BooksChatter: ☀☄ Shadow: The Romany Outcasts [2]

Thank you for joining us for the Release Week Celebrations and Virtual Book Tour for Shadow, a Young Adult Fantasy by Christi J. Whitney (2 June 2016, Harper Voyager, 400 pages).

This is the second book in the Romany Outcasts series.

Don't miss our interview with author Christi J. Whitney.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first two chapters with Kobo Preview.

Author Christi J. Whitney will be awarding a digital copy of books 1 and 2 in The Romany Outcasts series by Christi J. Whitney (INT) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

Synopsis | Teaser | The Series | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

The second volume in this incredible YA trilogy. When stone hearts break they shatter.

Sebastian Grey used to be a normal teenager. Now he’s a creature whose sole purpose is to be a guardian for secretive gypsy clans.

When the Romany gypsies need his help, Sebastian is given a second chance to protect Josephine Romany – the girl he loves. But this is no easy task when some of them think he’s as bad as the shadow creatures attacking their camp.

Yet to keep Josephine safe, Sebastian might have to embrace his darker side. Even if that means choosing between his humanity and becoming the monster everyone believes him to be.

Teaser: Excerpt

1. Silent Cries

Monsters don’t attend graduation parties. Not even when their best friends send invitations decorated with enough glitter to nauseate a fairy. I held the card between my clawed fingers and sprawled across the bed as I read it for the tenth time.

You’re invited to a
Graduation Party
In honor of
Katie Noele Lewis
Friday at 8:00 pm

Katie didn’t know what I’d become. How could she? I hadn’t set foot inside the school since the night my life had changed. The only people who knew were a clan of Outcast Gypsies, and their secrets were now mine.
     A familiar lump of emotion wedged between my lungs, and I held my breath until the ache eased. After five months, I’d learned to live with the sensation. Some days were easier than others, but I’d known graduation day was going to suck.
     There was a sharp rap at the door. ‘Sebastian?’
     I hid the invitation under my pillow. ‘Come in.’
     My foster brother stepped into the room then jerked to a halt. He squinted. ‘Sebastian, you know you freak me out when you do that.’
     ‘Do what?’
     ‘Sit here in the dark,’ Hugo replied.
     ‘Oh.’ I glanced at the window. The shade was pulled and the curtains drawn, as usual. Lighting wasn’t something I thought about these days, since I could see as easily in pitch-black as I could the middle of the day. ‘Sorry.’
     Hugo leaned against the doorframe. ‘Hey, it’s your room. Besides, who am I to complain about saving some electricity around here? Money’s tight enough as it is. I’d just like to see more than two silver dots when I talk to you.’
     I blinked at the dim glow filtering in from the hallway outside my room. My brother often compared my eyes to the way a wild animal’s mirrored light.
     ‘Well, what do want me to do?’ I leaned over and switched on the desk lamp. ‘Wear bike reflectors?’
     ‘I was thinking more like those glow strips little kids wear on Halloween.’
     ‘Perfect. I’ll run out and pick some up tonight.’ My stomach rumbled, and I pressed a hand against my torso. ‘And while I’m at it, maybe I’ll head into town, terrify the locals and eat some livestock.’
     ‘Hungry again?’ he asked, sounding curious. ‘You ate just an hour ago.’ I uncurled myself from the bed and stretched. ‘When am I not hungry? I know you guys said I needed additional sustenance and all, but this is ridiculous. I have the appetite of a sumo wrestler.’
     ‘Maybe your body’s still adjusting, Sebastian.’
     ‘Adjusting,’ I repeated. ‘You make it sound like I’m suffering from jet lag.’
     Ignoring my complaining stomach, I walked to the window and peeled aside the curtain.The remains of the evening sun glistened against the newly green trees. I felt Hugo studying me – or trying to, anyway. The way my body blended with shadows made me difficult to pinpoint in dim light. I knew I was more intimidating than I used to be – back when I’d just been Hugo Corsi’s kid brother.
     ‘So, how are you doing?’ he asked suddenly.
     I studied him in return. My brother owned the Gypsy Ink Tattoo Parlor, and he looked every bit like a tattoo artist. His brown hair had grown out over the winter, and he’d trimmed his goatee, but his grungy T-shirt didn’t hide the myriad of designs he sported over most of his skin. Hugo Corsi was also the head of a clan of Outcast Gypsies, which made him even more secretive and mysterious. Talking emotions with him never came easy – for either of us.
     ‘I’m fine,’ I replied.
     He wasn’t convinced. ‘I know graduation was this morning—’
     ‘I told you, I’m fine.’ A growl welled up inside my throat, and I paused to swallow it down. ‘It’s not like I didn’t know this was coming, Hugo.’
     ‘Yeah,’ he replied with a shrug. ‘I just thought you might want to talk about it.’
     ‘Why?’
     Hugo and I had patched things up, but neither of us could totally forget the past. He’d kept the truth of what I was hidden from me. I understood why he’d done it, and I’d forgiven him, but it was still hard not to get suspicious. I could read unspoken things in my brother’s eyes every now and then. Secrets seemed to be Hugo’s specialty, and that made trusting my brother an ongoing challenge. But I kept trying.
     And so did he.
     ‘I want to know how you’re feeling, Sebastian.’
     Processing my emotional state was like taking a swim in the middle of a swamp. Everything was murky. There was something inside me – a cloudy part I didn’t like dwelling on – that had been feeling all kinds of strange things lately, things that didn’t feel very human. I couldn’t explain them to Hugo because I didn’t understand them myself.
     ‘I don’t know how I’m feeling,’ I said finally. ‘It’s not like I really have something to base all this on. How am I supposed to know what’s normal for a—’
     ‘Gargoyle,’ Hugo finished the sentence for me.
     Hearing the word still made me flinch. Gargoyles were mythical creatures, pieces of Gothic architecture. They weren’t supposed to be real. ‘Yeah.’
     Hugo rubbed his chin. ‘Well, you said you’ve been feeling better, right?’
     My lips tightened into a smile. He made it sound as though I were recovering from a cold.‘I guess so.’
     ‘And all the weirdness stopped after—’
     My brother cut himself off, but I knew exactly what he’d been about to say.
     After the Romanys left town.
     I reached under the collar of my shirt and touched the dandelion pendant. Its glass surface was warm, as always. My wrist throbbed in response. The dandelion tattoo inked into my skin was like an open wound: never scabbing over, never healing.
     Pretty much like my heart.
     ‘I’m okay, really,’ I said with as much conviction as I could. ‘After all, missing a few graduation parties isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a guy, right?’ I smiled and lifted my eyes to meet his, knowing my silver irises would reflect the light from the hall.
     ‘All right,’ Hugo replied. ‘Just checking.’
     My smile widened. ‘You’re such a big brother.’
     ‘Well, I don’t have a manual to go by, but maybe I’ll earn an Eagle Scout badge or something for effort.’ He backed out of the room. ‘The guys are on their way, and they’re bringing food. Didn’t think you’d want to miss that.’
     ‘Sure. I’ll be there in a minute.’
     Hugo shut the door behind him. I heard the thud of his steel-toe boots as he left the apartment. My stomach rumbled again. I crossed the room and dug Katie’s invitation out of hiding. She was having the party in her parents’ enormous backyard. There were a lot of trees. And it would be pretty dark by the time the festivities really got started. Maybe I couldn’t attend a graduation party, but I could definitely observe one from a distance.
     Anything was better than staying cooped up in the apartment.

Shadow
Available for Pre-order NOW! Out on 2 June 2016!

The Series: Romany Outcasts

Click on the book cover to Look Inside the book on Amazon and read an excerpt.

Grey [1]

Can you still love with a heart of stone?

Sebastian Grey always thought he was a fairly normal teenager – good friends, decent grades and a pretty sweet job in his foster brother’s tattoo shop.

But when Romany gypsies arrive in town, Sebastian discovers that his world is not what it seems. There is an age-old feud between his family and the gypsies – and this isn’t the only secret his brother has been keeping from him. His life is not his own. The girl he’s been dreaming about has just turned up at school, and he feels compelled to protect her at all costs.

Even if that means life might never be normal again.

[Published 30 April 2015, 344 pages]

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About the Author

Christi J. Whitney is the author of The Romany Outcasts Series (HarperCollins/HarperVoyagerUK).

She's a former high school theatre director with a love for the dramatic. Christi lives just outside of Atlanta with her husband and two sons.

When not spending time with them or taking a ridiculous number of trips to Disney World, she is usually directing plays, geeking out over Doctor Who, making costumes for sci-fi/fantasy conventions, watching superhero movies, or pretending she's a tad bit British.

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