Control by Melissa Cassera is a dark YA paranormal romance debut out now. It’s the first in a new trilogy–check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!
Title: Control
Author: Melissa Cassera
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
For Natalie Covington and Henry Thorne, only one thing is certain: things are about to get out of control.
18-year-old Natalie has big ambitions but very little control over her situation. She’s trapped at an elite boarding school on a private island, where cell phones are forbidden, militant guards line the iron gates, and her practically prearranged boyfriend has eyes for another girl.
Everything changes when a mysterious new student arrives named Henry Thorne. Henry is a “precog”—a hidden society of people who can see the future, and who are forbidden to reveal their powers. When Henry has a grisly vision of Natalie being murdered, he ultimately decides to save her and face the consequences. But the consequences of changing the future are more dangerous than Henry imagined, unlocking a wide conspiracy among his kind that’s linked to Natalie’s past, and a desire that threatens to consume them.
CONTROL is the first installment in The Lockwood Trilogy. This fast-paced Upper YA/New Adult Paranormal Romance is filled with thrilling turns, self-discovery, spicy language, light steam, and a cliffhanger ending that will leave you obsessing for more.
Reader Discretion: this book contains graphic language, violence, and some heat. Best suited for 16+.
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Control Audio Coming Soon!
Excerpt:
“I know who you are,”he says.
He still doesn’t look at me or make any attempt at conversation. Heat rises in my body and my blood starts to boil. Maybe Jack was right and I should have just let him have a panic attack and pass out. Jerk.
“I just wanted to see if you were okay after what happened the other day, but clearly you’re fine.” He doesn’t answer, just keeps walking—increasing the pace with his long, muscular legs until he shoves the door open and we’re outside. The cold wind rips through to my bones. Why am I still following him? I stop walking, but he advances on…like I don’t exist.
I shout after him. “You gave me a bruise, you know!”
He freezes and turns back to me. I wait for an apologetic glance, a surreptitious “I’m sorry.” Anything that shows remorse.
None of that happens.
Instead, he storms back to me—coming so close to my face that I can smell his warm, minty breath. Without a word, he yanks the books from my hands.
“Hey!”I shout, trying to wrestle them back. My textbook slams to the ground and I manage to rip back my notebook, leaving him holding Ciel’s note.
I swallow, horrified, as he unfolds it and reads the words to himself—Scholarship kid is so into you. With anger dancing in his eyes, he crumples the note and throws it at me. The paper bounces off my chest. My mind races with fury, but I’m too shocked to say or do anything.
He leans into me, his lips hovering close to mine. I should back away, scream at him, smack him, throw the note at him—but I don’t. I’m frozen, paralyzed with intensity and electricity, sweltering with emotion. I can’t stop staring at his lips—plump, red, moist. A centimeter from touching mine.
“I’m not into you,”he says in a throaty, choppy groan.
Then he walks away, and I swallow the retort stuck in my throat. I want to scream after him—tell him I don’t give a shit how he feels because I would never be into someone like him.
But I won’t. Because that would be weakness. And I’m not fucking weak. I am curious, though. Who are you, Henry Thorne? And why do you hate me? You can run away all you want, but I’ll find out the truth.
About the Author:
Melissa Cassera is a Professional Screenwriter, Author, and award-winning Publicity Expert based in Washington State.
Melissa and her work have been featured in Variety, LA Times, Success Magazine, and Fast Company. She was named one of the nation’s Top Personal Branding Experts by The Huffington Post.
On-screen, Melissa is the writer of THE OBSESSION THRILLOGY (Lifetime Network’s first trilogy of movies.) She is also the writer of the films SECRET LIVES OF COLLEGE ESCORTS, NIGHTMARE NEIGHBORHOOD MOMS, MOMMY’S LITTLE STAR, DADDY’S PERFECT LITTLE GIRL, HER STOLEN PAST, and GIRL FOLLOWED. Melissa also sold an eight-episode dark comedy series, ADDICTED, to Fullscreen. She has two additional feature films, WHO KILLED OUR FATHER and NIGHTMARE PAGEANT MOMS, coming to Lifetime Network in 2023, and six additional film projects in active development.
When Melissa is not whipping together obsession-worthy words, she can be found drinking too much coffee, playing at the lake with her dogs, or getting lost in the romance section of a bookstore.
Follow Melissa at her website: https://melissacassera.com/ or on Instagram: @Melissa.cassera
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