirt,
another part of me needed to know what my future held, where being a virgin was
important.
I cleared my throat. Dwayne smiled a wide toothy smile and my
father glowered like I’d done something wrong. Which, of course I had, but it
would be worth the punishment if I got the answers I needed.
“Could someone please explain?” There. I asked the question.
So out of character for me and yet satisfying in a strange way, like the way I
felt when a teacher praised me for a good job. I bit my bottom lip and tasted
butterscotch, which was weird because the cake we had, contained nothing of the
sort. While I knew asking questions was not an act of disobedience, I also
recognized the power in the asking. As if I was taking control, even if that
control was small. I took a sip of my water. Father hesitated for a moment and
then frowned. He looked up and saw my mother standing in the kitchen, her eyes
boring into his. He didn’t look away from her when he answered me.
“You’ll be marrying Dwayne.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Loth can’t decide
where she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri,
Utah, California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the
leap and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. Currently, she lives in Cairo,
Egypt with her husband and two kids.
She is a high school math teacher by day (please don’t hold that against her) and YA author by night. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. Kissed is her first novel.
She is a high school math teacher by day (please don’t hold that against her) and YA author by night. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. Kissed is her first novel.
Where to Find the Author
GIVEAWAY!!
Brought to you by YA Bound Book Tours
Thank you for having me!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for having me!!!!
ReplyDelete