Unbalanced
Courtney Shepard
Author Bio
Courtney Shepard is new indie author who writes paranormal and fantasy romance. After studying journalism she turned to fiction writing, publishing the first book in her four book series with Champagne Book Group. Courtney lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Description
The sisters with power over earth, air, fire, and water are unaware of each other, or of the forces hunting them…but evil is coming.
Every generation four sisters are born together to fight against the Order. More ruthless than any regime, more secret than any society, and more powerful than any empire, the Order is as old as the earth itself and is destined to sacrifice the girls for their power. With each successful sacrifice their strength and control grows. They have never failed, for their rule depends on it.
The sisters must find each other and unite their power if they are to fight against their terrifying destiny.
Asha is fire.
As ruthless and explosive as her element, she wields her destructive power in anonymous penance for the mistakes of her past. Unaware of the forces closing in, a handsome stranger discovers her in hiding and swears his loyalty. But he is not who he says he is, and he takes her to his Masters.
Betrayed and imprisoned inside the Order, Asha is without fire for the first time in her life, but she has never been, nor will she ever be helpless.
The story follows four sisters: Asha, Ivy, Avia, and Mere. They each command a different element, which includes fire, earth, wind, and water respectively. Their existence is prophetic. Throughout the centuries, there has always been a set of female quadruplets born with these extraordinary abilities.
They are usually hunted down and sacrificed by the Order when they are young. However, in this generation, things have drastically changed. Asha and her sisters have survived longer than those who came before them, making the stakes so much higher. For their own protection, they were separated at birth. Now several years later they are reunited. They gradually learn more about each other, themselves, and their joint destiny as they fight against the Order for their survival.
The story is filled with secrets, mystery, and betrayal. The sisters discover the origin of their powers and come to terms with the dark history that precedes them. On top of that, they face sexism and have to deal with the notion of being monsters due to the use of their powers. Because they were separated across the globe, the sisters have unique backgrounds. Before being reunited, Asha had a reputation as a warrior queen in Colombia.
Asha’s love interest is Clay, who was sent by the Order to kill her. However, he decided to spare her life because he had frequently seen her in his dreams over the years. Because they are enemies, there is lots of angst and tension between them. Their attraction is incredibly complicated and completely undeniable..
Book excerpt
Asha scanned the field. Just go now. The battle chaos was her only chance for cover. The ground shook again, harder this time.
Clay swiveled to his brother. “Rio?”
“It’s not me.”
Forget cover, go now.
With a crack and rumble, the ground surrounding the cabin broke apart and water burst from the earth. It sprayed as strong as any fire hose up and over the cabin. The pounding force was like a waterfall in reverse and the flames sputtered and died.
She had never seen anything like it, an enormous water fountain extinguishing fire burning that hot. The cabin door, charred and still smoking, flew off its hinges and onto the flooded grass.
Three figures ran out into the early morning glare. Asha took off her helmet and slouchy hood, but her eyes weren’t playing tricks. She could see them clearly, even across the distance, and her stomach dropped. They stopped short, facing an army with guns raised. No.
“Fire.”
“Stop!” Her scream was too late; the soldiers fired. She didn’t have time to act; they were sitting ducks. She prepared for their thrashing bodies, but like a swarm of hovering locusts, the bullets stopped in mid-air and dropped.
What? She couldn’t get her mind around the scene unfolding before her. She’d lost control of her body. Her muscles wouldn’t move.
“Hold your fire,” Clay shouted, but the soldiers continued shooting. His brothers were the only ones not attacking. They had to be as shocked by the falling bullets as she was. She couldn’t blame them. She was as still and as useless as a rock, unable to move or act, only watch in growing disbelief. Three young women stood against an army.
“Asha,” yelled one of the girls, her eyes were even brighter green than Clay’s. “We’re your sisters. We’ve been looking for you.”
Author Website
http://www.unbalancedseries.com/home.html