Review

Kaitlyn Sherrad is looking forward to a quiet summer spent in the mountains, following her college graduation. She’s not sure what she wants to do with her life, except going back to her vampire father’s stronghold in the Carpathians is not high on the list. When she forms a bond with a local Casino owner, she finds herself longing to fulfill her own passions instead of following the rules of the vampire coven she belongs to. Yet, danger awaits her.

Zach Ravenscroft is not the a-typical vampire. He runs a casino, doesn’t believe in aimless killing, and has an affinity for beautiful women. When Kaitlyn enters his humble abode, he is immediately captivated and longs to know the woman in the most intimate of ways; even if getting to know her means continuously having to expose him to danger and death.

Alright, first off, I was not happy with the heroine. She’s definitely got personality, but I felt let down. Kaitlyn doesn’t get a lot of action and it seems that everyone is always coming to her rescue. There are a few moments when Kaitlyn holds her own, yet she’s not allowed to do it completely. I just felt that Kaitlyn could have been so much more in the story and that she was not empowered enough.

On the other hand I loved Zach—his inner thoughts, his desire to protect against all cost, and his power. He was every bit the vampire hero I would adore. He’s a knight in shining armor but not at all innocent or subdued, which made it incredibly difficult to believe that Kaitlyn was his one-all, be-all. There were times I honestly had trouble believing the romantic involvement. He doesn’t seem the type to get involved with an heir to a vampire coven. Yet, that may be what the author was going for—opposites attract kind of thing. There were a few things that irked the romantic in me, but I let them go. These included Zach’s feeding habits and his chivalry; I didn’t want him to be chivalrous.

The villains were great villains; sacrificial with nothing to lose except their life, and for those who’ve read Ashley’s previous novel, then you’ll be happy to know that Kaitlyn’s father and mother make an appearance. I enjoyed the world traveling in the story. Overall I thought Ashley had a ton of great ideas and options for this book. The problem is that she didn’t convince me that this story was worth it nor that her heroine was worth more than acting as the damsel in distress. The conflicts and resolutions of said conflicts were too easy in my opinion. I wanted more of a challenge, deception, and yet it seems that those things may not have existed because Ashley was playing true to her characters.  So, if you’re looking for a paranormal romance that plays true to a fairytale with the beauty having to take little or no action, and easily resolved conflicts then this is a book for you.

Reviewed by Landra