🔮 Greetings, ARC team! 🔮

I've got some Elemental Bloodliners 🚋 updates to share with you, and after that I'll be dropping 2 download links for 2 different books in the Elemental Bloodlines series. Gift of Water and Gift of Light are barreling your way!

But first, it's time to get real.

Beware. The statements below will be blunt, not "polite."

(If you've already reviewed Gift of Water, feel free to skip over this part.)

***

Unlike established indie authors who can pay their bills with the 💰💰 they make from book sales, I'm still at the point where I personally eyeball each review my books receive, so I know whether my stories are resonating with readers. I also keep track of which ARC readers leave reviews, and which ones do not.

I'm sure you can guess where this is going....

So far, not too many people have left reviews for Gift of Water, which published on the retailers on August 20th. Gift of Water currently stands at 10 reviews on Goodreads and 8 on Amazon. A fair number of those reviews came from BookSirens (a separate ARC service) and/or from my personal friends.

Not from the Elemental Bloodliners team.

Now. I totally realize most of us are super busy with everyday life, myself included. But I also realize there are some readers out there who join ARC teams for the sole purpose of collecting "free" books—not because they actually want to help an author out by leaving a short (or long) review of said books.

I get it. I collect free books myself, but not as an ARC reader. Lots of indie authors offer permafree books on the retailers for readers on a budget. Therefore, there's really no reason to join an author's ARC team if you're just trying to collect "free" books without reviewing said books.

I like giving my books away for free with no strings attached. In fact, I'm fully planning on doing more and more of that the more books I manage to write and publish. But when you agreed to join my ARC team, you also agreed to leave an honest review of the freebies you receive as part of this team. One of the things I admire the most about people is when they're able to keep their word.

If you want to keep being part of the Elemental Bloodliners team, it'd be nice if you'd drop an honest review on a retailer—or Goodreads or BookBub—after you've read Gift of Water or Gift of Light.

Or both. That would make my "evil indie author" heart super happy. 🖤

And yes. I'll be booting non-reviewers off the team before I send out ARCs for the fifth book in the Elemental Bloodlines series. Might sound harsh, but I'll be looking to expand this team to include more people who enjoy leaving reviews. Non-reviewers can simply buy my books, read them on library apps or Kobo Plus, or grab each one of my permafrees.

Now that that's been said, let's get to the good stuff. 📚

BookFunnel Link to Gift of Water

Since you may not have downloaded Gift of Water when I first shared its ARC link back in August, I figured I'd re-share the link in case you missed it the first time. Yes, this is the original ARC, and no, any typos brought to my attention haven't been fixed in this version of the book (yes, they're fixed in the version on the retailers). If you missed out the first time, don't forget to download your copy of Jasmin's steamy romance right here:

https://bf.clcarhart.com/gaukbx3hgh

If you have any trouble downloading the file onto your reading device, please contact the helpful people at BookFunnel. They're tech wizards and I'm not, so they can definitely defeat any cyber gremlins that meander your way.

Gift of Water Retailer Links

Once you've read Jasmin & Gregor's adventurous love story—fake romance & deadly mountain included—please leave your review in at least one place.

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196787421-gift-of-water

BookBub:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/gift-of-water-elemental-bloodlines-book-4-by-c-l-carhart

Amazon links:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFZTDFM4

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CFZTDFM4

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CFZTDFM4

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CFZTDFM4

Other retailers:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/gift-of-water/id6450994175

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gift-of-water-c-l-carhart/1143748472

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=UfzJEAAAQBAJ

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/gift-of-water

BookFunnel Link to Gift of Light

Whether you got the chance to read Gift of Light while it was in the Dukes of Magic anthology or not, here's a link to the ARC version of Helena's unlikely romance with Konstantin. Their story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in the Teutonic Fantasy Realm in the year 1898.

And Konstantin's a Black Priest with a big heart. So if you want to fall in love with him alongside Helena & this author, grab Gift of Light now!

https://bf.clcarhart.com/qknd5ufcn6

As always, if you have any trouble downloading the file onto your reading device, please contact the helpful people at BookFunnel.

Gift of Light Retailer Links

Once you've read Helena & Konstantin's enchanting love story, please leave your review in at least one place linked below. Gift of Light will be available on the retailers starting on Sunday the 10th, but early reviews can be left on Goodreads or BookBub.

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/180167984-gift-of-light

BookBub:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/gift-of-light-elemental-bloodlines-by-c-l-carhart

Amazon links:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C92XCZK3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C92XCZK3

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C92XCZK3

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C92XCZK3

Other retailers:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/gift-of-light/id6450560314

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gift-of-light-c-l-carhart/1143697278

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=8urGEAAAQBAJ

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/gift-of-light

I really do hope you'll enjoy both stories & leave your review in at least one place readers like to hang out. Remember, we recently learned that once a book reaches the 50 review mark on Amazon, the algorithms start recommending that book to readers browsing the store. That means your reviews are super important to an indie author who's still trying to make her career viable! 💖

If you honestly can't find the time to read a full-length book right now, I'd suggest you start with Gift of Light. It's only 9 chapters long, so you should be able to finish it while enjoying a cup of coffee. Or before hitting the sack. Or while sitting on the toilet. Or wherever else you happen to snag a few minutes of reading. 😉

Want a couple funky graphics to share on social media? I've been making new varieties recently, so feel free to tell all your friends about the elemental witches who meet their one true loves in Gift of Water and Gift of Light!

Happy reading, happy reviewing, and have a wonderfully weird weekend!

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart

PS - If you got through this entire email and thought to yourself, "Oh no, whyyyyy did I ever join C.L. Carhart's ARC team when I just don't have the headspace to review her books?!" please reply to this email and let me know! I totally don't judge people who'd rather just buy my books or read them on a library app so they don't have to ruminate on the content. Just give me a heads up so I can remove you from the team without a fuss. 🙂