Review: Thrall by Jennifer Quintenz

Title: Thrall
Author: Jennifer Quintenz
Series: Daughters of Lilith #1
Publication: May 16th 2012 by Secret Tree Press
Genre: Paranormal ~ Young Adult
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Cover Rating: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3/5

Review copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review.

Braedyn is a normal girl just trying to survive high school with her two devoted friends, Royal and Cassie. Together they’re doing a pretty good job of shrugging off the slings and arrows cast their way by the popular crowd when a new boy, Lucas, moves into the house next door. Suddenly Braedyn finds herself falling in love for the first time.

But as her sixteenth birthday approaches, Braedyn discovers humankind is at war with the Lilitu, an ancient race of enticing demons that prey on human souls. Her father is a member of the Guard fighting against the Lilitu - and so are the new neighbors, including her crush, Lucas.

As her world starts to unravel at the seams, Braedyn learns the right answers aren’t always clear or easy. And as for “good” and “evil” – it all depends on how we choose to act.

Inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian myths of Lilith and her offspring, Thrall explores first love, strong friendships, and taking on adult responsibilities against the backdrop of powerful supernatural forces and life-and-death stakes.

First things first, technically I would give this book 3.5 stars but I don't usually work with halves so I gave 3. Just wanted to get that out there. And also a huge thank you to author, Jennifer Quintenz for being so kind to let me read and review her book.

I (obviously) liked Thrall. When Jennifer send me the review request I thought at first I would probably have to turn her down because at the moment I wasn't taking a lot of new requests but then I read the description and thought, wow this is definitely something for me. And it was! 

When I first started, I liked the beginning very much but as I read on I wasn't so sure about the heroine, Braedyn (I love her name though!). I had to still get into the story and her as a main character but eventually I did come to like her a lot. She was great. I actually loved her when she came into her Lilitu powers. Speaking of the Lilitu, I love this part of the book. It's very original and that's why I mostly liked it. I loved learning about them as the story went on.

As for Lucas, the love interest. I liked him too. I didn't love him or anything but I love the kind of forbidden love thing he and Braedyn have going on. I can't wait to see how that will develop. I also liked a bunch of the other characters that I think are worth mentioning. First of all, Braedyn's dad, Murphy. He's such a great father to her. Any girl should be lucky with him and how he protects her. Then we have Gretchen. She dislikes Braedyn because she's part Lilitu, which caused for some tension but I loved that. I also liked Hale a lot. I would love to find out more about him. And then there's Braedyn's best friends, Royal and Cassie. I thought they were great friends. At first I wasn't so sure I liked that Royal was gay. I mean I have nothing against gay people in books. But it seems like if there's a guy best friend and not a love interest then he has to be gay. However... Royal is so great that I changed my mind about it. 

The only reason why I didn't give it 4 or 5 stars was that I just wasn't blown away by this book, sure it was very original with likable characters but that was just it, I liked it. And three stars is pretty great in my eyes. Also the romance in the story wasn't the only thing that mattered like in a lot of YA books. There was also a lot of action and drama so yay!

Overall, Thrall was very likable and a quick read. I liked the characters a lot and thought Jennifer Quintenz created a great heroine that was actually believable. I would recommend it to everyone who wants a good YA paranormal book that actually has some originality. 3 stars!

Favorite Quotes:

"Sometimes it's kinder to let people believe what they already think is true," Lucas said softly.

"All things are possible to those who believe."

About The Author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

Jennifer Quintenz is a film and television writer, author, and graphic novelist. She has written for Twentieth Television, Intrepid Pictures, and Archaia Studios Press. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.

Thrall is her first novel.