Amanda’s Thoughts on How Vampire Novels Never Died

Hi, lovelies! Today I want to talk about books with vampires. We all know that books like Twilight and Vampire Academy started a trend of young adult books about vampires becoming extremely popular. People on the bookish internet are always talking about how we need to bring vampire books back. But the question I had (which prompted this post) is: bring them back from where? I firmly believe that vampire novels never died. There have been so many great ones since Twilight and some of those published in the early 2000s still hold up today. But there are also new vampire novels, for both adults and young adults, and some are slated to be published this year. So, today I’m here to share with you some of the more recent (by recent I’m going with the last ten years) and upcoming vampire stories. I have some that I’ve read, some that I want to read, and some that have yet to be published.

Vampire Stories I’ve Read and Recommend

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (2012)
This one is another vampire dystopian novel. But in this one, the cities are controlled by vampires. It’s a fascinating story about a girl that hates vampires, until one night, she becomes one. Kagawa is a long-time favorite author of mine and her vampire series is one of the more interesting ones.

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest (2012)
I absolutely devoured this series when I found it on Kindle Unlimited. This is one of those series that just went on for so long that things got incredibly weird. But I continued to devour these books. They’re fast reads, with compelling plots and interesting characters.

Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (2013)
Dystopian books are my favorite. They have been for a long time. So, this story where vampires are known to the world and segregated into their own cities called ‘Coldtowns’ was such an interesting story. I loved how this world was built and how fast paced the story was. It was a really interesting twist on the more traditional vampire stories.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare (2016)
While this isn’t only a vampire novel, there are lots of other paranormal people in this series. There are vampires and I love them all.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (2017)
This is technically the second book in a series, but it can be read as a standalone. This is one of my favorites in the series. Aside from my love for the Wayward Children, the vampire aspects of this story are both terrifying and appealing. I highly recommend this one if you like darker stories.

Hotbloods by Bella Forrest (2017)
This is another pretty bizarre series. It somehow is paranormal and science fiction at the same time. There are vampires, but it’s also about other planets. I don’t think I ended up finishing this series, but I definitely want to.

Slayer by Kiersten White (2019)
More from the Buffyverse? I was never a super fan. But I did really enjoy this continuation of that world. I liked the twin sisters. I liked the mythology of the world. I think this was a really fun way of looking into a world that many are familiar with.

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (2020)
This is one of my new favorite series. I am eagerly anticipating the third book in this series (which you will see named later in this post). I fell so quickly in love with these characters and the world they live in. Poppy is such an interesting character to follow and the romance is absolute perfection.

The Fell of the Dark by Caleb Roehrig (2020)
I borrowed this one randomly from my local library and I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed it and how little I’ve seen people talking about it. I hear “why don’t we bring vampire stories back” so often, which is such a shock when there’s gems like this book out there. It’s queer. It’s historical. It’s awkward. It’s complete perfection and I need everyone to read it now.

The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (2020)
This was a book club read for me. I read this as one of my first real horror novels. Since then I’ve explored a little more into the genre. This one was a wild ride. It’s dark and a bit gruesome. But I still somehow enjoyed it. The whole time I was reading, I couldn’t quite tell if there was actually a vampire in the story or not (there is).

Crave by Tracy Wolff (2020)
So many people love this book. I thought it was entertaining, but not anything groundbreaking. I don’t know that I’ll ever manage to continue or finish the series. I don’t like using the phrase ‘guilty pleasure’ when I’m talking about reading books, but this book definitely fits the bill. It’s easy to read and entertaining, but it’s a lot like Twilight where tons of people really love the books even though they’re objectively not great books.

Vampire Stories Still on my TBR

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward (2005)
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine (2006)
The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (2019)
Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bite edited by Natalie C. Parker & Zoraida Cordova
Metallic Red by Jennifer Ann Shore (2020)
Love Bites by Ry Herman (2020)
The Afterlife of the Party by Marlene Perez (2021)

Vampire Stories on my Anticipated Releases List

Vampire Hearts and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston (2021)
A Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout (2021)
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Morena-Garcia (2021)
The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling (2021)

There you have it. These are some vampire books I’ve read and enjoyed, some that I want to read, and some that are soon to be published. Hopefully, after this list, some of you reading this will agree with me when I say that vampire novels never died. They are still here in creative and unique ways, in stories that are compelling and full of characters waiting to be loved. This is also by no means an extensive list. These are just the ones personally on my list. So, there are many more vampire stories out there. What’s your favorite book with vampires?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blogtober Book Review: The Fell of the Dark by Caleb Roehrig

GoodReads Summary:
The only thing August Pfeiffer hates more than algebra is living in a vampire town. Located at a nexus of mystical energy fields, Fulton Heights is practically an electromagnet for supernatural drama. And when a mysterious (and annoyingly hot) vampire boy arrives with a cryptic warning, Auggie suddenly finds himself at the center of it. An ancient and terrible power is returning to the earthly realm, and somehow Auggie seems to be the only one who can stop it.
Review:
The Fell of the Dark is a book that I knew I wanted to read from the cover alone. I also knew I wanted to read it because it’s about a queer teen and vampires. Those are definitely topics I’m always down for. I didn’t really read the synopsis before I went into the story and it so much more than I was expecting. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I was absolutely blown away.
We follow August (or Auggie), who is a gay teen in a very small town that’s close to a Nexus (which is great for magic and not so great for regular humans). So, running into vampires after sundown is a real issue in this town. August runs into one outside of his school one day after staying to work in the art room. Jude tells August that he’s special. Jude tells him about things he knows is happening or will happen to August. But August is very wary of vampires, he’s been trained to be aware of what vampires are capable of. And August doesn’t believe anything that Jude tells him, until a week or so later.
This story moves very quickly, but there’s also a lot of players. I’m not going to talk about all the players and I really don’t want to go into too much detail about what actually happens because I think the best part of this reading experience was not really knowing anything about the story and putting the pieces together as I read. The story had some really interesting historical aspects to it that I enjoyed. I also just genuinely liked all of the characters and the way the story worked out for August.
Overall, this was such a well written and involved story. The only thing I didn’t like was that the rules of magic and vampires weren’t totally clear. There were more than just vampires in this story. People that had the ability to use magic linked to the elements were also a big part of the story, but there were some of these people that were also vampires and it either wasn’t explained or just totally went over my head. Despite this one small thing, I loved this book. I loved the characters, the interesting and unusual romance, the friendships, the supernatural aspects, and I even loved that there was a bit of politics between the different vampire factions. I definitely recommend this book for those looking for spooky queer stories to read this October. I will definitely be picking up more of this author’s books.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blogmas Book Review: The Rogue Hunter by Lynsay Sands

GoodReads Summary:
Samantha Willan is a workaholic lawyer. She’s grateful for some rest and relaxation in cottage country, and after a recent breakup she wants to stay as far away from romance as possible. Then she meets her irresistible new neighbor. There’s something strange and mysterious about his eyes. Is it just her imagination, or are they locked on her neck?
Garrett Mortimer is a rogue hunter. His last assignment united Lucian Argeneau with his lifemate, and Mortimer is hoping this one will be less…adventurous. He’s here to track down a reported rogue, but fun in the sun is every bloodsucker’s nightmare. Worse, he can’t seem to get his mind off Samantha, especially when he spies her skinny-dipping in the lake. After eight hundred years as a bachelor, is he ready to turn a volatile attraction into a lasting love affair?
Review:
The Rogue Hunter was the first Lynsay Sands book I ever read. This was way back in high school when it definitely was not an age-appropriate book for me to be reading. I remember the boys that I would sit with at lunch stealing my books from Antonia and me, flipping to the particularly interesting sex scenes and reading them aloud until we could manage to steal the books back. While it was really embarrassing then, it’s a memory I’m rather fond of now. So, finally arriving at this book in the series had me excited.
I love this world that Sands has created. The interesting twist on the vampire origin story is one of my favorites. Science-based rather than magical. It’s my favorite. I think it’s such an interesting twist on the well-loved vampire.
The characters Sands creates characters that you can’t help but love. The Willan sisters are no different. It’s no secret that I love stories with siblings in them, so getting one with three sisters was a delight. I loved their interactions and clear love for one another. Sam is the love interest in this particular story, though I have a feeling we will be seeing her sisters again. I liked Sam because she was smart and ambitious. She’s a lawyer trying to make partner at her law firm. So, instead of enjoying her vacation she ends up on a search for the daughter of a wealthy client. I loved that this book acknowledged her past and that she was growing from that past. Being hurt by someone she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with had left its mark and she was trying to work through and move past that.
Enter Mortimer. He was a little typical of the characters from this series. An aging immortal who is beginning to tire with life. Oh if only he had a lifemate. When he realized that might be Sam, he’s a bit put off. But only until he starts to get to know her. I liked that Sam was his lifemate, a girl that was not at all what he had pictured for himself.
The mystery was a little lame and didn’t occupy much of the story. With this, there also was a rather lack of rogue immortals. The title is The Rogue Hunter, which does fit as a title for Mortimer, but there wasn’t really even a rogue in the story which was a little disappointing. I have a feeling this will change in the next book though so I’m looking forward to that.
Overall, I liked this. It wasn’t my favorite, but it also wasn’t my least favorite. It was fun and enjoyable.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands

GoodReads Summary:
One minute Leigh is walking home in the early hours of the morning, and the next a vampire is sinking his teeth into her neck. Turns out it was a rogue vampire marked for termination, but it does Leigh little good because the damage’s already been done. She’s become one of them.
Lucian Argeneau, hunter of rogue vampires, has been alive for over two thousand years, and there’s very little to excite him anymore. Food has become tasteless, sex is ordinary. The Leigh drops into his life. Suddenly he finds himself craving coffee…and imagining the sassy brunette atop the black satin sheets on his nice big bed. It’s Lucian’s job now to enlighten Leigh on the inner workings of being immortal…and tutoring her is igniting a fire in him that hasn’t burned in centuries.
But until they stop a renegade bloodsucker from destroying the human race, passion will have to wait!
Review:
So, I know I said Bastien’s story was my favorite in the series so far, but that has officially been bumped to second place by Bite Me if You Can. I couldn’t put this one down even though it was almost two am and the right thing to do would have been to go to sleep. I didn’t. I stayed up way too late reading this installment of the Argeneau series.
Lucian is a grumpy immortal that is thousands of years old. He’s had his lifemate and children but lost them long ago. He’s focused on protecting the rest of his extended family. He’s abrupt almost to the point of rudeness but he’s so old that he just really doesn’t care. But when he meets Leigh, a potential new lifemate, he finds that he’s scared at the possibility of having love and losing it again.
Leigh finds herself in a sticky situation and it’s a grumpy Lucian that comes and saves her. Circumstances see to it that it’s Lucian that looks over her while she turns and teaches (sort of) her about what this new change means. She’s wary of the idea of lifemates because of her abusive ex-husband. I really liked Leigh. She had a real can-do attitude and faces her new life as a vampire with a great attitude. I loved her. She saw through Lucian’s grouchy outside and into his marshmallow center.
My favorite parts were when the rest of the family came around. Rachel, who previously had very much disliked Lucian, was now able to read his mind, as could all Lucian’s other nieces and nephews. This enabled quite a bit of hilarity with the direction of Lucian’s thoughts. I was cracking up so much throughout this one.
Overall, Bite Me If You Can is my favorite of the series so far, but who knows what the next installments will bring. I love these characters. I love this series. I love the vampire lore that’s based in science. I love the writing. I just love Lynsay Sands.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blogtober Book Review: A Bite to Remember by Lynsay Sands

GoodReads Summary:
Rule #1: Never get involved with someone who won’t be there for you when the sun comes up.
Once bitten, twice shy, and sexy PI Jackie Morrisey wasn’t going there again. Vincent Argeneau may be the hottest guy she’s ever met, living or dead, but she’s here to stop a killer from turning this vampire into dust, not to jump into bed with him.
Rule #2: Never kiss a vampire . . . it can be a pain in the neck.
Okay, so Vincent’s had four hundred years to perfect his kissing skills, and he does look rather tempting when he runs around the house shirtless. He’s also charming, protective . . . did we mention he can kiss? Jackie needs to be on her guard, or else she’ll have to come up with a new rule: If you’re going to fall in love with a vampire, make sure it’s a bite to remember.
Review:
A Bite to Remember was fun because it was the first book in the Argeneau series where the love interest already knew that vampires existed and the history behind their creation. She was also a private detective so this was half romance and half mystery, which was really enjoyable.
Vincent is our Argeneau in this installment of the series. I really loved him. He’s funny and chipper and always trying to look on the bright side. Though he’s realizing that he may have been in danger of starting to fall into the depression that some vampires face where nothing is exciting anymore.
Enter Jackie, the private investigator Bastien has hired to help Vincent find out who is sabotaging his company. Jackie has some old prejudices against vampires because of a relationship she had with one when she was just starting to learn the ropes of her father’s business. Since then, she never lets herself trust or really get too close to any of their kind. I liked Jackie because she was willing to learn things about herself when her best friend points them out.
That brings up Tiny. I loved him. He was a no-bullshit guy and despite being large, he has many talents. I didn’t like how often his size was pointed out. I thought it was unnecessary. But I loved him. Even more after remembering who he ends up with.
I enjoyed the mystery we’re trying to unravel too. I thought I’d remembered who the villain was from reading this years ago, but I was wrong. I thought the big reveal and rescue was great.
Overall, another Argeneau novel that I really enjoyed. The writing was great. The characters were enjoyable and funny. The smut was also great. I just love this series.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blogtober Book Review: Tall, Dark & Hungry by Lynsay Sands

GoodReads Summary:
It bites: New York hotels cost an arm and a leg, and Terri had flown from England to help plan her cousin’s wedding. The new in-laws offered lodging. But they were a weird bunch. There was the sometimes-chipper-sometimes-brooding Lucern, and the wacky stage-actor, Vincent. (She couldn’t imagine Broadway casting a hungrier singing-and-dancing Dracula.) And then there was Bastien. Just looking into his eyes, Terri had to admit she was falling for him – someone even taller, darker and hungrier than the other two. She was feeling a mite peckish herself. And if she stayed with him, those blood-sucking hotel owners wouldn’t get to her!
Review:
Tall, Dark & Hungry was almost the best book I’ve read in this series so far. Except for the last fifty or so pages. I didn’t like one choice that the female main character made, even though I understood her reasoning.
Bastien is my favorite Argeneau. He’s the man you go to when you need something. I love him. He heads up Argeneau Enterprises and handles business. So, when his house slowly starts filling with people, he has to juggle quite a few different things, which was certainly entertaining. He’s agreed to host Terri, Kate’s cousin/best friend/maid of honor, while she’s in town for the wedding. But then Kate has to leave because of work, so he’s left to house and entertain her. Also, Kate’s fellow editor has been injured and needs a place to stay. Oh, and Bastien’s cousin Vincent is in town for a play he’s starring in. So, it’s basically a madhouse. But then it gets worse. Kate and Lucern’s wedding slowly falls apart, from the flowers to the caterer to the tissue paper flowers. Bastien and Terri manage to fix it all.
Terri was honestly a little whiney. She’s scared to put herself out there and admit that she likes Bastien because of her experiences with her husband dying years and years ago. And when she is under the false assumption that Bastien has a terminal illness, she runs. I didn’t like that part of the story. Though I did like getting to meet her loved ones in England. They gave her the shake she needed to pull her head out of her butt and get things together.
Overall, I enjoyed this one more than the first three even though I didn’t always like what the characters did. The story was fun and had me laughing so much (which is a problem because I’m reading these at night when I’m snuggling my little one to sleep). I keep finding myself surprised to find that Sands is a really talented writer (stupid stereotypes on romance!) She uses several of the writing techniques I’ve been learning about in my college writing classes. Also, the sex scenes are A+. I’ve pretty much read nothing but this series since picking up the first one. I think I’m addicted.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blogtober Book Review: Love Bites by Lynsay Sands

GoodReads Summary:
Etienne Argeneau’s three hundred years of bachelorhood were at an end. Either that, or he’d be forever alone. He could only “turn” one human in his lifetime, and most of his kind reserved that power for creating a life mate. If he turned the wrong woman…But what choice did he have? He had to save Rachel Garrett. He didn’t know her very well but the beautiful coroner had saved his life. To save hers he would make her immortal.
Rachel Garrett awoke surprised. All she’d wanted was to get off the night shift at the morgue; now here she was, staggering to her feet naked and in a strange place. But everything would be all right. She’d just make like a bat out of– Then she saw the man of her dreams emerging from his…coffin? And the look in his bright silver eyes said they’d be spending a lot of time together. She just hoped he tasted as good as he looked.
Review:
Book two in the Argeneau series, Love Bites, was one I enjoyed about the same amount as the first one (reviewed here). This is one of my favorite vampire romance series, mostly because of the twist on the vampire lore. They’re vampires created via science rather than magic and I just think that’s such a fun twist.
Rachel and Etienne are a pair that met by chance. And when Rachel is almost killed Etienne makes the choice to turn her as the one person he is ever allowed. This turns out great because they turn out to be life mates (surprise! not, hah).
I liked Etienne. He’s a video game developer that uses the truth about his race to create a hugely popular game. He also enjoyed spending time in a coffin, because it’s where he gets his best ideas. That really cracked me up. It also created some assumptions that complicated the story.
Rachel works nights in the morgue. She’s just finally gotten a job on the day shift when she’s almost killed and then turned. Upon waking, she is upset because she believes she’s now cursed to only walk the night. It was a little funny, already knowing the facts behind vampires, to see her so upset about all the things she won’t be able to do. I liked that she stood up for her beliefs with a certain situation that she’s involved in.
Overall, the second book in this series was another that I enjoyed but didn’t adore. It was fun and funny. The drama and the antics and the sex were all pretty good. This series is well written and easy to read.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Summary: Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world between humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets-and human lives.
In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.
Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney an Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.
For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him…
Their worst fears now a chilling reality Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling bloodlines series, where all bets are off.

Oh. My. God. I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK.
First of all, Adrian and Sydney are apart for most of the book and it pretty much just made me want to cry the entire time. (I settled for really weird, pathetic noises that Amanda got sick of fast.) The good thing about them being separated was that I was able to follow two completely separate storylines that kept the pace fairly steady even when nothing serious was happening.
But trust me, a LOT was happening. I started this book at around ten-thirty last night, and finished it around three this morning. There was no way for me to put it down; between the awesome characters, amazing writing, and the absolutely crazy plot, I was hooked.
As always, I adore Sydney and Adrian, both individually and as a couple. Though they both have somewhat extreme personalities, I’m able to relate to them while I read. I almost always love the characters in the books I read but in the Bloodlines series, I connect to them more than usual. I would absolutely love to have Sydney as my best friend and, much as I love her, I would totally date Adrian (you know, if I didn’t have a boyfriend…Love you, honey!). Mead gives such depth to her characters that it’s impossible not to care about them.
This book was much darker than the previous ones in the series mainly because Sydney’s in re-education, which is basically the Alchemists nice way of saying brainwash and torture. Even though Mead kept it from being terribly gruesome, some of the scenes with Sydney were harder to read emotionally.
It was the same way with Adrian. He might not have been tortured and starved but the love of his life was missing and he had no way to contact her. I’d loved watching the progress he’d made in previous books to overcome his addictions and the effects of Spirit so it was that much harder to watch him spiral back downward without Sydney to help hold him up.
The ending took so many twists and turns that I could barely keep up with what was happening and even when I thought everything would be okay, the last page threw another curveball and I no longer know what’s going to happen with the last book. All I know is that it really needs to come out RIGHT NOW. Next February is way too long to wait for The Ruby Circle.
I would love to hear your thoughts on my review or this book. Amanda hasn’t read it so I can’t talk to her about it yet. Did you see the end coming? Because I sure as hell didn’t.
-Antonia

*Please be aware that the book cover on this post is a link to purchase this book through Amazon. Feel free to purchase with our affiliate link (just click on the book cover) to support us!

The Eternity Cure – Julie Kagawa

Summary:
In Allison Sekemoto’s world, there is one rule left: blood calls to blood.
She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie’s birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever-and possibly end human and vampire existence.
There’s a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago-and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike.The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time.
Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never imagined having to make.
Review:
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa was no disappointment. It one hundred percent met my expectations. I loved every page. It was suspenseful and surprising. There was a lot going on so I had to pay more attention but when all the pieces fell together I knew I’d made a good decision spending my time reading this series. Julie Kagawa made it to my auto-buy author list because I’ve loved every one of her books, and The Eternity Cure was no different. The plot is pretty unique for being about vampires.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book that doesn’t have to do with the characters was that there wasn’t just one big reveal. There was surprise after surprise through the whole book. We learned little bits and pieces of the whole story at a time. This is something I’ve grown to love. I think that it helps to keep up the suspense and excitement of the story.
I also loved the characters. Probably more than I should, but that’s okay. I feel like I’ve grown with them in these past two books. The main character, Allison, has definitely grown up significantly since the first book. Although she does still have her outburst moments, usually with pretty good reason.
Next is Zeke. The role Zeke played in The Eternity Cure kind of made me dislike him a bit. I mean, I’m all for the sappy romances where nothing can separate them, even though he’s human and she’s a vampire. But to leave a completely human city, the one place you know you’re safe in, to go somewhere that you’ll almost definitely die. That’s just stupid in my opinion, and I’m not a fan of stupid. Don’t get me wrong, I love Zeke, and I love everything that goes on between him and Allie. He’s brave, smart, attractive, compassionate, caring, and sometimes moronically protective. What girl in their right mind wouldn’t love him? There were just times where he aggravated me.
The character that surprised me the most had to be Jackal. I despised him in the first book, The Immortal Rules, and didn’t expect that to change in this one. But it did. I found myself cracking up at the shit that came out of Jackal’s mouth. He kept the mood upbeat and light-hearted to an extent. He was comic relief. I started to hate to love him, but he really grew on me and ended up being not such a bad guy. Sure he was selfish, conceited, and stubborn, but he was also very smart, confident, and honest. At the end of this book, I ended up loving Jackal too.
The last, and certainly not least, of the good guys, Kanin. I adored Kanin in the first book. With his mysteriousness that he had going on. I ate it up. In the sequel, a lot more of the truth definitely comes out. Some of what I learned made me respect Kanin and his actions, but some also left me a bit disappointed in him. Kanin went through quite a bit in this book and still came out a better person. He struggled through being tortured to the point that he wasn’t supposed to return from and he still came back to Allison. That’s what I’d call strength and determination.
Now the bad guys, Sarren and Stick (Mr. Stephen). I mentioned Stick in my last review, how I didn’t like him much because he was just kind of an asshole. Well, Stick turns into a super asshole in the second book. He comes into a powerful position and definitely let it get to his head. Any time I was reading about him I kind of just wanted to reach into the book and strangle him. I’m completely okay with how his fate turns out. Then there’s Sarren. Sarren is pretty much just a sick freak. There’s something wrong in his head and everything he believes is twisted and dark. He was pushed past the point of no return, and he absolutely didn’t return the same like Kanin did. Sarren’s not a guy I’d like to meet walking down a dark alley, that’s for sure.
I think the only thing that I didn’t like about this book was the beginning. I’m really not a fan of books that start however many months later and this was one of those. Overall I thought The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa was a fantastic book and I’d suggest it to anyone who likes dystopian or paranormal young adult books.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

*Please be aware that the book cover on this post is a link to purchase this book through Amazon. Feel free to purchase with our affiliate link (just click on the book cover) to support us!

The Immortal Rules – Julie Kagawa

Summary:
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.
Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for.
Review:
This is my second time reading this book. I think reading it a second time made me love this book even more. The characters are amazing. The storyline is relatively unique and I was hooked from the first page. I definitely suggest this book to anyone who is interested in paranormal books.
I’ll start with the characters. First, there’s Allison or Allie for short. At the beginning of the book she only really looks out for herself. She lives in the Fringe scavenging and pretty much just trying to survive. As the book goes on the changes Allie goes through are pretty apparent. I really enjoyed being able to see her develop and change as her life changes. By the end of the book, Allison is still very stubborn, but she stopped just caring about herself and started forming relationships and caring about others safety more than her own. I loved Allie the entire book.
Next, I’ll mention Lucas, Rat, and Stick. These are Allie’s crew. I really loved Lucas and was really sad when Allie had to leave him. When I started reading I totally thought Allie and Lucas were going to fall in love and live happily ever after. I was a little disappointed when that didn’t happen. Rat didn’t really have a huge part in the story. He was the one that no one liked but they looked out for him anyway. He kind of annoyed me but I think that was the point of his character. Then comes Stick, he constantly needed Allie to look out for him. He was slightly pathetic. Afraid of everything and never really did anything for himself. This fact doesn’t really change throughout the book which is why I wasn’t terribly fond of Stick.
I’d have to say that after Allison, Kanin was my next favorite character. I think it’s partially because of how mysterious he is. I can’t wait to find out more about him. He swoops in and saves the day when Allie is attacked by rabids. He’s really a no-nonsense kind of guy, well, vampire, which I really liked. He kept things together and only wants to fix mistakes from his past. It’s very obvious that after getting to know Allison he really starts to care about her as if she were a daughter. Kanin’s mysterious behavior slightly irritated me, more because I just wanted to know what he’s hiding already! Kanin’s character kind of disappears for a little bit, but he’s definitely going to be in the next book. Which I’m wicked excited for. Overall, I really liked Kanin’s character and I’m interested in seeing where he’s taken next.
Last, there’s the Eden crew. I liked almost everyone in the group. Not all of them had very big parts, but they were still there making me laugh and cry. I’ll only mention the relatively important ones. Jeb is basically the leader of the group. He is very demanding and seems like an asshole when he’s really just stubborn. He cares about everyone in the gang even if he doesn’t show it. The second in command, Zeke, is Jeb’s adopted son. Zeke is a lot like Jeb, the only difference is that Zeke shows that he cares for everyone. He sometimes lets his emotions control his decisions and sometimes that causes him to make the wrong one. I loved Zeke if he was a real person I would find him and marry him. But we obviously don’t live in a world overrun by vampires, so there goes that plan. Ruth will be last and certainly least. I really didn’t like Ruth. She was one of those ignorant girls that even though they’re living in a world run by vampires, all she cares about is getting Zeke’s attention. That’s one thing that really aggravates me, Ruth was against Allison every step of the way. Constantly making life more difficult for Allie. Ruth to me was just a stupid air-headed girl that wanted to cause drama. Regardless of that Allison still saved her life. I just really didn’t like Ruth.
Overall, I really loved this book. Allison is someone I’d absolutely be friends with if I knew her in real life. All the characters are amazing. They’re funny and hopeful in a world that has no hope left. The storyline sucked me in and spit me out. It took me way to long to read this book, and I’m definitely going to be reading the second, The Eternity Cure, much faster. So expect a review on that soon. Oh, and read this book. You’ll love it.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

*Please be aware that the book cover on this post is a link to purchase this book through Amazon. Feel free to purchase with our affiliate link (just click on the book cover) to support us!

The Indigo Spell – Richelle Mead

Summary:
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets-and human lives.
In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she struggles to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do.
Then she finally tracks down the elusive, enigmatic Marcus Finch-a former Alchemist who the organization denies exists, and who lives in shadows, on the run. With Marcus’s help, Sydney realizes that the group she’s been loyal to her whole life has been hiding the truth from her. Is it possible that her golden lily tattoo might have more power over her than she thinks?
As she struggles to come to terms with what that might mean, Sydney is compelled to use her growing magical powers to track down an evil magic user who is targeting powerful young witches. Using magic goes against everything she always thought she believed, but she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her special blood-or else she might be next.
Forging her own way is harder than Sydney ever dreamed. Maybe by turning off her brain-and following her heart-she’ll be able to finally figure out where she belongs.
Review:
The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead is the third in the Bloodlines series. This series so far has been so good. I started The Indigo Spell at about 12:30am when I got home last night and finished it before I went to bed. It was that good. So much happens in this book and I loved every page.
Like my last two reviews, we’ll start with Sydney. She’s grown so much throughout this series. In this book specifically, she’s started to give up resisting that she’s special and can do things that most humans can’t. But she definitely has a hard time giving up the beliefs that have been drilled into her for her whole life which is understandable. And I’m so proud of her for making the huge effort that she has to come to terms with everything she’s dealing with. She’s started doubting herself less, except toward the end of the book when everything that’s been going on finally comes to light. She feels like she should have known all along and that she made a bunch of mistakes which kind of irritated me because when I was reading that part I was basically in shock and never saw it coming. Sydney also starts finding out some things about the Alchemists that she doesn’t like. She realizes that she’s being lied to by her superiors and she doesn’t like that. Sydney changes so much in this book, for the better. She starts making her own decisions rather than just blindly following orders like she used to. I can’t wait to see what she does next in The Fiery Heart.
Onto my favorite part. Adrian. In the first two books, it’s totally obvious that Sydney and Adrian are going to end up together. And at the end of The Golden Lily, Adrian professes his love for Sydney then the book just ends. Throughout The Indigo Spell Sydney tries her hardest to deny her feelings for Adrian because she still agrees with some of the Alchemist’s beliefs. As the book progresses she has an increasingly more difficult time trying to ignore her feelings. And towards the end, she makes a really tough decision to let Adrian go. It was the right thing to do at the time even though I want them to forever love each other. The book ends happily for this new couple which I loved.
Eddie and Angeline end up dating. I didn’t really care for these parts of the book because I don’t want them to be together. Their relationship isn’t a huge part of the storyline, but it definitely has significance. And I get what I want in the end. Then comes Jill. In my last review, I complained about how I wanted to see more from Jill. I got what I wished for. Except for the part the Jill plays is more something that’s supposed to get in the way of Sydney and Adrian’s relationship and to add onto the piles of stress Sydney already has. We do get to watch Jill grow up a bit in this book. She really shows that she’s growing up. She tries to handle things by herself and gives Sydney an inspiring talk that may have had more effect than one of Sydney’s lectures would have. I liked seeing Jill growing up in this book and I’m glad she has a more significant part, even if it wasn’t all good. Then there’s Ms. Terwilliger. Sydney’s mentor when it comes to magic. I love this old lady. Even when she infuriates me. She doesn’t tell Sydney what’s going on, just that something life or death bad is about to happen. She does finally come out with the problem and tries to help Sydney as much as she can. I’ve like Ms. Terwilliger through all the books, and the more I read about her the more I like her.
Now comes the ending of the book. Let me just tell you, HOLY FUCKING CLIFFHANGER. I could kill Richelle Mead for putting me in these situations. I can’t stop thinking about this book, all I want is to know what happens next. She gives all this crazy information then just stops. She plays with my heart and I don’t appreciate it. Regardless of this, I’m going to keep reading her books because she’s a fantastic author. I don’t care who you are or what you like to read. Go get these books, and the Vampire Academy books too, sit down and read them all.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

*Please be aware that the book cover on this post is a link to purchase this book through Amazon. Feel free to purchase with our affiliate link (just click on the book cover) to support us!

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Summary: Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets-and human lives. In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch–a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood–or else she might be next. Forging her own way is harder than Sydney ever dreamed. Maybe by turning off her brain-and following her heart-she’ll be able to finally figure out where she belongs.

Oh. My. God…
Well, hello, dears.
But seriously, I think I’m dying right now. I just finished reading The Indigo Spell, which is the third book in the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. All I can say is wow…
I honestly can’t contain my feelings about this book. Amanda’s been with me the entire time I’ve been reading it and I lost count of how many dirty looks she gave me because I was laughing too loud, or crying too loud or just overall being wicked loud. I’ve been waiting for Indigo Spell to come out since I read the Golden Lily (Book 2) and I was waiting for the Golden Lily to come out since I’d read Bloodlines (Book 1). This is a series that will literally keep you up at night because either you want to read the ones you have, or you’re waiting for the ones you don’t have. I just most of an hour going through Richelle Mead’s website and blog trying to find information about the fourth book. It’s called the Fiery Heart and comes out November 19th! Can you say, birthday present to me? I can.
Anyway. Sorry. So, I obviously haven’t written a review on the first two books but, knowing me, I’ll probably include little bits about them in here. Which means: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS HAVING TO DO WITH BLOODLINES AND THE GOLDEN LILY! If you haven’t read the first two books, then you should probably stop reading this.
First off, if you’ve read Mead’s Vampire Academy Series (which chronologically takes place first), then you already know who Sydney Sage is. Well, actually, you know who Adrian, Jill, Eddie, and bunch of the other characters are too. In result of Sydney’s actions in the previous series, she’s given the assignment of protecting Moroi Princess, Jill Mastrano Dragomir, while she’s in hiding. Alchemists hate all vampires. Their main target is Strigoi, and they work with the Moroi and Dhampir out of necessity but Alchemists still believe they are all inherently evil. After working with Rose, (read the Vampire Academy books if you’re confused) Sydney’s view of the Moroi and Dhampir changes. She realizes they’re not necessarily bad and she gains a respect for them that does not fit into what the Alchemists believe. She keeps these feelings to herself, since to do otherwise would subject her to the Alchemists’ obnoxiously strict rules and punishments.
During the Bloodlines books, Sydney has to work in close proximity to Jill and Adrian, both Moroi, and Eddie and Angeline, both Dhampir. In a short amount of time, Sydney starts caring about all of them and, in Adrian’s case, a lot more than caring. I absolutely loved seeing Sydney push aside the fears and prejudices that the Alchemists had drilled into her since birth. She feels like she’s betraying them for thinking and feeling the things she does, but it doesn’t take long for her to realize that some of the Alchemist teachings are wrong. For pretty much the first time in her life, Sydney stops blindly following the Alchemists and listens to what her brain and heart are telling her. It’s a HUGE transition for her and getting to experience that with her is enlightening.
She also begins to discover secrets that the Alchemists want to remain hidden to an alarming degree. She digs into these secrets a lot more in The Indigo Spell than in the first two books. She lies, she goes behind her superiors backs, is involved romantically with a vampire, breaks into a top-secret facility to steal secure files, works with an ex-alchemist traitor, and practices magic (another taboo for Alchemists). As Sydney gets deeper and deeper into these secrets, she’s more at risk to be caught. For Alchemists, this means “re-education”. The best way I can define this is: oh, we’re going to torture you until you believe our beliefs again. Despite the fact that Sydney’s been raised and trained her entire life to believe what the Alchemists teach, she knows a lot of what they do is wrong and she doesn’t hesitate (well, not very much) to try to fix things.
Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Angeline are hiding at a prep-school in southern California and probably the funniest twist, and, for Sydney, the most surprising, is when she finds out her history teacher is a witch. And, even better: Sydney’s a witch, too. This goes against everything the Alchemists taught her and Sydney tries to escape any involvement. Unfortunately for Sydney, and hilariously for us, her teacher, Ms. Terwilliger, is persistent. She tricks and coerces Sydney into learning magic and, finally, at some point during Indigo Spell, Sydney accepts that she has magic and that she’s good at it. I also really enjoyed this transition for her because she tries so hard not to be a part of it, but her insatiable curiosity gets the better of her and she’s drawn in.
And, FUCKING FINALLY. Now, I’m going to talk about my absolute favorite part of these books. Ready for it? Drum roll, please.
Adrian Ivashkov. Cue swooning. Yes, it’s necessary. I’m really not usually the swooning type. I make exceptions for certain male characters in books. And Adrian, without question, is one of those exceptions. He’s a Moroi spirit user which means he’s heading towards going insane. Yes, I know that doesn’t sound terribly attractive. Each spirit user has different ways of dealing with the effects that spirit has on them. Adrian’s vices are drinking and smoking. Sydney helps him get away from those a little bit by encouraging him to instead take art classes, something he’s passionate about. Adrian falls in love with Sydney and, although her feelings toward him are anything but platonic, she denies them because everyone, Alchemists and vampires alike, frown upon human-vampire relationships. Now, in this most recent book, Sydney FINALLY accepts her feelings. I am beyond ecstatic. Sydney and Adrian are perfect for each other. He helps her to be more outgoing and rethink many of the narrow-minded ideas she’s always had and she helps him to be more serious and rethink the frivolous way he’s lived his life. They balance each other so well and I love watching them interact and challenge each other.
Okay, I think I’m going to wrap this up because Word is telling me this is over a thousand words long… It was unintentional, I promise. I like these books more than the Vampire Academy books. That’s not to say they weren’t phenomenal, though. If you haven’t read this series, I recommend it more than probably anything else I’ve written about. They’re funny and sweet and heartbreaking and there’s nothing about them that I don’t love. I hope you all fall in love with them as well.
-Antonia.

*Please be aware that the book cover on this post is a link to purchase this book through Amazon. Feel free to purchase with our affiliate link (just click on the book cover) to support us!