Publication Date: May 29, 2014
Carina Press
eBook; ISBN: 9781426898365
Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Paranormal/New Adult
2013 RWA Golden Heart© Finalist
2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist
The power to heal is her divine gift, the fear of discovery, her mortal curse.
Selah Kilbrid is caught between two worlds. A direct descendant of the Celtic goddess Brigid, she is bound by Tuatha Dé law to help those in need. Yet as a human, she must keep her unique abilities hidden or risk being charged for a witch. In 1730 Pennsylvania, the Quaker community of Hopewell has become a haven for religious freedom—and fanaticism—and there are those who would see her hanged if the truth were revealed.
For eighteen years, Selah safely navigates the narrow gap between duty and self-preservation, until the day a prominent minister uncovers her secret. Obsessed with her power, Nathan Crowley disregards her betrothal to a distant cousin from Ireland and demands marriage in exchange for his silence. Selah stalls for time, but when news reaches the Colonies of her cousin’s death, time has run out.
Rather than submit to Nathan, Selah coerces a stranger to pose as her husband. It’s a good plan—her only plan—even though Henry Alan harbors his own dark secrets. But when she returns to Hopewell a married woman, the real fight has just begun. As unseen forces move against her, Selah doesn’t know which poses the greater danger—a malignant shadow closing in from outside or the internal fire that threatens to consume her heart.
Book Two in the Goddess Born series will be published in November 2014 and Book Three in June 2015.
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About the Author
Kari Edgren did not dream of becoming a writer. Instead, she dreamed of everything else and was often made to stay inside during kindergarten recess to practice her letters. Despite doting parents and a decent school system, Ms. Edgren managed to make it through elementary school having completed only one book cover to cover – The Box Car Children, which she read approximately forty-seven times. Things improved during high school, but not until she read Gabrielle Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude in college, did she truly understand the power of a book.
Ms. Edgren aspires to be a Vulcan, a world-acclaimed opera singer, and two inches taller. She resides in the Pacific NW where she spends a great deal of time torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts. Ms. Edgren hasn’t stopped dreaming, but has finally mastered her letters enough to put the stories on paper.
For more information please visit Kari Edgren's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
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Goddess Born Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, September 22
Review at Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, September 23
Review at By the Book Reviews
Spotlight at Passages to the Past
Wednesday, September 24
Review at The Readers Hollow
Interview at Manga Maniac Cafe
Thursday, September 25
Review at Book Babe
Friday, September 26
Review at Curling Up With a Good Book
Sunday, September 28
Spotlight & Excerpt at Casual Readers
Monday, September 29
Review at Unabridged Chick
Review at The Mad Reviewer
Tuesday, September 30
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick
Wednesday, October 1
Review & Excerpt at Book Lovers Paradise
Thursday, October 2
Review at Books, Etc.
Review at 100 Pages a Day - Stephanie's Book Reviews
Friday, October 3
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Monday, October 6
Review at Bookish
Guest Post at Historical Fiction Connection
Tuesday, October 7
Spotlight & Giveaway at The Flashlight Reader
Wednesday, October 8
Review at A Bookish Affair
Thursday, October 9
Review at The True Book Addict
Friday, October 10
Review at CelticLady's Reviews
Monday, October 13
Review at Book Nerd
Interview at The Maiden's Court
Tuesday, October 14
Review at I'd So Rather Be Reading
Wednesday, October 15
Review at Let Them Read Books
Thursday, October 16
Review at A Book Geek
Guest Post at Historical Tapestry
Friday, October 17
Review at Historical Tapestry
my thoughts:
This book has a bit of everything! Truly something for everyone. There is romance, history, suspense, and a bit of supernatural power. Witch hunts and sword fights. I told you, something for everyone.
I really enjoyed this book. I was drawn in from page one. The main character, Selah Kilbrid is a different kind of girl. She is 'goddess born'. A descendant of an Irish goddess. She must keep this a secret from others who fear anyone different than themselves. She resides in a Quaker community in Pennsylvania.
Selah is a strong willed young woman, you will instantly love her, whether you agree with her or not. Kari Edgren has created a wonderful character in Selah.
Henry Alan, a young indentured servant who becomes Selah's make believe husband is a powerful character in his own right. From the very beginning, the reader knows there is more than meets the eye with Henry. I won't give anything away, but his story will just fascinate you. He is a fabulous character and you can feel him falling in love with Selah throughout the book.
I think any lover of historical fiction will fall in love with this book. I look forward to more by this author.
I give this book 5 stars because it contains everything I look for in a book.
and now we have a special excerpt from GODDESS BORN
Excerpt 1
I didn’t stop running until Brighmor was well out of view. With my heart pounding, I ducked out of sight behind a large oak tree to wait. A good ten minutes passed before my heart finally slowed, and I felt confident that Henry hadn’t followed me. Returning to the narrow pathway, I walked at a more leisurely pace, throwing the occasional furtive look over my shoulder as I went deeper and deeper into the woods to the manmade alcove that had been built right into the sidhe, or small earthen mound.
Years ago my grandparents had carved away enough dirt to stack large rocks three feet high, forming a wall in the shape of a half-moon. It measured about twelve feet from end to end with an arc deep enough to accommodate my full height if I were inclined to lie down. In the middle of the arc stood an altar, hewn from a piece of gray granite that had been sealed to the earth by my grandmother’s blood mixed with a handful of sacred dirt brought over from the Old World. Green and brown lichen grew on the stones, and dense foliage pushed up along the perimeter, ready to spill over into the clearing.
With the rock wall behind me, I knelt down at the altar and set the dried herbs on the smooth stone surface, charred black from countless fires. Finding the flint, I struck it repeatedly to release a shower of white sparks over the bundle. As it started to smolder, fragrances of cowslip, angelica, and goat’s rue rose up. With a long, deep breath, I pulled the smoke inside, letting it inundate my senses. Then I began to recite the ancient words in preparation to cross over.
Brigid Buadach, Buaid na fine, Siur Rig nime, Nar in duine,
Eslind luige, Lethan breo. Riar na n-oiged, Oibel ecnai,
Ingen Dubthaig, Duine uallach, Brigid buadach, Brigid
buadach.
The physical world began to waver. Keeping my voice to a low monotone, I repeated the Gaelic words. At the end of the third repetition, the trees and stones, the smoldering bundle, all flickered in and out of view, then disappeared altogether as my soul passed into to the Otherworld.
For a moment, there was nothing more than thick gray mist and the memory of burning herbs. I stepped out of the mist into the warm sunlight at the edge of Brigid’s garden, free of the night and my body that remained kneeling at the altar.
