Review
"...an intricate plot weaved around engaging characters that I couldn't help but root for. I stayed up for over three hours reading this and I swore I didn't blink once." Celia McMahon, author of Unspoken
"A.N. Willis has captivated me yet again! Under Glass and Stone is an expertly-woven gothic romance with a mystery that kept me turning pages." Cheyanne Young, author of The Last Wish of Sasha Cade
"Just when you think you know what the answer is a new clue emerges and you're left turning the page to find out how this piece of the puzzle fits." Emily Bybee, author of Fractured Magic
"Under Stone and Glass was such an amazing story with a well-written plot and I loved all of it. I was blown away by the story of the house. A.N. Willis wove such an intricate story in such an amazing way, I was absolutely captivated." BreeAnn, reviewer at She Just Loves Books
"I received an advance copy of Under Glass and Stone and found it to be a truly hair-raising page turner that you'll have a hard time putting down." Johanna Garton, author of Edge of the Map
"Suspenseful, mysterious events unveil one after another. It sent chills down my spine while reading and following the story lines, wanting to know more about what's going to happen next." -Tara, Goodreads ✭✭✭✭✭
"I love Evelyn. She is well-developed and likable. She has issues that she is dealing with that make you worried for her, but cheer her on nonetheless. I'm so excited to see that this is the first of a duology! I can't wait to read the next!" -Jinsok, Goodreads ✭✭✭✭✭
"It was full of suspense, adventure and had many twists and turns. I could not figure it out, which is great because I can normally figure it out before the ending, but I was kept in suspense until the end." -Yvonne, Goodreads ✭✭✭✭✭
"Can I just say that I need book two sooner than Fall? The author did a beautiful job of weaving two time periods together in one cohesive tale that keeps the reader on their toes from start to finish." -Denise, Goodreads ✭✭✭✭✭
"Wow! The first part of the book was scary and I freaked but I'm so happy that I kept with it! There was so much going on and so many twists that I stayed hooked until the very end! This is a must read!" -Elise, Goodreads ✭✭✭✭✭
From the Author
Excerpt from Under Glass And Stone:
The day Milo Foster disappeared, no one could say what he'd been doing up in the tower. A few neighbors even insisted he'd never gone inside Byrne House at all. But Evelyn knew what she'd seen. She would never forget the discordant whiteness of Milo's face, small and pale as a fish in the round mouth of the tower window. Later, when Evelyn reported the sighting, she left out her unsettling first impression: that it was her own face she was seeing, about to be swallowed up by the mansion.
For as far back as she could remember, maybe ever since she'd been tall enough to see above the sill, Evelyn had liked to watch Byrne House from her second-floor bedroom across the street. When Evelyn was little, her mother asked why the sprawling Victorian fascinated her. Viv Ashwood was making Evelyn's bed and pretending to be focused on her task. But Evelyn could tell by the slow rhythm of her mom's hands that Viv was listening carefully.
"Is it because of Nana?" her mom prompted. "Is she still telling you those stories?"
He'd gotten trapped behind the walls, Nana had whispered. They could hear him knocking.
"No," Evelyn said. She didn't want to get Nana in trouble. But it wasn't just the bedtime stories, not really. "It's because of my dream. I'm trying to find the part that's missing."
Her mom had gotten very still and very quiet. She hadn't asked again.
Even now, at seventeen, Evelyn would glance over at the tower whenever she passed by her window or when she turned onto the street on her walk home from school. And always before she went to bed at night. It was a little ritual, an itch to scratch. It wasn't because of the dreams anymore--her nightly dreams of Byrne House had eventually turned to a nightmare and then morphed into something worse. Something she didn't like to think about. But those dreams had stopped years ago and still she watched, unable to say why. She knew better than to mention the habit around her mother.
Until the day Evelyn saw Milo, the tower window was always dark. A hole punched into the stone. Reginald Byrne lived alone in there, a forgotten king in his walled-up castle.
Evelyn never saw anyone go in or out of Byrne House's wrought-iron gate except the cleaning lady. And Mrs. Lake only came the last day of each month. She'd walk over from her own home several streets away and stay all day. Then she'd reappear just as darkness fell, red curls tucked into a wool cap, bag hitched into her side as she marched down the mansion's front path. An official emissary returning from a journey into a foreign land.
On July 31--the day Milo would disappear and all the trouble would start--Mrs. Lake spent only a few minutes inside the mansion before she ran back out, screaming.
Up until that moment, Evelyn had been lying in bed, immersed in a horror novel. Her window was open, curtains lifting and falling with each breath of wind. Evelyn's room was tiny, just big enough for a twin bed and an antique secretary desk that doubled as a dresser. Her collection of vintage and thrift-store clothes was tucked carefully inside. She also had a narrow closet, but she certainly couldn't put her clothes in there. That was where she stored all her books.
"Help! Please, help!"
Evelyn froze, and her hands tightened on her book. The cry had come from the street. Then there was a slamming door. Evelyn tossed her book on the bed and rushed to the open window.
Mrs. Lake was running across Byrne House's yard, crying. She yanked open the iron gate and ran into the street, then started turning back and forth like she couldn't make up her mind where to go.
A bike turned onto the avenue. Immediately the rider had to swerve to avoid hitting Mrs. Lake. Evelyn recognized his closely-shorn brown hair and chunky black-frame glasses. It was Milo Foster. He must've been on his way to visit his grandma. In one fluid motion, Milo jumped off the bike and left it lying by the curb. He went to Mrs. Lake, who kept shouting and gesturing at the house behind her.
Milo seemed to get the gist. He ran up the mansion's front steps and tried the door. It wouldn't open. He said something else to Mrs. Lake, who was sobbing actively now. She pointed him to the side of the house. Milo ran in that direction.
All this had happened in the span of a minute, maybe two. Evelyn grabbed her phone and ran downstairs. By the time she got outside, a handful of neighbors were streaming out of their homes. Several held phones to their ears.
She paused at the sidewalk, looking up at the mansion. She couldn't explain her hesitation, only that something seemed different. Strange. Her pulse seemed unsteady, too fast. Now too slow. Then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted movement near the top of the tower.
It was gone. The tower's round window was just reflections laid on top of black. Nothing there.
Her eyes traced the mansion's rough stone facade and the curve of the porch railing. Then back to the tower with its cone-shaped roof.
There--the curtains in the tower's highest window were shifting. Now, an oval of white appeared within the larger black circle. Like the opening of a milky, reptilian eye.
A face.
For a surreal split second, Evelyn imagined she was seeing her own reflection, though the angles were all wrong. But then she saw the square-frame glasses, and the illusion dissipated. It was Milo again. Why had he gone inside? Was Mr. Byrne alright?
A siren whined, the pitch climbing. An ambulance with flashing lights skidded down the road. The loiterers on the street scattered toward the park, and the ambulance's tires squealed to a stop a few yards from the Byrne House gate. A patrol car pulled up a heartbeat later.
She'd only glanced away for a moment. But when Evelyn looked up at the tower window again, Milo's face was gone.
For more, click on the book cover image to "Look Inside"
