Title: Daemon Uprising
Author: Mariah Ankenman
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book Blurb:
The world of the supernatural is real and living among us, a fact Tabitha Culver knows all too well.
Ten years ago, evil supernatural creatures she never thought existed attacked Tabitha. Now, she works for the Supernatural Council to defend humanity against the malevolent forces unknowingly hunting them. A new darkness has risen up in the form of Kakodaemons.
Tabitha, a by-the-books straight arrow is teamed up with the Euadaemon Kiernan, a bend-the-rules, sexy bad boy. With Tabitha and Kiernan the sparks fly, sometimes literally! To take down the bad guys, they have to put their differences aside and work together. However, a dark secret and sizzling attraction could prove to be distractions they can’t afford. Tabitha must learn to trust her partner, and her heart, in order to eliminate this new threat to humanity.
Excerpt:
Last night had been a dream, a horrible, horrible dream. She killed the Kako last night and went straight home to bed. No visit to council headquarters. No meeting with Racine where he told her she had to partner with Kiernan to find a Kako with a god- complex and three idiots stupid enough to believe him. That’s right, just some nasty dream brought on by a bad meatball sandwich.
Then why did Kiernan stand outside her apartment building?
Dammit.
Why couldn’t he just let her live in delusions for a little bit longer? The sun hadn’t even gone down yet. Prime Kako hunting time did not start for another couple of hours.
Dammit!
How did he even know where she lived? Racine probably told him. Bastard. Though, Kiernan would have to know where to find her since they now worked together. And she would have to know where he lived as well. The thought of being inside Kiernan’s home sent shivers up her spine. Whether good or bad shivers, she didn’t know and, truthfully, didn’t want to find out.
Throwing a light jacket on over her black t-shirt and jeans—spring in Colorado varied from warm to snow. It paid to be prepared—Tabitha headed out of her apartment to the waiting Euadaemon below. “You’re early.”
She walked past him toward the lower downtown area or LODO, as the locals said. Racine suggested they start looking in the highly populated areas. LODO was about as populated as it got on a weekend. Bars and clubs aplenty opened to the masses and the predators.
Kiernan fell in step beside her. “Early bird catches the worm.”
“Easy to catch when you are the worm,” she muttered under her breath.
“Stop with the flattery, or I might think you actually like me, Tabby Cat.”
Stupid Daemon hearing.
She held her tongue as they walked along the cracked sidewalk. The city really needed to do something about the sidewalks. She nearly did a face plant the other night chasing a Kako down the street. At the moment, cracked walkways were the least of her concern, but better to dwell on them than the daunting task ahead.
“So what’s the plan?”
Kiernan shrugged his shoulders, his long black dustcoat moving effortlessly with his body. “Don’t know.”
She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, her mouth falling open. “You don’t have a plan?”
He paused, a few paces in front of her and turned, a little smirk tilting the corners of his mouth. “Naw. I figured you’d have one.”
Her eyes narrowed. Of course, she had a plan. She always had a plan, but Kiernan called her this morning telling her they needed to check out the LODO district.
She assumed that meant he had a plan. Well, that should teach her for assuming. She guessed the saying was true about being an ass and all.
The stupid Daemon’s grin turned broader. “You do, don’t you, Tabby Cat?”
Her fist shot out, connecting with his impossibly solid arm. Stupid idea. Now her hand burned with pain. Did the guy eat the iron after he pumped it?
His eyes widened in surprise, or amusement, she really couldn’t tell, but it made her grit her teeth all the same. “I told you to stop calling me that.”
He simply chuckled in response.
“Do you even know where we are going?” Apparently, the annoyance in her voice made him laugh, but she shot him a look that squelched it.
“New club in the LODO district. It’s called the Basement. The theme is darkness.” Kakodaemons loved the dark. Since Daemons were gifted with night vision, along with strength, long life spans, and those handy wings, darkness did not hinder them. The Basement was the perfect Kako feeding ground, with hundreds of people, darkness, and loud music to cover the screams. Sometimes, she thought her race just plain stupid.
They walked along in silence. Tabitha started detailing the plan in her mind now that she knew their destination. She always had a plan pertaining to everything she did. Even in grade school, she made lists every morning. Daily lists scheduling everything she needed to do. Planning was essential to her routine.
Her mother had tried to get her to relax, go with the flow a little more. Her father had laughed. He called her his little list maker. Every morning, he asked to see her list, then took great care in perusing it, pretending it was the schedule for the President of the United States instead of a five-year-old little girl. He’d smile, kiss her head and tell her to keep making lists.
“A plan is always a good thing, kiddo. Let’s you know where you’re going in life.”
That was back when he cared. Everything had changed when Tabitha’s mother left. No more smiles, no more kisses and no laughter, only bitterness and resentment. All of it aimed toward her. Even after he had Krista and remarried, the anger for his first daughter remained. Anger, simply, for being the child of the woman who had left him. Left them both.
“So what’s the plan?”
Kiernan’s deep voice startled her out of her thoughts. She scowled at him, mostly because of her anger at being caught reminiscing. She hated thinking of the past. It held nothing but bad memories.
“Talk to the bartender.”
The annoyingly sexy Daemon gave her a dubious look. “Talk to the bartender?”
“Yup.”
“And that’s it?”
She ignored the disbelief in his voice. Let him think what he wanted, she knew what she was doing. As a human, her assignments for the council were recon based. She battled a fair number of Kakos and other supernaturals in her time with the Enforcers, but her real skills lay in strategy. Making plans, finding out information—no one did it better than Tabitha Culver.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2G3QfO0
Nook: http://bit.ly/2FUGOkv
iBooks: https://apple.co/2WjfRfo
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2Rj68Ch
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2HAGKrP
If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?
One of these years I am going to convince my entire family to do a Addams Family group costume because I love them so much! The only problem is I am so much shorter than my spouse I’ll need stilts to be Morticia, lol!
Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:
If you like paranormal creatures, but want something other than Vampires and Werewolf’s, then Daemon Uprising is for you. It’s full of sass, steamy, and suspense for all the people who love reading about things that go bump in the night.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon (US or Canada) gift card.
Open internationally. You must have an active Amazon US or Amazon Canada account to be eligible.
Runs October 1 – 31
Drawing will be held on November 1.
Author Biography:
Bestselling author Mariah Ankenman lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her two rambunctious children and loving spouse who is her own personal spell checker when her dyslexia gets the best of her.
Mariah loves to lose herself in a world of words. Her favorite thing about writing is when she can make someone’s day a little brighter with one of her books. To learn more about Mariah and her books, visit her website https://mariahankenman.com follow her on social media or sign up for her newsletter.
Social Media Links:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mariahankenman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariahankenman