Aurora Keys is heartbroken, struggling to forget the beautiful and enigmatic Jessie Vanderlind, who has told her it is too dangerous for them to be together. And he may be right. Jessie is, after all, a vampire. But that doesn't make forgetting him any easier. Just as Aurora is starting to pull her shattered life back together, Jessie reappears at her window with a there are many vampires who want to see her dead—and him locked in a coffin for a hundred years. Aurora and Jessie are accused of staking a vampire for the sake of a human and must fly to Budapest to plead their case in front of a vampire tribunal. Their only hope of survival is to convince the world’s oldest vampire family that they are desperately in love—and have been for nearly 80 years. Lovers of the Twilight series (Stephenie Meyer) and A Shade of Vampire (Bella Forrest) will love this book. Not to mention readers who enjoy Leigh Walker, Zona Black, Karpov Kinrade, J.R. Rain, Shayne Silvers, and Michelle Madow.
***Please note, book was gifted by the author in exchange for an honest review***
"Just knowing you, being able to reach out and touch your hair if I want, is so amazing to me. I've waited so long for you that I feel that if we rush things, you'll just evaporate like smoke through my fingers."
~Jessie
Heart of the Vampire picks up right where Call of the Vampire left off. Aurora still carries a broken heart but she is trying to move on. After being pursued by her school's football star, she reluctantly agrees to a date. Fred is, well let's just say Fred has some growing up to and came off as a real ass in the beginning of the book. I have to say, he kind of grew on me though, after he had a man to man talk with his dad that is.
Even though Aurora continues to feel that longing for Jessie, she assumes her time amongst the vampires is over. Little does she know, she is being watched by those who want to take the life of the little human girl who is directly responsible for the death of one of their own. Since he's been away, Jessie has tried to take full responsibility for what happened with Viktor Adami but the Bishops, those who uphold vampire law, won't hear of it and demand to see Aurora in person, in Budapest. Jessie has a plan but if it fails, it could mean immediate death for Aurora and he himself would be buried alive for a hundred years.
Heart of the Vampire is a mature YA so while I was ready to pull my hair out at times in regards to the romantic side of the book, it's also one of the reasons I really enjoyed it. This pairing doesn't spend the entire book waxing poetic about young love and then shake hands at the end of the night. They're on edge, and poor Aurora especially, has to keep those hormones in check a time or two. lol The book started off a bit slow for me but the second the flight plans were made, it kicked in and kept me interested and intrigued all the way to the end. I can't say that at times, it felt a tad bit immature, such as the Skype comment when Aurora was trying to get out of facing the Bishops but seeing that it was only once or twice, the wit, twists and the brass pair that's being hauled around by our lead heroine, pulled it all together. I especially loved the time spent in Budapest, the other vampire families, and how Aurora never lost sight of who she was and didn't just cower down simply because she was surrounded by a bunch of pissed off vampires. This trilogy will come to an end this winter and I can't wait to see what road takes Aurora and Jessie to what will hopefully be their happily ever after.
A continuation of the first book Call of The Vampire
As I've said, the 1st & 2nd book should have just been made into one. The first book didnt have much going on for it. The 2nd part of this book (the one in Budapest) ahould have been the whole focus of the book. Too bad it only started 3/4 of the way.
Honestly i was rooting for Fred. Jessie is just so lame.
Avocado? WTF? When you write about something, it should have been significant to the story otherwise you just waste pages (and reader's time)
I don't know it this has a 3rd book, but i think i'll be stopping here....
Wow, what a second book. There was so much drama going on it was crazy, and I never had any clue as to what was to happen next. I usually read steamy vampire stories, the fact that this series has held my attention without any sex, and that I enjoy it so much, says a whole lot about the writing. I’m so looking forward to the next book
A very good series. I have enjoyed the vampires and their personalities. There are a lot of questions I have after reading the book but that just means the story has stimulated my imagination.
Fantastic what me up all night reading. A very romantic and gripping read . No smut ,which I liked ,in fact written so well the author did not need to go that far . Refreshing .
I am so glad that Aurora out her foot down at the end. Gramma Gibson is a hoot, scary but I love her. Can't wait to see where Jessie and Aurora 's journey takes them.
A absolute page turner. I loved this book and will be purchasing the next book, I loved it so much I’m buying the paperbacks for my bookshelves. Currently have on kindle.
Heart of the Vampire was romantically sweet. The book picks up exactly where Call of a Vampire left off. Viktor is dead and now there are vampires out to avenge his death. Jessie and Aurora now have to take a trip to Budapest for a tribunal to see if they would vote Jessie and Aurora guilty or innocent of the charges of murder. This story was amazingly written. I was engaged and emotional strapped to both Jessie and Aurora. The romance they have between each other is completely innocent but undeniable because they have that connection to each other. The love both the characters shared is heartfelt throughout the book. These two characters just fit so when the story began with Aurora and Frank being together I just could not see the connection between them. I mean don’t get me wrong, Frank was charming and gorgeous as the author describes him. He was everything that most girls would want in a steady relationship but his relationship with Aurora was just plain. It is nothing like Jessie’s appeal. I know you all are probably thing here she goes again on and on about her vampires. All I can say is yup that is me I love my vamps they seem to be a little more romantic because they are dead, they drink blood and they are immortal. How cool would it be to have a boyfriend that a vamp. I’m just stating the obvious.
The storyline becomes emotional because there are different elements that are also bought into the story. For one, Aurora in the previous book was more conscious about her decisions and although that made her a mature character I liked to see her act more her age and in this story you get that from her character because she is making reckless decisions to fight for the thing she wanted the most, Jessie. I really liked to see this part of Aurora I feel like it brought out more of her character. Not only does Aurora have to fight with the dreams or shall I say Collette’s dreams to figure out what happen to her great aunt but she now has to deal with her all powerful grandmother that has gained some weird powers since we last seen her in the previous books. I wonder how this is going to play out in the future.
The actions is ongoing in this story. All the vamps are out to kill Aurora and they are trying some devious things to push her out into the open to carry out the order to avenge the fellow vampire Viktor. But Jessie was not having any of it. Jessie put on his alpha male suite and stood his ground to protect Aurora. Jessie was courageous and you couldn’t help but to fall in love with him more. I mean he was fighting against some powerful vamps that had a lot of pull to the point where they hired the Mob to attempt to kill Aurora .These vamps are taking this seriously they are doing everything in their power to eliminate her which kept the action on going. You never knew what was going to happen next so your all wound up but there is a rush of excitement because you are not sure whether or not the characters are going to get through it.
The dinner scene was quite interesting. The author shows the Vampires in different light. Although most of them have the, I am the Alpha and Omega and you’re just a puny little human attitude. They wanted so bad to re-live their lives out as a humans. Through Aurora they wanted to re-learn what food tasted like and how humans danced to the eighties music. I mean there were parts in this story where I had laughed so hard I almost cried. The scene humanized the vampires but in the end there were some that were as devious as satan himself.
Toward the end my heart began to break because Jessie was so brave. He was fearless and it made my heart crumble, especially when he was going to sacrifice his own life for Aurora and it just didn’t stop there. When the vampires were going to take Jessie up on his offer of his own life Aurora steps in and offers hers and at this point I am all teary eyed. The sacrifices that both Jessie and Aurora were going to make were selfless. Jessie and Aurora are two hearts beating as one with an unbreakable bond toward each other, awwwhhhhh how romantic. Overall, I loved this story. There was action, good and bad vamps, humor, electrifying romance scene and an endless love story that would make you heart sputter.
My Recommendation:
I rated this book 5 out of 5 Purple Rant Hearts and would recommend this book to YA paranormal romance readers.
Heart of the Vampire was a solid second book to the Vanderlind Castle series. It had action, romance … It was a great mix of everything that I want in a book.
We dive into this segment with Aurora fighting to move on with her life without Jessie. It’s a hard go for her, but she’s trying. She starts dating Fred (a boy from school) and is just going through the paces of the relationship. Everything is going … okay until Jessie shows up outside her window, and all her attempts to forget him fall apart. But Jessie isn’t there for a happy reunion. He’s come to take Aurora to Budapest, in hopes that they can convince the vampire tribunal that she is the reincarnation of Colette, his long dead love. If they fail, Aurora will be sentenced to death and Jessie will be locked in a coffin for a hundred years. Will they succeed? You’ll have to read Heart of the Vampire to find out.
Well, I loved Fred. He was a much needed splash of humor in this story. He made me laugh out loud and roll my eyes more than once in his short appearance, and I hope that we get a bit more of him in the next segment. He would have been a perfect love interest for Aurora if Jessie hadn’t shown back up.
With that said, I was thrilled that we got to see a bit more romance between Jessie and Aurora. This was the one thing that I was really left wishing for at the end of the first book. I enjoyed every second of their relationship in this one.
So why the three stars? Well, I enjoyed it, but not as much as I did the first in the series. Everything was going great until Jessie took Aurora away to Budapest. The thing was, once they got there, the story felt predictable. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a great read, I just missed the mystery that I loved in the first book.
Overall, this was a great second book to the Vanderlind Castle series, and I will definitely be reading the next one.
Aurora tries to move on with her life without Jessie, which is difficult for her. She tries having a relationship with Fred, which seems to lack the spark that Jessie and her had. Then Jessie shows up out of the blue and throws a wrench in everything. He tells her they must go to Budapest for a trial or she will be hunted. On top of matters, the trip needs to happen as soon as possible! Aurora has a matter of days to prepare a plan, break off her relationship with Fred (who sees this as a challenge to win her back), learn how to travel with a coffin through customs, and stay alive.
My favorite part of the book was after Jessie and Aurora arrive in Budapest. This is the action packed, nail-biting part of the book. Your nail-biting because of the trail and which way will they swing, will they live or die or what is their punishment? I always like action in a book. It just sets it off for me. Nothing grabs your attention like vampires hunting people for revenge.
Heart of the Vampire proved to be a quick read for me. Once I got about halfway through the book, there was no way I was putting it down.
I love how Twist ends her books. You are not left hanging out on a cliff, right in the middle of a scene like some authors I read. She closes up all the major points but leaves a little opening for you to want to read the next book. I can't wait to read book 3!
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This series is absolutely fabulous! I started this book at 9pm last night, and finished early this morning! I couldn't put it down. Aurora, and Jessie are absolutely my favorite book couple ever! What I really liked about this book was with every chapter that sounded a lot like Twilight, it would take a completely different turn, and end in the most opposite way of Twilight ever! Aurora is such an amazing character! She was so smart, and brave with the terrible events in front of her, and handled it all so well. I really wasn't expecting that with this series. I thought it would end up being a girl finding a vampire family in there little town, and fall madly in love with him, and everything changes in her life, and her life is "totally" over when it's obviously too dangerous to be with the vampire hottie anymore. I mean it was sort of like that, but completely different. You would have to read the book yourself to understand my crazy talk! :)
AND the best part of this whole book! My sister's name is Aurora, and her boyfriends name is Jessie, and she has a weird obsession with keys. hahaha I could not get over that!
Anyway! I would still highly recommend this series, and I look forward to the next book!
THANK YOU Gayla Twist for the amazing Call of the Vampire Series!
Heart of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Castle Series Book 2)
This story tells the tale of Jessie Vanderlind and Aurora Gibson. They end up before the Bishop tribunal in Budapest for the death of Viktor . Aurora wins the tribunal by stating she is willing to be transformed into a vampire after she has Jessie's children at the age of twenty-four. The Bishops agreed to this. So Jessie and Aurora are back in Ohio with Gloria Viggo's girlfriend who is now working for the Vanderlind family also. Now Jessie and Aurora just need to work out their arrangement.
I have read a lot of different vampire love sagas n I find this one of Jesse Vanderlindt the self sacrificing vampire to be totally different from all others . His pinning away for the love he lost 80 years before n now falls for the descendant of his beloved Carletta named Aurora. They must defend themselves to the vampire government or face the deathly consequences. I loved the ending ..... kudos Gayla
This story was still a lot like the Twilight series but it was a really quick fun read. I really like the two main characters and I'm curious if Aurora will figure out more about her connection to her dead aunt. The grandmother is now able to determine some things about the future and I'm wondering how that will play out in the next book. This was a fun read.
The story I great, I love how there seems to be a connection between the 2 girls who both love Jesse one who died years ago and one who is her great grand niece. I can't wait till I read the next book
Jessie has found that falling in love with another human is not going to be any easier the second time around. If Jessie wants to save Auroras she must face a tribunal of vampires.