Lynn's Romance Enthusiasm: Virtual Author Book Tours Presents: Parisa by Conrad Trump: #BlogTour, #NowAvailable, #OutNow, #Review, #Giveaway

Friday, March 23, 2018

Virtual Author Book Tours Presents: Parisa by Conrad Trump: #BlogTour, #NowAvailable, #OutNow, #Review, #Giveaway

Parisa

by Conrad Trump

Publisher: †High Peaks Publishing (September 7, 2015)

Category: Contemporary Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Tour dates: Mar/Apr, 2018

ISBN:†978-0976159766

Available in Print and ebook,292 pages

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for review from Virtual Author Book Tours and the author. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".

When world class snowboarding sensation, Scott Locke, returns to his home in West Virginia to be honored by the ski resort where he worked as a teenager, a freak accident costs him the opportunity to compete in the upcoming X-Games.† Broken and distraught, the competition soon becomes a secondary consideration when Scott unwittingly releases a force that has been locked away for centuries, a force so powerful and dark that it threatens all mankind.

Parisa is an ancient spirit; exotic, beautiful, and mysterious, yet out of place in todayís world.† Scott must find a way to help her acclimate and nurture respect, love, and tolerance for humanity.†† The plan begins to backfire as Scott develops feelings for Parisa, and he is drawn into her world of magic and power. †In the face of great temptations, Scott must make the ultimate choice.† He must decide to sacrifice his love for the sake of all mankind or give in to his passion and enjoy the riches and rewards of unlimited power.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

BookDepository

My Thoughts:

I was reading the Prologue and felt as if I should be sitting at a campfire listening to someone telling me this story – I would be riveted. Sometimes the old stories are warnings that future generations need to heed. It’s also why these stories need to be passed down. My sadness came when the prologue gave me such high hopes but the rest of the story just didn’t live up to my expectations.

Scott Locke may have luck on his side. It just may be a little hard to see. You can see where his age comes into play by his choice on how he earns his money. It felt like I was dealing with two separate books that didn’t connect a lot of the time. Kept finding myself looking for how the prologue was going to connect with the rest of the story. It felt like it was taking forever for the proverbial shoe to drop. I know that what he does for a living is important to the story but it felt like it was starting to overtake everything before we could see what was truly going on.

I liked the idea of the story, felt that the cover was a perfect choice, but it just may have been a case of high expectations. Maybe I set the bar a little too high since I’ve not read this author’s work before and don’t have any previous experience with his writing style. But the feeling to skip ahead and try to find the part of where the story was going to live up to the blurb was strong. Not sure that trying to set the mood while reading would have made any difference. I just hope you can see something in this that I may have missed.

Praise Parisa by Conrad Trump

ìParisa held my interest and was hard to put down. I enjoyed it and can't wait for Conrad to write another story. I believe Parisa would make a good movie!î- Debbie Moore, Reviewer

ìI read Conradís book in less than three days. Not only is it a good story, but anyone from West Virginia will love the way Conrad blended our home state into the story about a West Virginia native who becomes a world class snow boarder. This gave us native mountaineers a great deal to be proud of not only with the West Virginia setting, but knowing our native son has developed into a great writer.
I look forward to reading more stories written by Conrad in the future. I loved the book. î-KC Bohrer, Reviewer

ìWhat an excellent book! This book keeps you hanging until you get to the next page. An excellent read by an excellent author! I am looking forward to reading future books by this author! Excellent word choice provides vivid pictures throughout the story. Excellent story line.î- Meredith L. Zirkleml, Reviewer

Excerpt:

Parisa smiled. “I am happy you are pleased. With your blessing, may I take my leave now, my Scott? I grow fatigued.”

“Wait just a second,” Scott said. “I feel I owe you something in return for all that you’ve done for me.”

“No, my Scott, I—”

“Hold on, okay? I know it’s your job. No, that’s not what I meant. It’s your debt? Your father’s debt. You live a life of servitude for something your dad did. See, I don’t get that.”

Parisa bowed her head slightly. There was no bitter song of resentment on her lips. She simply stated again, “It is the will of Allah.”

“Parisa, that’s just not how things are done anymore. We are not responsible for the mistakes of our parents. It’s not right. And in this country, we don’t own other people.”

“I am not ‘people,’ my Scott. I am Djinn. A mongoose is born to battle the cobra. A stallion is born to race. I am born of the smokeless fire to serve.”

“Or so you have been taught, but that doesn’t mean the status quo can’t change. Sure, I would like to keep you around forever. Why wouldn’t I? You are very beautiful—quite probably the most beautiful girl I have ever known. And of course all this magic is…well… incredible! I would be a fool to push you away, but I don’t know if I can ask you to do any more for me. You have done enough. Right?”

Parisa listened and shook her head. “I am yours, my Scott.”

“It’s not right. You mentioned earlier that I could free you. Then you wouldn’t be mine any more. You wouldn’t be anybody’s, right? You’d have free will?”

“Yes,” Parisa answered. If there was a hint of hopefulness in her, she didn’t show it.

“So I could free you? How does that work?”

“By handing me the vessel and saying, ‘Parisa, I release you. You are free.’”

“That’s it? That’s the whole thing?”

Parisa nodded. “That is all.”

“I can do that. Would you like to be free? That’s a stupid question, huh? What would happen then?” Scott asked. “What would you do first?”

“My Scott, if I were free, the first thing I would do is kill you.”

It was not the answer Scott was expecting, not by a long shot. “You’d kill me? Are you serious?”

“I will always answer you in truth,” Parisa reminded him. “I would kill you, and I would do it slowly. It would take you weeks to die. Next I would do the same to your parents, the woman Jena, and that awful dog, Gypsy.”

“Why?” Scott shouted. “Why the hell would you do that?”

Parisa threw herself on the floor with her arms extended overhead and her nose buried in the living room carpet. “Forgive me, my master. I am a wretched, evil djinni. I deserve to be punished for my insolence. I have shamed myself and offended you. I only wished to service you in truth. Forgive me!”

Still stunned, Scott could only ask, “Why?”

“Because I am a djinni, and I have been made to suffer the indignities of human whims and wishes for so very long. And to avenge my father, the great and prideful Iblees, the most powerful of the Djinn, who has been made to suffer since the dawn of man because he would not bend his knee before a lesser creature.”

“But why me and Jena and my parents?” Scott asked again. “What have my parents ever done?”

“You misunderstand me, my Scott. I would begin with you and your loved ones, but it would not end there. If I am freed, I will take the life of every man, woman, and child on this planet.”

About Conrad Trump:

Conrad Trump was raised in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, where he still resides.† He received a bachelorís degree in Psychology from West Virginia University and a masterís degree in Special Education from Old Dominion University.

Conrad has worked with youth, guiding troubled teens for the past quarter of a century at a residential school outside of Winchester, Virginia.

Prior to the publication of Parisa, Conrad had dozens of shorter pieces of fiction published in magazines and anthologies.† In addition to writing, he is an award winning and published artist with his paintings featured in national juried exhibitions.† Conrad is also an accomplished and published photographer.† He is an outdoor enthusiast and an avid supporter of all things West Virginia.† He and his wife, Kim, have been married for twenty-five years.† Together they have two children, Hilary and Shaun.

Website: http://conradtrump.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conrad.trump

Giveaway:

This giveaway is for one print copy or ebook copy of the book.† Print is available to the U.S. only but ebook is available worldwide.† This giveaway ends on April 30, 2018.† Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway