Title: A Shade of Vampire
Author: Bella Forrest
Genre: urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires, magic
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: 14 December 2012
Pages: 147 pages
Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
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 Review:

Told through switching point of views from Sofia Claremont and Derek Novak, A Shade of Vampire, is an interesting novel. Vampires steal teenage humans to either to do manual labour or to join their harems. They live in the trees of a redwood forest where magic causes the sun never to shine. On Sofia’s seventeenth birthday, she’s kidnapped and told she is to be a gift for Derek Novak – a vampire prince who has been in a be-spelled sleep for the past few hundred years. (Best. Birthday. Ever…)

I thought this book had a lot of promise but it just missed the mark on a few things. It’s short – only 147 pages – and it would have benefited with having things being described in more detail, relationships fleshed out a bit and more action occurring.  I loved the premise but I felt like we were being told things rather than being shown. A lot of the information was divulged though dialogue rather than being shown though observations and alike.

Sofia is a strong character who was a little too perfect (I can’t believe how well she managed to deal with her ordeal) however I thought her interactions with Derek were adorable – I absolutely loved his technology training.

A Shade of Vampire is a quick read with some fantastic ideas. There’s a brooding hero, a strong heroine, evil villains and a new and exciting setting.

Thanks to YA Blogosphere for the review copy.

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