The Second Shadow by Elizabeth Arroyo! A Review, Excerpt, & Interview!

The Second Shadow (The Second Sign #1) by Elizabeth Arroyo
Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Romance/Thriller)

Date Published: June 1, 2010
Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing

The Blurb:

Jake thought being demon meant a shredded humanity, stripped of all human emotion. Chaos and self-preservation dominates a demon’s instincts. But Jake feels every ounce of pain and despair around him.

And it’s driving him deeper into Hell.

Gabby’s choice to save him last summer left a fissure in Hell’s gate that released a malevolent evil. When Jake’s given a mission by the demons to shadow a human girl who may know the whereabouts of an ethereal weapon, he doesn’t expect to see Gabby. But Fate has her own agenda.

When Jake and Gabby are thrown together on a camping trip with a group of delinquent teens, Jake begins to grapple with the haunting choices he made in the past. When the evil finds them, the group begins to battle for their lives, alliances are made, and truths revealed.

As the evil begins to influence Jake, he questions his link to the demons, his purpose, and his love for Gabby.

But the answers to those questions are only found in Hell. And it may cost him his soul.

My Review:

The Second Shadow is the sequel to The Second Sign by Elizabeth Arroyo. This series is simply amazing. The thought and detail that went into writing this book had to be some pretty darn hard work. It certainly paid off. If you haven't read The Second Sign yet, you definitely have to read it before reading The Second Shadow or you will be completely lost. In fact, I would recommend reading the two books back to back if possible. I wish I could have done that because, I forgot many details in between reading the two books. The details really matter in this series. Whether good or bad, everything means something and everyone plays a part. I can't even begin to describe the relationship between Gabby and Jake in a review without giving away too much or not enough. To say "it's complicated" is a definite understatement. Both characters are extremely intriguing. Actually, most of the characters are intriguing, not to mention unpredictable. They may be good. They may be bad. Some are still in question. None of them are safe. This isn't a light read. The Second Shadow is deep, dark, at times bloody and twisted, and I enjoyed every minute reading it. This series is pretty epic.

The ARC of The Second Shadow by Elizabeth Arroyo was provided to me by the Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours  for review. The opinions are my own.

The Excerpt:

Prologue

Old, dead things

 Gabriela Vega was going to pay. It was all Tasha could think about after the little freak soaked her in mop water—as if. No one in the cafeteria had lifted a finger as Tasha pounded on the new girl. They wouldn’t dare. Suspended after she tackled the little swine, Tasha knew she’d be in deep shit when she got home. Grams was going to have a fit.

Wiping her dripping nose as she stepped onto the bus, she took a seat near the window in the rear. Tasha hated riding on the bus, but Robin refused to take her wet ass home. He didn’t want to ruin the polyester upholstery in his car. Asshole. 

But Tasha hadn’t left the fight empty-handed. 

She lifted the chain in front of her eyes and scrutinized the small silver angel pendant. The pendant made the fight worthwhile, even the suspension. Wait until Gabby saw Tasha wearing it. Let the little shit try to take it back. Rubbing the warm pendant with her thumb, she felt tiny vibrations under her skin. It felt good.

A strong odor caught in her throat from the guy sitting next to her. The smell of old, dead things. Scooting away from him without jumping out the window didn’t help. His shoulder nudged hers, forcing her to turn and face the dark, hollow pit that replaced his face. She tried to move, to pull back, to scream, but her body and her voice wouldn’t comply. The fabric of his dark trench coat fluttered, as if caught by an unfelt wind. 

And then he began to lean toward her. The air grew thick, pressing against her as if she’d fallen into a deep ocean trench and the pressure threatened to crush her. Implode. 

She couldn’t breathe.

No one noticed her dying on the bus. No one noticed the thing beside her, with its hollow face inches from hers, and stench of death. It whispered words in her ear and a cold wetness draped her in fear. Tears leaked from her eyes and pain exploded inside her skull. Then she did move. She pulled away from him, closed her eyes to keep them in her head, and rubbed her forehead with her palm. 

“Are you okay?”

Tasha looked at the woman sitting beside her.

“Huh?” Tasha rubbed her head again. A splitting headache tightened its nasty clamp around her head. “No, I feel like crap.” Tasha stood up as the bus reached her stop, and she got off. 

She arrived home with no memory of the bus ride or the walk. She needed to crash. Cold sweat forced shivers throughout her body. The buzzing in her head wouldn’t stop. Sick. She was getting sick. The flu maybe. She rubbed her ear and felt a wet sticky substance. Black goop on her fingertips made her stomach roll. She stepped inside the apartment she shared with her grandma and sister and a foul smell forced her eyes to water. Her stomach lurched, and she ran to the bathroom.

“Are you sick?” Grandma’s voice tore into her brain as she stumbled back to the couch. Moaning, Tasha threw herself on it, her limbs heavy, her breathing hard. She needed sleep. Rest. Peace.

“I asked you a question!” Grandma hollered.

There is no peace for the wicked.

Check out my review of The Second Sign, Book 1 in The Second Sign Series!

Meet the Author: Elizabeth Arroyo

How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing since I was fourteen. I started learning how to write for publication since 2008.

What inspired you to write The Second Sign?
TSS was inspired by a dream I had of a demon exploding in my kitchen. Yeah…don’t ask. After trying to figure out why a demon would explode in anyone’s kitchen, TSS was born.

When you first started writing The Second Sign, did you plan for it to be a series? 
Yes. There were too many plot elements that couldn’t be tied up in one book. And I have a hard time writing the happily-ever-after ending. I still do.

After writing The Second Sign, was it more challenging to write the sequel?
Yes. With book one I had all the time in the world. With book two I had a deadline. I also wanted to keep the storyline focused on Jake and Gabby while creating something new.

Which of your characters do you relate to most and why? 
I relate to Gabby the most. She’s never felt comfortable in her own skin, never felt as if she belonged. She wants to fit in somewhere, to be loved, to be “normal.” I think we all can relate to that.

What is a secret about you that nobody else knows?
Hm…I’m afraid of the dark.

If your real life as a teenager was a Young Adult book, what would you, the main character, be like? 
Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice. Yeah…I can totally be a spin-off of her.

What book have you read too many times to count? 
The Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling. It’s my favorite.

What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received?
When all else fails, keep writing.

If you could hop into the life of any fictional character, who would it be and why? 
I just started watching Dr. Who. I’d love to be the Doctor, a female version. I think it would be fun to keep saving the world, and I think he gets regenerated. Not sure how that works.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? 
Writing is hard work. Writing was a way for me to engage the world around me. I didn’t care about what people thought, who I satisfied, it was all for me. Writing for publication is so much different and rewarding in its own way. But if I don’t have solid ground to fall on while being exposed, I’d keep falling. And that is not a good thing.  My family and critique partners ground me. I couldn’t do this without them.

What do you like to do when you're not writing? 
I love spending time with my family.

Are any of the things in your books based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? 
My published books are pure imagination.

About the Author:
Elizabeth spent most of her younger years as an avid reader with a wild imagination which led her to write her first manuscript at the age of fourteen. Her fascination with the paranormal was influenced by the vivid ghost and demon stories her father told her as a child, scaring the crap out of her. It also led her to ask the "what if" question that propelled her down the path of the fantastical.

But, life got in the way. Elizabeth completed a Bachelors degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice at Northeastern Illinois University and works in the community strengthening families. Her love of stories held, and in 2008 she found herself back into her storytelling roots and began writing again. Since then she's published a short story in SQ Magazine, countless musings on her blog - Chandara Writes, and completed three manuscripts.

In 2012, Elizabeth signed with Sapphire Star Publishing to release her debut novel, THE SECOND SIGN, a Dark YA Paranormal Romance, slated for an early 2013 release.

Elizabeth resides in Chicago with her family, a household of kids, and the bliss of chaos. The good kind.

To learn more about Elizabeth Arroyo and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

The Giveaway!!
1 lucky winner will win an ebook copy of The Second Shadow by Elizabeth Arroyo. Open internationally. Good luck!
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