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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
It was advertised on Facebook as the next "Twilight". Naturally, I was skeptical, not sure if that was a good or bad thing, but as a "Twilight" fan, I bought it and gave it a chance.
Obviously I could compare it to Twilight, so there might be a bit of that; bear with me. There are many similarities, but a lot of those similarities are more commonplace with modern vampires. Bella Forrest has stuck to the traditional route with vampire tropes but giving it a modern twist. There are certainly Twilight-feels to this one, BUT it's not the same.
I can't help but love the heroine, Sofia, who is headstrong, passionate, flawed, and actually afraid of vampires! No, there is no immediate attraction to her captors, who are painted in their true light - as villains of the dark, who prey on humans, with very little (if any) remorse. She is a heroine worth routing for, and in the end she makes up her own mind to hate or love the vampires.
That brings us to the hero: Derek. He's got the same "I don't want to be a monster" internal issue going on, but the big difference is that Derek - and his family, and every other vampire we meet -
is actually dangerous, murderous, and certainly no human. This makes Derek's will to try not to be the monster he most certainly is more significant, because he, unlike Edward Cullen, isn't completely against giving into his true nature. This complicates his relationship with himself, with Sofia, with his family who have embarrassed the lifestyle.
"A Shade of Vampire" has an authentic feel to it; this is how I'd imagine vampires would act in the 21st century, with modern technology and humans at their disposal. It's fascinating, sure, but it's also terrifying and creepy - and not everyone goes goo-goo for them because THEY'RE UNDEAD MONSTERS. It's a nice take on modern vamps, with realistic reactions and classic tropes; there is still that "boyfriend vampire" element to it, but it feels less...well, less like teenage-angst than the majority of YA vampire fiction out there.
If you're into YA vampire tales, a fan of "Twilight", or just want an original-yet-tradition vampire story, this is the perfect book (or series, rather) for you!
Obviously I could compare it to Twilight, so there might be a bit of that; bear with me. There are many similarities, but a lot of those similarities are more commonplace with modern vampires. Bella Forrest has stuck to the traditional route with vampire tropes but giving it a modern twist. There are certainly Twilight-feels to this one, BUT it's not the same.
I can't help but love the heroine, Sofia, who is headstrong, passionate, flawed, and actually afraid of vampires! No, there is no immediate attraction to her captors, who are painted in their true light - as villains of the dark, who prey on humans, with very little (if any) remorse. She is a heroine worth routing for, and in the end she makes up her own mind to hate or love the vampires.
That brings us to the hero: Derek. He's got the same "I don't want to be a monster" internal issue going on, but the big difference is that Derek - and his family, and every other vampire we meet -
is actually dangerous, murderous, and certainly no human. This makes Derek's will to try not to be the monster he most certainly is more significant, because he, unlike Edward Cullen, isn't completely against giving into his true nature. This complicates his relationship with himself, with Sofia, with his family who have embarrassed the lifestyle.
"A Shade of Vampire" has an authentic feel to it; this is how I'd imagine vampires would act in the 21st century, with modern technology and humans at their disposal. It's fascinating, sure, but it's also terrifying and creepy - and not everyone goes goo-goo for them because THEY'RE UNDEAD MONSTERS. It's a nice take on modern vamps, with realistic reactions and classic tropes; there is still that "boyfriend vampire" element to it, but it feels less...well, less like teenage-angst than the majority of YA vampire fiction out there.
If you're into YA vampire tales, a fan of "Twilight", or just want an original-yet-tradition vampire story, this is the perfect book (or series, rather) for you!
I wasn't going to read this, but all the sparkly five star ratings on the goodreads piqued my curiosity.I got about 30% the book and couldn't go on anymore. Its been a long time since Ive actually regretted goodreads recommendation.
This is the worst Twilight fanfiction I have ever read. Like I really hated this book and the only reason I finished it was because it was only 144 pages long. Thank God, because it was 144 pages of pure cringe. I really should have listened to the reviews. Usually I ignore them and form my own opinions but they were right. To think it had such an intriguing premise and such a cool cover (that should clearly not be used to judge the book).
I don't even know where to begin so I'll start with the characters; I hated every single one of them. Each was just as flat and boring as the next. The worst part is that this book was written from multiple points of view. Cool, okay, I can get behind that. Except, in order for that kind of format to work, the characters need to sound like different characters. Legit, if the chapters weren't titled 'Derek' & 'Sofia' I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. So let's start with Sofia. She's our very irritating protagonist. An odd blend of 'defiant' and 'push over'. One minute she's bold and heroic the next she's a damsel. When it comes down to it I think she's more of a damsel. I hated reading the story through her eyes. Every time I saw the italics I cringed because I knew I was in for an awful insight into her mind. She's just such a hateable character. Like how do you fall in love with your captor that quickly after he pinned you against the wall? How do you fall in love with someone who is forcing you to be a part of their harem, who tried to drink your blood, who tried to 'force' you? "There was nothing about what Derek was doing that made me feel violated. That scared me. This an had me shoved up against a hard surface trapping me with his strong arms, crushing me. What does that say about me?" *Gags* It says a lot of things, and none of them are good. Talk about Stockholm Syndrome. And she's always saying shit like this. >.> It was so painful to read.
And then there's her whole edgy mental illness thing. I don't even know how mentioning that her mom went crazy was even relevant to the plot-line whatsoever. Other than making Sofia out to be some edge-lord. Honestly the way they talk about mental illness in this book is such bullshit. "I apparently had ADHD when I was a kid, OCD during my pre-teen years. Just recently they were testing me for bipolar disorder. Giben this situation I was sure I'd develop an extra disorder or two. Let's add post traumatic stress disorder to the bunch." I got PTSD from reading that shit. This sounds like one of those tumblr bios lol; 'I have depression, BPD, and schizophrenia'. And once again, how is this info relevant at all? Like thanks for sharing Sofia, but that has nothing to do with anything and it makes metal illness look like a joke or some cutting edge title.
Also Sofia is a Mary Sue. Water is wet. She's just like Bella Swan; "especially realizing I could never be like Tanya." She's constantly talking about how she's no match for pretty girls but Derek sees her and loves her on the spot. "You look gorgeous the dark haired woman told me [...] but don't worry...considering how stunning you look I doubt it will be difficult for you to please him." Just another gem of a quote. Not only does it radiate creep vibes but it further proves that despite her constant bitching about how plain she is, everyone things she's the most glorious and angelic figure in the universe.
So then we have Ben, the love interest. The opening scene was all about Sofia crying because he forgot her birthday like the world's greatest best friend. Naturally he apologizes and feels really bad. I mean of course, he's ideal boyfriend prototype no.1. Blonde and 'cute'. Legit, like 3 whole pages were spent with Sofia talking about how great he is and how jealous she was of what's her name. And that was on pages 4-6. I knew from that moment that I was going to hate the book--no quality literature has 3 pages dedicated to gushing about some teen crush. Basically he's just another boring and flat character whom I forgot about until he made an appearance again.
Lucas is an ass. I know a Lucas in real life, and this asswhipe reminds me of him. He's a creep and a manipulative douche. His intro was so cliche; dark, handsome, foreboding figure with uber-bright eyes appears on the beach and kidnaps a girl. His speech is just so odd and unnatural; "Yes. The name's Lucas, my sweet innocent. Not that knowing this will do you any good." No. One. Talks. Like. That. That piece of dialog reminds me of how I used to write when I was in eighth grade and trying to impress my teacher with my fancy vocabulary and grammatical structures. The worst part is, Lucas always talks like this. Uggg.
Moving on, we have Derek. Perfect boyfriend prototype no.2; the bad boy. Equally handsome but darkly so. He's like 400 or something and he's super attractive and doesn't know how to use phones. So naturally we have to take the time to read about Sofia teaching him to use a cellphone. This guy is the definitely Edward Cullen of this self-insert Twilight fic. He's all conflicted all the time. And he's always like, "you know I can kill you. I'd enjoy killing you...but I don't want to enjoy killing you. But I have to." Hello darkness my old friend. Want another taste of Edward Cullen? No? Too bad, you're gonna get some. Because on page he's all like, "I hated the authoritative tone my voice naturally took on." Trust me Derek, I hate it too. Like here we go, we have a guy whose dark and brooding and he really hates it. But he's not gonna change. And some time later he gets into a whole 'you're not like other girls' spiel. "I thought maybe you're one of THOSE girls. Girls who are fascinated by our kind." Derek, you make me--as a reader--lose interest in your kind.
Vivian who?
Cora who?
Tanya who?
Husky and Pitchy who?
Corina... the only decent character in this trainwreck of a book. Probably because she seems just as disappointed to be in the Shade as I am to be reading about the Shade.
Which leads me to my next point. The Shade. Convenient setting where it's always night because of a spell. There are tree houses. But modern tree houses with TV's and shit. How does no one in Forrest's universe know about this? Beats me. Sofia mentions something like that in the within the book but it was never give much thought. Speaking of illogical; how did Ben find her that fast? Ya know, nevermind. I have no clue how much time passed from beginning to end of the novel because there was no indication? TBH, I don't even know if I care.
So what else do I hate about this book. I hated that it had a strong creep vibe the entire time. They kept talking about being 'forced' which I'm assuming refers to sexual harassment or worse. And they talk about it so causally like it's no big deal. And we have 'quality' quotes like this; "It dawned on me suddenly what all these beauty treatments were for. They were preparing us for him. I checked the way I looked in front of a full length mirror. I couldn't remember feeling anymore beautiful." and "because as you know, blood tastes sweeter once they reach the fullness of womanhood at 18. Lucas scoffed at the notion, 'please it's all the same but really Derek enjoy them. Just looking at them is already a fest after the year ends imagine all the wicked things you can do with them.'" At least she decided to wait until they were 18 so their not children when they're being forced. Seriously, this book makes me want to punch my own lights out. This is what I mean when I said Lucas is an ass to end all asses. Just like the one I know IRL. Seriously, this guy is exactly like him so I hate his character ten fold.
And then there's that whole quote from above when whatever her name is, is telling Sofia how stunning and pleasing she looks. Nope. Just nope.
Gosh there is no end to how awful this writing is. Frankly I began dog-earring every page whereon I found something cringe-worthy. Let's just say I had dog-earred every other page before calling it quits. Another treasure from this novel reads; "The very thought of going up there triggered my non-existent fear of heights." *Exhales loudly* I just...I just don't even know what to say about this. That word choice though, 'non-existent' this is the kind of shit I say when I'm making jokes with my friends. 'Triggered'. How does one trigger something that supposedly doesn't exist. If she's not afraid of heights then why is she suddenly afraid of heights? That sentence is a paradox, it makes no sense.
What I mean to say here is I just hate the way that this is written. It truly does read like a bad fanfic. It sounds like Bella's just using big words and structuring sentences in fancy ways just to look clever. It has the opposite affect.
Second book I read in a row that disappointed me (so far, not a good year for reading). Hopefully my next read will be better.
Jesus Christ, I'm done. -2/10 would not read again.
I don't even know where to begin so I'll start with the characters; I hated every single one of them. Each was just as flat and boring as the next. The worst part is that this book was written from multiple points of view. Cool, okay, I can get behind that. Except, in order for that kind of format to work, the characters need to sound like different characters. Legit, if the chapters weren't titled 'Derek' & 'Sofia' I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. So let's start with Sofia. She's our very irritating protagonist. An odd blend of 'defiant' and 'push over'. One minute she's bold and heroic the next she's a damsel. When it comes down to it I think she's more of a damsel. I hated reading the story through her eyes. Every time I saw the italics I cringed because I knew I was in for an awful insight into her mind. She's just such a hateable character. Like how do you fall in love with your captor that quickly after he pinned you against the wall? How do you fall in love with someone who is forcing you to be a part of their harem, who tried to drink your blood, who tried to 'force' you? "There was nothing about what Derek was doing that made me feel violated. That scared me. This an had me shoved up against a hard surface trapping me with his strong arms, crushing me. What does that say about me?" *Gags* It says a lot of things, and none of them are good. Talk about Stockholm Syndrome. And she's always saying shit like this. >.> It was so painful to read.
And then there's her whole edgy mental illness thing. I don't even know how mentioning that her mom went crazy was even relevant to the plot-line whatsoever. Other than making Sofia out to be some edge-lord. Honestly the way they talk about mental illness in this book is such bullshit. "I apparently had ADHD when I was a kid, OCD during my pre-teen years. Just recently they were testing me for bipolar disorder. Giben this situation I was sure I'd develop an extra disorder or two. Let's add post traumatic stress disorder to the bunch." I got PTSD from reading that shit. This sounds like one of those tumblr bios lol; 'I have depression, BPD, and schizophrenia'. And once again, how is this info relevant at all? Like thanks for sharing Sofia, but that has nothing to do with anything and it makes metal illness look like a joke or some cutting edge title.
Also Sofia is a Mary Sue. Water is wet. She's just like Bella Swan; "especially realizing I could never be like Tanya." She's constantly talking about how she's no match for pretty girls but Derek sees her and loves her on the spot. "You look gorgeous the dark haired woman told me [...] but don't worry...considering how stunning you look I doubt it will be difficult for you to please him." Just another gem of a quote. Not only does it radiate creep vibes but it further proves that despite her constant bitching about how plain she is, everyone things she's the most glorious and angelic figure in the universe.
So then we have Ben, the love interest. The opening scene was all about Sofia crying because he forgot her birthday like the world's greatest best friend. Naturally he apologizes and feels really bad. I mean of course, he's ideal boyfriend prototype no.1. Blonde and 'cute'. Legit, like 3 whole pages were spent with Sofia talking about how great he is and how jealous she was of what's her name. And that was on pages 4-6. I knew from that moment that I was going to hate the book--no quality literature has 3 pages dedicated to gushing about some teen crush. Basically he's just another boring and flat character whom I forgot about until he made an appearance again.
Lucas is an ass. I know a Lucas in real life, and this asswhipe reminds me of him. He's a creep and a manipulative douche. His intro was so cliche; dark, handsome, foreboding figure with uber-bright eyes appears on the beach and kidnaps a girl. His speech is just so odd and unnatural; "Yes. The name's Lucas, my sweet innocent. Not that knowing this will do you any good." No. One. Talks. Like. That. That piece of dialog reminds me of how I used to write when I was in eighth grade and trying to impress my teacher with my fancy vocabulary and grammatical structures. The worst part is, Lucas always talks like this. Uggg.
Moving on, we have Derek. Perfect boyfriend prototype no.2; the bad boy. Equally handsome but darkly so. He's like 400 or something and he's super attractive and doesn't know how to use phones. So naturally we have to take the time to read about Sofia teaching him to use a cellphone. This guy is the definitely Edward Cullen of this self-insert Twilight fic. He's all conflicted all the time. And he's always like, "you know I can kill you. I'd enjoy killing you...but I don't want to enjoy killing you. But I have to." Hello darkness my old friend. Want another taste of Edward Cullen? No? Too bad, you're gonna get some. Because on page he's all like, "I hated the authoritative tone my voice naturally took on." Trust me Derek, I hate it too. Like here we go, we have a guy whose dark and brooding and he really hates it. But he's not gonna change. And some time later he gets into a whole 'you're not like other girls' spiel. "I thought maybe you're one of THOSE girls. Girls who are fascinated by our kind." Derek, you make me--as a reader--lose interest in your kind.
Vivian who?
Cora who?
Tanya who?
Husky and Pitchy who?
Corina... the only decent character in this trainwreck of a book. Probably because she seems just as disappointed to be in the Shade as I am to be reading about the Shade.
Which leads me to my next point. The Shade. Convenient setting where it's always night because of a spell. There are tree houses. But modern tree houses with TV's and shit. How does no one in Forrest's universe know about this? Beats me. Sofia mentions something like that in the within the book but it was never give much thought. Speaking of illogical; how did Ben find her that fast? Ya know, nevermind. I have no clue how much time passed from beginning to end of the novel because there was no indication? TBH, I don't even know if I care.
So what else do I hate about this book. I hated that it had a strong creep vibe the entire time. They kept talking about being 'forced' which I'm assuming refers to sexual harassment or worse. And they talk about it so causally like it's no big deal. And we have 'quality' quotes like this; "It dawned on me suddenly what all these beauty treatments were for. They were preparing us for him. I checked the way I looked in front of a full length mirror. I couldn't remember feeling anymore beautiful." and "because as you know, blood tastes sweeter once they reach the fullness of womanhood at 18. Lucas scoffed at the notion, 'please it's all the same but really Derek enjoy them. Just looking at them is already a fest after the year ends imagine all the wicked things you can do with them.'" At least she decided to wait until they were 18 so their not children when they're being forced. Seriously, this book makes me want to punch my own lights out. This is what I mean when I said Lucas is an ass to end all asses. Just like the one I know IRL. Seriously, this guy is exactly like him so I hate his character ten fold.
And then there's that whole quote from above when whatever her name is, is telling Sofia how stunning and pleasing she looks. Nope. Just nope.
Gosh there is no end to how awful this writing is. Frankly I began dog-earring every page whereon I found something cringe-worthy. Let's just say I had dog-earred every other page before calling it quits. Another treasure from this novel reads; "The very thought of going up there triggered my non-existent fear of heights." *Exhales loudly* I just...I just don't even know what to say about this. That word choice though, 'non-existent' this is the kind of shit I say when I'm making jokes with my friends. 'Triggered'. How does one trigger something that supposedly doesn't exist. If she's not afraid of heights then why is she suddenly afraid of heights? That sentence is a paradox, it makes no sense.
What I mean to say here is I just hate the way that this is written. It truly does read like a bad fanfic. It sounds like Bella's just using big words and structuring sentences in fancy ways just to look clever. It has the opposite affect.
Second book I read in a row that disappointed me (so far, not a good year for reading). Hopefully my next read will be better.
Jesus Christ, I'm done. -2/10 would not read again.
*edit* why did I think 2 stars was a good idea? This book was atrocious. What was I thinking?
Vampires.I always have a thing for vampires,and since this was $1 I figured why the heck not.
Meh.
Eh.
See, I don't even know what to say about this stupid book.
For some reason, I kinda want to give the book a chance. Yet the writing was atrocious, it moved so fast (is it supposed to be that quick?), and Sofia made me want to slap her in the face. Ok,I have read a lot of 'insta-love' books, so it should be nothing new. But seriously? SERIOUSLY??? Ugh.
And Derek. For someone who has been asleep for so long, maybe the attitude at least could be one of someone who's not used to this new century.
Everything seemed so rushed. Character development, scene introduction, a little bit of work on the description of the area (no, I'm not asking for Tolkien here, 10 pages of how pretty a mountainside looks).
I wavered between 2 and 3, and decided on 2 stars. Why is there no half yet?
Part of me wants to read the second one. The series is quite large, and supposedly the second is longer, so maybe this one was a fluke? Or I could be a glutton for punishment.
Vampires.I always have a thing for vampires,and since this was $1 I figured why the heck not.
Meh.
Eh.
See, I don't even know what to say about this stupid book.
For some reason, I kinda want to give the book a chance. Yet the writing was atrocious, it moved so fast (is it supposed to be that quick?), and Sofia made me want to slap her in the face. Ok,I have read a lot of 'insta-love' books, so it should be nothing new. But seriously? SERIOUSLY??? Ugh.
And Derek. For someone who has been asleep for so long, maybe the attitude at least could be one of someone who's not used to this new century.
Everything seemed so rushed. Character development, scene introduction, a little bit of work on the description of the area (no, I'm not asking for Tolkien here, 10 pages of how pretty a mountainside looks).
I wavered between 2 and 3, and decided on 2 stars. Why is there no half yet?
Part of me wants to read the second one. The series is quite large, and supposedly the second is longer, so maybe this one was a fluke? Or I could be a glutton for punishment.
2.5. I'm being generous and rounding up to three because the bones of the series are strong.the execution, however, is slightly underwhelming, to say the least. There are hints at prophecy, power struggles, horrific death and destruction, and the like, all of which would be compelling, but the main characters are so dry. There is not much character development, and enough pseudoscience for me to roll my eyes. However, I did try to look for ways to get the next book immediately after finishing the first, so there's something to be said for that. It's a quick read in the style of "Twilight" but overall is kinda meh...
4 stars is probably generous for how short and fast paced and little detail this book held; and the very rushed romance BUT the first book holds promise. I think the books will get better and the next one is almost 400 pages, so I think there'll be better characterization and development and description and pace and I'm excited
Not sure how I feel about this book, yet. Not even sure if I'll continue to read the rest of the series.
The author of this book asked me to review it and I'm gladly surprised and grateful because I really enjoyed the book. It is a quick read, easy and enjoyable, though I must be honest: it is not the best book out there. It's made of clichés, with the vampire that has always been troubled for being what he is, and the girl who can't see what she really is; but hey! All stories are clichés, what makes them different is how they are written.
I like Sofia's personality and how her condition really shaped her, I believe it gives her a great feature for a heroine in a story, so I'm waiting to see how she evolves in the next book. I sense she can be amazing.
Derek is a lovely character, sweet yet powerful, tender yet dominant as a prince of his kind. He is really charming and I must admit, he made me melt by the end of the book.
I don't give it 5 stars, even when I enjoyed it very much, because I would'e liked more originality. I love vampires and I always want to be amazed; but regardless of that, it is a good book. There were minor mistakes, I can remember only two, but that was maybe for the version the author gave me.
I really recommend this book if what you're looking for is something light and sweet, a quick read. Almost like a short story, you can read it in one stand.
I like Sofia's personality and how her condition really shaped her, I believe it gives her a great feature for a heroine in a story, so I'm waiting to see how she evolves in the next book. I sense she can be amazing.
Derek is a lovely character, sweet yet powerful, tender yet dominant as a prince of his kind. He is really charming and I must admit, he made me melt by the end of the book.
I don't give it 5 stars, even when I enjoyed it very much, because I would'e liked more originality. I love vampires and I always want to be amazed; but regardless of that, it is a good book. There were minor mistakes, I can remember only two, but that was maybe for the version the author gave me.
I really recommend this book if what you're looking for is something light and sweet, a quick read. Almost like a short story, you can read it in one stand.
