I feel no shame in admitting that I am a Twilight fan and have not only read and watched every book and movie but own my own copy of each. I have always been fascinated by stories of vampires. Dracula by Bram Stoker is one of my favorite novels of all time. The eerie yet alluring nature of these blood sucking half dead creatures have always fascinated me. Once the sizzle and eventual end of the Twilight saga occurred I found myself missing having a vampire to read about. Then I discovered A Shade of Vampire and the plethora of books in The Shade series. There are 24 books to be exact. The 24th installment entitled A Shade of Vampire 24: A Bridge of Stars is available March 15th. But, for now I just want to focus on the first book.
Bella Forrest is a great writer and these books were a very unexpected find. I got bored one night and began looking through the Kindle Unlimited store and stumbled upon this series. I wanted to find something worthwhile for my next review. I almost kept going but I'm glad I decided to give the book a chance.
The story follows a seemingly average 17-year-old girl named Sofia and a vampire named Derek who had been asleep 400 years. I'd rather not waste time telling you the synopsis of the book because you can easily read that yourself. Instead I'll tell you how easy of a read it is. The chapters fly by and before you know it you're almost finished with the book. The story is complex, the dialogue intriguing and the characters well rounded and alluring. I loved that the chapters alternated perspectives between Derek and Sofia. I enjoyed experiencing the story walking a mile in both of their shoes. The story incorporated everything you'd want or expect from a teen melodrama centered around vampires. The flirty banter, the dangerous and heroic moments, the blood and temptation and of course the love and romance. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected but I love being pleasantly surprised by a book. I follow the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover," and it's usually worked in my favor. A sappy title or a poorly designed cover could be hiding a great and memorable story. I definitely think this series is worth checking out -- especially if you are like me and have a guilty pleasure for all things vampire.
Happy reading!
Breanna
