Born of Blood and Flames

Gravestone #1

by Amber Darwin

“The Darkness found me, and when I awoke, I became the most gifted Blood Witch my generation has ever known.

I am a weapon.
I am hunted.
I am everything they fear.

My name is Vivi Graves, and my story was never a fairytale.”


Life hasn’t been simple for the city of Thornfall’s best Blood Witch turned bartender. Shunned by most other witches, abused by The Academy of Elders, her love life is a dumpster fire, and even her sassy familiar doesn’t listen to a word she says. But at least she’s escaped the clutches of her corrupted mentors. Or has she?

When a terrifyingly sexy man shows up at her workplace, all shadows and temptation, her current reality starts to unravel. There’s no denying that he’s dangerous for her health, her heart isn't safe either. But as their fates intertwine, buried secrets expose themselves and the past comes back to punish them both.

Is blood thicker than water?
Does love conquer all?
And in the depths of hell, can Vivi survive the flames?
There’s only one way to find out…

** Born of Blood and Flames is a medium burn, enemies to lovers, dark fantasy, adult paranormal romance.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Witches, Dark Romance, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Romance

Kindle Edition

First published August 13, 2021

About the author

An author by day and a werewolf by night.

Amber is a former college professor of Paranormal Investigation. A lover of coffee, cats, reading, naps, and all things witchy. Not necessarily in that order. She currently resides in Wisconsin with her rockstar husband, three children, and a house full of familiars.

Join us on Social Media!

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Reviews

[Bailee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

Okay, here’s the deal. The first 20% of this book had SO much potential. I was eating it up, enjoying it, and giggling. After that, it was downhill from there for me. I’m SO MAD ABOUT IT!! I was expecting to love this, and wanting to. But, the FMC started really grating on my nerves, the plot twists were getting confusing, and I felt like everyone was a little immature.

This had so much potential, and with a better structure I feel like it could be great. But, unfortunately, I just didn’t love it past the 20% mark.

[astarion's bhaal babe (wingspan matters)]

When a terrifyingly sexy man shows up at her workplace, all shadows and temptation...

this has koisty's name written all over its pages

[Starr Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy paranormal, witchy romance with dark undertones and HOT relationships, this is your book! I hated how much I loved Killian. After everything... Vivi is a compelling character with real motives and I found her relatable. Highly recommend!

[Gabriella C. ☽◯☾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just wasn’t really vibing with it at all…

[Deziree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written

This book is beautifully writen. It's funny and sad and it makes you feel for the characters. It made me cry but it's an amazing story I can't wait for the next one

[Tiffani Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gosh I really hate giving less than 3 star ratings…

This was entertaining enough, but I just could not ignore how many typos and grammatical errors were in this. It really took away from the story and started to get on my nerves.

I also felt many of the main characters were very juvenile/immature which got very annoying very quickly.
(They are supposed to be in their 20s but felt like teenage high schoolers to me)

Hear me out: A female lead with emotional baggage, a sassy attitude, and a found family she would kill for. She is sooo special and sooo powerful without knowing why or how. Throw in a dark and broody love interest who is sort of an enemy but not, with insta lust, and some shadow powers for our playboy. Sound familiar? 🤔

Although it was entertaining and at times fun to read, it felt like another copy of many other books in this genre. It just did not stand out. At this point all of the book covers, titles, and stories of this genre are starting to be so alike that they blend together. I keep trying to read new series yearning for something new and exciting and am always disappointed.

Again, it was still somewhat enjoyable, and honestly if it weren’t for the ridiculous amount of grammatical errors/typos, I would probably have given this a 3 stars.

[Ange (Our Epic TBR List) Schmelzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy crap! I knew this was right up my alley with the fantasy and romance but holy crap! This was on the level with Sarah J Maas. It was so stinking good. I literally stayed up all night because I HAD to finish it which I haven’t done in years.

The characters are very well developed along with our world with their world in it. Plus the adventure and action along with the sassy MC was perfection. I cannot wait to see what happens next in book 2 after my heart was left shattered and stepped on at the end of this one.

I highly recommend!! This author is going on my MUST BUY list.

[Jess 📖🫶🏻 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could’ve been four stars, but you killed a cat. So I don’t feel bad.

I loved a lot about this book. The badass FMC. The witty alpha-hero MMC. The found family. And I hated a lot about this book. The constant puns and references. The writing was basic, not a lot of world building. There was no chemistry. No visualization. And you killed a fucking cat.

All that aside. The story is great and unique. I will definitely continue.

[Erin Lemezis-Schadewaldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book just pulled me in and took me for a ride into a dark, twisty world and I loved every minute! I could not put it down! When I absolutely had to put it down to go to work, I did nothing but wonder what was going to happen next. I can't wait for the next one!

[Ci]

DNF at 15%

This felt like one of these low budget streaming-platform tv adaptations of YA romantasy novels with the slightly unnatural, too brightly colored wigs and ‘everyday outfits’. Incredibly corny, hyper stylized dialogues, instalove, everything is shiny and beautiful.

Might continue if the mood strikes.

[Jamie Gail · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’d this 25% in. No clue what’s happening and truly couldn’t care any less about it

[Lisa Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

I have the pleasure of being acquainted with this author and I think that added to the excitement of reading it. She has brought to life characters someone can get behind and root for, be frightened for and, even be disappointed in at times. I have read this particular genre for awhile and am very picky with the ones I choose. This I have recommended and will continue to recommend. Go Amber!! Can’t wait until the next installment, the end of the first book really leaves it open for more than I can even imagine!

[Keesha Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new author has already made her way to my top 5 favorites list! Absolutely love her writing style! And this story, my gosh! Where do I even begin?!?! Ya know all those small things that make up a really great story? Well, there’s a little bit of all of that in this book! Sass, romance, intrigue, humor, good vs evil, twists & turns, supporting characters you adore almost as much as the main characters. I literally cannot wait for the next book!

[Stephanie Bartles · Rating 5 out of 5]

You slayed me open!!!!

Woman!!!!! Eyes peeled wide open, you absolutely slayed me, made me misty eyed I mean WTH???? So good, I can't wait until the next one 😘. I feel a bit of a kindred spirit with Vivi and me 🤷😍, and we all need a sexy alphahole badboy incubus prince on our side! This is a MUST read!!! Amazing book AJ, I need more pronto lady

[Leah Gantjos · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The first 50% of the book took a lot to get through personally. And the punctuation was grating.
However, the back 50% improved significantly and I enjoyed that for some easy reading. The story was interesting and unique enough, and the characters are hot so I'm satisfied with that lol. I thought I wouldn't check out the second instalment but now I think I probably will.

[Amber Darwin]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for all the wonderful words and feedback! After seeing some of the comments, this book has gone through an additional round of edits. As a new author, I appreciate you all so very much. xo -Amber

[Brandy Cheatham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio: Born Of Blood And Flames (Gravestone Series, Book 1)
Author: Amber Darwin
Narrator: Frankie Porter
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
5-Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Blurb:
“The darkness found me, and when I awoke, I became the most gifted Blood Witch my generation has ever known. I am a weapon. I am hunted. I am everything they fear. My name is ViVi Graves, and my story was never a fairytale”.

Amber Darwin’s first book in the Gravestone Series hits the mark! Fantasy fans will devour this series filled with witches, demons, shifters, fairies, fae, and more. Easily a 5-star read, Born Of Blood And Flames, is a thrilling start to Darwin’s new series, Gravestone.

ViVi Graves was always told to hide her flames and tell no one about her secret. Little does ViVi know, that her flames are only part of her long-kept secret. When she is rescued from a dungeon and dragged into a different realm, ViVi quickly realizes she is in mortal danger! To survive, ViVi must unravel her past and learn to trust her enemies.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. I liked how the FMC was relatable and it was fun to be inside of her head. She basically says what we’re all thinking and has realistic reactions to the things she learns throughout the story. The mmc was infuriating, but it was hard to not like him. Editing really would have saved this book. I’m debating on continuing the series.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️ super slow for a bit but the plot has me intrigued enough to keep going. I love a badass FMC

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t wait for the next book!

Loved so much about this book, love the sass and the sexy and the creative worlds vividly described so I could picture it all… great pacing, true fan!

[Jessica Maríí · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amber Darwin hit the ground running in her first book! This book is so colorfully written; hitting all the right notes! She is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the fantasy world!

[Kristen De Bragga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instant Addiction!!!

Omgoodness! What a ride! I held my breath for the entirety of the final chapters! And this is just the beginning?!?!

May I have some more, please?

[NV Adda · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Caffeine is life, and we worship at the espresso altar together."

I saw a lot of comments with people who gave up reading the book or complained about the second half of the book. I had seen these comments at the beginning and I really didn't understand why, because I loved the book so much. Well, now I understand.

CONS : The book has great potential, but it still needs a lot of work. There are many cringe scenes, but I still got over them even though I got the ick.

What bothered me a lot and made reading much harder was the punctuation; ending sentences too abruptly or commas placed where they shouldn't be.

There were many scenes that didn't make sense, just put in for the heck of it and scenes that were too short, without explanations or with actions that weren't explained very well. Until near the end, the book was 4 stars for me, but the ending made me drop to 3, or even 2 (but I want to continue reading the series so I think 2 isn't exactly fair).

The ending seemed so rushed to me that I felt this book as if I were watching a movie and when it reaches the climax someone slaps me and I wake up when it's already over.

I feel like the author rushed too much and didn't pay attention to the ending and the details. I support this opinion with this passage below, in which the character has a great achievement, but I'm not kidding, actually with the foua - three pages earlier Anise explains exactly the same thing to him when he wakes up, so I don't understand where the amazement and "dramatic achievement" come from.

"and then I understand. The Goddess of Night. Her spirit was within me. That’s what my mother hid in the box… She entrapped a Dark Goddess. The Dark Goddess. In a box?"

PROS: The action really caught me, and the story and worlds created are quite interesting. Many complained about FL, but I liked it. I'm tired of characters who are helpless or who discover that they are strong along the way. She knew from the beginning what she could do, but she wasn't allowed to explore more.

"I’ve always had to hide who I am for fear of my life. But I’m understanding that what you accept about yourself can’t be used against you. Perhaps embracing your darkness, owning all the parts that never see the light of day - the balance between the light and dark that lives within all of us is the path to being whole. "

CONTROVERSY: Many of the opinions in the reviews are well-founded and I understand their point of view, but some are not.

Sometimes some people read, but don't understand. They complain about the maturity of a 23-year-old girl, but let's be serious, how mature were we at 23? plus I don't find anything immature in anything she did, it's really creepy sometimes.

"One sympathetic word from Rowena, and I’m just a scared little girl without a mother, in a heap of trouble I can’t fix"

Some complain about the chemistry between her and Killian because she didn't know anything about him and it's hard to feel the chemistry. Did you forget the part at the end where she realizes that many of her moments and emotions were created by him? plus, you can be physically attracted to a person without even knowing them, because up until now she hasn't said she's in love or would give her life for him, she always specifies the attraction.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gets better.

Last Edit: The ending to the second book took me back to hating the series. I won’t read book three and am sorry the kind of cliffhanger in this one made me go hmm…

Edit: I was so close to putting this down, but I’m intrigued enough now to get book two. But-and it is a massive but-it took until I reached the 56% mark before the book stopped being absolutely atrocious.

Next, the amount of slang in this book…I use more slang than most people I know. But the MC sounds like she’s fourteen. It’s just painfully awkward. And while none of the slang is used incorrectly, it has that mom trying too hard vibe. I literally went and checked the author’s profile to figure out if the author was super young or just doing the mostest. And while the character sounds half a decade younger than she is, the author referenced Hitchcock and I don’t even remember, something else, that were such old references that I didn’t get them and didn’t bother to Google them.

So, if there is a copy editor in the future, please, dear all that is holy, make the slang in this book stop.

I will, however, buy the next book because the ending finally got okay’ish.

Original review: I’m so close to DNF’ing this. I’m at 46% right now and cannot stop rolling my eyes to the absolute back of my head at it. When does this book stop being bad?!?

The writing isn’t complete garbage. It’s not great, but somehow it’s not the worst thing I’ve read this week. I’ll update my rating if I end up finishing this and decide it deserves higher than 2.5.

[darkversedani · Rating 3 out of 5]

i will say i liked the story overall and became immersed quickly but it needs to be edited more. i looked past the weird punctuations and grammatical errors bc i liked the plot. vivi's pov is first person and i liked that it was written as if she was actually talking to the reader, like a friend just taking us along for the ride lol. she felt very relatable and i enjoyed her as a main character.

but the chemistry between killian and vivi... idk i really didn't feel it that much. sure he's an incubus and he has powers of seduction, but i felt like i didn't know a damn thing about him other than him being the dark prince and having a soft spot for her. it just felt very forced. maybe the chemistry improves in the next books idk.

also the pacing in this is kinda weird, feels like we're in one scene and then the next we're somewhere else. like the fight at the end?? the next chapter is just them moving on from it and doesn't explain any of the aftermath at all and i didn't like that, feels like we skipped a whole chapter.

there's so many unanswered questions and i'm looking forward to where we go from here!! hopefully it all wraps up in the end

[Skylar Hagerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.

Someone dig a hole that’s six feet deep because I’m dead. Obviously, not officially, but Amber Darwin did a number on me in this book. She hit all the marks: solid characters (even the ones you don’t like), creative plot, worthy dialogue, and pages that suck you in.

This was a unique read, and one that I flew through to get to what happened next. It was unpredictable in the best ways and kept your interest from the start.

I’ve read a lot of books lately with female characters always finding themselves in situations they can’t get out of and being cast as the damsel again and again. That is NOT what you get with Vivi — and it is so refreshing.

And Killian? Just yum.

Reading this book is absolutely not a waste of your time, I’d argue it’s time very well spent.

[Vikki B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivi starts off as a broken shell from all that has been done to her in the name of her "bloodline". She has her beloved familiar Lippy (Calypso), her two best friends Linc and Marlow and two care takers. But then TDD walks into her bar. Killian an enigma who you just don't know his full intentions all through out the book. But the attraction between the two of them is unbelievable. An unknown sister is mentioned and Vivi is ready to sacrifice everything to protect her friends and find her sister only to end up back under the academy halls. Killian and his brother Jasper save her and bring her to Netherlands. Which she is not a prisoner but is still in a gilded cage. The end chapters feel rushed but can't wait to start book 2.

[Laina Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unpopular opinion alert -

I was so excited to start this book based on the plot and reviews, however, I STRUGGLED to make it to 20% based on grammatical errors and the excessive use of unnecessary punctuation. I can’t say I’m a fan of the writing style or personality of the MC, and with that piled on top of grammar issues I just couldn’t do it.

DNF @ 21% (it hurts my heart to dnf a novel but I just couldn’t take it).

[tammy de la rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keeps you coming back for more

I'll be honest the book started out slow, but finished like a cliff hanger. Great story. I cannot wait to read the second book and get lost in the story. It's easy to get lost in the story and love the characters. Definitely a must read if you love supernatural and darkness.

[Caitie, Caffeine & Chaos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I DEVOURED this book after finding Amber Darwin on TikTok and when I say I'm running to finish the trilogy.. Obviously it's only February, but this is my fave read of 2024 so far. I love the main character, Vivi and her sass. It's the perfect amount of suspense, romance (a little $mut), and world building. Highly recommend