In honor of the coolest day of the week, I bring you The Friday Five. Every Friday I will ask the same five questions to myself, or any other willing participant! All my fellow book lovers are welcome to join in on the fun.

From the publisher: Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry… … in a new, horrific, unimaginable way… Sating her great hunger, she discovers that she is now a vampire, the bloodthirsty creature of legend. She has no choice but to flee from her old life and travels across Texas. Her new hunger spurs her to leave a wake of death and blood behind her as she struggles with her new nature. All the while, her creator is watching. He is ancient, he is powerful, and what’s worse is that he’s a necromancer. He has the power to force the dead to do his bidding. Amaliya realizes she is but a pawn in a twisted game, and her only hope for survival is to seek out one of her own kind. But if Amaliya finds another vampire, will it mean her salvation… or her death?

Why did you choose this book? The Bookish Brunette gave it a crowned rating, so I knew it was worth a read. Plus the cover is really gruesome!

Where did the author go right? Or if it’s a turkey, what went wrong? What really set this book apart from the rest is that the author went old-school, meaning these aren’t your happy, friendly vampires that sustain themselves on animal blood. Ooooh no – they prey on humans, and sometimes it gets downright messy.  Just when I thought I was burned out on vampires, she brought me back into the fray with this spellbinding tale of bloodlust, romance and adventure. I love that the vampires abhor mirrors, and that they can’t cross over a threshold uninvited. This gothic throwback is a welcome departure from a lot of the urban fantasy crap I’ve been reading lately.  Oh and did I mention zombies are involved? Think Buffy meets The Walking Dead meets Anne Rice. In case you’re wondering, that’s the trifecta of blood-sucking awesomness!

On a side note, I would also like to mention that I REALLY appreciated the Austin infusion. Clearly this Texas woman loves her home state – and it shows in her descriptions of the rugged Hill Country landscape and Austin’s eclectic nightlife. She even mentions the gingerbread pancakes at Kirby Lane, which is pretty much the yummiest breakfast ever.

Did anything bug you about the book? The fact that it had to end kind of bugged me. Other than that, everything about the book – the plot threads, the characters, the romance – is spot on!

Would you read another book by this author? Absolutely, positively 100 percent YES! I’m already moving on to Pretty When She Kills.

How would you sum up the book in three words? Bloody, intense, fun.