Thursday, October 23, 2014

"The Gateway Through Which They Came" by Heather Marie: SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW


The Gateway Through Which They Came
by Heather Marie

Genre: young-adult, paranormal-horror

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Publication: August 25, 2014

Cover Artist: Ricky Gunawan

 
About The Gateway Through Which They Came:
To seventeen-year-old Aiden Ortiz, letting the dead walk through his body to reach the other side comes with the territory—the territory of being a Gateway. It’s hard enough doing the exchange, sending even one Bleeder away without being seen, but when Koren Banks—his childhood friend and the girl who went mysteriously missing seven months ago—comes back into his life, the Bleeders begin seeking him out in droves.

When confronted by a Dark One, a Bleeder gone rogue, Aiden finds himself infected with an evil inside of him that wants nothing more than to be released. Fighting the urge to let the darkness consume him, Aiden realizes that not only does the Gateway send things away—it also brings things back. But who the other Gateway is summoning these shadowed beings is just another item on the list. A list that continues to grow more complicated by the day.

As the infection begins to take form—bringing to life a monster daring to claw its way out—Aiden seeks guidance to learn the truth of the man responsible for his curse. The Dark Priest whose resurrection has reformed the Brethren of Shadows; a group of men and women who seek a life full of Darkness, and thrive for the reign of their Dark Priest to lead them once again.

With his trusted protector guiding him, a local priest named Father Martin, Aiden soon discovers that he isn’t just another Gateway like his fellow brothers—but a Mortal Gateway created by the blood of a human and an Original—making him far more vulnerable to the energy of the Dark Priest and the power he offers. But what he asks of Aiden in return could mean the death of them all, humans and Gateways alike. The choice should be easy for any Gateway, but the manipulative beast thriving inside of Aiden proves otherwise.

With Koren and his two best friends, Trevor and Evan, by his side, Aiden fights to rid the world of the evil that’s been released by the Dark Priest, while saving the girl he loves from her haunting past. Time is running out, and Aiden must find and stop the Gateway that’s releasing the Shadows into the world. As if that task alone isn’t enough, Aiden may be the only one capable of abolishing the Dark Priest and his Order before he finds himself consumed into a world of evil—and before the monster lurking inside Aiden takes control.

Find The Gateway Through Which They Came Online:

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About Heather Marie:
Heather Marie lives in Northern California with her incredibly hard working husband, whom she loves ridiculous amounts. When she isn’t writing, she spends majority of her time reading or planning her next Harry Potter marathon. Heather has always been a fan of the darker side of things most people shy away from. With her love for the classic Universal Monsters, and the slasher films she watched throughout her childhood, she found herself fascinated by the macabre.

Though she hopes to expand her work to YA dark contemporary in the future, Heather considers herself a writer of stories that showcase the unknown, and at times, the harshness that is reality. She adores her troubled characters and her ghostly fiends, creating worlds that are both strange and beautiful. All of this with a healthy dose of romance, of course.

Her debut, THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME, is a YA supernatural horror due to be released from Curiosity Quills, Summer 2014.

Find Heather Marie Online:


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Sister Sinister gives it 4 Stars!

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I was given the chance to read to review this book as part of the blog tour, and while I didn't love it, it was a well-written book that probably would appeal best to younger readers.

Focusing primarily on 17 year old Aiden, you learn pretty quickly that he is something called a Gateway, a doorway to the afterlife in which the dead pass through him to get to the other side. He sees them as they were at the time of their deaths, the cause of their demise often evident, with only his best friend and his priestly mentor knowing of his calling.

It's hard for this high school athlete to usher the dead over when his personal life isn't what he wants it to be, particularly with childhood friend Koren. She's disappeared and no one seems to know where she has gone. Worse still, he thinks there is something dark growing inside him...

A good YA read with elements of the paranormal, mystery, horror and romance. A story about fighting the darkness within.

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