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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I got this book from [a:Bella Forrest|6860531|Bella Forrest|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1405164341p2/6860531.jpg] in exchange for an honest review.
And I wished I could give it more than 2 stars, but I just can't... I couldn't get myself invested in it, I had to force myself to finish it, even though it was only short (that's why it took a long time). I can't exactly explain why that was though, but I'm going to try.
First of all the characters felt really flat to me. You're not really getting to know them, not really getting to know why they do things, and that's something I usually search for in books. I didn't get why Derek fell so much in love with Sofia (I could understand the interest in her, but not the way it played out), I didn't get any reasons for the behaviour of Lucas...
The story isn't very original, girl gets kidnapped by vampire, vampire falls in love with her, at the end girl realises she loves him as well, so that didn't do it for me either.
Was it really bad? No, it wasn't, but it was'nt original and compelling enough to earn more than 2 stars, for me at least.
And I wished I could give it more than 2 stars, but I just can't... I couldn't get myself invested in it, I had to force myself to finish it, even though it was only short (that's why it took a long time). I can't exactly explain why that was though, but I'm going to try.
First of all the characters felt really flat to me. You're not really getting to know them, not really getting to know why they do things, and that's something I usually search for in books. I didn't get why Derek fell so much in love with Sofia (I could understand the interest in her, but not the way it played out), I didn't get any reasons for the behaviour of Lucas...
The story isn't very original, girl gets kidnapped by vampire, vampire falls in love with her, at the end girl realises she loves him as well, so that didn't do it for me either.
Was it really bad? No, it wasn't, but it was'nt original and compelling enough to earn more than 2 stars, for me at least.
It's actually a 2.5
I was sent the book y the author for a review.
First the positive aspects: I really like the writing style, I like two points of views, it makes it possible to see the vampire culture from two different points of view, and it is a nice, short introduction to a new world. So I say that it is indeed a nice first book
Negative aspects: I imagine writers write partly what they want to, and partly what they expects readers to like. I for one am really fed up by the 'love at first sight'/'we were ment to be by destiny' trope. I would like two characters to get to know each other, fight, patch up, learn about one another before deciding the sun, moon and universe sets in eachother's eyes. And if the book is meant for teenagers, though a love destined by the heavens is cool, I'd like for them to have some examples of love stories that hit closer to reality and home
I was sent the book y the author for a review.
First the positive aspects: I really like the writing style, I like two points of views, it makes it possible to see the vampire culture from two different points of view, and it is a nice, short introduction to a new world. So I say that it is indeed a nice first book
Negative aspects: I imagine writers write partly what they want to, and partly what they expects readers to like. I for one am really fed up by the 'love at first sight'/'we were ment to be by destiny' trope. I would like two characters to get to know each other, fight, patch up, learn about one another before deciding the sun, moon and universe sets in eachother's eyes. And if the book is meant for teenagers, though a love destined by the heavens is cool, I'd like for them to have some examples of love stories that hit closer to reality and home
I liked it however when I got to the end of the book I felt totally jipped! I didn't realize how short the book was! It's different when you buy kindle books because you don't see the thickness of the book so unless you look to see how many pages the book is you don't realize until you get to the end. That being said I am going to continue reading on in the series. I have a problem, once I start a series I have to finish it!
WOW---what a great vampire story. I really enjoy Sofia's story and her coming out of her shell when she really needs to depend on herself and her wits. Derek's story is great too being asleep for as long as he had and being introduced to a more technical age. Looking forward to the next story.
A Shade of Vampire tells the tale of Sofia Claremont, who on her seventeenth birthday, is kidnapped and taken 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. The only way to survive is to win over the prince of vampires.
A Shade of Vampire was a highly entertaining, quick, fast-paced read. However, it was too quick and too fast-paced. This wasn’t so much a novel as it was a novella, one that I finished in under 3 hours. Due to its length, the story and characters were not explored in depth or detail, and that was extremely disappointing. Forrest has a great idea here (hence the high ratings) but I needed more than an idea, I wanted a full story. What was in this book was incredibly rushed, it was as if the author didn’t know how to fill in the blanks. We know next to nothing about the Sofia or many of the other characters. And the romance in the story wasn’t even remotely believable. That was one big problem I had with this book, the romance. It didn’t read like a love story to me, but of a tale on Stockholm Syndrome. And maybe it’s the adult in me, or my inner feminist, but a man going into jealous rage and attacking his supposed "love" is not romantic AT ALL. Him feeling guilty afterwards doesn’t make up for it either. To make matters worse, after this rage you flip a few pages and BAM! the leading lady is suddenly in love. Doesn’t work for me.
I did love the overall story though – the mysterious vampire island full of humans who were kidnapped and forced into slavery – it’s a great idea and one I would have liked to see explored more. I wanted to know more about this island, I wanted to know more about the inhabitants, and I wanted more on surviving this horrific ordeal. Forrest had everything going for her in this book, all of the ideas were there, but nothing was truly delved into. You just saw a tiny glimpse of the awesome this story could have been.
Overall, I enjoyed most of what I read (minus the ridiculous romance), I just wanted more. If you’re looking for a fast read to entertain you, I would recommend A Shade of Vampire, but don’t expect too much from it.
A Shade of Vampire was a highly entertaining, quick, fast-paced read. However, it was too quick and too fast-paced. This wasn’t so much a novel as it was a novella, one that I finished in under 3 hours. Due to its length, the story and characters were not explored in depth or detail, and that was extremely disappointing. Forrest has a great idea here (hence the high ratings) but I needed more than an idea, I wanted a full story. What was in this book was incredibly rushed, it was as if the author didn’t know how to fill in the blanks. We know next to nothing about the Sofia or many of the other characters. And the romance in the story wasn’t even remotely believable. That was one big problem I had with this book, the romance. It didn’t read like a love story to me, but of a tale on Stockholm Syndrome. And maybe it’s the adult in me, or my inner feminist, but a man going into jealous rage and attacking his supposed "love" is not romantic AT ALL. Him feeling guilty afterwards doesn’t make up for it either. To make matters worse, after this rage you flip a few pages and BAM! the leading lady is suddenly in love. Doesn’t work for me.
I did love the overall story though – the mysterious vampire island full of humans who were kidnapped and forced into slavery – it’s a great idea and one I would have liked to see explored more. I wanted to know more about this island, I wanted to know more about the inhabitants, and I wanted more on surviving this horrific ordeal. Forrest had everything going for her in this book, all of the ideas were there, but nothing was truly delved into. You just saw a tiny glimpse of the awesome this story could have been.
Overall, I enjoyed most of what I read (minus the ridiculous romance), I just wanted more. If you’re looking for a fast read to entertain you, I would recommend A Shade of Vampire, but don’t expect too much from it.
ARC was kindly provided by the author for an honest review.
"If i ever allowed myself to fall in love with Derek Novak, I was certain that i would forever be a captive of The Shade."
A Shade of Vampire is the first novel in Bella Forest's Shade of Vampire series. Though it is short and does have one of my worst fears in a book... the dreaded insta-love and hints of an upcoming love triangle. I enjoyed this book very much. As i said it is short but that doesn't mean it is lacking in any aspect, there is plenty of action within these pages.
Sofia was kidnapped on her seventeenth birthday and taken to an island where it is constantly night and ruled by Vampires. The Shade is home to a coven of Vampires who abduct and enslave humans and Sofia is no different. Though these creatures are otherworldly and incredibly beautiful they are also cruel in almost a savage way. Sofia witnesses some of this cruelty herself so when told she is to be of services to the Prince Derek Novac she cannot imagine what horrors await her.
Derek has slept for the past 400 years under a spell of a witch who's spells protect the Shade and keeps the island in eternal night. So when he is first introduced to his harmen not long after his awakening although bloodthirsty he resists draining Sofia of all her blood.
Cue insta-love
Sofia comes to realize that having the Prince as a master may not be the worst fate within the Shade and comes to realize it's within her best interest to stay on his good side. However Sofia is being stalked, caught between the desire and possessiveness of two siblings she does her best to survive within the shade while fearing her stalker she comes to realize shes fallen in love with her captor.
There was a smile on my face as i walked out of her room. With Sofia, it felt like i'd finally found my compass. I knew that as long as i had her, i had someone to keep me grounded, someone to direct my way. If only for Sofia, I had a reason to stay awake.
As i said i am not a fan of insta love and it can put me off a story but A Shade of Vampire was a treat of a debut. I liked both Derek and Sofia and really enjoyed the plot and the world building held my interest. Brilliant start to the series and i'm very excited to see where it will lead.
"If i ever allowed myself to fall in love with Derek Novak, I was certain that i would forever be a captive of The Shade."
A Shade of Vampire is the first novel in Bella Forest's Shade of Vampire series. Though it is short and does have one of my worst fears in a book... the dreaded insta-love and hints of an upcoming love triangle. I enjoyed this book very much. As i said it is short but that doesn't mean it is lacking in any aspect, there is plenty of action within these pages.
Sofia was kidnapped on her seventeenth birthday and taken to an island where it is constantly night and ruled by Vampires. The Shade is home to a coven of Vampires who abduct and enslave humans and Sofia is no different. Though these creatures are otherworldly and incredibly beautiful they are also cruel in almost a savage way. Sofia witnesses some of this cruelty herself so when told she is to be of services to the Prince Derek Novac she cannot imagine what horrors await her.
Derek has slept for the past 400 years under a spell of a witch who's spells protect the Shade and keeps the island in eternal night. So when he is first introduced to his harmen not long after his awakening although bloodthirsty he resists draining Sofia of all her blood.
Cue insta-love
Sofia comes to realize that having the Prince as a master may not be the worst fate within the Shade and comes to realize it's within her best interest to stay on his good side. However Sofia is being stalked, caught between the desire and possessiveness of two siblings she does her best to survive within the shade while fearing her stalker she comes to realize shes fallen in love with her captor.
There was a smile on my face as i walked out of her room. With Sofia, it felt like i'd finally found my compass. I knew that as long as i had her, i had someone to keep me grounded, someone to direct my way. If only for Sofia, I had a reason to stay awake.
As i said i am not a fan of insta love and it can put me off a story but A Shade of Vampire was a treat of a debut. I liked both Derek and Sofia and really enjoyed the plot and the world building held my interest. Brilliant start to the series and i'm very excited to see where it will lead.
I enjoyed this one. It was interesting and I loved the whole vampire secret island where it is always dark. The only thing I would have changed was the fact that it was not enough action and there needed to be more passion/love scenes between Derek and Sofia. I am also hoping that the sequel will have a darker edge.....Looking forward to seeing how this plays out....
3.5 stars
A really quick but pretty enjoyable read. Will probably continue the series.
A really quick but pretty enjoyable read. Will probably continue the series.
I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest review.
I ended up giving this book 4 stars. This book was a fun, quick and easy read. I loved the characters, as well as the description that Forrest gave to the setting, which just pulled me into the story even more. The love story, while at times unbelievable, really pulled me in and made me root for the characters. I really did love this book over all, but there were a few little things that nagged at me a bit. Such as the fact that they pretty much fell in love with each other instantly,(sorry kids it doesn't actually work like that). Another thing that I didn't like was the ending, a crazy cliff hanger that leaves you needing to buy the next book (which I did and I loved it as well), cliffhangers always annoy me in books, movies, whatever, I hate cliffhangers.
This book may not be the most deep, soul shattering book ever written, but man it was entertaining and kept me interested from first sentence to last sentence.
I ended up giving this book 4 stars. This book was a fun, quick and easy read. I loved the characters, as well as the description that Forrest gave to the setting, which just pulled me into the story even more. The love story, while at times unbelievable, really pulled me in and made me root for the characters. I really did love this book over all, but there were a few little things that nagged at me a bit. Such as the fact that they pretty much fell in love with each other instantly,(sorry kids it doesn't actually work like that). Another thing that I didn't like was the ending, a crazy cliff hanger that leaves you needing to buy the next book (which I did and I loved it as well), cliffhangers always annoy me in books, movies, whatever, I hate cliffhangers.
This book may not be the most deep, soul shattering book ever written, but man it was entertaining and kept me interested from first sentence to last sentence.