Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Romance)
Date Published: September 6, 2013
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
In a war between the humans and the inhabitants of the sea-humans will lose. Xanthus Dimitriou-the most lethal Dagonian to rise from the ocean-is on a mission to save mankind from annihilation. But first there's one small thing he needs to do... kill a beautiful young woman in a wheelchair. Killing her doesn't start out as part of his plan. He entrenches himself deep in the human world. Aligning himself with his enemies, he prepares to send them to Triton to face their punishment. Then Sara Taylor rolls onto the scene. Xanthus knows at once she's a criminal. And her crime? Being born. She's a human/Dagonian half-breed, an abomination. Killing her should be an easy job. All he has to do is break into her apartment, slit her throat, and feed her body to the sharks. Simple, right? Wrong. If only she weren't so beautiful, so innocent, so sweet... Saving the world may have to wait. It appears Xanthus has a woman to save. But protecting her may cost him his own life.
Rising by Holly Kelly is the first book in the Rising series. This was an intriguing little book. It took some of the myths we already new about mermaids and added some new things to them by creating a similar yet new creature, the Dagonians. The attraction between Xanthus and Sara was pretty quick, but they were cute. The characters and the plot grabbed me in the beginning, then things seemed to fall flat as the story progressed, and then towards the end it started grabbing me again. There was a twist, but you could see it coming pretty easily. I still enjoyed the book though, and I'm curious as to what's to come next. Love, love, love the cover!
I'm a mom who writes books in her spare time: translation--I hide in the bathroom with my laptop and lock the door while the kids destroy the house and smear peanut butter on the walls. I was born in Utah but lived in Kansas until I was 13, in Texas until I was 18, and attended college in Hawaii—studying marine biology. I'm now back in Utah--"happy valley". I'm married to a wonderful husband, James, and we are currently raising 6 rambunctious children. My interests are reading, writing (of course), martial arts, visual arts, creating Halloween props, and spending time with family.
I signed with Clean Teen Publishing in 2013. My first published book Rising, quickly hit the best-seller lists and has maintained it's status on those lists since it's release in September 2013. The sequel in The Rising Series titled, Descending, was released in late March 2014. It also hit best-seller status--reaching all the way to #1 in Mythology on Amazon. And then the third installment, Avenging, was released on April 21, 2015 and is also a top best seller!
To learn more about Holly Kelly and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
He knew what he had to do, what he’d done countless times before. As a trained soldier, he had a sacred duty to protect his people, guard their secret, and uphold the law. This female’s presence here was not only a criminal act, but it also presented an imminent threat. And because of that, his course was clear.
He had to kill her.
His plan lay clearly before him. Blanketed in the shadows, he’d enter her apartment window. Moving silently, he’d strike fast. Before she could cry out for help, he’d have her throat slit wide open. With her blood flowing swiftly, she’d be dead in mere seconds. The fact that she bathed at this time added to the ease of the execution. Clean up would be simple. Before the night ended, it would be as if she’d never existed. The Dagonian threat of exposure would be wiped clean from the human world.
Xanthus stood, his feet rooted in place under her window. Her sweet scent surrounded him as he listened to her pitiful sobs. Then, in that moment, he did the most shameful thing he’d ever done in his life.
He hesitated.
No, he didn’t merely hesitate. He halted. Fingering his blade in his holster, he willed his feet to move, but they seemed unwilling to obey. Then his mind latched onto a thought. It was no crime to wait for a more opportune time or a more secluded place to strike. He didn’t need to act rashly. True, finding her here in the human world shocked him, but he needed to be clear-headed and sure when he killed her.
He made his way back to his vehicle and climbed behind the wheel. He leaned his head back against the seat, closed his eyes, and attempted to clear his head.
He’d be back and she would die. She deserved to die. She may have the voice of an angel, but that was a lie. She was a traitor, a threat to their people. No other explanation made sense.
He had to kill her.
His plan lay clearly before him. Blanketed in the shadows, he’d enter her apartment window. Moving silently, he’d strike fast. Before she could cry out for help, he’d have her throat slit wide open. With her blood flowing swiftly, she’d be dead in mere seconds. The fact that she bathed at this time added to the ease of the execution. Clean up would be simple. Before the night ended, it would be as if she’d never existed. The Dagonian threat of exposure would be wiped clean from the human world.
Xanthus stood, his feet rooted in place under her window. Her sweet scent surrounded him as he listened to her pitiful sobs. Then, in that moment, he did the most shameful thing he’d ever done in his life.
He hesitated.
No, he didn’t merely hesitate. He halted. Fingering his blade in his holster, he willed his feet to move, but they seemed unwilling to obey. Then his mind latched onto a thought. It was no crime to wait for a more opportune time or a more secluded place to strike. He didn’t need to act rashly. True, finding her here in the human world shocked him, but he needed to be clear-headed and sure when he killed her.
He made his way back to his vehicle and climbed behind the wheel. He leaned his head back against the seat, closed his eyes, and attempted to clear his head.
He’d be back and she would die. She deserved to die. She may have the voice of an angel, but that was a lie. She was a traitor, a threat to their people. No other explanation made sense.
I signed with Clean Teen Publishing in 2013. My first published book Rising, quickly hit the best-seller lists and has maintained it's status on those lists since it's release in September 2013. The sequel in The Rising Series titled, Descending, was released in late March 2014. It also hit best-seller status--reaching all the way to #1 in Mythology on Amazon. And then the third installment, Avenging, was released on April 21, 2015 and is also a top best seller!
To learn more about Holly Kelly and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
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