Kissed (The Thorn Chronicles #1)
Release Date: 05/01/14
Summary from Goodreads:
Trapped in a dark cult, sixteen-year-old Naomi Aren has lived a quiet, albeit unhappy, life nestled deep in the hills of the Ozarks. With uncut hair, denim skirts, and only roses for friends, Naomi seldom questions why her life is different from other kids at school. Until the day her abusive father, who is also the cult’s leader, announces her wedding. Naomi must marry Dwayne Yerdin, a bully who reeks of sweat and manure and is the only one person who scares her worse than her father.
Then she meets Kai, the mysterious boy who brings her exotic new roses and stolen midnight kisses. Kisses that bring her a supernatural strength she never knew she had. As the big day approaches, Naomi unearths more secrets of about her father’s cult. She learns she has power of her own and while Kai may have awakened that power, Naomi must find a way to use it to escape Dwayne and her father—without destroying herself.
Trapped in a dark cult, sixteen-year-old Naomi Aren has lived a quiet, albeit unhappy, life nestled deep in the hills of the Ozarks. With uncut hair, denim skirts, and only roses for friends, Naomi seldom questions why her life is different from other kids at school. Until the day her abusive father, who is also the cult’s leader, announces her wedding. Naomi must marry Dwayne Yerdin, a bully who reeks of sweat and manure and is the only one person who scares her worse than her father.
Then she meets Kai, the mysterious boy who brings her exotic new roses and stolen midnight kisses. Kisses that bring her a supernatural strength she never knew she had. As the big day approaches, Naomi unearths more secrets of about her father’s cult. She learns she has power of her own and while Kai may have awakened that power, Naomi must find a way to use it to escape Dwayne and her father—without destroying herself.
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Excerpt
My father and Mr. Yerdin talked of politics and religion, not once
acknowledging that anyone else sat at the table. Of course, I shouldn’t have
been surprised since more than one sermon had been preached about the place of
women and children. We were inferior and didn’t deserve an opinion that
differed from our husbands’ or fathers’, so it was best that we just didn’t say
anything at all. As the conversation turned to the medical experiments Dad
performed on the dog that had been dumped in our yard last week, I tuned out
and tried to think of what I would get if I crossed an Iceberg rose with a
Sunsprite. A nice pale yellow and only a few thorns. Could be interesting. If
Grandma were still alive, she’d appreciate it.
A quick glance at the clock told me they’d only been here forty-five
minutes, but it felt like days. After another excruciating hour, Mother
presented the cake. The carrot cake (my father’s favorite) had sixteen candles
on it. I had not had a cake with candles since my eighth birthday. On that day,
the cake was chocolate, my favorite, but that was before Father went insane. I
missed those days, the ones before he went crazy. When he would come home and
take me canoeing and fishing. When we would wake up early on Saturdays and go
to breakfast at Sheila’s Café. I blinked back tears thinking of the father he
used to be.
After the cake, I moved to help my mother clean up, but Father put a hand
on my wrist, a signal to stay seated. The skin burned where he touched it.
“See,” my father said, “she’s obedient.”
Mr. Yerdin grinned. “Yes, of course she is. I wouldn’t expect anything
less from you, Dr. Aren. Dwayne, what do you think?”
Dwayne shrugged and shifted his eyes. Me, I kept my mouth shut and
listened for the words that weren’t being said.
Mr. Yerdin eyed me up and down. “Well she certainly has the required
blond hair and blue eyes.”
“And she’s a virgin.” My father spoke this a little too loudly and I
flinched. My mother paused before picking up Mr. Yerdin’s plate. She met my
father’s eyes and nodded. Then the corners of her mouth turned up ever so
slightly.
My stomach sank at the thought of what my birthday surprise would be.
Although part of me did not want to hear the rest of the conversation, but to
escape back into the quiet world of flowers and dirt, another part of me needed
to know what my future held, where being a virgin was important.
I cleared my throat. Dwayne smiled a wide toothy smile and my father
glowered like I’d done something wrong. Which, of course I had, but it would be
worth the punishment if I got the answers I needed.
“Could someone please explain?” There. I asked the question. So out of
character for me and yet satisfying in a strange way, like the way I felt when
a teacher praised me for a good job. I bit my bottom lip and tasted
butterscotch, which was weird because the cake we had, contained nothing of the
sort. While I knew asking questions was not an act of disobedience, I also
recognized the power in the asking. As if I was taking control, even if that
control was small. I took a sip of my water. Father hesitated for a moment and
then frowned. He looked up and saw my mother standing in the kitchen, her eyes
boring into his. He didn’t look away from her when he answered me.
“You’ll be marrying Dwayne.”
About the Author:
Kimberly Loth can’t decide where
she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Utah,
California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the leap
and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. Currently, she lives in Cairo, Egypt
with her husband and two kids.
She is a high school math teacher by day (please don’t hold that against her)
and YA author by night. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy
adventures. Kissed is her first novel.
Author Links:
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