Thursday, February 28, 2013

**Blog Tour ~ The Second Sign ~ Elizabeth Arroyo**


Hi y'all! I'm very pleased to be a stop on the blog tour for The Second Sign by Elizabeth Arroyo. This tour is presented by SupaGurl Tours. 




Title: The Second Sign
Author: Elizabeth Arroyo
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

**I received an eARC of this book for review for the blog tour in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis: Bred to believe in the war between angels and demons, Gabby has come to the conclusion that love is responsible for war, jealousy, and all the other deadly sins she can think of. So when she’s exiled to the middle of nowhere for getting kicked out of her fifth school for fighting, she doesn’t expect to meet Jake. Much less fall in love. But Jake is quickly drawn to the eerie beauty of her violet eyes while Gabby is unsettled by their undeniable connection.

When a demon guardian comes to collect her soul, she refuses to give it up. She’s not a demon. She can’t be. Her father and twin brother are angels. The demon gives Gabby twenty-four hours to decide her allegiance, and then starts killing her short list of friends, leaving a message behind: She is the Second Sign.

As Gabby and Jake begin to unravel the mystery behind the Second Sign, she learns Jake may be the key to saving her soul. But it means a sacrifice has to be made that will change their lives
forever.

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My Review
Wow! I was immediately drawn to The Second Sign because of the angel/demon angle of the story and the biblical references. The plot was fantastic. It has plenty of mystery, intrigue, and action. A girl brought up knowing about angels and demons becoming a focal point of sorts in the war between them. The bond formed between that girl and a boy she meets unexpectedly. The mystery of special gifts and the events that always seem to coincide with her birthday. 

Gabby, the heroine of our story, is seriously struggling with the question "why am I here?" And all signs are pointing to her position as the Second Sign. She's been sent to live at her father's lake house due to her inability to control her anger. Here she meets Jake, a very handsome adrenaline junkie, who's been sent to live here due to his inability to control his daredevil ways. The two form a quick and tight bond, although both try to deny it. Trust is a main roadblock for the two - Gabby can't exactly reveal she's the daughter of an angel and Jake doesn't want to let someone in that might end up hurting him. That, combined with the killings going on around them and the weird things happening to them...well, not an easy road for these two.

As I said, this book has a fantastic plot. I was drawn to the characters. I was enthralled with the religious references and iconography. And the action! But here's the thing...I felt like the story kinda meandered for awhile. I'd kinda got lost in what was going on...and not in the good way. I was worrying I was going to have to do a 3 worm review. And then BAM! Ms. Arroyo kicked me in the gut! And the story came into focus for me.

It all started with some rather graphic detail...this book should come with a warning about graphic material. It definitely has attributes of a horror novel, in my opinion. But hey, war is never a neat affair. And war between angels and demons? No punches pulled here.

I was so thrilled once the plot sharpened and I got some answers to a few of the mysteries. There were some "Aha!" moments as well as some "Ohh..." moments. And it was all good. So despite having wanted a bit more cohesion in the story to begin with, I ended up loving this book. It is dark, gritty, and at times graphically violent. It also has love, hope, and redemption. I especially enjoyed the highlighting of free will in the story. It is fascinating to think that even angels and demons - who you would think are born to serve their respective sides, still have free will and can choose. I very much look forward to reading the next installment in this series so I can learn where Gabby and Jake go from here and whether the angels or the demons win the war?


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About Elizabeth Arroyo

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of five, 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 of her father, 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.

But 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 (her muse), 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 still resides in Chicago’s south west side with her family, a household of kids, and the bliss of chaos. The good kind. She continues to work in the community. You can follow her journey on her Blog chandarawrites.blogspot.com

Find Elizabeth here:

Twitter- https://twitter.com/#!/EArroyo5 or @earroyo5
Website- www.elizabetharroyo.com

Get The Second Sign here:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon PB
B&N

SupaGurl Books Tours


6 comments:

  1. Aha! so I'm going to read it then. Oh god! am I going to be into angel-demon books now?

    BTW, I didn't like The Love Of My Other Life :-(

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    1. I hope you like it! It is quite unlike anything I've read before. And I just love the premise...

      I'm sorry you didn't like The Love of My Other Life. It IS quirky but I liked it.

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  2. Replies
    1. You're welcome! ;) I'm looking forward to the next one!

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Now you know what I think...what are your thoughts??