A Shade of Vampire (Shade of Vampire, #1)

by Bella Forrest

[Angie]

I was really excited to read A Shade of Vampire! I’m sure you all know by now that I absolutely love vampires, so this should be no surprise. The Shade sounded super creepy and awesome, and it was! So why the 3 stars then? I just had a few issues with certain plot points, but other than that, this book was pretty great.

The main thing that made me like A Shade of Vampire less than I was expecting was all of the suggestions of rape from Lucas. I normally enjoy the villains, but he just made me extremely uncomfortable. Yes, it added a level of horror and tension to the plot, but it’s not a subject that I want to read about. In fact, I actively avoid stories with rape, so I was quite put off, even though it never actually happens. It was the mere suggestion of it that causes the book to lose a star from me.

Now for the good stuff. The Shade is wonderfully creepy and interesting. On this island it’s always night time thanks to a witch’s spell. It’s home to many vampires, so of course they want to avoid the sun if they can. Sofia is kidnapped and brought here to be a human slave to the vampire prince, Derek. She’s expected to live in his home, keep him, company, teach him about modern conveniences (he’s been asleep for 400 years), and generally please him. Derek’s penthouse is pretty awesome, too. All of the residences of The Shade are built in the tree tops and have every luxury you can imagine. It’s actually not a bad place to be, except for the whole slave thing.

I do have mixed feelings about Sofia. I liked how she was determined to escape in the beginning, and was not willing to “please” any vampire no matter what they did to her. However, soon enough she falls to the undeniable allure of the island, and even develops feelings for her captor. Sure Derek is not like his siblings and the other vampires. He still has some bit of humanity in him, and wouldn’t purposely harm Sofia, and she knows this. I just don’t buy her feelings changing that quickly.

The ending is a cliffhanger, but I think I know where the next book is going to start off. I am curious about the conflicts that the vampires on this island are facing. There’s something about a prophecy that Derek is a part of, and I’d love to learn more about it and what it means for this society. While I’m not sold on the romance aspect, I do want to continue the series and see what becomes of Sofia and Derek’s relationship.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.