TAYLOR JONES SAYS: Damned ~ Book 1 by Brittany Booker is a complicated, thrilling, and fascinating story about fallen angels, mortals, and the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse. The revolves around Lizzie, a mortal, and Darrton, Death of the Four Horsemen. Trying to start The Apocalypse early, the Four Horsemen are Damned to Earth and fall from Heaven. Darrton lands in Lizzie’s backyard. Unable to see anyone suffer, Lizzie takes him in, stashes him in her family’s treehouse, and nurses him back to health. Darrton’s three brothers want him to kill Lizzie and get on with the fun, but Darrton refuses and both he and Lizzie end up on the run.

The story is definitely a page-turner. The plot is fast-paced, complicated, and has enough twists and turns to keep you reading right to the end. If you are looking for a good, solid story that will keep your interest from beginning to end, you can’t go wrong with Damned ~ Book 1.

REGAN MURPHY SAYS: Brittany Booker’s new book Damned ~ Book 1 is touted as a YA, and I guess it is as the heroine is only seventeen. But it is definitely older YA. The subject matter is dark paranormal, and while the book is not especially gory, it certainly isn’t lighthearted. Winding through the plot of Darrton’s fellow Horsemen insisting he kill Lizzie and her family and start The Apocalypse is a subplot of the angels who are the Four Horsemen deciding they have waiting long enough for the chaos to start and making a play to take matters into their own hands. Not a happy thought.

The book is well-written, and I agree it is a page-turner. And while I think it is a great book for adults or older YA, I certainly would not recommend it for younger teens. As exciting as the book was, I found the idea that angels would take it upon themselves to destroy the Earth and everyone on it just a bit dark and depressing. Still, I imagine it’s a book you could easily read time and time again and find something new with each new reading.

CHAPTER 1

Lizzie

This is a serious matter, Tommy,” my mother yelled.

Yes, yes it is I thought as I leaned in closer to the mirror in my room, holding up a shirt to wear. Someone breaking into our house is a serious matter.

“I know it is, Jennifer. I said we would call the locksmith tomorrow,” my dad said, using his calm voice to try and soothe my mother. From upstairs, I could practically see him rubbing her arms to calm her down.

I had awakened this morning to my mother yelling like a banshee. The house had been broken into and my emotional mother was not going to stop nagging until my dad did something about it. I would have been more worried about the situation myself if Trevor hadn’t invited me to Aaron’s party. Trevor and I’d had a short summer romance and then he showed up at school with Rachel. After him begging and pleading for me to go out with him again, I’d said yes.

Sighing, I tried to tune out Mom and Dad’s conversation about the break-in. Nothing was taken by whoever broke in, but it still creeped the hell out of me. Throwing my shirt down, I picked up another one. Useless!

I heard a slight noise from my door and glanced over. “Get out.”

“Yeah, right. You need my help.” Samantha, my twelve-year-old sister marched into my room and rummaged around in my closet, throwing clothes everywhere. “I so lost ten dollars on a bet because of this. I just knew he would never ask you out again. Now, I’m not going to let you look stupid going to see him with your wanna’ be rocker shoes and grungy T-shirt.”

“I’m sorry did you not understand the meaning of get out?”

She sighed and turned to me, her dirty blonde hair swinging around her. “Here,” she said, handing me an outfit and leaving the room.

I glanced down at the black strapless shirt, blue jeans jacket, skinny jeans, and boots. Not too bad.

I was in the middle of changing when my cell phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Where the hades are you, comrade?” Millie, my best friend, shouted over the phone. I sighed. The only reason she called me “comrade” was because of the family tree project we had done the year before. Turns out my dad’s side of the family was Russian.

“I’m getting ready, Millie. Calm down.”

“Hottie Trevor is getting antsy over here,” Millie yelled over the music. “Brett has to talk to him to keep him calm. He is nervous,” she said, laughing into the phone. “You know that means Brett isn’t paying any attention to me. My boyfriend is not paying attention to me. This should be a crime, Lizzie.”

I smiled at the phone. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, okay?”

“Ohmigod, total subject change: you know Lucas Johns?”

“Yeah, how could I not? He was suspected of raping that Holly girl last year. How would I not know him?”

“True. Anyway, he is missing. Like no one can find him. His mother is freaking out. Everyone is talking about it over here. Which reminds me, get ya ass over here! This is Cannon Beach, Oregon. When someone throws a party you come. It could be three years before something interesting happens ever again. You do not want to miss this, Lizzie.”

“Okay, going to leave now.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She smacked her gum. “Get your cute ass over here!” she said and hung up.

I tossed my phone onto my bed and continued to get ready. Pulling my curled hair out from under my jacket I took a look at myself. I didn’t look so bad. Then I heard another knock. “Leave me alone, Sam.”

“It’s not Sam,” my dad said, opening the door, smiling.

“Oh, um, hey.”

“You look nice, sweetie.”

I narrowed my eyes and clicked my tongue. “Watcha’ need?” He smiled. I knew he had an ulterior motive. His eyes were everywhere but on me, and he tended to run his fingers through his short brown hair one too many times when he was nervous.

“Well, you’re going out tonight.”

I stopped. Oh no. “Yeah, about that, well, I’m about to be late. Millie, Brett, and Trevor are already over there waiting for me.”

“Well, wait a minute.” He tugged on the collar of his shirt. “I want you to be careful, okay.” I smiled, and my cheeks turned a little pink. He hesitated, smiled again. “I want you to know that you can call me no matter what the circumstances. This is your first real party. If anything happens, just call me, okay?”

Oh God. “Okay, Dad.”

“Don’t forget your pepper spray.”

God help me. “Okay. It’s in my jacket pocket. But I have to go.” I headed for the door and stopped while he walked down the stairs before me.

Mom was lying on the couch, her attention on the second season DVD of the Vampire Diaries.

“Bye, Mom.” So this is how Dad distracts her when he wants to change the subject.

Her eyes never moved away from Damon’s ridiculously hot body. “Have fun, oh, wait, and take Muffin out before you leave.”

Ugh! There was no point in arguing with her. Her head was so far gone. I huffed and grabbed Muffin, our miniature Pomeranian, from the floor where he was curled up nicely.

“Hurry up, Muffin.” I put him down and watched as he pranced around, smelling the small square of grass beside our one lonely shrub.

Keeping an eye on my watch, I eyed Muffin while he sniffed around our garage. Too bad we hadn’t gotten the Pit Bull Dad wanted. We wouldn’t have had to worry about an intruder.

“Hurry!” I walked toward him. He had started to growl. “Ugh, you little rat.” I reached for him, but he growled and snarled, his teeth nipping at the shrub. “What is it, babe?” I looked toward the bush, all alone beside our garage. Then the bush moved. Oh, snap. I backed away.

Eyeing the open garage door, I sprinted for it. Digging around in the corner for one of Dad’s golf clubs, I eased back around the corner. Muffin was still growling. Taking a deep breath, I faced the shrub.

“Okay, it’s probably a raccoon.” Taking the club, I swung it. I was just going to scare the little booger. In the midst of my swing, a shadow emerged, catching the club and snapping it into two pieces in front of me.

It took me two seconds, but I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Aaahhh!” The guy, robber, man, whoever, took another step toward me. It was at that moment, I noticed the black wings protruding from his back. That’s when I fainted.

***

I couldn’t have been out more than two minutes. When I opened my eyes a fast forward of scenes flooded my head. Please God tell me that was a dream. I sat up quickly. I was still lying on the ground where I had fainted. I blinked a few times and then noticed him standing against the garage. I stood up quickly. I was going to try and make a run for it. As soon as I took a step, he moved toward me. He gracefully glided, and with his movements, everything else seemed to sway around him. I took another step back. But a slinky darkness curled and formed around his amazing body. It looked almost like a moving shadow. His eyes never left mine. He grabbed my throat.

“Don’t hurt me!” I choked out. I began to cry, fumbling around in my pocket. I pulled out the bottle of pepper spray and, while swinging my legs and gasping for air, I sprayed him in the eyes.

“Ah! Damn you, worthless human.” He rubbed his eyes and with only a swipe of his hands, they were fine. I got up from where I had fallen to the ground and tried to run, but he caught me around the waist and pinned me up against him.

“Please, just leave me alone,” I sobbed and flailed with my feet trying to hit his legs.

“No. I need your help.” His voice was rough and harsh. It sounded as if he was in pain.

I let my body go still while he gently released me.

“Are you ignorant? Would you dare try to fight me?”

I shook my head. “What? Am I ignorant? Are you demonic?”

He gripped my arm, his pupils growing larger. “How dare you call me a demon! I resided in Heaven with the Lord.” My mouth was partly open in awe and confusion as I remembered the reason I fainted. The wings. What the hell? Are those fake?

Oh God! A religious man gone nutcase crazy!

“Okay, you’re not a demon, I’m sorry! You’re a—a…” I trailed off not really knowing how to respond such a bizarre statement.

“What are you?” I tried not to look at the wings but I couldn’t help it…oh God the wings.

His eyes grew paler, the light blue contrasted with his flawless dark skin. “Well, I’m a Horseman, damned to Earth.” Like the Heaven? Horsemen, like The Apocalypse?

I bit my lip, trying to hold in my nervous laughter, but it slipped.

“Angels normally come from Heaven and have white wings. And they don’t try to kill people. What kind of thing would come from Heaven that had black wings?”

His eyes seemed to harden. A radiating heat seeped off of his body toward mine. “How dare you mock me, imbecile? I’m a Horseman not an angel. The Horsemen are not what you people really think. I was appointed a Horseman when I died. My brothers and I will lead The Apocalypse. We’ve each been given different titles.”

I didn’t know what to say, because as much as it seemed unreal to hear him, or see him standing in front of me, I was starting to believe he was something supernatural. “So you’re saying you are a Horseman,” I whispered, backing away from him. I was eyeing my car and tightening my hands around my car keys.

“Dare you run? Are you that full of stupidity?” He stepped forward. “Help me, and I will leave you be.”

I swallowed hard. “What do you need?”

“Shelter.”

I bit my lip while trying to make some sense out of all of this. My eyes traveled down his body and I noticed a deep bleeding gash on his side. I cringed. How many different ways could helping him go wrong? I motioned for him to follow me.

I was intrigued. His wings were such a deep, dark black that they gave midnight a run for its money. His face was calm yet menacing. His bare chest was chiseled and his long, black hair waved around his face. His abs curved down to a perfect V peeking out of his pants. But it wasn’t just his utter beauty and enthralling pale blue eyes that struck me. It was what was folded around his back. I couldn’t seem to stop looking at them. “Are those fake?” I mumbled to myself, taking a step back. I noticed again that his side was bleeding. It looked really gross and bad.

I blinked, twice. Watching this Horseman, or so he called himself, walk around my old tree-house in our back yard was not anything that I ever thought I would be doing. The tree-house had been built on the lowest limb of a large shady oak.

The man’s beauty was unfolding in front of me as he walked around examining everything. “What is this?” he almost snarled.

I flinched. The black aura around him was frightening. It billowed out around his body and clung to his every move. And I was too afraid to ask what it was. I pulled out a blanket from a wooden chest in the corner. “What’s your name?”

“Darrton.”

“I’m Lizzie. Well, my real name is Elizabeth.”

His pale eyes darted to mine. For a moment he looked like he was in pain, then he blinked and it was gone. “Where can I find water?”

“I’ll have to go inside—”

“Why? Isn’t there a well?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Well, there is a water tower but no we don’t have well water. We have city water.”

His blank stare told me he had no idea what I was talking about. “I’ll be right back.” I hurried down the ladder and rushed toward the back door. I couldn’t let my mom see me, or she would wonder first, why I wasn’t off seeing the guy I had been crushing on forever, and second, why in the hell I was taking a pitcher of water out to our tree-house at this time a night. Since Mom was still drooling over Damon, and the rest of my family was locked in their rooms doing whatever they did in there, I made it back out without anyone noticing.

When I made it back up to the tree-house, Darrton was looking in a chest and didn’t even bother to stop when I walked in. “What is this?” He pointed into the chest.

I walked over to where I could peer inside, standing as far away from him as possible. “It’s an old TV.”

He furrowed his brow. “Yes, but what is a TV?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Does it look like I am teasing with you, girl?”

“Stop talking to me like I’m an idiot. Why don’t you know what a TV is?”

“Well, stop acting like one. We didn’t have that when I was here on earth.”

I stomped my foot and his eyes darted down to my feet. “Do you want my help or not?” He stood still. I knew I wouldn’t get an apology. “A TV is a machine which brings us pictures from places where people go and act out shows so that we can watch them.” He didn’t reply. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Ugh. I sighed. “Like plays only we can see them in our homes,” I said.

He nodded. “I see.”

Finally. I pointed toward the twin size bed in the corner. “That is where you can sleep. Here is your water.” I handed it to him and he gulped it down in one swallow. “And there are some more old blankets under the bed there.”

He didn’t even look.

“Why are you here?” I whispered.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

I shifted my weight. “I live here!”

He was really pissing me off. I opened my mouth to say something else but just then my cell phone rang. I reached for it and Darrton snatched me up and held me against him.

“What is that? Get down!”

I ended up on the floor again. “What the hell!” I screamed. “It’s just my cell phone.”

“Your what?” He watched me wiggle on the floor as I dug around in my pocket.

“Hello?”

“What the fudge! Where the hades are you, comrade?” Millie screamed on the other end of the line, over the music from the party.

I sighed. “I’m kind of held up right now. You are never going to believe this!” I laughed. I heard Millie yelling as Darrton snatched my cell away from me. I had barely registered that he had taken it and in the same instant my phone was crumbled up in his hands.

“Dare you tell a soul and I will kill you myself!” My mouth hung open and I could feel the tears burning to break free. He glared at me. “Don’t you dare weep over such a device.”

I gritted my teeth and my tongue clicked nervously. I stumbled to my feet felt a tirade coming on. “You listen here. I am helping your ass out and you do this!” I pointed to the crumbled up phone on the floor! “I had a date tonight! With a boy! A boy I really like and you’re ruining it for me!”

Darrton stared at me without an ounce of sympathy in his glare. His face was a mask, not one emotion showing. “I no longer need your attendance. You’re making me ill. I want nothing more than for you to leave.”

Hell no! “You’re making me leave my own tree-house?”

“Yes, now leave, child, while I still have my patience.”

I clenched my fists and my eyes meet his sharply. “You’re an ass! I was going to help you with your wound but I’m not now.”

He laughed without humor. “I don’t need your help. I can tend to my injury alone. Would you like me to escort you out? Or will you leave voluntarily?”

“Why don’t you just leave?” I yelled.

He cocked an eyebrow. “I have nowhere else to go. Now, are you going to leave?”

I stomped my foot, twisted around on my heel, and fled.

I mumbled to myself all the way down and into the house. Stupid ass! I just met the…whatever he was—two seconds ago and already I hated him. I glanced back up at the tree-house and saw that he watched me through the window.

***

This had to be the most dreadful night I had ever had. I was already an hour late for the party so I didn’t even bother. Trevor had probably already found another girl to dance with. Not to mention my Android was demolished. I slipped into a night shirt and pouted myself into bed. There was a part of my brain telling me this was a dream. There was no way anyone would have believed he was damned, one of the Four Horsemen, or anything even relating to that. He could kill my family. The thought of him being so close to us frightened me. But if I didn’t help him, I felt there was a bigger chance of him hurting us.

Two hours later, after laying down and feeling sorry for myself, I heard a tap on my window. I sat up in my bed. Oh no! Crazy religious guy is coming to kill me. I slipped out of my bed and dug through my closet for my softball bat as another tap came. Sliding gently across the hardwood floor I peeked out the window. It was too dark to see anything. I raised the blind carefully. I heard someone fiddling around with the window. When it slid open, I raised my bat and said, “I didn’t tell anyone.”

“Lizzie,” Trevor said from the tree outside my window. “Wait, it’s me!”

I dropped the bat and stumbled back bumping into a chair. “Shit!”

Trevor laughed, pulled himself in, and reached over to help me up. There was light spilling in from the hallway. I wished it had been off, so he couldn’t have seen me fall on my ass. While I was catching my breath, Trevor reached around in the dark where my bedside lamp was and turned it on. It hit me suddenly—he was in my room and I was only in a shirt! Oh God! What have I done to deserve such punishment?

Trevor glanced down to my legs and a smile spread across his face. “I’m sorry if I caught you at a bad time, but I wanted to come and see if you were all right.”

I opened my mouth to say something but realized I didn’t know what to say. I surely didn’t want Darrton bursting in and killing us both. “I wasn’t—”

Trevor stepped forward and his cologne seemed to wrap all the way around me. “It’s okay. Millie told me you had an unexpected visitor.”

Oh shit! How did she know that? “What…”

He laughed. “It’s okay I have two sisters. I’m not grossed out by it like a lot of guys.”

Visitor? Grossed out? I’m going to choke her in her sleep. I blushed, a violet red, and clicked my tongue. Oh she is so getting it. “Yeah well, I guess it’s something I can’t help.” Damn her. I’m going to kill her. I was so not even on my period!

He stepped forward again and I took a deep breath. “So, are you feeling okay?” he asked.

I smiled. “Yes, listen, I’m really sorry about tonight. I wanted to go so badly. You have no idea.”

“Yeah, I think I do. It’s okay. I completely understand.” He smiled. I watched in sheer pleasure as Trevor walked around my room. I took in his short-sleeved shirt that was fit snugly to his chest. The baseball cap he wore was on backwards and his short brown hair was only showing at the top of his head. His jeans were low on his hips and fit him perfectly. I pulled my shirt as far down as it would go while his back was to me. God! Please just let my shirt grow three inches! I swear I won’t be mean to the crazy religious guy out back!

When I looked up Trevor was staring at me. I tried hard not to show the nervousness that was crawling up my body. “So, this is your room?” he asked.

I had not even been thinking about him looking at my semi-messy room, I felt my blush deepen.

“Yea, it’s a little messy. I haven’t had time to clean it up.” I reached up to scratch my neck, even though it wasn’t itching. Trevor had a smile on his face and a glint of hunger in his eyes. Apparently, he was having a hard time keeping his eyes off my legs. I couldn’t help but let a warm mixture of pleasure and nerves swarm through my body.

He pointed to a picture on the wall. “That’s your sister, Samantha, right?”

I nodded, clicking my tongue. “Yea, that’s little miss diva.”

He laughed. “My older sister couldn’t be any different.” His hands were tucked into his pockets and he swayed back and forth. He picked up my butterfly necklace which was sitting on my dresser, and glanced up at the butterfly painting on my wall. “You have a thing for butterflies?” he asked. “You never told me that before.”

“Yeah, my mom gave me that necklace a long time ago and it just stuck.”

He nodded. “It’s nice.”

Trying to change the subject, I said, “So, did you have fun at the party?” I bit my tongue as soon as I asked. I couldn’t help but think he had been with someone else. Holding their hand? Kissing them? It made me sick to even think about it.

He glanced at me sideways and a laugh escaped his lips. “No, actually,” he said while taking a few steps toward me. “It wasn’t fun at all.”

I gave a sigh of relief. “Why not?”

“Because I thought you stood me up.” He was closer now, his voice low. “Because you weren’t there.”

A white hot rush flowed over me and my most personal spots warmed. I could see the desire in his face. The dark blue in his eyes glistened in the light of the moon. His pupils were dilating as he placed his hands,—one on the side of my neck, and the other on my hip. I felt a breeze on my leg when he pulled me in and my shirt climbed up. I gasped for breath. This was not happening. Trevor was going to kiss me. Holy bananas, he is. Not that he hadn’t kissed me before, but this time was different. We were alone in my room and I was half naked. Thank God I brushed my teeth!

He smiled as he brushed a stray hair from my face. I couldn’t breathe, let alone say one word. I was too nervous to try. It would probably come out as an incoherent blabber. He pulled us together, until there was no space. I placed one hand on his bicep and the other on his back, feeling the firmness of his body against mine. He was so close now. His peppermint breath on my face, he parted his lips and touched his mouth to mine.

Squeak!

Trevor and I jerked back. His eyes were huge. I pointed toward the window. He didn’t even need an explanation. He ran toward it and climbed down the tree outside.

Squeak!

I ran toward my bed and jumped under the covers. My door knob jiggled and opened slightly. I closed my eyes shut. Please don’t let it be my dad or mom.

“Child!”

Ah hell. I shot up and jumped out of bed. “What are you doing in here? You aren’t supposed to be in the house! How are you getting in?”

Darrton’s eyes narrowed and he brushed me off. “Everyone is asleep. I—what’s that smell?”

I sniffed. “What smell?”

He turned his head toward the open window. “Who just came through that window?”

I stiffened. “No one.”

“Do not lie to me, child. I am all knowing.”

I jerked back. “You’re not God.”

Darrton’s eyes grew wide and his jaw clenched. “Shut your mouth. Do not speak of things you know nothing about.”

“Sure, says the guy that is all knowing!” His fist tightened and the muscles in his arms jerked. I wouldn’t want to be punched by that guy. “What are you doing in here, anyway?”

“Answer my question and I shall answer yours.”

I sighed and held the bridge of my nose. “Trevor.”

“Is this a male?”

“Yes, your highness, he was of the male gender.”

“Do not mock me, child.”

“Stop calling me child! I am not a child.”

“You’re acting that way.”

“Oh my God in Heaven. What do you need? I answered your question, now spit it out.”

“I need more water. I am parched.”

I gritted my teeth. I watched Darrton’s eyes and noticed again the sinfully, pale blue color of them. They were hard to miss. They were the prettiest, scariest thing I had ever seen in my entire life. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

He pointed to my legs. “Cover yourself up. This is not the way a lady should be clothed.”

“It’s called sleeping. I was asleep, and it doesn’t matter.”

He watched me closely. “Water please.”

I stomped downstairs to the kitchen. Turning the faucet on, I looked at the back door. I noticed the lock that was still broken. I stopped. That ass. I walked back up and Darrton was sitting on my bed. I pointed. “You!”

His sin-filled eyes darted toward me. “Yes?”

“You are the one that broke in last night?”

“Broke in? I was merely looking at my surroundings. I would never take what is not mine.”

“Don’t do that again. My mother was scared to death.”

“Yes, I heard her bellowing all the way outside. What an awful sound.”

“Please, drink your water and go back outside.”

He grasped the glass and had turned it up to drink when he clenched his side. It was oozing blood and the cut seemed to be deep. I remembered the blood on the carpet we had seen this morning when we got up. That’s where the blood on the carpet came from.

I took a step closer. “Are you all right?”

He backed away. “I do not need your help. It will heal itself.” Pus oozed out of it as he drank the last of his water.

“Are you sure—”

“Yes, I will not say it again.” His eyes, so pale, flashed toward me and I knew I wouldn’t ask again. “Now, thank you for my water, but I must get my rest. I have plenty of things to do.”

I gaped at him. He had started to pace my floor. I watched in amazement as his black wings, laid in a perfect pattern, folded against his back. Those couldn’t be fake, could they? “I thought you were leaving,”

He ignored me and continued to pace, his wings shuttered to his back. I gasped. “Can I touch—”

I was reaching for his wing when his hand stopped mine.

“Under no circumstances may you ever touch my wings.”

I swallowed hard and flinched at the shot of pain in my wrist. “They’re real, aren’t they?”

He released my hand. “I told you they were, and I will not tell you again. Goodnight, child.”

I crawled back into bed and listened as his footsteps faded into silence. I didn’t know what the hell was going on but I intended to find the hell out.

Confessions from Romaholics:

Sunday, September 8, 2013: Tash of Confessions from Romaholics reviews Damned ~ The Damned Series ~ Book 1.

She says: “I just finished reading this book and I cannot help but wonder how many things or lives can change as a result of a major event having a big impact on humanity. From my point of view, “Damned” is a pretty nice book with an interesting life story in which the adolescent period drama is entwined with more serious problems that can confront a young 17 year old (like the end of the world). We have here some teens pulling pranks and eager to complicate their ordinary lives. Don’t expect to find any sex scenes we’ve grown accustomed to finding in other paranormal romance books, but I don’t think you will feel the loss of them, however; you will be too busy thinking about all the action taking place…The story itself was interesting, and I appreciate that the author wrote the book from two perspectives, two voices: Lizzie and Darrton’s. I love to read a book and see from the perspective of each character, what he or she feels and is thinking at times.” READ FULL REVIEW