BOOK 1:
Title: Leftover Girl
Author C.C. Bolick
Genre YA Mystery/Lite Sci-fi
Book Blurb:
Found on a dark highway with no memory...
At fifteen, Jes is no stranger to being the new kid. The people who adopted her have never stayed in any town long enough for Jes to make a true friend. This changes when they move to her mom's hometown. Now Jes can have a normal life - until she falls for her mom's nephew.
Feeling isolated because of this secret, Jes befriends a strange new student with secrets of his own. If only she could figure out why he seems so familiar. She definitely can't tell him or anyone else she dreams about a spaceship.
Or that she's starting to remember...
Excerpt
On Thursday, I slipped into the library after school and signed in for a computer. Since Bailey left early for a dentist appointment, I had time to get online, though I’d watched the clock in every class as I wrestled with the possibility.
Credence was different. Risking our new home was wrong. I knew I shouldn’t even think about typing my real name, but I hadn’t looked in more than a year. I sank into a padded chair and read the ‘Research Only’ sign posted above each of the six stations. Fortunately, no one sat at the other five.
I opened the browser and typed ‘Jessica Naples’ and ‘New York’ in the search box. More than ten thousand hits appeared, but I knew the address would be on the first page. As the link hesitated to load, I slid the mouse over the close button in case a quick exit became the only thing keeping us from having to move again. Using the keyboard, I scrolled down as the page finished loading.
A picture took form in the center of the screen. Strings of hair and smudges of dirt hid most of the girl’s features, but I knew the shape of her face by heart. Snapped less than a month before meeting the only man I remembered calling dad, the picture was a mesh of black and white creases. I touched the shiny surface, squinting at the bear in her arms. The fact I couldn’t remember the bear’s color didn’t seem quite so bad this time.
I scrolled back to the headline of the article, ‘Mother Pleads for Safe Return of Daughter.’ Paragraphs followed describing her tearful pleas, and I read them like all the times before. Liar, I charged at the unseen face, as if hurting her would erase the mark upon my soul. Each time the words appeared, I hoped to learn more about the life just beyond memory.
Something hit the floor and I turned from the screen. As before, every chair but mine offered freedom to surf. Sounds of laughter drifted through windows amid sunshine and stale gossip from students waiting for rides. After three days of rain, I imagined warmth on my face instead of a cold electric glow.
“What are you doing?”
I jumped, but one click of the mouse left only standard library wallpaper to greet me.
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BOOK 2:
Title: Secrets Return
Author C.C. Bolick
Genre YA Mystery/Lite Sci-fi
Book Blurb:
Jes Delaney's story from Leftover Girl continues after months of fighting to recover her memory. She's no closer to learning the truth about what happened the night she ran away, or to finding Chase. When someone discovers the articles from New York, lies begin to pile up as Jes must keep everyone in the dark or risk disappearing again.
She finds an odd ally in Pade, who came home distant and broken. Something happened in Colorado to change him, but Jes holds back because he'll never understand her secrets. She still dreams about the gunshot, but now her hands are soaked in blood. Jes wonders why Chase hasn't returned and if her parents will ever forgive her for hiding that she wasn't born on Earth.
Excerpt:
The box was blue, or was it black? I squinted, wishing the window allowed more than the tiny beam of light. It looked like a shoe box, stacked on top of two others. It was definitely blue. No, it couldn’t be. And yet, I moved closer until the rubber band came into focus.
Bailey was talking about Lauren again. She’d lifted a box covered with tape. I climbed onto a plastic tote and reached for the shelf, praying the tote would hold my weight.
“What are you doing?” a voice asked.
I spun, nearly falling from the tote, as Pade grabbed my arms and steadied me. “Nothing,” I said.
Pade grinned. “You were reaching for something.” He looked up. “That box maybe?”
“No,” I said.
“Looks like a shoe box, but I don’t remember what’s in it.”
My past, I thought, realizing this might be my only chance. It had to be the box Mom showed me last fall, with all of the newspaper clippings and my adoption papers. It even had the rubber band she’d wrapped around it.
Laughing, Pade climbed up and grabbed the box. “Got it,” he said, breaking the rubber with a single tug.
“No,” I screamed.
He stopped laughing to stare at me. The box slipped from his hand and crashed to the floor at my feet. The top split from the box, spilling the articles and yellowed documents across the floor.
Bailey reached down and grabbed a newspaper clipping.
“Give me that,” I said, reaching for the page, but she spun toward the window.
“Wow, who is this girl gripping her teddy bear like the end of the world is coming?” Her smile faded. “Oh my god, her name is Jessica. Is this you?” she asked as Pade ripped the page from her hand.
Could I lie? Was there any point? “Yes,” I said, on the brink of tears.
Pade scanned the article. “This is from a paper in New York City. This Jessica was kidnapped.” He looked me over critically. “How can you be her?”
I dropped to my knees and gathered all of the papers into a stack. “I came from New York. That’s where Dad found me—on a highway at midnight. He nearly ran me over with that old Ford we used to have.”
Pade crossed his arms. “What were you doing on a highway at night?”
“No one knows for sure, but they think I ran away.”
“You don’t remember?” Bailey asked, her eyes wide.
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Book 3:
Title: Prison of Lies
Author C.C. Bolick
Genre YA Mystery/Lite Sci-fi
Book Blurb:
After Secrets Return, Jes Delaney is whisked away to a compound hiding those who plan a revolution. Between learning about Golvern and her real family, Jes unlocks more power than she ever imagined. When she realizes her protection has become a prison and tries to escape, Jes discovers just how far her parents will go to keep her.
As their grip tightens, Jes manages to break free and flees to Credence. Powerless and on the run, she's saved by a group claiming to be the real Lucha Noir. Reunited with Chase and Pade, Jes is shocked to learn their leader is also the man who haunts her dreams. Only remembering what happened twelve years ago could free her, but will Jes learn the truth before she makes a choice she can't take back?
Excerpt:
Christian’s voice lowered. “Do you think I’m being hard on you?”
“Kind of.” Something about his question made me feel like a total failure. No wonder Dad always told me not to fight.
His eyes narrowed. “Do you think the government of Golvern will treat you with more respect? They’ve killed us for less.” He held out my sword. “Get up. Finish the fight.”
I pushed myself up from the floor and took the sword. In one motion, he spun and again claimed my sword. Both blades stopped only inches from my neck. His snort closed the distance between us like a blast of wind against my face. “If we were on Golvern, you’d be dead now.”
Twisting, he strung his arm around my neck in a headlock. “Is this what you want?”
The crook of his arm closed around my windpipe. “No… I…”
“Christian!” His father stalked across the floor. “Release her.”
Christian lowered both swords and twisted to look into his father’s eyes. “You promised not to interfere with my lessons. We agreed this is my job.”
“Calm down.”
“I will not calm down.” He threw both swords at the table, each landing side-by-side with barely a clank. “How can I teach them to protect themselves if you interfere?”
I stumbled from his grip and landed on my knees.
Thomas looked over me and at Christian. “I am proud you take this job seriously.”
“Then leave and let me finish it. We’re talking battle. Death. Who will protect her when she can’t protect herself?”
The man eyed me with a knowing reservation. “She is different from us.”
“She’s weak.”
“She has a purpose here.”
Christian glared at me. “Have you studied Tae Kwon Do, Jiu Jitsu, or any other human method of fighting?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been in a fight?”
I remembered knocking Tosh to the floor, but somehow, he’d robbed me of that satisfaction. “Who hasn’t?”
He crossed his arms. “Can you do anything useful?”
“I can shoot.”
Christian surprised me with a laugh that shook his entire body.
Buy Link:
99 cents for a very limited time! Free to read on Kindle Unlimited, too.
Book 4:
Title: Illusion of Truth
Author C.C. Bolick
Genre YA Mystery/Lite Sci-fi
Book Blurb:
When he's forced to leave Earth, Pade learns his life isn't what he thought...
After Secrets Return, Pade Sanders is forced to leave Earth for Golvern. Refusing to live with his father, Pade finds a new life filled with the same regulations and torment forced upon all Singles. But his father is more than just a wealthy businessman from Earth - he's a member of Golvern's fearsome government. Although Pade longs to escape and find Jes, he's trapped between life without a twin and duty to the family name he refuses.
After a beating that nearly kills him, Pade realizes his chance to find Jes. He soon learns he has a second power so rare the Lucha Noir will never let him go - only he can lead their fight against the government. But how will he deal with learning Kayden isn't the only one predicted to save Golvern?
This book follows the same timeline as Prison of Lies, but gives Pade's view of Golvern, the fighting, and all of the secrets Jes can't see.
Excerpt:
The colors seemed to be coming closer. Faster. “Are we speeding up?”
Dad pressed a glowing button and typed on a keypad that appeared on the screen. “If we don’t reach the velocity needed when we hit the entrance, we’ll never make it through the gateway.”
“What if we don’t make it through?” I hated that my voice shook.
“We’ll be stuck inside until something else comes through with the power to shove our ship out. At that point, it won’t matter to us.”
Mom reached across Bailey and squeezed my hand. She hadn’t done that in years. “When the ship hits the entrance, all of our systems will stop. Lights, propulsion—everything.”
Bailey’s grin turned to fear. “We’ll be in the dark?”
I took a deep breath, but felt as if I were drowning. “I can’t hardly breathe.”
Dad coughed. “All power is being diverted to the engines. We have to hit our target and maintain this speed through the entrance.”
Bailey’s hand shook next to mine. “We’ll have to hold our breath?”
“This gateway consumes all energy,” Dad said, “even ours. When we pass through, you won’t be able to breathe.”
“For how long?” I asked.
“Ninety-two seconds,” he said. “That’s the length of our trip.”
“I can’t hold my breath that long,” Bailey said.
“Holding your breath won’t be necessary.” Mom’s voice softened. “Your heart will stop once we enter the gateway.”
“What?” Bailey cried.
“I know you don’t understand any of this,” Dad said, “but you’ll have to trust us. I’ve made this trip hundreds of times.”
I gripped the seat. “But you just said we have to die.”
“This ship is programmed to cut power as we move through the gateway,” he said, “and restore full power as soon as we’re on the other side. It will send an electrical pulse throughout the ship to resuscitate us. Ever seen one of those hospital shows where they’re jolting someone’s heart?”
“You’re relying on technology to bring us back?” I asked.
“This isn’t human technology. People from Golvern have been making this trip for a thousand years.”
“Play the song,” Mom said.
Dad pressed a button. As soon as the guitar began to vibrate through the ship, I knew which song she’d asked for. I’d listened to enough of her old rock over the years.
“This is what you want to listen to as we die?” I asked.
“We’re only going to be dead for ninety-two seconds.”
Buy Link:
99 cents for a very limited time! Free to read on Kindle Unlimited, too.
Book 5:
Title: Fate of War
Author C.C. Bolick
Genre YA Mystery/Lite Sci-fi
Book Blurb:
Jes has finally come home to Golvern and assumed her place as future queen. With Christian at her side, she must battle the government's attempts to steal her power along with a marriage arranged by her father years before. Feeling abandoned and afraid, Jes has no idea a team of fighters works in the shadows to protect her, led by Pade.
Pade struggles to keep Jes safe from the evil Tyros but is shocked to learn who's really behind the violence. When Jes is kidnapped, he must make a choice that will affect the lives of every person on Golvern and put his family in jeopardy. The final battle will force all secrets into the light, leaving Jes and Pade to fight for Golvern and their love.
Buy Link:
99 cents for a very limited time! Free to read on Kindle Unlimited, too.
Author Biography
C.C. Bolick is the author of eight young adult books, including the Leftover Girl Series and The Agency Series. She grew up in a small Alabama town where she learned the best roads were always the muddiest. An engineer by day and author by night, C.C. loves to mix teenage drama with her favorite genres—romance, sci-fi, and paranormal.
She writes complex stories about seemingly normal teens who learn they're anything but normal. C.C. likes her characters with big hearts, room to grow, and the strength to fight for what they believe in.
If you enjoy page-turning drama, family secrets, epic love stories, and a special power or two, her books might be for you.
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