Betrayed by those around her, she abandons her dreams of becoming an investigator and flees, trusting only herself. Her police internship would never prove more useful. Hoofing it through the wilderness, she makes it to her university dorm, disheveled but delightfully deflowered.
Enter a full vampire: one wielding dark magic and a ride out of Canada. A fugitive from the law, Karo complies with his demands to escape, unsure whether his requests are bewitched. She vows to clear her name and avenge her mother's death, but Karo's family secrets aren't so easily left behind.
When Karolina Dalca’s life is turned violently upside down, she has to go on the run. She needs to find her vampire father and get some answers that she’s been seeking her whole life.
Karolina is a very fascinating character. Born to a witch and a vampire, she has some amazing abilities. She is half-vampire but has two kinds of magic. Unfortunately, she has never met her father, so her mother and grandfather have trained her in the magic they know and have told her to lock down everything else she can do. Kinda selfish in my opinion. And dangerous.
Karo has a childhood friend in Roman Lupei. His family has always been around, but Roman and Karo are grown now and Roman wants more. Karo’s not so sure. Before they can figure things out, Karo’s life goes sideways and she ends up in Russia looking for the other half of her family.
This book starts out strong. It’s interesting, has action and magic and a possible love interest. Then, tragedy strikes, new characters are introduced and it’s a race to get to Russia before the bad guys get her. A second guy is introduced. Will this be a love triangle? Somewhere along the way, the story telling unravels. Karo makes stupid decisions, she gains power without training, knowledge or consequence, and she’s naïve as all get out. Hence the stupid, and usually rash, decisions. The whole middle to nearly the end of the book is disappointing to me. Especially when Karo suddenly becomes a Super Hero that is nigh unstoppable. She flirts on the razor’s edge of being a Mary Sue. In addition, it may just be the author’s writing style, but the scenes are disjointed and almost spartan. There’s no cohesive flow to the writing. Things happen so suddenly I’m left with whiplash. And confusion. However, I love the blending of magics and the paranormal creatures. All-in-all, the premise and world are awesome stuff, but the execution lacks.
Keeping to her Lake Simcoe roots, she is a member of the Writers Community of York Region (WCYR), where her muse is made not found . . . over a hefty cup of coffee.
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| The Write Reads |
Books that leave me feeling so conflicted between the story and how the story is told are such hard reviews to write! Great review!
ReplyDeleteThey're very hard to write! Tough to rate, too. I mean, I like some, but not all. Ugh.
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