A review by sarabook
A Whisper in the Dark by Jessi Elliott, K.J. Sutton

3.0

At a little over 90 pages, this urban fantasy does a pretty decent job of setting up a compelling world where vampires rule via a viscous vampire king, and humans are the bottom of the food chain. It's a world where vampires are assigned a place to live on the day of their Awakening - where their eyes will reveal their true calling. And Charlotte Travesty, daughter of the king, is about to find out her destiny may not be quite what she expects it to be.

Obviously given the length there's not too much character development, and I did find that a few of the characters we meet fall very quickly into the usual stereotypes of naive good guy, brooding hot guy and sassy sister - but I'm willing to give them a chance to grow and surprise me over the future installments to the series. There's certainly chemistry, even if it feels a little too much too soon. Charlie does also seem incredibly cloistered and naive about this new world she's thrust into, and at times I found her a little annoying - but she has all the potential to be a great protagonist.

I'm really most taken in by the world, with this strict heirachy of vampires all ruled under a cruel vampire who delights in torture and pain, and an heir who is even worse. I'm really intrigued to see where the story goes in terms of expanding on this lore, and hopefully seeing a range of vampires defined by their eye colour - and why this system is so important to uphold by the king. The Lavenders, and Charlie's involvement in their group, is also really intriguing.

An interesting start to a series that has a lot of potential for those who enjoy a good fantasy romance.