What Gifts She Carried
(The Grave Winner #2)
By Lindsey R. Loucks
Blurb-
Leigh Baxton just wants to pick up the pieces of her life-if you could call it that-but someone keeps resurrecting the dead. These new zombies have a knack for spilling Leigh's precious blood, something she was warned about by a certain pair of undead sorceresses.
Desperate to find out why they're here so Leigh can put the nightmares behind her, she must learn more about the gifts she carries. With Tram's training sessions and clues from her mom's past, Leigh begins to piece together what she's capable of.
Too bad there isn't a Cliff's Notes version to saving the world.
The zombies have teamed up with followers of the darkest sorceress who ever lived, and they'll play a wicked game until she's freed from her prison inside the earth. When the battle to the death begins, Leigh must rely on friends, crushes, and even her enemies to win the war, but not the grave.
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Excerpt-
Jo slammed the door behind me, which made me jump a little, then waved. They backed out and rode off, leaving me all alone. Well, almost all alone.
I watched them go for a second, but the shadow above lanced the top of my head like only an angry dad's stare could.
The puddles in the cracked pavement rippled with the moon's reflection, and I hopped over them on my way up the iron staircase. Time to face the music, or in this case really loud shouting. Every step upward vibrated doom, doom, doom. I gave it the middle finger for the friendly reminder and rounded the corner.
As soon as I reached the top step, the shadow unplugged the pen light from his mouth and shined it in my face. I turned my head away from the spots dotting my vision and took my final steps toward him. The green paint on the walls and doors had peeled and crumbled to the walkway like little piles of broken dragon scales. My boots crunched over them. Welcome to Krapper's finest and friendliest Crumbly Motel.
"Why didn't you call?" Dad asked in a low voice. He sounded as tired as I felt. And way pissed.
"I'm sorry." I blocked the light with my hand and tried to look him in the face. "I lost track of time."
"Were you really working on a school project?"
The truth was loony-bin crazy, and I'd already lied before. Might as well play it up. "Yes, I was. And we finished the pirate project. The pirates have sailed on to loot and pillage their hearts out. I'm really sorry I'm late, Dad."
He stood, his book tucked under his elbow, the pen light still aimed at my eyes. "Do you have any idea-"
A loud thud came from inside the motel room. Both our heads whipped towards the door.
My heartbeat skipped. Too many bizarre things had happened. Too many weird sounds would haunt me forever, and this one didn't feel right at all. I lunged for the doorknob, but it was locked.
"Darby?" I shouted and pounded on the door.
"Leigh, quiet down. I've got the key." Dad pulled the card from his pocket and stuck it in the slot. When the light flashed green, I tore through the door. I had to wait for my eyes to adjust to the dim overhead light before I saw her. Directly across from us. Outside on the balcony. Leaning over the railing so far I could barely see her upper half.
Her purple mermaid nightgown fluttered around her legs. A sudden sharp breeze tossed the hair around her shoulders and unsteadied her grip on the rail for half a second. That half second shot me across the room.
Once I reached the balcony door, I grabbed her foot and pulled. "Darby, what are you-?" Something trickled from my nose. I brushed it away, and blood smeared my hand. A pinprick of dread punctured the small amount of hope I clung to. Hope that all the nightmares in my life could be done. That hope left me deflated when Darby turned around.
Blood seeped from her nose, too. Her hands were covered with it. Terror blazed bright behind her glasses. "You're…you're bleeding."
"You are, too." The hairs along my arms lifted. Both of us had nose bleeds and both of us were Trammeler sorceressi. One and Two had warned me not to waste my precious blood, but now it flowed down both our fronts for everyone to see. For what? I swallowed. So we could be hunted down? With the balcony and front doors still open, I felt very exposed. "What are you doing out here, Darby?"
Blood settled above the curve of her upper lip. "I-I thought I heard something."
Dad, hovering in the doorway, raked his hands through his hair. "What on Earth is going on with you girls?" He took Darby by the shoulder and guided her to the bathroom. "Leigh, get the doors and then let's get you both cleaned up."
I reached for the handle while holding a sleeve up to my nose. As I slid the door closed, a small, bloody handprint smudged the streetlights behind it. Darby's. She was bleeding more than me.
A slow but steady doom, doom, doom of footsteps echoed up the stairs outside the still open front door. Someone was coming. And with them came the stink of nasty meat floating in a sewer. Even with all the blood gushing a river out my nose, I could still smell it. Death. Coming closer.
My Review-
I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.
All Leigh Baxton wants is to shower, sleep, go to school, keep her grades up and not necessarily in that order. What she wants most right now is to sleep and sleep for a long time. Oh and she wants whoever it is that is raising the dead to stop. As long as the dead is being resurrected and are running around like zombies then Leigh is not going to have any peace. She has to find out who is doing this and find a way to stop them. The zombies want to take over the world and destroy the living.
Trying to keep the dead buried is not the only problems that Leigh has right now. She is trying to keep her little sister Darby alive and away from the undead too. But Leigh is lucky that she has the great friends that she does. She couldn't stop all the zombies from taking over the world without the help of her bff Jo, Jo's brother and her friend Tram. All three of them care about Leigh so much that they would put their own lives in danger to help her. Yeah, well Leigh would and does do the same for them and the whole town of Krapper, Kansas.
Leigh is also having a little guy problems to go along with everything else. Leigh likes Tram and has feelings for him. But she has had a crush on Jo's brother for a long time. She has never actually said anything to him about how she feels but he is graduating high school and is leaving right after to go to college and she may never see him again or have the chance to be with him. Leigh is confused about her feelings that she has for both guys. When she is with Jo's brother she feels things that she doesn't really understand because when she is with Tram she gets all hot and bother too. She doesn't know which one she really likes and wants to be with.
But she doesn't have time to worry about which guy she really likes and wants to be with. All she has time for right now is making sure the dead stay dead and buried. While she is trying to figure out how to keep the dead buried she finds out a lot of stuff about herself, her sister, her dad and her mom that she didn't know. She is learning that her mom kept a lot of secrets from her before she died. She is learning who and what she is as well as what and who her mom, dad and sister are.
If you like reading about the dead, the undead, zombies with a little magic thrown in then you will love What Gifts She Carried. It will grab a hold of you right from the beginning and won't let go until the very last page. Leigh and her friends will all take you on a journey of a lifetime. Follow along with Leigh on her journey through her nightmares night after night fighting the undead and trying to keep them in the ground. You will probably want to start with book #1 The Grave Winner to understand what started Leigh and her friends on their journey of trying to save the living.
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About The Grave Winner (Book #1)
Leigh Baxton is terrified her mom will come back from the dead - just like the prom queen did.
While the town goes beehive over the news, Leigh bikes to the local cemetery and buries some of her mom's things in her grave to keep her there. When the hot and mysterious caretaker warns her not to give gifts to the dead, Leigh cranks up her punk music and keeps digging.
She should have listened.
Two dead sorceresses evicted the prom queen from her grave to bury someone who offered certain gifts. Bury them alive, that is, then resurrect them to create a trio of undead powerful enough to free the darkest sorceress ever from her prison inside the earth.
With help from the caretaker and the dead prom queen, Leigh must find out what's so special about the gifts she gave, and why the sorceresses are stalking her and her little sister. If she doesn't, she'll either lose another loved one or have to give the ultimate gift to the dead - herself.
*OFFER VALID FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY*
Lindsey R. Loucks
Lindsey R. Loucks works as a school librarian in rural Kansas. When she's not discussing books with anyone who will listen, she's dreaming up her own stories. Eventually her brain gives out, and she'll play hide and seek with her cat, put herself in a chocolate induced coma, or watch scary movies alone in the dark to reenergize. She's been with her significant other for almost two decades.
Website/Blog - Twitter - Facebook
Giveaway:
1 printed copy of The Grave Winner + swag and 1 E-copy of The Grave Winner. (International)
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