Everly, a homeless bicycle messenger who can see monsters, finds herself transported to a new world and must join a band of rebels to get home before war breaks out…

By Ceara Nobles

Sparks and Shadow, YA Fantasy, Riverside Press, 246 pp.

Seattle is full of monsters, and I’m the only one who can see them.

I’ve spent the last 17 years (AKA my whole life) pretending I can’t see the monsters who disguise themselves as humans. I may not have a place to live and my best friend may be moments away from getting in too deep with the city’s most dangerous drug lord, but I’m rolling with the status quo.

That is, until I save my arch enemy’s stupid life and find myself in a warehouse full of monsters.

Next thing I know, I’m in Monster Land (AKA not Seattle) and up to my ears in monsters, magic, and inevitable mayhem. If I want to get home, I have to join a band of revolutionaries and stay alive long enough to get back through the portal before war breaks out.

This’ll be a cinch.

Sparks and Shadow is a modern, action-packed YA portal fantasy featuring Fae mythology, magic, and slow-burn romance. This is the first book in the Rising Elements series.

Book Information

Release Date: March 4, 2022

Publisher: Riverside Press

Kindle eBook: ASIN: B09HRFLWSW; $3.99

Buy Links:

Amazon US | UK

First rule of surviving Monstrous Seattle—don’t let them know you can see them.

As far as I knew, I was the only one who could. Sure, some of the monsters interacted with humans, but they wore some sort of illusion. Sometimes, if I squinted and tilted my head to the side, I could almost see the disguise too. It flickered, shimmering in front of their true form like a mirage, and gave me a splitting migraine if I focused on it for too long.

I reached the door of the warehouse as Peter whipped around the corner. He swerved, narrowly avoiding my abandoned bike, and swore viciously when he saw me. Normally I would’ve given him the middle-finger salute with a cheeky grin, but my stomach was too busy trying to claw its way out of my throat.

Leave, I urged him silently. Get out of here before it’s too late.

The warehouse door swung open. The hinges screeched like they hadn’t been used in at least a hundred years. I turned away from Peter to face the monster standing in the doorway. It was at least eight feet tall, probably male, with blue skin and jagged tusks that extended from his canines and down past his chin. My eyes automatically rose to his face, well above mine.

I realized too late that his illusory face was much lower. The face of a handsome red-haired man shimmered in the middle of the monster’s massive chest.

I’d just broken rule number one.

Ceara Nobles is a Utah-based author of romantic suspense and fantasy novels. She graduated from the University of Utah in 2016 with a B.A. in Computer Animation, then realized she hated it. Now she spends her days juggling her side hustle as a line editor and her true love of authorship. When she’s not busy writing, you can find her chasing her toddler, road tripping with her hubby, or hiding in bed with a chai and a good book.

Her latest book is the YA Fantasy, SPARKS AND SHADOW.

Visit her website at www.cearanobles.com or connect with her at Facebook and Instagram.