Mark D. Evans

Excerpt by Mark D. Evans and Review by Cloey

Beth breathed furiously. She was exhausted, but the air she breathed had a new scent to it. It stopped her short. Her insides jumped in excitement at the rusty metallic scent. Her jaw twitched and her body flinched. She spun her head around, toward the aroma. Oliver had felt his way back to the uneven wall and leant against it cradling his arm. He sobbed and whimpered, while looking aimlessly at it. Beth could see what he couldn’t: a jagged edge of bone poking out from his forearm. He was slightly sheltered under the broken floorboards above him, and the rain wasn’t washing away the blood that now oozed freely. Beth didn’t need to see everything. She could smell it.

Beautiful, delicious, unparalleled and unbeatable human blood.

Her head tipped forward. Her nose flared involuntarily and her lips snarled into a sadistic smile. She felt the four pointed canines being pushed out; unsheathed. The tip of her tongue curled under one of the two fangs that slid down. Her heart deafened the rain and the approaching bombers. Almost subconsciously, she lowered herself into a half-crouch, ready to pounce, and though her nails were trimmed short, her fingers curled into claws. She couldn’t even feel the hole in her palm any more. She felt nothing at all except raging bloodlust. Her brother leant there sobbing, oblivious to the bloodthirsty creature no more than a yard away that wanted nothing more than to cover everything with his precious life force. To swim in his blood.

Beth could almost taste it.

No Shelter From Darkness The Cruentus Saga
Book One
Mark D. Evans

Genre: Paranormal, Horror


Publisher: Booktrope


ISBN: 978-1620151396ASIN: B00D5C9IJ4







Cover Artist: Greg Simanson


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Book Description:


“Her hands began to shake as she looked down wide-eyed at the blood-soaked cotton that covered her.”

London emerges from the Blitz, and every corner of the city bears the scars. In the East End—a corner fairing worse than most—thirteen year-old Beth Wade endures this new way of life with her adoptive family. She also suffers the prejudice against her appearance, an abiding loneliness and now the trials of adolescence. But with this new burden comes a persisting fatigue and an unquenchable thirst that ultimately steals her into unconsciousness...

What happens next is the start of something Beth will fear more than the war itself. She begins to change in ways that can’t be explained by her coming-of-age, none more frightening than her need to consume blood. The family who took her in and the former best friend who’s taken refuge in their house can never know. Aware of the danger she poses to everyone around her, Beth has never felt more alone. But someone else knows Beth’s secret. 

...someone who understands just how different she really is. He alone can decrypt her past and explain her future. But he’s been sworn to destroy her kind, and as Beth grows ever more dangerous, he’s forced to take sides.

Can Beth keep all of the secrets? Can she trust a man sworn to kill her? And can she stop the vampire within from taking her humanity?

About the Author:

MARK D. EVANS was born near London, England. He graduated university with a degree in something not even remotely connected with writing and went on to become a successful consultant. Then he threw it all away to chase his dream of being an author, via a considerable amount of travelling. Today, his life largely resembles that of a nomad, and he can currently be found typing away in a tiny flat in north London, sustained by coffee.

He is the author of two short stories, one of which made it into a Kindle Top Ten.

His latest work is his debut novel, No Shelter from Darkness, which is the first book in his series, The Cruentus Saga.

Visit Mark online:

www.markdevans.com

www.markaeology.com

www.cruentus-saga.com

https://www.facebook.com/authormarkdevans

Twitter: @TheMarkDEvan

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/markdevans

This is a very good story. It started out great then moved along slowly for me. I usually run from anything war related for my reading pleasure and needless to say, this story takes place in London during the Blitz. Even though I wanted to stop reading when about 20% into it - something happened. I was surprisingly eased into the life of Beth and found myself wanting to know more about what she and her family were going through. 

What I liked most was that Mr. Evans brought me, the reader, through the process of Beth's transformation into a vampire and showed me that she has a good side to her that balances her vampire side. She has one huge challenge because she is living with a human family while she is changing. The story world was well done and the secretive people and organizations kept me reading.  

No Shelter From Darkness tells us the story about Beth, her growing pains, and the changes in her body post puberty. She now knows what she is and I hope the next book in the series tells us who she is and why everyone is looking for her. This one is a good read and I recommend adding it to your reading list.



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