Blog Tour: Book Excerpt and Giveaway: Path Unchosen by Kim Cleary

Hi everyone! Krishna here. Welcome to Journey with Books! We're featuring Path Unchosen by Ms. Kim Cleary. You'll get to know more about this intriguing book and there's a giveaway all of you shouldn't miss. So read on and have fun. 

Title: Path Unchosen

Series: Daughter of Ravenswood #1

Author:  Kim Cleary

Publication Date: September 7th 2013

Genre: Dark Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Book Blurb:

When eighteen-year-old Judy Hudson discovers she’s a necromancer and sees first-hand the pain her powers can cause the dead, she just wants to deny who she is. The zombie plague is long over. She wants to find a more normal life, but that’s a challenge when a beautiful otherworldly man, who claims to be her guardian, saves her life.

Judy tries to set right the harm she inflicted on a spirit she raised, but new zombies attack—zombies raised from among the long-time dead. Someone else just like her is out there, and he’s not trying to set anything right. To save her own life, and protect the innocent inhabitants of the nearby town who’ve become her friends, Judy has to figure out who’s raising the dead and why. She must also learn to control the darkness inside her—a seductive darkness that promises her power beyond her wildest dreams.

Book Excerpt:

I shouldn’t still be here.

The sisters find jobs for everyone before their eighteenth birthdays, but mine came and went, unnoticed, two weeks ago. 

I blew hot breath on my hands and crunched across the frost-covered ground. Chickens clucked and pecked at my heels until I filled all the feeding troughs. There was no point in pestering the sisters about why they’d forgotten me. They would just find even worse punishments for me. I would have to leave and find work on my own. I couldn’t bear spending the rest of my life doing mundane chores around St. Stephen’s Orphanage. 

I picked the eggs out of the laying baskets, wiped them clean, and then placed them in the bucket. Twenty-three eggs today. At least Cook would be pleased. 

In the last basket, instead of an egg, a lump of brown fur nestled amongst the hay. I groaned so loud the noise would have scared a healthy rabbit away. I lowered the egg bucket and leaned forward. My breath formed a cloud of white air that hung over the limp body.

I carefully lifted the rabbit from the prickly straw bed, but it sagged glassy-eyed and dead in my hand. I stroked its silky fur and whispered to the cold body. Butterflies squirmed in my stomach, and an army of tiny feet danced across my skin. I rubbed my finger gently where I thought the rabbit’s heart might be. It felt right, like I had to do it. 

A heavy weight pushed against my chest. What was happening to me? I forced myself to focus, but the effort drained me. I sank to my knees and sagged against the bowed shelf.

The rabbit twitched and seemed to whisper back to me. I jerked up straight. Its eyes flicked open and looked right into mine, and its back feet kicked into my wrist as it squirmed to get free. I eased back onto my heels and sucked deep breaths into tight lungs. 

“Judy!” Sister Margaret hurried across the shed. “What are you doing? Are you hurt?”
I couldn’t let her catch me again. This happened once before, a month ago when a dead otter wriggled off my lap right in front of Sister Beatrice. I’d ended up locked in the library for the rest of the day and overnight.

I let the rabbit go. It darted under a pile of hay and, I hoped, out through the hole at the bottom of the shed. 

I scrambled to my feet and grabbed the bucket. “No, Sister, I’m fine.”

“Then why are you dilly dallying? You’ll be late for the guest speaker. Give me that.” She snatched the bucket from my hand. “No time for breakfast. Go directly to the hall.”

I raced along the tiled colonnade, trying to tuck bits of stray hair into my ponytail as I ran. With a bit of luck I wouldn’t be the last one to clatter into the hall. I turned the corner and reeled back. 

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author:

Kim writes urban fantasy for anyone who longs to discover they are extraordinary. She writes about hopefulness and determination, and about heroes who push through extraordinary situations and obstacles, one step at a time. Magical friends and gorgeous guys help, or hinder, in one adventure after another.

When not writing, revising, or thinking about writing, Kim gardens, plays with her dog, chats on social media, catches up with friends or cooks an Indian feast. She is a member of Writers Victoria, Romance Writers of Australia, The Alliance of Independent Authors, and a certified chocoholic.

Kim grew up in Birmingham, UK, studied medieval history and psychology at Adelaide University in South Australia and has worked all over Australia and in London. She now lives with her husband and an adorable Cocker Spaniel in Melbourne, Australia.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway:

-A signed copy 

-2x 20$ Amazon Gift Cards

a Rafflecopter giveaway