Catch Me When I Fall, by Vicki Leigh

Today I am joining in the Catch Me When I Fall blog hop! I have an excerpt from this excellent book, but firstly, what is it all about?

Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.

Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.

A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.

Genre: young-adult, urban-fantasy, paranormal-romance

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release: October 23, 2014

Cover Artist: Conzpiracy Digital Arts

Find Catch Me When I Fall Online:

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

Doesn't it sound awesome? I am sure you want to hear some of it so here's an excerpt:

The first Nightmare dropped into Kayla’s room from the ceiling like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. Its surprise attack caught me off guard for a moment, but I jumped into action and grabbed its foot, pulling the monster as far from the bed as possible. The Nightmare flipped around to attack me, and I dug my blade under its jaw. The beast screeched in pain before collapsing to the floor, its hands grasped around its neck as black blood sprayed from the creature’s throat. I wiped my hand and my blade on my handkerchief and kicked the bastard to the corner of the room for later disposal.

Samantha watched my every move. I was about to tell her to mind her own business when a Nightmare crawled through the wall behind Seth.

“Seth, drop!” I yelled.

He fell to the ground without hesitation, and I threw my dagger between the Nightmare’s eyes.

“Everybody move closer to the bed and face out. They’re getting wiser.”

Samantha and Seth obeyed my instructions. I stood at the foot of the bed with Samantha on my left and Seth on my right. Hendrik was already facing the headboard, so he’d shout if any tried to get in that way.

Two more Nightmares came in a similar fashion as the first, then three more entered through the walls. I grabbed one from the ceiling and threw it into the Nightmare on the far side of the room. Then I grabbed the other beast and threw it into the one directly across from Samantha. They crashed into each other like a bowling ball into a pin.

Knowing Samantha could handle those two and Seth would quickly dispose of his Nightmare, I ran at the two on the far side of the room. I threw my remaining dagger into the back of one of the Nightmare’s heads as it stood. The beast flopped to the ground, and the other—who was missing an ear—hissed a warning at me. But I didn’t back down.

I ducked when the Nightmare swiped at my face with clawed hands, and I jabbed the monster in the stomach. The butt of my hand punched the creature in the nose when it bent over with a groan. The Nightmare’s head tipped backward, and I used that moment to kick its legs out from under it. The beast fell to the floor with a yelp of surprise.

I tore my dagger out of the dead Nightmare’s head while the one-eared guy scrambled to its feet. Black blood oozed from the creature’s nose. It screeched at me like an angry hawk that couldn’t catch its prey, and I waited for the Nightmare to strike.

“Come on, bitch. Hit me.”

Instead of swiping at me again like I expected, the monster tried to tackle me. But I recovered quickly, using the Nightmare’s momentum to toss it over my shoulder. The beast fell to the ground behind me. I turned around and straddled its back, kneeling on the creature’s arms to keep it from getting up. From beneath me, the Nightmare squirmed and squealed, and in one quick movement, I wrapped my arms around its head and twisted, snapping the monster’s neck.

“God, Daniel. A dagger would’ve done the trick,” Samantha said. She and Seth dragged the other dead Nightmares to where mine laid on the floor. I helped them pile the heavy bodies, then Seth took a lighter out of his pocket and lit the corpses on fire. Their demonic blood burned hot and fast. We stepped back to avoid any accidental burns.

“Daniel has a natural flare for the barbaric,” Seth said.

“I do not.”

“Then do you want to tell me what that was?” Samantha asked.

I didn’t reply. I’d taken out my irritation on the Nightmares, transferring the anger mounting for myself toward them. Kayla had become an itch I couldn’t scratch. Tomorrow I would tell Giovanni to take me off her protection. As much as I hated to admit, I was emotionally compromised.

What are you waiting for? GO GET IT!

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