Sherry Hall

Mauros’ novels combine Gothic horror and family saga, revolving around dark family secrets, the paranormal, and obsessive love and they often include a gloomy mansion in the story. Her most well-known novel is the infamous and controversial EVEN ANGELS FALL (2002), a tale of a young woman who after discovering a diary is haunted by the mysterious suicide of its author in a malevolent mansion filled with locked rooms and hidden secrets, following in the grand tradition of the female Gothic novel.

See Also

• Sherry Hall-Mauro

On the Web

• Sherry Mauro - this is an author's main website
• Blog -- blog or special publisher pages
• MySpace -- website or special publisher pages

Books

Fiction

• Even Angels Fall Series Book 1- 2002 (Publish America, LLP)
• The Face Of Heaven Series Book 2- 2004 (Publish America, LLP)
• Tangled Souls Series Book 3- 2008 (Publish America, LLP)

Series/Related Titles

The series narrative follows beautiful Sabrina Devour as a clairvoyant girl bestowed with angelic powers, the latest in a long line of women chosen to battle the forces of darkness and cleanse haunted houses.

The Devour Family...given to poverty and greed, to passion and obsession, to murder and lust that over the ages is itself haunted by the mysterious and a powerful dark curse. Sabrina Devour Ayers has always been a little bit different. Never one to run with the crowd, Sabrina never cared about fitting in with the trendy girls at her high school. When she turns sixteen, she didn't expect much of anything to change. But things do change when she meets the mysterious and exceptionally gorgeous Richard Tate and discovers she can see ghosts. For Richard is nothing like any boy she's ever met. He's not like anyone she's ever met before, period. He's intelligent and witty, and he seems to see straight into her soul. In no time at all, they are swept up in a passionate and decidedly scandalous romance - scandalous because their families had a similar secret affair years ago. To Richard, Sabrina is that thing he has waited years for - a soul mate. But the closer they get, the more Richard must struggle to resist his dark side. Somehow or other, they will have to manage their wild, contemptuous love affair. But when Sabrina discovers a dark family secret hidden in the attic of Richard’s mansion—it releases an unspeakable evil among the townspeople of Centerville. Sabrina begins to unravel the intricate web of lies that her family has spun all around her life to protect a horrifying truth that threatens her sanity. Within the malevolent mansion filled with locked rooms and hidden secrets there is an unspeakable evil that will threaten her newfound contentment...an evil demonic entity guarding a secret that will change all their lives forever. A modern day take on Romeo and Juliet, the story of the ultimate forbidden love affair - between families.

QUOTE: I hate that there's evil, but because I am the thirteenth daughter born into the Devour family—-it is my destiny...and my curse.

I am a demon hunter. I am an angelic warrior. I am a ghost hunter.

The town of Centerville has drawn demons, evil spirits, and other supernatural creatures to its lair for centuries. Now one woman must battle against the forces of darkness…

Awards/Honors

Mauro has won first place in several short-story writing contests and has had an article published on the life and works of the late author, V.C. Andrews in the March 2003 edition of the Reviewers International Organization Newsletter. Mauro is an active member of Romance Writers of America and Gothic Romance Writers of America.

Mauro completed her first book, EVEN ANGELS FALL, in 2002 and published it in 2003 under the name Sherry A. Mauro. This book would be the first in Mauro's popular Devour Family series, which includes 2004’s THE FACE OF HEAVEN, which was published under the name, Sherry Hall-Mauro. The last book in the saga is TANGLED SOULS.

References

The Winchester Mystery House is a well-known San Jose, California mansion that was the inspiration for Mauro's first novels. Mauro wrote a series loosely based on the mansion and Sarah Winchester. The series has references throughout the books about the house. The plots include the Devour family and how each generation of women is compelled to build and rebuild on an old 100-room Victorian mansion to appease the evil spirits haunting it.

Reviews

Title: EVEN ANGELS FALL

Published: August 2004

Rating: 3 stars

Type: Contemporary Romance (Paranormal, Gothic)

-Susan Mobley, ROMANTIC TIMES BOOKCLUB Sabrina Ayers realized early on that her life would turn out more like a grim gothic novel than a happily-ever-after fable. At 14, she discovered that the townspeople of Centerville, California disapproved of her mother's family, considering them inbred and impure. Sabrina is turning sweet 16 when she meets Richard Tate in church. When he arrives later that day at her birthday party, it's just the beginning of her long-term association with him. As she and Richard become closer, Sabrina discovers there's something uncanny about the house he calls home. The secrets it reveals lead her into a nightmare and change the course of their futures. Even Angels Fall is eerie and reminiscent of old-time Gothic’s. The ghostly presence throughout will induce thrills!

AMAZON.COM REVIEWS

Highly recommended!, September 4, 2004

The review staff of "A Romance Review" is pleased to announce that Even Angels Fall has received its highest rating - Five Roses!

Being a teenager is difficult enough without having a family scandal. The beautiful sixteen year-old Sabrina struggles to maintain her individuality, but the `townies' make it nearly impossible. Ridiculed and taunted on a daily basis, Sabrina needs some sort of explanation as to why she is being hated for no reason. She knows there is a family secret. Her uncertainty is in the details. Upon first meeting Richard Tate, Sabrina felt an instant attraction. There is a sense of déjà vu she is unable to explain. Richard also feels a sense of knowing Sabrina for a long time. As their relationship continues, Richard asks her to spend her summer helping him restore the home he lived in as a child. It doesn't take long for Sabrina to realize something is terribly wrong. In the attic of Richard's childhood home Sabrina finds his late mother's diary. It seems there is a mystery surrounding the death of his mother and she is back as a ghost seeking revenge. The mansion is haunted and Sabrina is chosen to find the truth. What will learning the truth do to her relationship with Richard? Will she survive the quest? Does she really have a choice? Author Sherry Mauro has created an eerie tale of obsession, revenge, and romance. The dark tale of beautiful Sabrina is enthralling. Readers everywhere will be unable to stop until the last word has been read. The writing style of Ms. Mauro is expressive, clever, and compelling. Though reminiscent of V.C. Andrews, Mauro has an enchanting quality that is all her own. Even Angels Fall is highly recommended by this reviewer. If you like spooky reads with well-drawn characters and a fascinating plot, and then this is the book for you! Even Angels Fall is the first book in the Devour family trilogy.

Don't Plan To Put This Book Down! January 17, 2004

Margaret Marr "Published Author" Very seldom does a story spook me enough to cause me to scream and nearly launch myself off the bed when a gust of wind slams into the side of the house. When "Even Angels Fall" reached the mysteries of the Tate Mansion, that's exactly what happened. As a child, Sabrina Ayers endured the taunts of her peers, those who hated her because she wasn't a "townie" and because she was a Devour with a dark family history. She listened to her mother and father arguing about money and an unspoken agreement. So it's no surprise she falls for the charming, rich, and handsome Richard Tate even though there's something odd about him, especially when he talks about his long-dead mother who left this world by her own hand. And the Tate Mansion? It's alive with secret sins from the past. She can feel the evil breathing down the back of her neck, feel unseen eyes watching and waiting, hear it moving around her. Those walls have tales to tell and they'll stop at nothing to get Sabrina to listen. "Even Angels Fall" has passion, innocence and mystery leading up to a shocking climax. Once you reach the Tate Mansion, don't plan on putting this novel down, because you won't be able to.

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THE FACE of HEAVEN

by Sherry Hall Mauro

September 2004

ISBN: 1-4137-3778-1

Paranormal/Romance

—Donna, eCataRomance THE FACE OF HEAVEN is the second in a three part saga written by the gifted Sherry Hall-Mauro about two families caught in a tangled web of dark secrets, family lies, and the paranormal. The tragic heroine Sabrina Ayers is the center piece in the trilogy and her gift of “sight” places her in all kinds of mayhem. Sabrina manages to escape the haunted Tate mansion and the seductive clutches of Richard Tate. At last, she is able to see some normalcy return to her life and even begin a healthy romance with strong sensitive Dylan McGuire. Unfortunately, Sabrina is not fated to have a conventional life and things begin to spiral out of control once again. Sabrina’s father dies and other mysterious deaths and disappearances occur. Richard once again enters her life and his mesmerizing power over Sabrina is uncanny. One by one the secrets of the two families are revealed and one by one Sabrina’s loved ones are dying. What kind of malicious evil is disrupting Sabrina’s life? Sabrina falls prey to seduction and passion but is she totally innocent? Her dreams of the future are dashed to dust as she is betrayed by the people she loves the most. Sabrina’s life is an emotional roller coaster and she soon finds herself psychologically wrung out. Hall-Mauro masterfully weaves an eerie tale of deception, seduction, passion and murder. I was totally unprepared for the surprise twisted ending of THE FACE OF HEAVEN and can barely contain myself while waiting for the final manuscript about these two ill fated families.

Reviewed by © Love Romances, 2001-2005

The second book in the Devour saga, Sherry Hall Mauro’s THE FACE OF HEAVEN is filled with mystery, intrigue, romance, ghosts, and secrets galore. After finding out that her family and the Tates have a long-standing history of ill-fated love, curses, and Richard Tate’s family home, Sabrina decides to put the mysteries surrounding the house and her family to rest and begin her life again. She has finally found the kind of love she has dreamed about in the arms of Dylan McGuire. Reminiscent of the writing style of Victoria Holt, Mauro’s THE FACE OF HEAVEN is a book steeped in mystery, lies, and secrets. As Sabrina finally finds love again, she can’t seem to totally break free of Richard Tate or the Mansion. The house has an evil that calls to Sabrina, and she finds that she simply must try to solve the murders and mysteries that surround her family, the Tate family and that haunted house. As Sabrina learns more and more about her family and the Tate’s, her life takes many unexpected twists.

Mauro really knows how to draw out a mystery. The reveals in this story never seem to end. The plotline is sinister and darkly compelling. This is one saga that keeps readers coming back.

Title: TANGLED SOULS

Published: December 2008

Rating: 5 stars

Type: Horror (Paranormal, Suspense)

PNR / Katherine Petersen January 12, 2009

Sabrina Devour carries lots of responsibility as the thirteenth daughter since something cursed the Devour family and Rambling Rose, a legendary haunted house; now owned by Richard Tate, Sabrina's wealthy doctor husband. Sabrina has just given birth to her daughter, Amelia Rose, but Sabrina senses the house's agitation and feels it readying for battle. Richard, and most everyone else, believes any lingering ghosts have gone, but Sabrina knows otherwise, and knows it will be up to her to vanquish the impending evil for her to salvage what's left of her marriage. Sabrina, fighting her own inner demons as well, loves Richard in her way but can't seem to ever tell him that, and she can't rid herself of memories of a past lover, Dylan McGuire, ghost hunter extraordinaire. Servants start complaining of the house's antics, and finally, Richard agrees to call in McGuire for help. But this is only after Sabrina's long-lost sister, Scarlett, returns. Sabrina hadn't known Scarlett well, as they grew up separately, and at first greets her sister with open arms. But things start to happen that lead Sabrina to question Scarlett's motives and intentions and sometimes, if she's even her sister at all. But, most horrifying of all, the house threatens the life of Amelia Rose, and Sabrina will stop at nothing to protect and save her. Mauro has written a compelling novel in Tangled Souls, the third installment of her Devour family saga. While the novel can stand on its own, readers will better understand all the family dynamics by reading the series in order. I read this book as a stand alone, and I think I missed out on some background and nuances that I hope to pick up when I read the first two books: Even Angels Fall and The Face of Heaven. She writes vivid descriptions, especially of the house with its mysteriously jingling chandeliers and old nursery that holds so many dark secrets. While she paces the story well, at times it slows down, mostly during times of Sabrina's inner struggles and contemplation, some of which seem a tad repetitive. She has created strong characters that come to life well, whether good or evil. Sabrina, with her strength of purpose combined with her history and realistic inner turmoil, makes the reader want the best for her, but Scarlett, with her veil of mystery and seemingly split personality at times, is equally well-drawn. The book has romantic tension with the choice Sabrina needs to make between Richard and Dylan, but the story remains one of horror and suspense rather than a romance. In some places, readers can predict what will happen next, but overall Mauro has created a very enjoyable tale.