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Guest Post and Review: His Black Wings by Astric Yrigollen

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Jackie Paxson

I’d like to welcome Astrid here today.  She is taking over for a bit to promote her new book, His Black Wings.  Her book is such a good mesh of steam punk, young adult romance and fantasy.  Be sure to check out my review after Astrid’s take over.  So, without further adieu I hand the reigns over to Astrid Yrigollen, author of His Black Wings.

10 Things Reader’s Would Be Surprised To Know About You

10-I started playing video games at 5 years old back in the 80’s.

9-I went on to make my own video games for PCs.

8-Yes,I’m older then I look.

7-I believe chocolate cake should be its own food group.

6-I am a vegetarian almost vegan.

5-I speak 3 languages and want to learn a 4th.

4-I believe in God and have studied theology for the last 9 years.

3-I love baking.

2-I am really super(pathological) shy but sometimes have to act like I am not.

1-I used to work in a funeral home.

bookcover1font4Title: His Black Wings

Author: Astrid Yrigollen

Date Published: November 20th, 2012

Synopsis:
Claren Maidstone has been forced to flee her childhood home after the death of her parents and a vicious assault from a sadistic young man who intends to marry her. Claren changes her identity and finds employment as an assistant to the handsome Fredrick Lowood, a generous yet mysterious benefactor. However, she soon finds out his generosity comes at a price. Fredrick wishes for Claren to befriend his disfigured son who resides in seclusion at their estate, Westwind.

Fredrick Lowood knows what the history books do not teach, that the Grand Council built this new world of peace and beauty on hidden blood and greed. He has plotted for years to bring down the family that enslaved his own people. Suddenly, he has the last living heir in his grasp.

Etrigan Lowood rejects the world that forces him to hide. He is powerful, plagued with a terrible dark beauty: WINGS. It is these wings that carry him out only at night to watch the unwanted intruder in his home. A creature of refined instinct yet little social grace, he is strangely captivated by Claren but knows nothing of how her family’s dark past is intertwined with his own. Through their blossoming friendship, Etrigan realizes he still retains his human heart and yearns for Claren’s love.

Kurten Wandsworth is the only son of the Mayor of St.Marhen. Kurten lives his life fueled by cruelty and lust. Whatever he wants he takes and he wants Claren to be his wife even it if kills her. Scarred by Claren he hunts her down mercilessly until he can set a trap which she will never be able to escape from.

Excerpt:

Fredrick’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud crashing sound as he saw the double doors to his library burst open with tremendous force. They slammed against the inside walls to his library and bounced back.

“Etrigan. How good to see you so soon after my arrival.” Fredrick said to his son, genuinely pleased.

            Perhaps this would work after all. Especially now that I have put my original design on hiatus.

A tall form clad in black strode into the room sending books and paper flying everywhere. Etrigan was a younger version of his handsome father. Jet black hair that desperately needed a haircut, it curled around the nape of his neck and ears. While his eyes were blue, they were the darkest blue, darker than his father’s. Eyes that displayed anger and inner torment one moment, and great passion the next. His strong Greek nose fit perfectly with the rest of his features, not underwhelming and not overpowering. Lips red and pouty were always set in either a frown or a scowl but never in a smile. When he stood without slouching he was taller than most men at six foot five. His form was muscular, yet lithe, graceful, and strong. In a word, Etrigan was beautiful in a masculine way. He would have been the envy of every man in the outside world and the desire of every woman who set eyes upon him, save for one thing.

His black wings.

They were massive, soft, and leather like, similar to the patagium of a bat, but thicker. They started off narrow, then projected outwards from between his shoulder blades. He had slim bones that ran through them in true bat like fashion. At each wing tip he had a menacing glossy black spike. A natural bone that was part of his wingtips, he could use these tips to rip flesh or gently move things in his way, so great was his control. At their full expansion his wing span was easily twelve feet.

Fredrick looked up at his son who now stood menacingly over him and recalled when he was a small child, he had broken one of the bones in his wings. It took him a month to heal. He had been trying to carry off a boar that was larger than himself. Always the little savage, he insisted on eating the boar before his wing was set with a splint.

Now his son’s wings were being held in but wanting to span out in anger.

“Why have you brought her here!?” He demanded harshly of his father. Fredrick sighed.

 Review:

This was a great read.  The blend of steam punk, young adult romance and fantasy all come together in phenomenal new book.  Claren and Etrigan are excellently devised characters.  They are well-rounded and thought out.  Their story alone allows them to grow together while learning more about themselves.  I also enjoyed Horace and Dekkar.  Their additional as at first loves for Claren and then friends for both Claren and Etrigan added another level to the story and helped the growth of both main characters.  I would say though if I had a complaint about this book it seemed that after finding out about the mines and the vaccines it seemed to be repeated in the same kind of detail that it is initially explained.  It was honestly the only part of the book that really dragged.  I understand that part of the story was pertinent, but I didn’t feel like it needed to be repeated after such detail and care was taken with that topic the first time through.  Overall, this was an excellent book.  I would hope that we would see more of the 4 Musketeers in a series, but it did seem that this story was wrapped up in one book.  I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a unique dystopian young adult paranormal read.
I’d like to thank Astrid Yrigollen for stopping by today and Reading Addiction Blog tours for allowing me to host this stop.  For more information about Astrid you can click on her links below.  For more information about His Dark Wings you can go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble or any other book retailer.
astrid2Author Bio
Astrid Yrigollen is a native of the Bay area of California and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Astrid started writing stories for her friends in sixth grade. After working part time at a funeral home during high school, she channeled her love of story writing in to creating video games for PC’s which were featured in Shareware magazines.

In the early 1990’s she secured a position with International Video game giant, Sega of America but never lost her love for writing in traditional format. After leaving the video game industry, she worked briefly as a vet assistant, aiding in surgery until she found out she passes out at the site of blood!  Maintaining a great love of animals, but preferring work where there was no blood involved, Astrid became a boutique fashion designer for people ‘who like to dress like their dolls’, successfully placing her designs in boutiques in Europe, the U.S, and Australia.

She founded and now co-chairs with her husband for the California Coast Ball Jointed Doll Convention, an annual event for Japanese Super Dollfie Collectors. Astrid enjoys collecting dolls, Anime, video games, baking and sewing and is currently studying college level Japanese, her third language.

Works
She now enjoys writing Young Adult and Children’s books and has succeeded in putting out The Doughnut Tree, The Zombie Playground, A creature compilation , and The Mosswoods to name a few.

Website
His Black Wings Site 
Twitter – @AstridYrigollen
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