THE FALLEN : Genesis (Deadly Virtues 0.5) by Tillie Cole-Review and Excerpt
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 28, 2019
The Fallen: Genesis is a prequel novella in The Deadly Virtues Series and MUST be read before RAPHAEL (DV: book one).
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THE FALLEN: GENESIS
(A Deadly Virtues Prequel)
IN THE BEGINNING…
They told them they were evil.
They told them they were possessed by demons.
They told them that darkness ran in their veins.
Holy Innocents Home for Children is a haven for orphaned boys who have nothing and no one. The priests watch over them, educate them, raise them in the family of the church.
Except for some.
Seven of the orphans are no ordinary boys. They attract the attention of the priests for their acts of violence, of bloodlust. The priests realize these boys are drawn to the darkness.
And the priests are no ordinary priests. They are the Brethren, a secret sect who believe themselves on a divine mission to seek out evil in the boys in their care. Seek it out, and then drive it out.
The seven have fallen from God’s grace. And the Brethren will cleanse their blackened souls…
Dark Contemporary Romance novella. Contains sexual situations, violence, sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language and topics some may find triggering. Recommended for age 18 years and up.
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REVIEW: THE FALLEN : Genesis is the prequel novella in Tillie Cole’s contemporary, adult DEADLY VIRTUES dark, romance series focusing on a group of former orphans raised and tortured by a rogue organization of priests known as The Brethren.
NOTE: Due to the dark subject matter, there may be some triggers for more sensitive reasers.
Told from third person perspective (Joseph aka Gabriel) THE FALLEN: Genesis follows a group of orphaned boys, believed to be possessed by demons, who must endure years of violence and torture in the name of Jesus Christ and God. The seven, who will come to be known as The Fallen, named for the archangels of the Catholic faith, must submit to their controllers in an attempt to rid them of the darkness within. At the age of eighteen, Joseph aka Gabriel, will be offered his freedom, a freedom that comes at a cost. Fast forward ten years, wherein Gabriel is now the leader of The Fallen, and their paths have been chosen based on sins of the past.
THE FALLEN: Genesis introduces the The Fallen: a group of young boys, now men whose baser instincts go against the norm. A dark, gritty and raw look at the evil that lies within men, and the lengths some will go to in order for power and control.
Copy supplied for review.
Review by Sandy
NOTE: Excerpt intended for mature readers 18+ due to graphic content
Joseph shivered as he recalled his brother’s expression a moment ago as he’d sat and stared at the knives he had sliced into the boy’s flesh. James, the sadistic voyeur of his own work. Joseph’s nervous eyes landed on his brother’s target. The boy was bound with ropes, and a washcloth was stuffed into his mouth, silencing his cries.
Luke.
Fear flooded Joseph’s body. Luke, the boy who had been intent on bullying James since the age of eight. The boy who would spit at James’s feet when they walked by. The boy who call him weird, a goth, a psychopath who rarely spoke. His taunts were endless. Joseph didn’t think the verbal bullets had ever hit their target . . . until he’d found a pad of paper hidden underneath James’s bed. A pad of paper showing in graphic detail what James wanted to do to Luke.
Tie him up.
Cut his flesh.
Exsanguinate his body.
Then drink the blood down.
“They’re just fantasy, right?” Joseph asked James when he returned from detention. Joseph held up the drawings. Page after page of pain and despair and cruelty.
James walked slowly to Joseph and ran his hand down the open page of the pad, delicately running his fingertip over the pencil image of Luke’s slit throat. “It’s a promise,” James said, with no shame in his voice. “Each page is what will happen to Luke.” James finally met his older brother’s eyes. “I’m just waiting for the perfect time.”
From that day on Joseph made sure Luke never got too close to James, for fear of what his younger brother would do. Because Joseph believed every word his brother had said.
The truth was, Joseph knew that someday, if he wasn’t stopped, James would do something so terrible he wouldn’t be able to come back from it.
And Joseph had no idea how to cure James. He didn’t know how to heal his little brother of the wretchedness that had lodged itself into his soul. He prayed for a miracle he knew would never come.
Joseph’s heart pounded as James held up another knife. His brother’s torso was bare, the scars from his frequent self-mutilation clear to see, white roads of flesh mapping the veins that ran under his skin. Veins that carried the blood James so desperately craved; nightly, once safe in their room, he would slice them open and lick the falling drops as they ran in crimson rivulets down his arms.
Joseph thrashed on the bed, fighting the binds James must have placed him in while he slept. “James, listen to me,” Joseph said as he helplessly watched his brother slowly push his blade into Luke’s shoulder. Luke’s chair almost fell as he screamed into the washcloth, the fabric absorbing his cry. But James didn’t even flinch. Joseph’s stomach clenched when the blood started to pour from Luke’s shoulder as James carefully extracted the blade.
Eleven. That’s all James was. Eleven years old, yet thought only of blood . . . worse, even . . . thought only about the consumption of blood.
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.
Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.
Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.
Author Links
Web http://tilliecole.com
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Amazon https://amzn.to/2ZbIEUP
Goodreads http://bit.ly/2Ui2wlk
Great review, Sandy. Another dark romance.
Looks amazing, thanks Sandy
Thanks for another wonderful review.
Great review, great excerpt, definitely looks dark and raw.
Very nice review , Sandy. Thanks.
Thanks for another great review Sandy.
very nice review sandy. looks interesting.
Another fantastic review. I’ve been hearing some good things about this new series.
Wonderful review and excerpt, thanks.
Great review, Sandy. Looks good. Thanks.