2019 5 Star Review #14 - Thrall

Thrall by Carina Cook
Supernaturals of Las Vegas, book one
Published Jan 2018

Format Read: eBook I Own

Description from Goodreads:
Liss Lorensson is a thrall–born to be a servant of the vampire crown prince.

Gregor Valdemar is a vampire prince who chafes under the strict rule of his sire and longs for a different life.

When the two finally meet on Liss’s 21st birthday, sparks fly. But blood magic, murder, and political intrigue stand in the way of their growing romance.

My Review: 

Okay, upfront confession. I know (and am friends with) the author of this book.  However, when I say I gave this five stars it is in no way because of who wrote the book.  I love urban fantasy and paranormal romance and when I realized - and I did NOT realize this right away because I'm a dummy - that my YA author friend had branched out to adult UF/PR I was delighted to try her other books.  I LOVED the YA books she wrote (under her real name Carrie Harris) featuring a SMART girl protagonist and weird happenings, so I was pretty sure I'd like her other books, as well. 

Anyway, so I purchased the first book in her Supernaturals of Las Vegas series and dove in, emerging only once I'd finished it.  This was a consuming, quick, amazingly enjoyable read! I loved the main character, Liss, and her love interest, Gregor. They both felt real and relatable, even though they were a vampire and his thrall, so I shouldn't really have felt that way at all! LOL. The book was written in a way that divulged the necessary information to set up this world where vampires exist without taking away from the immediate storyline and romance.  

If you're a fan of books that take place in our world, but have vampires or any other "supernaturals" and you love action and romance, this would be a great series to check out.  I read the second book, as well, and even though I didn't love it quite as much - the standard was pretty high after book one! - I plan to continue on and read book three, as well. 

Author Interview - Carrie Harris!

Hey All! 

So, yesterday I put up my post about the great upcoming book, Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate. Today, I'm beyond excited to have the author (one of my favorites!), Carrie Harris, visiting the blog. 

Welcome to the blog, Carrie! I'm so excited you took the time to answer just a few quick questions for me...

1. How long did it take from first spark of idea to final proofs to write Sally Slick?

This book was spin-your-head-around fast. It all started with a tweet. (Honest. Twitter is USEFUL, and I’m not just saying that to justify my tweeting. HONEST. CROSS MY HEART.) Sally is an established character and had already appeared in books, a roleplaying game, and a board game by the time she got to me, so I had a lot of catching up to do! But by the time I’d gone through it all, I knew what I wanted to do. We started talking in January. I started writing in March. Who knew that you could get a book on the shelves in less than a year?!?!

2. If you could write a book under a pseudonym that no one would ever connect to you, are there any genres you would love to secretly explore?

I love the idea of pseudonyms, and I already have one picked out (but can’t tell you because then how pseudo would it be, right?!?). But I’m not sure I have any secret genre loves. I’d love to write a New Adult...so I am. I’d love to write an adult comic fantasy…so I am. I also have a YA WIP about a possessed Mr. Bacon figurine. And really, I’m not too proud to claim all that weirdness. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that I AM proud to claim all that weirdness. I think weirdness is pretty awesome. 

*I, for one, think that your particular brand of weirdness is extremely awesome, Carrie!*

3. If you could cross one thing off your bucket list tomorrow, what would it be?

I’d go to Australia! It’s very cold here in Michigan right now, and I do not like the cold. The cold turns me into a cranky old person who complains about her joints and tells everyone to get off her lawn. It’s not pretty. If I had a flowered housecoat, I’d be wearing it right about now. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.

4. Quick picks list:
Favorite vacation destination?
I went on an epic cruise with my best friend once, so I’ll pick that. Anything in the middle of the water where it’s warm and people can’t walk on my lawn is good. J

Favorite childhood book?
The Hobbit! I did book reports on it for four years in a row before anyone caught on that I’d been recycling them.

Favorite writing snack food?
Anything salty combined with Diet Dr. Pepper. Not in the same bowl though, because ewww.

*OMG, I also love Diet Dr. Pepper, even though people keeping telling me diet soda will kill me... I just can't give up the Diet Dr. P!*

Favorite clothing item?
My zombie unicorn dress, naturally!

5. What's next on your writing horizons?
Well, I kind of already spilled the beans on my current projects, but there’s still more because I’m nothing if not an overachiever. In 2014, I have two books hitting the shelves—Demon Derby (YA about a cancer survivor turned demon fighting derby girl) and War of Ashes: Off on a Ylark (game tie-in about cute muppets facing an invasion of not-cute muppets). But there’s also a Sally Slick sequel in the works…Sally Slick and the Miniature Menace. Sally’s going to deal with a nefarious villain, the threat of WWI, and the beginnings of a very complicated romantic life. I’m super excited to write it!

*I CANNOT WAIT TO READ ALL OF THESE. REALLY. ALL OF THEM.*

Thanks so much for letting me visit, Jessica! You are the bestest. That is too a word.

Thank YOU so much, Carrie, for letting me interview you. It was a pleasure!

For more information about Carrie and her books, check out her (AH-MAZING) website, blog, Facebook page, or stalk follow her on Twitter like I do.  Believe me, you won't regret it.  

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Best Sequels Ever

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created and hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Today's Topic: The Top Ten (or in my case...Eleven) Best Sequels Ever

(in alphabetical order by title)

1. A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton

2. Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund 

3. Bad Hair Day by Carrie Harris 

4. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 

5. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan 

6. The Elite by Kiera Cass 

7. The Essence by Kimberly Derting 

8. Everfound by Neal Shusterman 

9. Fox Forever by Mary E. Pearson 

10. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (*actually a companion book) 

There you have it.  These are my favorite YA sequels that I've read in the last five years or so... 

What are yours?

Cover Reveal - Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate!!

I'm SUPER excited today to be part of Carrie Harris' cover reveal for her newest book, SALLY SLICK AND THE STEEL SYNDICATE! I love all of her books and this one sounds just as great. Want to know more?

Here's the basics:

SALLY SLICK AND THE STEEL SYNDICATE

Release date: December 3, 2013

Book Description:
Every hero has a story. This one starts with a girl and a racing tractor.

Sally Slick knows she’s meant to be more than a Midwestern farm girl. What she wants more than anything is to be an inventor when she grows up—and she has the custom-built racing tractor to prove it. But good girls in 1914 don’t go off to the city in search of adventure. Everything changes when Sally’s big brother comes back from Chicago with a robot in hand and mobsters on his heels. With the help of her friend, wannabe hero Jet Black, Sally will risk everything to protect the people she loves.

Those bad guys are about to get a giant wrench thrown right into their plans.

So, do you want to see it yet??
Here it is...

What do you think of the cover? I'm loving the fact that it doesn't look just like everything else out there right now. This one looks so adventurous... I can't wait to read it!

Cover Reveal - Demon Derby by Carrie Harris

So excited to be part of the epic cover reveal for Carrie Harris' newest book, Demon Derby!
Drumroll, please....

Isn't it amazing?! I love it. Very fierce, lol. And, after reading the description, I am literally salivating to get my hands on this book!! Check it out for yourself...

Demon Derby

by Carrie Harris

Publication date: March 2014

Summary:

Casey kicked cancer’s ass. Now a demon wants to kick hers...

Casey hates being known as the girl who survived cancer. She wants people to treat her like her old self, fearless and strong. And after a creepy encounter with a crazy guy in an alley, Casey is all about reclaiming her power.

So when she has a chance to try out for the Apocalypsies roller derby team, she jumps on it. Being a derby girl would prove that she doesn’t need anybody’s pity. It doesn’t hurt that Michael, the team manager, is almost unnaturally hot. Which makes sense when Casey finds out that he’s not even human.

Michael’s got a secret: he trains demon hunters. That crazy guy in the alley? Demon. And the fact that Casey went head to head with evil and lived makes her a threat to demonkind. Casey thought she’d already fought and won the battle of her lifetime. But it’s only beginning... (from Goodreads.com)  

About the Author:
Carrie Harris is the author of BAD TASTE IN BOYS and BAD HAIR DAY. Her husband is a cancer survivor and a ninja doctor, and her three kids are already in training to fight evil someday. She collects monster-themed clothing, is physically incapable of being serious for more than five minutes at a time, and isn’t a derby girl…yet.

Visit her at her website, on twitter, or even Facebook!

Thank you SO much to AToMR tours for letting me participate in this cover reveal!! 

Cover Craving...Bad Hair Day!!

Bad Hair Day

by Carrie Harris

sequel to Bad Taste in Boys

Publication date: unknown

LOVE this! Almost as much as I loved the weird cover for Bad Taste in Boys!

This is such a fun series and I am stoked to read this as soon as it finally comes out!!! 

AND...for a hilarious addition to your day, check out this post on Carrie Harris' blog to see a video of a ton of author's worst hair days!! :P

Awesome Author Website and Upcoming Book

I am an avid follower of Kierstin White's blog, Kiersten Writes. Yesterday she posted about this awesome author website, www.carrieharrisbooks.com, and when I checked it out I was soooo impressed I wanted to pass it on to all of you.



I love all of the illustrations by Manning Leonard Krull!! Most are some type of monster mash-up that Carrie loves to create to help get her writing juices flowing. See "merpire" above! :P

Carrie Harris is the author of the upcoming title, Bad Taste in Boys. It is a really good sounding zombie book that comes out next summer. I am already anxiously awaiting this one!!