Title: The Angel Bandit (Andul Guardians Book 3)
Author: Shauna E. Black
Genre: YA, Steampunk, Dystopia
Publisher: Aelurus Publishing
Book Blurb:
Can Avilene heal the prejudice on both sides before hatred tears the world apart?
Eking out a living as a refugee in the Confederacy, Avilene chafes under the prejudice of society. The Phantom Nightingale is broken, the Carpathia lost to Lorelei’s machinations. After a terrorist attack that nearly costs Xanthe his life, the government condemns Avilene and sends her packing back to Tyria.
But the Confederacy is not about to release a prize as great as the Phantom Nightingale. Brayde and Xanthe are coerced into delivering a message to an undercover agent entrenched in a fanatical group. When the agent is shot, Brayde is thrown into a race against time to expose a terrible weapon that could utterly destroy the Confederacy.
In Tyria, Avilene’s efforts to pick up Lorelei’s trail land her in political prison. She escapes with the help of an unlikely ally, only to discover that Lorelei is one step ahead of her. Avilene must reconcile with the memory of her father before she can discover the truth of her heritage and stop Lorelei from fulfilling the mission she was trained to complete; a mission that will unravel the very fabric of the universe.
Don't miss this thrilling conclusion to the Andul Guardians series!
Excerpt:
Chapter One: Discrimination
The biggest challenge for an Andul in the shantytown of a Confederacy refugee camp was getting a food order properly filled. It required stealth and subterfuge and standing in the slowest line Avilene had ever experienced.
She took another microstep forward only to encounter a sticky puddle on the floor. Looking down with distaste, she lifted her boot from a dark patch smelling of molasses, leaking from a nearby barrel. With luck, the syrup would rub off in the dirt outside the shop.
The grocer’s building was small and crowded with people packed between the goods piled in barrels and crates to one side, and a counter blocking shelves stacked neat with tins and packages on the other side. There were no windows to let in the cool air of spring, leaving the shop sweltering.
A swarm of fruit flies hovered near the barrel of molasses, their tiny wings visible to Avilene’s sharp eyesight. In spite of the slips she’d performed to cross the Tyrian border and bring her friends to the refuge of the Confederacy, Avilene had retained her sight, unusual for an active Andul. It must have had something to do with the destruction of all the moldavite in the Slaveek work camp when she conducted Xanthe’s final slip. She wanted to ask him about it, but it was best to avoid questioning him just now. Although Xanthe had woken from the coma he’d fallen into from wielding such power, he was still cloistered in a nearby hospital.
Taking another step forward and tracking molasses across the floor, Avilene fingered the leather rations book she held in one hand. Each person in the room held a similar book, their passport to the shelves behind the counter presided over by a man dressed in white wearing spectacles and a stern expression.
He peered down at the rations book of the man now at the front of the line, opening it to reveal a circular stamp on the inside. “This is an Andul booklet,” he said, returning the book to the customer. “We don’t serve your kind here.”
“But I-I’m not Andul,” stammered the man. “I’m helping out…a friend.”
“I said get out,” yelled the man behind the counter.
Grumbling, the crowd surged forward to emphasize the shopkeeper’s words, and Avilene was thrust into second place as the customer stumbled away from the counter, turning for the door with reluctance.
A trickle of sweat ran down Avilene’s back. She clutched the rations book tighter. It was her friend Floreen’s, modified to include Brayde, Avilene, and Sage in the household count. If the shopkeeper recognized the forgery or realized Avilene was Andul, she would be expelled from the shop as unceremoniously as the man had been. Throwing themselves on the mercy of the Confederacy in the absence of the Carpathia had not provided the relief Avilene had expected. The government workers lacked compassion, especially where Andul were concerned.
Buy Links (including Goodreads)
Giveaway:
I’m one of the authors participating in the Spooky Halloween Bookish Giveaway and you can win an e-copy of The Phantom Nightingale (Andul Guardians Book 1) by Shauna E. Black.
Runs October 1 - 31 and is open internationally for most prizes.
Winners will be drawn on November 2, 2020.
Author Biography:
Shauna E. Black smiles a lot. But her appearance can be deceiving. Like the legendary sirens of old, she enjoys luring innocent readers into the stories she creates and trapping them there. Her home is sprinkled with spontaneous singing and the enticing smell of fresh baked bread, but her most cherished ploy lies in her passion for writing. Readers should beware of entering her fantastical worlds, lest they lose all touch with reality and find themselves waiting under lampposts for fauns and talking beavers to appear. If you decide to ignore this warning, you can find out more about her adventurous fiction on her website, ShaunaBlack.com.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://shaunablack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shaunaeblack/