Race the Darkness

Abbie Roads

Oct 2016 · Sourcebooks, Inc.

About this ebook

"Dark and delicious." —Kerrelyn Sparks, New York Times bestselling author on Race the Darkness

IF HE LOSES, SHE DIES
Her voice haunts his thoughts; her whispers fill his days
But when he discovers the woman of his dreams is real
He'll race the clock to save her before she's lost to him forever

Scarred by lightning, burdened with a power that gives him no peace, criminal investigator Xander Stone struggles to maintain his sanity against the voice that haunts him day and night—the voice of a woman begging him to save her.

Isleen Walker has long since given up hope of escape from the nightmare of captivity and torture that is draining her life, her mind, and her soul. Except...there is the man in her feverish dreams, a strangely beautiful man who beckons her to freedom. And when he comes, if he comes, it will take all their combined fury and faith to overcome a madman bent on fulfilling a deadly prophecy.

Named a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Fall Romance for 2016!

Fatal Dreams series:
Race the Darkness (Book 1)
Hunt the Dawn (Book 2)
Never Let Me Fall (Book 3)

Ratings and reviews

Dark paranormal romance that's wrapped around a centuries old legend and religious fanatics. I love finding new authors and this debut book from Abbie Roads has hooked me on her Fatal Dreams series. As I sit here and think about all the men in this book they were all pretty much asses – both the good ones and the bad ones. The brooding hero, Xander Stone, certainly has his reasons for being one. A father who abandoned him emotionally after his wife left, then getting struck by lightning leaving disfiguring scars all over his body which in turn gave him the gift (or nightmare) of having amplified hearing and also to being able to hear what any person is thinking. Even though he uses his gift to help the Department of Criminal Investigation, he see it as a curse and survives by drinking the noise in his head away. For years he's heard a woman's voice in his head begging him to save her. He didn't think it was real and chose to ignore it until one day by a force not of his own he ends up at a dilapidated trailer and finds a woman whose been reduced to skin and bones from her 8 year captivity. Isleen Walker had given up on ever being rescued. She had made piece that death would be a relief from the hell she had been living the last 8 years. It's at this point the man her of dreams – literally – comes crashing in a saves her. Seems Xander isnt the only one with a gift. From the moment they see each other something magical happens and Xander vows to never leave her side. But what neither of them knows is their families history is tangled up in a mess of madness which still has Isleen life in danger. There is a lot a cray cray and woo woo in this book but it was the type that kept you glued to the pages to see what was going to happen next and if Xander and Isleen, who had been through so much hell in their lives, were ever going to get the peace they deserved.

This is the first in this series and my first Abbie Roads book. To describe this story, it is hauntingly beautiful, yet heart-wrenchingly sad. While I enjoyed this story, and will be picking up the next one, I can do without as much coarse language, as it tends to detract from the story for me. That aside, I loved the characters and curiously wait to see what she has in store for them next.

WOW! Race the Darkness was a thrilling ride. Abbie Roads created a taunt story that kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what will happen next. Her characters were complex and wonderfully imperfect. Xander is a self proclaimed and unapologetic jerk (substitute a stronger descriptor here). But I suppose being able to hear what's going on in everyone's head will do that to a guy. Add to that his outward appearance and his childhood, it's no wonder he doesn't have many healthy relationships to model his own behavior after. Isleen spends her most formative years in a torture trailer. Along with Gram, she spent years not understanding why, but surviving physical and emotional abuse, waiting for knight in shining amour. Along with Xander and Isleen, there is a host of supporting characters you can't help but relate to, larger than life Row, mysterious Lathan, his family, Alex and Matt Through these additional characters, you are completely drawn into the story. Roads creates a world you want to learn more about. She also does an amazing job of making it all very believable. Roads uses the technique of "if you can believe that, how about this?" She weaves in the mundane and the fantastic in away, you really do step away thinking, that could really happen. I want to believe in the world Abbie Roads created in Race the Darkness. I want to see Fearless and Bear live on.

About the author

Abbie Roads is a Miss Brightside mental health counselor by day, but a lover of dark and dangerous things at night. She writes paranormal romantic suspense, always giving her characters the happy ending she wishes for all her clients. Her novels have been finalists in numerous RWA contests, including the Golden Heart. Race the Darkness was named a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Fall Romance for 2016. Abbie lives in Columbus, OH.