Title: A Shade of Vampire
Series: A Shade of Vampire, #1
Author: Bella Forrest
Publisher: Self Published
ISBN: 9781481280761
Tags: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance
Source: I received a copy in exchange for my honest review
Hearts: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
On the evening of Sofia Claremont’s seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.
A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.
She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.
An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.Sofia’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.
Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.
Will she succeed? …or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?
Review
Even though it’s a short and light read and I couldn’t fully connect with the characters, there is something with this book. Something that made me keep on going, loving every moment of it. It’s written in such a way that has me intrigued. I liked how in this book the vampires are more brutal, closer to the evil beings they once were for our ancestors. Cause you won’t find any “vegetarian” vampires, or soft, docile ones. Nope, we’re back to the beginning when vampires were at the top of the food chain and humans their food. Theirs to do with what they wanted. And it is a delightfully refreshing way to look at vampires.
The story is told through both Derek and Sofia. As I said I had some trouble connecting with the both of them. I just could not feel any depth in their emotions. My heart did not race in my throat and I could not bring myself to truly care. Other then that it was fun reading about them. Sofia started out as a true wallflower, but she gradually became more comfortable and had no problem with telling what she felt. And it was great to see her grow like that.
Derek…. The verdict is still out for him. I was not able to fully make up my mind. He’s much harder to decipher than Sofia. There’s so much history between him and the other vampires. I only touched the tip of the iceberg, but I’m curious to what is underneath the surface. What secrets he has. For now he is an OK vampire, a bit different from the rest. And a knight in shining armor for Sofia. I look forward to see how their relationship develops ^^
Conclusion
4 HEARTS. There’s just something with this book that will make you like it. Even thought it’s a short story and the emotions the characters experience don’t really come across. The not so fluffy vampires also help add to the appeal. Sofia, a blossoming wallflower and Derek, an unusual vampire make the magic complete. I look forward to the next installment!
Did you come to the same conclusion? Please leave a comment 😉
A Shade of Vampire
- A Shade of Vampire
- A Shade of Blood
- A Shade of Sand (June 26th 2013)
Excerpt
I’d been meandering along the shore for about an hour when I suddenly sensed that I wasn’t alone. Someone was approaching me from behind. My heart leapt. I was so sure it was Ben, that when a stranger showed up beside me, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
He must have noticed, because a smirk formed on his lips. “Were you expecting someone else, love?”
I eyed him suspiciously, remembering how many times my father had told me not to talk to strangers. I looked him over, taking in his appearance. My eyes widened. I couldn’t find words to describe how fine a man he was. He was almost beautiful. The first thing I took notice of was how his blue eyes were about three shades brighter than any I’d ever seen before. It was such a stark contrast to his pale – almost white – skin and dark hair. Standing beside me, he was easily more than half a foot taller. His height, broad shoulders and lean build reminded me of Ben, but he had a presence that was far more imposing than my best friend’s.
My gaze settled on his face.
I realized that he was inspecting me just as closely as I was him. His eyes on me suddenly made me feel uncomfortably vulnerable. I gave my father’s advice a second thought, but quickly canceled out all notions of heeding to his counsel when I reminded myself that he stopped caring a long time ago.
I straightened to my full height and mustered all the courage I had to keep myself from running away from this stranger.
Big mistake.
The confident smirk didn’t leave his face for even a moment.
“Like what you see?”
“A bit full of yourself, aren’t you?” I scoffed, annoyed by his audacity.
He stepped forward, closer to me, and leaned his head toward mine.
“Don’t I have the right to be?”
He knew he looked good and wasn’t about to act like he didn’t.
“Whatever,” was my oh-so-brilliant comeback.
My shoulders sagged with defeat as I took a step back, unsettled by how close he was now. I rolled my eyes and did a one-eighty, not quite in the mood to play whatever game this stranger was proposing.
I would soon realize that I was about to play his game whether I liked it or not.
He grabbed my arm and turned my body to face him. This motion alone made every single internal alarm I had within me go off in a frenzy.
This man was danger and I knew it. I tried to wriggle away from his touch, but I was no match for his strength.
“Tell me your name,” he commanded.
I was about to refuse, but was horrified to find myself blurting out my name in response.
“Sofia Claremont.”
As soon as I revealed my name, his eyes lit up with a kind of sinister approval. Then he reached for my face and traced his thumb over my jaw line.
“Hello, Sofia Claremont. You’re one stupid girl for taking a walk alone at this time of night. You never know what kind of evil a pretty little thing like you could happen to come by.”
I found myself wondering exactly what kind of evil he was. But I was suddenly overcome by the sensations that were surrounding me. My senses took in everything at once. I heard the waves, felt the sand, smelled the ocean salt, tasted the flavor of cherry and saw the stranger’s manic appearance as he stuck a needle to my neck. The effect was instant. I was barely able to gasp, much less scream. I went from sensing everything to sensing absolutely nothing.
My last conscious thought was that I may never see Ben again.
Witchmag's Boekenplank 
Thank you for the ping back, I really liked your review, I am glad I am not the only one who likes that there is vampires who are vampires but it’s still a book that younger readers can read. The only thing that annoyed me was, I am getting tired of the main character being a girl who thinks she is plain and ends up being supermodel pretty (just a minor annoyance though). Thanks again.
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Yeah, cause what is a vampire without the blood? Someone with very sharp teeth?
And I agree with you about the plain Jane. One of my pet peeves too. It’s impossible for a girl to be beauty and not seeing all the looks men are giving her. (There are exceptions of course, but that is not the case here)
And no problem for the ping back. I liked your review too ^^
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I love this cover! I’ll add this to my reading list. Great review.
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It is, isn’t it ^^ But I like the cover of the second book in the series even more.
And thanks for the compliment!
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