{Book Review} A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire #1)

Author: Bella Forrest

Genre: YA paranormal
Published: December 14th 2012
Publisher:
Pages: 147
Source: Purchased Paperback
Available at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Summary:

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?

My Rating of this Book – 4 out of 5 stars

My Review:

So, as you probably read in my Swoon Thursday last week or on Goodreads, I don’t normally go for vampire novels. I never even bothered to pick up the Twilight Saga. However, when A Shade of Vampire was recommended by a Goodreads friend, I was intrigued by the summary. It didn’t sound like the typical vampire stories, so I had to at least give it a try. And I’m so glad I did. It’s really a treasure.

The main characters were wonderful. Sophia was an especially interesting character to follow. She might not be a ‘kick butt’ heroine many look for in a novel, but she still had a strength that lies deeper. With what she went through with Lucas, Derek’s older brother, I was surprised she didn’t crack or go mental. Also, she had a fascinating psychological condition, one that turned things to her advantage. Then, of course, there was Derek Novak. OMG, I loved him throughout this entire novella. Yes, I just said I loved a vampire! Cold skin and all! He’s an amazing character. Not only swoon worthy but totally at the top of my Best Book Boyfriends list.

I also found the plot intriguing. It was original and captivating. I loved the setting of The Shade, the tension between brothers, the relationship between Sophia and Derek, and the general law and order of the vampire world. Really, out of everything, there were only two things that gnawed at me: slang references and the climax.

I noticed the characters were all using the exact same slang references, when in reality, they’d probably be very different. For example, Sophia used the word ‘sup,’ as in ‘supper,’ in her narrative, and then Derek used the same reference in his dialogue. Considering Derek had been asleep for 400 years, I don’t think he have the same vocabulary as Sophia. Also, Sophia mentally referred to one vampire as ‘Pitchy,’ because of the high note in his voice, and later Lucas used the same nickname, where I can see him actually using a nastier one. I know this is a small detail, but I feel that using different slang for different characters give them their own identity and personality.

As for the climax, well, I probably just had too high of an expectation, but it really wasn’t as thrilling as I hoped. The plot felt like it was leading to an epic rescue or at least an epic fight, which unfortunately never happened. It fell kind of flat, actually, which disappointed me.

Despite those little flaws, this is truly a wonderful novella! I was swallowed whole and enjoyed every minute of reading it. I would highly recommend it, and I honestly can’t want to get my hands on book 2.