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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pretty good, Very similar to twilight but the protagonist has a bit more spunk in her.
This one was not to my taste. Sofia gets kidnapped off the beach by an evil vampire who takes her to a secret island to be in the freshly-awakened vampire prince's harem.
I'm all about the overwrought YA angst, but this one just had too many places where I had to suspend disbelief (and not in a good way) and scratch my head for the plot.
Why did they awaken Derek? If Lucas is all evil, why did he allow this? If Derek is all goody goody, why doesn't he immediately change all the rules on Shade? If all the other vampires are like "oh you are a legend, we shall bow down before you, we need you to save us" shouldn't that be possible?
Why is Corrine helping them if she's a powerful witch?
I understand Stockholm syndrome, but the insta-love (and mostly summarized insta-love at that, rather than letting the reader experience the delicious, slow build up of trust and friendship) here was too soon, too sudden, and made Sofia seem like a patsy instead of a strong character. She's all holding hands and asking "can I trust you?" and when Derek says yes is all believing and mushy. Hmm.....she's a slave. She's seen other humans horribly mistreated (although strangely enough she and the other harem girls are not mistreated in the slightest bit and she evens easily dissuades Derek the 400 year old vampire from even kissing!) and she's all like "but I can trust YOU."
Maybe the whole slave thing made me squirmy. I'm not sure. But this one wasn't for me.
I'm all about the overwrought YA angst, but this one just had too many places where I had to suspend disbelief (and not in a good way) and scratch my head for the plot.
Why did they awaken Derek? If Lucas is all evil, why did he allow this? If Derek is all goody goody, why doesn't he immediately change all the rules on Shade? If all the other vampires are like "oh you are a legend, we shall bow down before you, we need you to save us" shouldn't that be possible?
Why is Corrine helping them if she's a powerful witch?
I understand Stockholm syndrome, but the insta-love (and mostly summarized insta-love at that, rather than letting the reader experience the delicious, slow build up of trust and friendship) here was too soon, too sudden, and made Sofia seem like a patsy instead of a strong character. She's all holding hands and asking "can I trust you?" and when Derek says yes is all believing and mushy. Hmm.....she's a slave. She's seen other humans horribly mistreated (although strangely enough she and the other harem girls are not mistreated in the slightest bit and she evens easily dissuades Derek the 400 year old vampire from even kissing!) and she's all like "but I can trust YOU."
Maybe the whole slave thing made me squirmy. I'm not sure. But this one wasn't for me.
First of all, I have to thank the author for the free pdf copy you had given away. :)
When I started reading "A Shade of Vampire", I had prepared myself for a typical vampire-human love story. But despite of how cliche the story is, Sofia and Derek's persona are so intriguing that you can't help enjoy reading their story.
To the author, congratulations for a well formed plot and I'm looking forward to read more of Sofia and Derek's story. :)
When I started reading "A Shade of Vampire", I had prepared myself for a typical vampire-human love story. But despite of how cliche the story is, Sofia and Derek's persona are so intriguing that you can't help enjoy reading their story.
To the author, congratulations for a well formed plot and I'm looking forward to read more of Sofia and Derek's story. :)
Wow. Dnf'd once she met the Dude. Its like the worst parts of twilight on crack.
Like most of the books I read (especially lately, it feels like), I wasn't sure what to expect when I started A Shade Of Vampire. I was definitely surprised, and I really liked what Forrest did with her vampires. A coven on an island, full of really powerful vampires, where the sun never shines, and they look to a royal Prince, who just awake from a coma that lasted centuries.
I liked A Shade Of Vampire, but honestly? Trying to talk about why I liked it almost 2 weeks after finishing it...I'm finding that it doesn't really stand out to me as a book.
Why Sofia's blood is so important was interesting, but that's basically the one thing I can remember. Oh, and she manages to get off of the island, but I can't remember if she stays or goes, because I feel like she wasn't sure about what she wanted to do. I do remember feeling pretty meh about the romance, because they didn't really have any chemistry- it really did feel bland to the point of being pointless.
To be even more honest, I am not sure what else to say about A Shade Of Vampire. Although...I can imagine a group of vampires being called a shade. Like, a parliament of owls, but with shade and vampires? On second thought, maybe that makes more sense in my head...
It is pretty short, and I know there are a ton of books in this series, and it does make me wonder if all of the books are going to be around 150 pages.
Let's Rate It: I do like A Shade Of Vampire, but unfortunately, it's a book that is proving to be not memorable a couple of weeks after finishing it. Still, A Shade Of Vampire gets 3 stars.
I liked A Shade Of Vampire, but honestly? Trying to talk about why I liked it almost 2 weeks after finishing it...I'm finding that it doesn't really stand out to me as a book.
Why Sofia's blood is so important was interesting, but that's basically the one thing I can remember. Oh, and she manages to get off of the island, but I can't remember if she stays or goes, because I feel like she wasn't sure about what she wanted to do. I do remember feeling pretty meh about the romance, because they didn't really have any chemistry- it really did feel bland to the point of being pointless.
To be even more honest, I am not sure what else to say about A Shade Of Vampire. Although...I can imagine a group of vampires being called a shade. Like, a parliament of owls, but with shade and vampires? On second thought, maybe that makes more sense in my head...
It is pretty short, and I know there are a ton of books in this series, and it does make me wonder if all of the books are going to be around 150 pages.
Let's Rate It: I do like A Shade Of Vampire, but unfortunately, it's a book that is proving to be not memorable a couple of weeks after finishing it. Still, A Shade Of Vampire gets 3 stars.
Love this book! The love triangle between Derek, Sofia, and Ben is reminiscent of Twilight with Edward, Bella, and Jacob but written way better. There is an actual plot to the story and it does not just revolve around the love triangle. Sofia is kidnapped and brought to the island, but Derek's heart becomes enslaved by Sofia.
The character development even during this first book was actually decent. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in this series. If you liked Twilight, then you will love this series too. It is a perfect next series to read after Twilight.
The character development even during this first book was actually decent. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in this series. If you liked Twilight, then you will love this series too. It is a perfect next series to read after Twilight.
(actual rating: 2.5)
After turning the last page, one word came to my mind: underdeveloped. Characters, plot, worldbuilding, you name it. A Shade of Vampire has all the ingredients to be a thrilling and heartwrenching paranormal romance, it is well-written, but I never felt like it reached its full potential.
Maybe it's due to its unfavorable length, somewhere between a longer novella and short novel. The history of Shade, the vampire island, is touched on only briefly. Some more substance to the long-standing animosity between Derek, the vampire prince, and his brother Lucas or the antagonism between vampires and shadow hunters would have added some more flavor to the story, as well as some background and character development in Sofia. For the lack of it, I didn't see why she was so desperate to return to Ben, or why she fell so quickly for Derek. Everything happened so fast, and the emotional bond was lost on me, making it come across as insta-love.
On another note, A Shade of Vampire sports the sort of vampires I love-cruel, unflinching, dangerous and dark. I need to know more about the history of Shade and the political background. Bella Forrest has set the foundations for an awesome story, I just wish it was longer and that every aspect of the novel received the attention it deserves.
After turning the last page, one word came to my mind: underdeveloped. Characters, plot, worldbuilding, you name it. A Shade of Vampire has all the ingredients to be a thrilling and heartwrenching paranormal romance, it is well-written, but I never felt like it reached its full potential.
Maybe it's due to its unfavorable length, somewhere between a longer novella and short novel. The history of Shade, the vampire island, is touched on only briefly. Some more substance to the long-standing animosity between Derek, the vampire prince, and his brother Lucas or the antagonism between vampires and shadow hunters would have added some more flavor to the story, as well as some background and character development in Sofia. For the lack of it, I didn't see why she was so desperate to return to Ben, or why she fell so quickly for Derek. Everything happened so fast, and the emotional bond was lost on me, making it come across as insta-love.
On another note, A Shade of Vampire sports the sort of vampires I love-cruel, unflinching, dangerous and dark. I need to know more about the history of Shade and the political background. Bella Forrest has set the foundations for an awesome story, I just wish it was longer and that every aspect of the novel received the attention it deserves.