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A Vision in Crimson
A hunter without a purpose. A witch out of control.
Together, they will burn.
Katelyn’s magic is risky, but she's desperate. Icaryan light is fading. A chance meeting with a half vampire might be her last hope.
The darkly charming Luca is the one person able to stop Kate’s spells from swallowing her whole, but is he willing to follow her into a dark, wondrous world, full of magic and mischief at every turn?
Kate and Luca fight side-by-side against assassination plots, long-lost lovers, an illegitimate heir, and a slaver’s growing appetite for Icaryan citizens. All the while, Kate’s power is growing, its source just out of reach. Pulled in every direction, the dangers they face threaten to tear them apart.
Luca is faced with a terrible turn her with his bite into the thing he hates most, or risk losing her forever.
Torn between fear and desire, he abandons his own futile hunt to find and kill his father—the vampire lord who has never forgotten him.
Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Carissa Broadbent, and Deborah Harkness, A Vision in Crimson is the first book in this dark romantic fantasy series.
Together, they will burn.
Katelyn’s magic is risky, but she's desperate. Icaryan light is fading. A chance meeting with a half vampire might be her last hope.
The darkly charming Luca is the one person able to stop Kate’s spells from swallowing her whole, but is he willing to follow her into a dark, wondrous world, full of magic and mischief at every turn?
Kate and Luca fight side-by-side against assassination plots, long-lost lovers, an illegitimate heir, and a slaver’s growing appetite for Icaryan citizens. All the while, Kate’s power is growing, its source just out of reach. Pulled in every direction, the dangers they face threaten to tear them apart.
Luca is faced with a terrible turn her with his bite into the thing he hates most, or risk losing her forever.
Torn between fear and desire, he abandons his own futile hunt to find and kill his father—the vampire lord who has never forgotten him.
Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Carissa Broadbent, and Deborah Harkness, A Vision in Crimson is the first book in this dark romantic fantasy series.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2017
27 people are currently reading
295 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Troy
5 books138 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
January 1, 2024
When I started reading this I was hopeful. Initially, it seemed mysterious with a touch of classic gothic horror, but all that quickly turned into great disappointment.
The two main characters in this novel are Luca and Kate, both boring and have little personalities. Given that the novel's primary is about the two of them I was impressed by how little chemistry they had. It was the definition of instant love which resulted in me never getting time to root for or connect with them.
Both of them are multiple centuries old, yet dropped everything for each other within 24 hours of meeting... Besides that the two of them never talked with each other about themselves and their life they just thought each other to be hot, which would worked differently had the novel not tried to make them seem infatuated and in love.
Besides their love and connection being nonexistent, the whole novel was chaotic and felt anything but unfinished. There was no actual plotline, too many characters without purpose, and multiple conflicts being introduced but never addressed. There is nothing in the novel that keeps be invested. The only thing it managed to do perfectly was make me frustrated and confused.
The novel contains a heavy amount of smut, but given that included so much other information too, it was hard to figure out if it was written solely to be smutty and therefore purposefully disregarded the rest as unimportant, or if the novel simply never knew what it was supposed to be. Regardless of the intention, if it was meant to be read as pure smut, that could no doubt have been executed better because this made no sense.
Thanks to the publisher City Owl Press for providing me with an advanced reading copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Publish date 24.01.2024.
The two main characters in this novel are Luca and Kate, both boring and have little personalities. Given that the novel's primary is about the two of them I was impressed by how little chemistry they had. It was the definition of instant love which resulted in me never getting time to root for or connect with them.
Both of them are multiple centuries old, yet dropped everything for each other within 24 hours of meeting... Besides that the two of them never talked with each other about themselves and their life they just thought each other to be hot, which would worked differently had the novel not tried to make them seem infatuated and in love.
Besides their love and connection being nonexistent, the whole novel was chaotic and felt anything but unfinished. There was no actual plotline, too many characters without purpose, and multiple conflicts being introduced but never addressed. There is nothing in the novel that keeps be invested. The only thing it managed to do perfectly was make me frustrated and confused.
The novel contains a heavy amount of smut, but given that included so much other information too, it was hard to figure out if it was written solely to be smutty and therefore purposefully disregarded the rest as unimportant, or if the novel simply never knew what it was supposed to be. Regardless of the intention, if it was meant to be read as pure smut, that could no doubt have been executed better because this made no sense.
Thanks to the publisher City Owl Press for providing me with an advanced reading copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Publish date 24.01.2024.
May 15, 2018
Pale and sullen, Luca is a man with a mission: to destroy all vampires—especially the one that fathered him. This will not prove easy, as Luca is the son of Dracula.
That’s a great pretext for a story. However, this story takes place on the world of Icarya in the year AD 12,205 and Luca’s companions include a three hundred-year-old time-traveling witch, an aging Hercules (yes, that Hercules), nymphs, fauns, a minotaur, a pegasus, and a talking rat.
If the author is going to throw all of that in one book, she had better be able to make it work.
Luca the vampire hunter and Kate the witch fall in love. They go mining for quartz because it’s an explosive substance, you know. They and their companions are just the sweetest people you’ll ever meet and nothing bad ever gets in their way very long. Only after the halfway point do we meet the assassin Alaric and learn of a plot to take control of Icarya.
Sharper writing would save the book from some of the silliness of the plot. The writing falls into the passive tense too often. The writing is not actually bad—but we’re told what happens; we aren’t made to feel it. We’re told the characters have problems, but we don’t feel them—at least not until three-quarters in, where we get a series of powerful vignettes from Luca’s youth. The few scenes with Dracula convey power and terror.
All the characters, be they human, animal, ancient Greek, or whatever, all speak in the same voice, the same vernacular. Adding some variety in speech would make them come alive more. Within a pseudo-medieval setting, characters say things like, “Lay it on me, baby.” We also jump from one character’s POV to another as we go from sentence to sentence. A couple of times, it’s within a sentence.
Again, it’s not a bad book, just a little too over-the-top to take seriously. The story will appeal to fans of High Fantasy but fans of horror might be left cold. That’s not expected in a story featuring Dracula as the main villain.
That’s a great pretext for a story. However, this story takes place on the world of Icarya in the year AD 12,205 and Luca’s companions include a three hundred-year-old time-traveling witch, an aging Hercules (yes, that Hercules), nymphs, fauns, a minotaur, a pegasus, and a talking rat.
If the author is going to throw all of that in one book, she had better be able to make it work.
Luca the vampire hunter and Kate the witch fall in love. They go mining for quartz because it’s an explosive substance, you know. They and their companions are just the sweetest people you’ll ever meet and nothing bad ever gets in their way very long. Only after the halfway point do we meet the assassin Alaric and learn of a plot to take control of Icarya.
Sharper writing would save the book from some of the silliness of the plot. The writing falls into the passive tense too often. The writing is not actually bad—but we’re told what happens; we aren’t made to feel it. We’re told the characters have problems, but we don’t feel them—at least not until three-quarters in, where we get a series of powerful vignettes from Luca’s youth. The few scenes with Dracula convey power and terror.
All the characters, be they human, animal, ancient Greek, or whatever, all speak in the same voice, the same vernacular. Adding some variety in speech would make them come alive more. Within a pseudo-medieval setting, characters say things like, “Lay it on me, baby.” We also jump from one character’s POV to another as we go from sentence to sentence. A couple of times, it’s within a sentence.
Again, it’s not a bad book, just a little too over-the-top to take seriously. The story will appeal to fans of High Fantasy but fans of horror might be left cold. That’s not expected in a story featuring Dracula as the main villain.
September 17, 2019
Hi, I'm a human, also a powerful witch. I live on a paradise planet with tons of carbon-based life forms, including centaurs and Hercules, and oh, by the way, I'm also queen of the whole place. My crew and I took a trip to Earth one day, because our planet is powered by quartz, for some reason, and we can go into an Earth cave and mine all the quartz we want. I randomly encountered a guy half buried in the dirt. Good news, he wasn't dead, and he's super good-looking. He's a powerful, immortal half-vampire, and he's my lover forever now, because I'm queen and I want him. The bad news: his dad is literally Dracula (no copyright laws apply. That book's in the public domain, bitchezzzz!) And for some reason, Dracula hopped across the dimension to our perfect planet, and he wants to ruin everything. Now it's time for book two!
I'm not a big reader of this sort of book, or how it compares to others. Is it supposed to be mostly about the sex? And the plot is thrown in just because? Neither are that great, honestly. But I love love love it that the author put her favorite messiest erotic adventure thoughts into a novel, and now it's published! High five!
I'm not a big reader of this sort of book, or how it compares to others. Is it supposed to be mostly about the sex? And the plot is thrown in just because? Neither are that great, honestly. But I love love love it that the author put her favorite messiest erotic adventure thoughts into a novel, and now it's published! High five!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2024
instant love trope? i cannot.
how’re you going to have dracula’s son and this 300 year old “human” in the same story as the innkeeper saying “lay it on me, baby”? the entire vibe is practically ruined and immediately takes me out of the story.
(tell me why the FMC is doing pushups as soon as she’s done kissing luca)
this all felt unfinished? it had such a promising blurb and i loved the cover but this was not it at all. the writing left me wanting and there was literally no plot, just smut.
thank you netgalley for the arc but i’m on to my next read and i hope it’s miles better than this.
how’re you going to have dracula’s son and this 300 year old “human” in the same story as the innkeeper saying “lay it on me, baby”? the entire vibe is practically ruined and immediately takes me out of the story.
(tell me why the FMC is doing pushups as soon as she’s done kissing luca)
this all felt unfinished? it had such a promising blurb and i loved the cover but this was not it at all. the writing left me wanting and there was literally no plot, just smut.
thank you netgalley for the arc but i’m on to my next read and i hope it’s miles better than this.
July 25, 2024
I am honored to have read this book as an Arc. I loved the story line and the world building it was a fun easy read that I couldn’t put down, it has many elements that were my favorites. A witch and a vampire joined together in an adventure just to fall for each other. There are many things that are still yet to be revealed in the next books and I can’t wait to know more. This book has elemental and blood magic. Morally grey characters. I fell in love with them. It has the right amount of spice. The book left off on a cliffhanger that makes you begging for more. Can’t wait to get the second book to read more about Kate, Luca and the whole gang of their friends. I feel like there will be a lot more action to come and this book was just the beginning ❤️
January 6, 2024
Rating: 3.75/5 Penguins (rounded up)
Quick Reasons: insta-love; some mysterious/unexplained magics; the writing felt a little bit stiff; intriguing plot line; unique and fresh world-building; entertaining read
HUGE thanks to Kathryn Troy for the ARC of this title! My review of this book is voluntarily written and in no way altered or impacted by this gesture.
The dark shadow swirled it around in his mouth for a minute, then spit it back out and rolled it around in his palm. The once blue sphere was now clear. Ice crystals filled the little curiosity.
To his left, the sun was rising. The many darted off into the shadows, taking the sphere with him.
This was an entertaining, easy to dive into read. The world-building is fresh and unique, with some new twists to the old tales/tropes. I had a fantastic time living through these characters as they explored new territories...and each other. The plot was intriguing and made me want to know what happened next, as soon as possible. And that COVER!? STUNNING!
There was a lot of the insta-love trope happening, as our MMC and FMC jumped very quickly from "hi, I just met you" to "hi, let's move in together!" The writing also felt a bit stiff and disjointed in certain scenes. There were some moments I thought we might get a better explanation of the magic sources mentioned, that ended up remaining mostly mysterious (where did Kate's magic come from? how were Luca and Hercules and all the various other bookish characters suddenly found to exist? was Kate the only sibling with abilities?)
"What were you doing?"
Ted hesitated before answering. "The acting troupe."
Kate blinked as she caught his meaning. "The whole-- THE WHOLE troupe??!"
"They were in town for a couple of days. They did an acrobatic performance at the summer festival. It was quite a show, you would have enjoyed--"
"You couldn't contain yourself just this once?!" Kate cried.
"Did you hear what I just said? They were ACROBATS."
Still, this was a fast and entertaining journey, and I greatly enjoyed "watching" the characters grow and thrive. I definitely recommend this to lovers of mythology, fantasy, magic, and vampires. There are secrets to be uncovered in these pages, Penguins. Are you ready for them?
Quick Reasons: insta-love; some mysterious/unexplained magics; the writing felt a little bit stiff; intriguing plot line; unique and fresh world-building; entertaining read
HUGE thanks to Kathryn Troy for the ARC of this title! My review of this book is voluntarily written and in no way altered or impacted by this gesture.
The dark shadow swirled it around in his mouth for a minute, then spit it back out and rolled it around in his palm. The once blue sphere was now clear. Ice crystals filled the little curiosity.
To his left, the sun was rising. The many darted off into the shadows, taking the sphere with him.
This was an entertaining, easy to dive into read. The world-building is fresh and unique, with some new twists to the old tales/tropes. I had a fantastic time living through these characters as they explored new territories...and each other. The plot was intriguing and made me want to know what happened next, as soon as possible. And that COVER!? STUNNING!
There was a lot of the insta-love trope happening, as our MMC and FMC jumped very quickly from "hi, I just met you" to "hi, let's move in together!" The writing also felt a bit stiff and disjointed in certain scenes. There were some moments I thought we might get a better explanation of the magic sources mentioned, that ended up remaining mostly mysterious (where did Kate's magic come from? how were Luca and Hercules and all the various other bookish characters suddenly found to exist? was Kate the only sibling with abilities?)
"What were you doing?"
Ted hesitated before answering. "The acting troupe."
Kate blinked as she caught his meaning. "The whole-- THE WHOLE troupe??!"
"They were in town for a couple of days. They did an acrobatic performance at the summer festival. It was quite a show, you would have enjoyed--"
"You couldn't contain yourself just this once?!" Kate cried.
"Did you hear what I just said? They were ACROBATS."
Still, this was a fast and entertaining journey, and I greatly enjoyed "watching" the characters grow and thrive. I definitely recommend this to lovers of mythology, fantasy, magic, and vampires. There are secrets to be uncovered in these pages, Penguins. Are you ready for them?
January 23, 2024
This was a strong effort to combine very different genres (Dystopian/SciFi & Fantasy & Paranormal Romance) and may have benefitted from redrafting or being spread over a duology in order that the author could expand further on the concepts they introduced. The reader gets a sense that the author is excited to bring all of these new ideas to the book when they could benefit from being spread out (Maybe do one book from Kate's POv and one from Lucas?)
Full disclosure, I did find myself skimming back and forth in places thinking I had missed something, but while I had not, it shows that the storylines were sparking my interest and I wanted to explore them more but was not able to find that extra detail. I wanted to understand Luca and Kate more, but to be fair, there is very little room for extra narratives when you are weaving genres
Great concepts and certainly potential to balance out with careful drafting of the next book in the series and I look forward to it
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Full disclosure, I did find myself skimming back and forth in places thinking I had missed something, but while I had not, it shows that the storylines were sparking my interest and I wanted to explore them more but was not able to find that extra detail. I wanted to understand Luca and Kate more, but to be fair, there is very little room for extra narratives when you are weaving genres
Great concepts and certainly potential to balance out with careful drafting of the next book in the series and I look forward to it
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 20, 2024
Love at first wet-dream 🥺🖤💦
TW: SA, abusive parent
Tropes:
❗ Instalust
❗ Secret identity
❗ Emotional scars
❗ Grumpy x Sunshine
❗ Underdog
POV:3rd person (but sometimes it felt like a 1st POV through Luca’s character).
Setting: The book’s setting was confusing. 😵 The characters feel like medieval fantasy, but the world itself feels modern/futuristic (like sci-fi). This also made the time period confusing, I couldn't tell you if this story took place in the past, present, or future. 😕
Pacing: slow, no action, and low stakes
Plot: The entire book we follow the FMC and MMC just doing their things. Kinda like watching a sitcom. I also went in expecting to peer into the life of a vampire hunter, but we only got 2 pages of that until the story changes focus to the FMC’s life. 🙃
Nothing stake-worthy happens until 40% in, where I believe the first plot point appears. There was no lead-up to this point, it sorta just happened. Then, just as fast as the pain point was introduced, it was quickly unheard of ever again. This is a consistent theme in the book, where plot and subplots just happen, which imo makes for an unsatisfactory read. 😴
Characters: This book is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven. However, the characters themselves don’t have clear motives for why they do the things they do. This was another instance in which I felt distant from the book. 💔
Luca’s character felt underdeveloped because once the FMC was introduced all his thoughts and feelings became about her. So in a way, Luca’s character was used to develop Kate’s character. I did enjoy learning Kate’s backstory because she’s the typical headstrong FMC and I liked her magical abilities. 💫 However, their instant love was something I was not a fan of. I like when the romance is a slow burn and the characters get to know each other before they fall.
There are also like a MILLION characters that get introduced throughout the book, and almost all of them we never see again. 🙄
Writing quality: Some parts were difficult to read, mostly because the dialogue for the characters wasn’t distinctive. So it would get confusing trying to follow who was saying what since the characters kinda sounded the same.
Also, I’ve read plenty of spicy scenes where I cringe and get over it, but golly did I skim all the smut scenes that happens in this book, it made me feel icky and uncomfortable. 😖😖😖😖😖😖
Recommendation: I would recommend this book if you like the tropes I listed above (Instalust, Secret identity, Emotional scars, Grumpy x Sunshine, Underdog). I do enjoy reading all these tropes, but they didn’t do it for me in this book because I didn’t see what motivated the characters (a lack of connection).
⭐1/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
TW: SA, abusive parent
Tropes:
❗ Instalust
❗ Secret identity
❗ Emotional scars
❗ Grumpy x Sunshine
❗ Underdog
POV:3rd person (but sometimes it felt like a 1st POV through Luca’s character).
Setting: The book’s setting was confusing. 😵 The characters feel like medieval fantasy, but the world itself feels modern/futuristic (like sci-fi). This also made the time period confusing, I couldn't tell you if this story took place in the past, present, or future. 😕
Pacing: slow, no action, and low stakes
Plot: The entire book we follow the FMC and MMC just doing their things. Kinda like watching a sitcom. I also went in expecting to peer into the life of a vampire hunter, but we only got 2 pages of that until the story changes focus to the FMC’s life. 🙃
Nothing stake-worthy happens until 40% in, where I believe the first plot point appears. There was no lead-up to this point, it sorta just happened. Then, just as fast as the pain point was introduced, it was quickly unheard of ever again. This is a consistent theme in the book, where plot and subplots just happen, which imo makes for an unsatisfactory read. 😴
Characters: This book is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven. However, the characters themselves don’t have clear motives for why they do the things they do. This was another instance in which I felt distant from the book. 💔
Luca’s character felt underdeveloped because once the FMC was introduced all his thoughts and feelings became about her. So in a way, Luca’s character was used to develop Kate’s character. I did enjoy learning Kate’s backstory because she’s the typical headstrong FMC and I liked her magical abilities. 💫 However, their instant love was something I was not a fan of. I like when the romance is a slow burn and the characters get to know each other before they fall.
There are also like a MILLION characters that get introduced throughout the book, and almost all of them we never see again. 🙄
Writing quality: Some parts were difficult to read, mostly because the dialogue for the characters wasn’t distinctive. So it would get confusing trying to follow who was saying what since the characters kinda sounded the same.
Also, I’ve read plenty of spicy scenes where I cringe and get over it, but golly did I skim all the smut scenes that happens in this book, it made me feel icky and uncomfortable. 😖😖😖😖😖😖
Recommendation: I would recommend this book if you like the tropes I listed above (Instalust, Secret identity, Emotional scars, Grumpy x Sunshine, Underdog). I do enjoy reading all these tropes, but they didn’t do it for me in this book because I didn’t see what motivated the characters (a lack of connection).
⭐1/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 4, 2024
I was provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was really unique! I was intrigued from the first page and the story kept building from there. I was confused about the world-building in this story a bit, as I was unsure where all the characters came from as there were many different species, so that could have been clearer. Aside from this, I appreciated Kate and Luca's friendship and how it developed over the course of the book. It didn't feel forced, but rather natural, and the layers of the plot blended well with the romance. The ending was an awesome cliffhanger and I can't wait for more!
This book was really unique! I was intrigued from the first page and the story kept building from there. I was confused about the world-building in this story a bit, as I was unsure where all the characters came from as there were many different species, so that could have been clearer. Aside from this, I appreciated Kate and Luca's friendship and how it developed over the course of the book. It didn't feel forced, but rather natural, and the layers of the plot blended well with the romance. The ending was an awesome cliffhanger and I can't wait for more!
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January 23, 2024I appreciate the opportunity to read this as an ARC.
The story has potential and really did catch my interest but it was difficult for me to get fully attached. The plot just seemed a little underdeveloped, the flow of the writing for me just seemed off and at times it was more than slow and didn’t seem to help any type of development to the characters or worlds but very rushed at others.
I’m a very visually imaginative person too and in certain instances I just had a hard time seeing and grasping what was happening. The development of it all just fell flat and I had a hard time making sense to truly get immersed. Kate and Lucas relationship went from 0 to 60 without the development and don’t get me wrong I’m all for insta love but it was trying to be insta love but pretending to be a slow burn which made it hard for me to connect with the characters and overall story. The chemistry just didn’t jump out at me. The story truly has potential but I feel needs work on the pace of it all so the plot and characters really have a shot of developing and making this the strong story it can be.
These are simple my thoughts and opinions and others may find this story more to their liking.
The story has potential and really did catch my interest but it was difficult for me to get fully attached. The plot just seemed a little underdeveloped, the flow of the writing for me just seemed off and at times it was more than slow and didn’t seem to help any type of development to the characters or worlds but very rushed at others.
I’m a very visually imaginative person too and in certain instances I just had a hard time seeing and grasping what was happening. The development of it all just fell flat and I had a hard time making sense to truly get immersed. Kate and Lucas relationship went from 0 to 60 without the development and don’t get me wrong I’m all for insta love but it was trying to be insta love but pretending to be a slow burn which made it hard for me to connect with the characters and overall story. The chemistry just didn’t jump out at me. The story truly has potential but I feel needs work on the pace of it all so the plot and characters really have a shot of developing and making this the strong story it can be.
These are simple my thoughts and opinions and others may find this story more to their liking.
March 2, 2024
Not rated as I found myself not vibing with the characters or storyline and only read up to 50% so a fair review is not likely given I didn't finish the book.
January 17, 2024
I wanted to like this book more than I did and although the conception was good, the execution of this vampiric romance and the fantasy world building was not satisfactory. The MMC, Luca is the son of a famous literary character and was ostracized based on his half-blooded nature as a dhampir and is left to live his immortal life as an outcast on the outskirts of human society as a vampire hunter who would rather have no access to his feelings out of fear of rejection, pain and his past grievances.
The FMC, Kate is the Queen of Icarya and has returned to Earth on an expedition with her loyal subjects to find quartz to use as a power source for the advancement of the kingdom, here she meets Luca and he immediately becomes intrigued by this human/ witch whose life seemed so fragile to him and he became mutually infatuated with the powerful woman. Luca enamored Kate with his subtle nature, however, the romance felt inadequate as they have little to no chemistry in anything but sexual tension. Luca’s alienation from society has nurtured him into a man unable to express himself in a sufficient manner, he is unaware of certain concepts and traditions of society. “But his heart couldn’t rest easy until she returned. He knew how fragile human life could be, regardless of how much her comrades believed in her.”
Another point, his vampiric charm which Luca possesses has not worked for his benefit for him in any instance other than when he met Kate. How has he not tried to mesmerize others in hopes of winning over their subtlety over his nature with his “dark aura and hypnotic stare”?
The story was fast-paced as Luca and Kate were already infatuated with each other after one day of meeting. Infatuations rarely leads to an enduring love, but that is probably not the writer’s intent because of the many sex scenes which made the romantic plot to be discerned as watered-down because of their undying sexual appetites rather than the romance itself. The plot line of conflict was not heavy at all or drawn out properly as the journey to the fantasy world was not explained properly nor was the connections to other people and as the story mainly followed the couple, the conflict and plot seemed underdeveloped.
These thoughts and opinions are purely my own and thus, this is my honest review of this novel. Thank you to the author for the eARC.
The FMC, Kate is the Queen of Icarya and has returned to Earth on an expedition with her loyal subjects to find quartz to use as a power source for the advancement of the kingdom, here she meets Luca and he immediately becomes intrigued by this human/ witch whose life seemed so fragile to him and he became mutually infatuated with the powerful woman. Luca enamored Kate with his subtle nature, however, the romance felt inadequate as they have little to no chemistry in anything but sexual tension. Luca’s alienation from society has nurtured him into a man unable to express himself in a sufficient manner, he is unaware of certain concepts and traditions of society. “But his heart couldn’t rest easy until she returned. He knew how fragile human life could be, regardless of how much her comrades believed in her.”
Another point, his vampiric charm which Luca possesses has not worked for his benefit for him in any instance other than when he met Kate. How has he not tried to mesmerize others in hopes of winning over their subtlety over his nature with his “dark aura and hypnotic stare”?
The story was fast-paced as Luca and Kate were already infatuated with each other after one day of meeting. Infatuations rarely leads to an enduring love, but that is probably not the writer’s intent because of the many sex scenes which made the romantic plot to be discerned as watered-down because of their undying sexual appetites rather than the romance itself. The plot line of conflict was not heavy at all or drawn out properly as the journey to the fantasy world was not explained properly nor was the connections to other people and as the story mainly followed the couple, the conflict and plot seemed underdeveloped.
These thoughts and opinions are purely my own and thus, this is my honest review of this novel. Thank you to the author for the eARC.
January 6, 2024
I was given this arc by the author who approached me. I am fine with that as I don't mind helping out authors if they need. So I would like to say thank you for the chance of reading A Vision In Crimson, this is an honest review.
The story starts off meeting the MMC. He is a Damphir and a Vamp hunter (there is no Vamp hunting only Daddy issues) and I was like great this is gonna be awesome. But that sailed south real fast. I was unsure of the timeline. Just how Luca (MMC) I thought maybe 1800s but turns out it wasn't. Though I am still unsure of the actual timeline. As the back and fourth with Kate in the other world and the actual world was not a seamless transition.
Anyway, as I said I thought this was going to be an action and adventure packed fantasy with a side plot of romance....I was very mistaken, perhaps I misunderstood the Authors DMs or even the synopsis. I was here for it at the start, but as soon as Kate entered the picture, it was downhill. It was instalove and I am one not for love at first sight or instalove tropes as to me it's unrealistic. I can understand instalust but not love. The whole plot then turned in my eyes into their very messy "romance" that was just sex, there was no real romance about it and no wooing or anything. Atleast that was my take. It was like whiplash and confusing. Because it just happened. No lead up. To me it killed any potential point of a story. It's like she wanted to write a smut heavy book but was too afraid of the smut heavy only backlash so splashed in all these random fantasy elements and crossed fingers hoping for the best.
Kate is a human, but also this powerful witch and also this queen of some like fantasy alternate universe place. She stumbled there with her two brothers years ago, but I am confused on this timeline cause she knows things about the normal world, where Luca was from but apparently he doesn't? I think there are some plot flaws in that.
The story was I guess character driven with no real actual character development. Just sex, and not the entertaining kind, for me anyway. It felt like someone who used to "Roleplay Online" smash all the storylines they ever wrote with others back in the MySpace days and smashed them into the book.
There were tons of characters, but some only had one or two scenes, then were never heard from again. Also Dracula, the villan turns up into the other world, but that doesn't really get spoken about. Then the ending it felt more of a "I don't know what else to write here, and I'mall out of spicy content" and made no sense.
The premise had so much potential and could have been amazing if it was more fleshed out and had an actual plot and structure. For me it just really missed the mark. At least unlike a lot of the other reviews, I finished the book.
The story starts off meeting the MMC. He is a Damphir and a Vamp hunter (there is no Vamp hunting only Daddy issues) and I was like great this is gonna be awesome. But that sailed south real fast. I was unsure of the timeline. Just how Luca (MMC) I thought maybe 1800s but turns out it wasn't. Though I am still unsure of the actual timeline. As the back and fourth with Kate in the other world and the actual world was not a seamless transition.
Anyway, as I said I thought this was going to be an action and adventure packed fantasy with a side plot of romance....I was very mistaken, perhaps I misunderstood the Authors DMs or even the synopsis. I was here for it at the start, but as soon as Kate entered the picture, it was downhill. It was instalove and I am one not for love at first sight or instalove tropes as to me it's unrealistic. I can understand instalust but not love. The whole plot then turned in my eyes into their very messy "romance" that was just sex, there was no real romance about it and no wooing or anything. Atleast that was my take. It was like whiplash and confusing. Because it just happened. No lead up. To me it killed any potential point of a story. It's like she wanted to write a smut heavy book but was too afraid of the smut heavy only backlash so splashed in all these random fantasy elements and crossed fingers hoping for the best.
Kate is a human, but also this powerful witch and also this queen of some like fantasy alternate universe place. She stumbled there with her two brothers years ago, but I am confused on this timeline cause she knows things about the normal world, where Luca was from but apparently he doesn't? I think there are some plot flaws in that.
The story was I guess character driven with no real actual character development. Just sex, and not the entertaining kind, for me anyway. It felt like someone who used to "Roleplay Online" smash all the storylines they ever wrote with others back in the MySpace days and smashed them into the book.
There were tons of characters, but some only had one or two scenes, then were never heard from again. Also Dracula, the villan turns up into the other world, but that doesn't really get spoken about. Then the ending it felt more of a "I don't know what else to write here, and I'mall out of spicy content" and made no sense.
The premise had so much potential and could have been amazing if it was more fleshed out and had an actual plot and structure. For me it just really missed the mark. At least unlike a lot of the other reviews, I finished the book.
January 16, 2024
I absolutely fell in love with this book the second I started reading it. I have to say my favorite part of the book was definitely the world building. Icarya seems like such a beautiful, accepting fantasy world that I would love to visit. I immediately felt all the cozy vibes with all of Troy's beautiful, detailed descriptions.
Another thing I really loved about this book was the characters. I am a sucker for relatable, enjoyable characters and this book had plenty! I would have to say my favorite was Kate, our lovely, badass witch. I love how independent she is and how she doesn't take any BS from anybody. Strong female main characters are definitely something I look for in any fantasy series I read, so this was definitely a hit for me.
I don't want to give too much away, but if you enjoy broody vampires, strong female leads, fun banter, and epic fantasy worlds- this book is for you! I can't wait for the next installment.
Trope list:
🩸Brooding Vampire MMC🩸Kickass Witchy FMC🩸Rival Lovers🩸Royals🩸& More!🩸
Huge thank you to Kathryn Troy for allowing me to be an ARC reader in exchange for an honest review of the book.❤️
Original review: https://bellainwndrlnd.wordpress.com/...
Another thing I really loved about this book was the characters. I am a sucker for relatable, enjoyable characters and this book had plenty! I would have to say my favorite was Kate, our lovely, badass witch. I love how independent she is and how she doesn't take any BS from anybody. Strong female main characters are definitely something I look for in any fantasy series I read, so this was definitely a hit for me.
I don't want to give too much away, but if you enjoy broody vampires, strong female leads, fun banter, and epic fantasy worlds- this book is for you! I can't wait for the next installment.
Trope list:
🩸Brooding Vampire MMC🩸Kickass Witchy FMC🩸Rival Lovers🩸Royals🩸& More!🩸
Huge thank you to Kathryn Troy for allowing me to be an ARC reader in exchange for an honest review of the book.❤️
Original review: https://bellainwndrlnd.wordpress.com/...
December 4, 2023
ARC review
Thank you for the ARC. However, I dnfd at 46%
The book has a great concept, just a really poor execution.
Besides the overwhelming number of characters and species introduced, the main storyline, which seems to be the romance, is incredibly unbelievable.
They meet each other, get to know absolutely nothing about the other person besides the fact that they are each hot af and then bam! In love. Kate's friends even smirk at her for eyeing the hot vampire like she's some kind of horn dog but low and behold, the first sex scene Luca takes her virginity? ... she's been alive for like thousands of years, so she was waiting for a dude she had just met and knew for about 2 days?
Luca is also off-putting.. in the beginning, she talks about how nobody wants him and he has this terrible life and he's shunned and rejected and so on. A woman would rather be crippled for the rest of her life than let him touch her to heal her. He meets Kate and immediately expects her to find him attractive and irresistible.
Kate is the first woman who doesn't care that he's a dhampir. He falls in love after a single day. This makes him seem desperate and naive.
The POV changes were confusing. You never knew when it was gonna randomly flip over to the next person. The way she writes and explains situations is not clear. It's difficult to actually picture what she is describing most times... this bled into the disappointing sex scene and her obvious terror of giving name to the vagina.
Overall, the concept was good. Having the male as the main character was a refreshing change to most fantasy romances that I've read. It was just a pitty that the execution was so poor.
Thank you for the ARC. However, I dnfd at 46%
The book has a great concept, just a really poor execution.
Besides the overwhelming number of characters and species introduced, the main storyline, which seems to be the romance, is incredibly unbelievable.
They meet each other, get to know absolutely nothing about the other person besides the fact that they are each hot af and then bam! In love. Kate's friends even smirk at her for eyeing the hot vampire like she's some kind of horn dog but low and behold, the first sex scene Luca takes her virginity? ... she's been alive for like thousands of years, so she was waiting for a dude she had just met and knew for about 2 days?
Luca is also off-putting.. in the beginning, she talks about how nobody wants him and he has this terrible life and he's shunned and rejected and so on. A woman would rather be crippled for the rest of her life than let him touch her to heal her. He meets Kate and immediately expects her to find him attractive and irresistible.
Kate is the first woman who doesn't care that he's a dhampir. He falls in love after a single day. This makes him seem desperate and naive.
The POV changes were confusing. You never knew when it was gonna randomly flip over to the next person. The way she writes and explains situations is not clear. It's difficult to actually picture what she is describing most times... this bled into the disappointing sex scene and her obvious terror of giving name to the vagina.
Overall, the concept was good. Having the male as the main character was a refreshing change to most fantasy romances that I've read. It was just a pitty that the execution was so poor.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2024
The premise of this story sounded amazing, we have a half vampire - Luca and a time traveling witch - Kate that fell in love and is the two against the world kind of romance. Unfortunately, is also an instant love kind of romance which I’m honestly not a fan, at all.
I could feel the touch of the gothic mysterious atmosphere, but it was just for a while since it quickly lost traces of it throughout the story. The plotline was also a bit confusing, and it seemed like we were introduced to a lot of characters that had almost no purpose to the story itself. The written wasn’t bad but didn’t allow me to feel connected with the characters and didn’t feel involved in the story itself. It felt a bit rushed specially in what concerns the romance between the main characters, but it has a lot of smut.
So, if you read it for the spice instead of the plot it may be good enough for you. I wished it had a bit more depth into the plot and kept it gothic atmosphere, but it was an easy read, nevertheless.
Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.
I could feel the touch of the gothic mysterious atmosphere, but it was just for a while since it quickly lost traces of it throughout the story. The plotline was also a bit confusing, and it seemed like we were introduced to a lot of characters that had almost no purpose to the story itself. The written wasn’t bad but didn’t allow me to feel connected with the characters and didn’t feel involved in the story itself. It felt a bit rushed specially in what concerns the romance between the main characters, but it has a lot of smut.
So, if you read it for the spice instead of the plot it may be good enough for you. I wished it had a bit more depth into the plot and kept it gothic atmosphere, but it was an easy read, nevertheless.
Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.
January 8, 2024
The way the blood in her face had risen to the surface at the sight of him he would follow that rush of excitement, of wanting, of her.
He would follow her anywhere
Tropes?
-half vampire hunter x witch
-strong FMC
-found family
-instalove
-100+ MMC and FMC
-age gap = ?idk.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me.
One. The romance between Luca and Kate was fast. While I like instalust, in this scenario I wished there was a development. Not gonna lie, I like how Luca was sweet and gentle with Kate. And for Kate, I love her strength and need to protect people and beings that may look terrifying but are harmless.
Two. There is to many things happening. Too many actions sequences that are all mixed up. I almost skimmed through the book. I am disappointed especially with the blurb. Romance between a witch and a vampire hunter?!?! It had a lot of potential. I just needed for of world building. (I know it the first book of a fantasy series, but it got dragged wayyy to much.)
I got this arc for an honest review
TW/CW: SC; blood; injury details; rape; physical violence
He would follow her anywhere
Tropes?
-half vampire hunter x witch
-strong FMC
-found family
-instalove
-100+ MMC and FMC
-age gap = ?idk.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me.
One. The romance between Luca and Kate was fast. While I like instalust, in this scenario I wished there was a development. Not gonna lie, I like how Luca was sweet and gentle with Kate. And for Kate, I love her strength and need to protect people and beings that may look terrifying but are harmless.
Two. There is to many things happening. Too many actions sequences that are all mixed up. I almost skimmed through the book. I am disappointed especially with the blurb. Romance between a witch and a vampire hunter?!?! It had a lot of potential. I just needed for of world building. (I know it the first book of a fantasy series, but it got dragged wayyy to much.)
I got this arc for an honest review
TW/CW: SC; blood; injury details; rape; physical violence
January 16, 2024
I wanna thank netgalley for this ARC in exhange of an honest review. And I also wanna thank the author for this copy of the book:
I just realized this book has a few years already and I had no idea, maybe this new version on netgalley is upgraded or something, I don't know. But, alas, here comes my opinion. I really liked this book. I loved Kate and her strength, she wasn't afraid to do what needed to be done and was the first to lend help when was necessary. Luca was mistreated his whole life and seeing him get the love he deserved all along was so satisfying. These two together were a force of their own, they each try to protect the other and love each other so much, it's really something. I love the world and whole the intrigues. I have to say I liked Alaric too, not with Kate, but in general. I xan't wait to read the next one, this one ended in a cliffhanger and I need to know what happens next
I just realized this book has a few years already and I had no idea, maybe this new version on netgalley is upgraded or something, I don't know. But, alas, here comes my opinion. I really liked this book. I loved Kate and her strength, she wasn't afraid to do what needed to be done and was the first to lend help when was necessary. Luca was mistreated his whole life and seeing him get the love he deserved all along was so satisfying. These two together were a force of their own, they each try to protect the other and love each other so much, it's really something. I love the world and whole the intrigues. I have to say I liked Alaric too, not with Kate, but in general. I xan't wait to read the next one, this one ended in a cliffhanger and I need to know what happens next
July 25, 2024
This is an interesting mix of classic horror, mythology, medieval, vampires and witchcraft.
Despite their ages the main characters Luca and Kate seem a little naive to the world around them, and their relationship is instant love.
There is a fair amount of spice, and a range of interesting characters that add side stories, including an assassin, Kate's friends and Luca's parents.
There's a lot going on and it sometimes feels like there needed to be more explanation as it skips around at times and the timeline is a bit confusing.
I did enjoy the revelations and twists in the plot, and it feels like it's building up to something big.
I do want to read more to find out what happens next and learn more about the characters.
"Let me tell you something about Kate. No one lets her do anything. She just does it"
"I care about who you are, not what"
✨ Vampires / Dhampir
✨ Witch / Magic
✨ Time travel / portal
✨ Insta love
✨ Hidden identity
Despite their ages the main characters Luca and Kate seem a little naive to the world around them, and their relationship is instant love.
There is a fair amount of spice, and a range of interesting characters that add side stories, including an assassin, Kate's friends and Luca's parents.
There's a lot going on and it sometimes feels like there needed to be more explanation as it skips around at times and the timeline is a bit confusing.
I did enjoy the revelations and twists in the plot, and it feels like it's building up to something big.
I do want to read more to find out what happens next and learn more about the characters.
"Let me tell you something about Kate. No one lets her do anything. She just does it"
"I care about who you are, not what"
✨ Vampires / Dhampir
✨ Witch / Magic
✨ Time travel / portal
✨ Insta love
✨ Hidden identity
January 7, 2024
First, I want to say thank you to the Author for allowing me to be a part of her ARC team in exchange for an honest review.
When I first was presented this as an ARC, I absolutely loved the cover and the tropes that were associated with the synopsis. As I started reading, I found it was very fast paced in the beginning with the 2 main characters falling for each other so quickly. I would like to have had a little more build up/ tension, but thats how I like to read romance. I loved how protective Luca is of Kate. How powerful and caring she is as a character.
I enjoyed the ending, it left it on a huge cliffhanger. There was a lot of buildup through the book for the ending, but I couldn't find the full plot. I think maybe there could have been more closure at the end.
It does have great potential for action and more story building in the second book, and I wouldn't mind giving that a chance.
When I first was presented this as an ARC, I absolutely loved the cover and the tropes that were associated with the synopsis. As I started reading, I found it was very fast paced in the beginning with the 2 main characters falling for each other so quickly. I would like to have had a little more build up/ tension, but thats how I like to read romance. I loved how protective Luca is of Kate. How powerful and caring she is as a character.
I enjoyed the ending, it left it on a huge cliffhanger. There was a lot of buildup through the book for the ending, but I couldn't find the full plot. I think maybe there could have been more closure at the end.
It does have great potential for action and more story building in the second book, and I wouldn't mind giving that a chance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2024
OMG this was soo up my alley!
I just flew through this book!
The banter, dialogue, world building, found family, the romance, the story line..
It had such great pacing and flowed smoothly.
Loved Kate’s magic and the abilities she has and just her in general. She’s pretty badass.
Also, Luca has had a pretty painful life and her acceptance of him is so healing. Though I am so interested to see where his storyline is going to go after that ending.
Btw they def burn together!
Also, that epilogue! 🔥
Also it has some of my favorite tropes! ✨Kick-ass, Witchy FMC
✨Rival Lovers
✨Touch Her and Die
✨Dual POV
This is half the list but I love these and dual pov always makes a huge difference when there's romance or devious plots involved.
I just flew through this book!
The banter, dialogue, world building, found family, the romance, the story line..
It had such great pacing and flowed smoothly.
Loved Kate’s magic and the abilities she has and just her in general. She’s pretty badass.
Also, Luca has had a pretty painful life and her acceptance of him is so healing. Though I am so interested to see where his storyline is going to go after that ending.
Btw they def burn together!
Also, that epilogue! 🔥
Also it has some of my favorite tropes! ✨Kick-ass, Witchy FMC
✨Rival Lovers
✨Touch Her and Die
✨Dual POV
This is half the list but I love these and dual pov always makes a huge difference when there's romance or devious plots involved.
January 10, 2024
2.5 Stars
When I got approval to read this early, I was really excited and hopeful - sadly the story just wasn’t for me.
The main characters Luca and Kate seemed to have no chemistry, it felt as though they were faking their love for each other, and it was purely just attraction rather than a true connection.
There were so many characters being introduced throughout the book, that it seemed like no actual plot line could exist and make sense.
I found it really difficult to be captivated by the story
When I got approval to read this early, I was really excited and hopeful - sadly the story just wasn’t for me.
The main characters Luca and Kate seemed to have no chemistry, it felt as though they were faking their love for each other, and it was purely just attraction rather than a true connection.
There were so many characters being introduced throughout the book, that it seemed like no actual plot line could exist and make sense.
I found it really difficult to be captivated by the story
March 6, 2024
I tried to finish this book multiple times but the pace was much to slow for me. I finally put it down and then forced myself to go back and finish it since it was published in January.
Along with the slow plot, the instant love seemed rushed and jarring. Add in all the different types of paranormal and it’s hard to keep up.
I do feel that the concept is a good one, but it needs some polishing.
I received a copy of this for free.
Along with the slow plot, the instant love seemed rushed and jarring. Add in all the different types of paranormal and it’s hard to keep up.
I do feel that the concept is a good one, but it needs some polishing.
I received a copy of this for free.
December 9, 2023
I was sent this ARC and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
✨✨✨
This book had a lot of potential.
The 2 main characters broody MMC Luca and witchy MFC Kate. They had an instant connection. 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I do with that there was more to the story with Alaric as it seemed a bit of a random entrance into the story then vanished and then a randomly appeared towards the end and then leaves again. As well as the bombs shell secret of Teds that is barely touched on.
I feel like there were opportunities to go into more depth with both of these side characters that were missed.
I did enjoy the book and I am interested to see where the next book will take the story and hope it pulls all the pieces together.
✨✨✨
This book had a lot of potential.
The 2 main characters broody MMC Luca and witchy MFC Kate. They had an instant connection. 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I do with that there was more to the story with Alaric as it seemed a bit of a random entrance into the story then vanished and then a randomly appeared towards the end and then leaves again. As well as the bombs shell secret of Teds that is barely touched on.
I feel like there were opportunities to go into more depth with both of these side characters that were missed.
I did enjoy the book and I am interested to see where the next book will take the story and hope it pulls all the pieces together.
January 28, 2024
If your into Dark Romance, Vampires, Rival Lovers, Greek myth creatures, touch her and die vibes than this would be a good read for you. Looking forward to Book 2
New to this Author what a ride this was, I was lucky to be apart of the street team. This fantasy world was amazing I really enjoyed meeting each character. My favorite was the talking horse (pegasus) 🐎 🤣 "I am not a horse! I'm a Pegasus. I am the Pegasus the last of my kind"
Luca🧛♂️ A dhampir. Untouchable. Unlovable
Kate 👩🦰Despite his pale complexion, he was dark and beautiful. She didn't let it show on her face, but the women immediately enamored of him.
New to this Author what a ride this was, I was lucky to be apart of the street team. This fantasy world was amazing I really enjoyed meeting each character. My favorite was the talking horse (pegasus) 🐎 🤣 "I am not a horse! I'm a Pegasus. I am the Pegasus the last of my kind"
Luca🧛♂️ A dhampir. Untouchable. Unlovable
Kate 👩🦰Despite his pale complexion, he was dark and beautiful. She didn't let it show on her face, but the women immediately enamored of him.
December 14, 2023
2.5 ⭐
*ARC Review*
.
The concept for this storyline is great but the execution was lack luster. While I did enjoy the story there was a lot about this book that was frustrating. So much of this story felt rushed to me. Things kept happening so fast and the direction of the story would switch and I would be left confused and without much explanation for what exactly was going on.
.
I'm not sure if it was the third person point of view or what but I just did not connect with or feel like I even really got to know the two main characters (Luca&Kate). I definitely would have preferred if it was written in a first person, dual POV.
.
The writing could definitely use some work and the book really would have benefited from some better world building as well as character descriptions.
.
While the story was interesting, this book just was not a hit for me.
*ARC Review*
.
The concept for this storyline is great but the execution was lack luster. While I did enjoy the story there was a lot about this book that was frustrating. So much of this story felt rushed to me. Things kept happening so fast and the direction of the story would switch and I would be left confused and without much explanation for what exactly was going on.
.
I'm not sure if it was the third person point of view or what but I just did not connect with or feel like I even really got to know the two main characters (Luca&Kate). I definitely would have preferred if it was written in a first person, dual POV.
.
The writing could definitely use some work and the book really would have benefited from some better world building as well as character descriptions.
.
While the story was interesting, this book just was not a hit for me.
June 9, 2017
I was drawn to this new paranormal / fantasy story by the word vampire and the beautiful cover. The story takes place in the year 12,205, many years after the world as we know it was destroyed by humans and vampires alike. We meet Luca, who is half-human and half-vampire known as a dhampir and who can walk in the daylight. Scorned by humans and vampires, Luca has lived a lonely, solitary, life for over a thousand years as he makes his living as a hunter of vampires, while seeking revenge against his father, Dracula. While healing in the earth after being injured and stiffed from his last hunting job, he has a vivid dream of a red-haired goddess, only to be awakened by one in the same person, Kate. Kate has great magical powers and is a warrior, defender, nurturer and as it turns out, Queen of a world known as Icarya. Once he meets her and her traveling companions from Hercules to a pegasus, and other magical creatures, from that moment on, Luca is no longer lonely, and learns there are many worlds, things to learn, and adventures to be had. The story kept me engrossed in the characters and sub-stories throughout the book. The relationship and passion between Luca, who had never had a friend or been loved, and Kate, the kind-hearted warrior, was what really kept my interest. I did, at one point, feel that it was dragged out and could have been shorter, but then the story ended abruptly, leaving me hanging there. I'll definitely have to read book 2, which we get a steamy preview of at the end of this book.
January 12, 2026
Great book! Very entertaining!
Since the first pages of this book it got me interested and curious to know more about the characters and the all environment all around.
Both Luca and Kate caught my heart right away, for how easy was for me to relate to them, one thing I really love in any type of book. Loved to see a strong female main character in Kate, her power, not just the witchery part but as a person, and the way she is willing to do anything to safe her people and protect her family... and when we add the other fun and enjoyable characters and see them grow and change each other and the family complexity too, it's just very pleasant and beautiful.
Really appreciated the fact that had some mix of elements like magic, vampires, myths, the epic fantasy worlds - beautiful worlds that I want to know more about - and I hope we can discover more about it all in the next book as I feel there is a lot more to discover, and some questions to be answered.
In the end, for me there is 2 final parts, one very clear - the path that is going and the doors of possibilities, but the actual last one made me a bit confused, to be honest, as it seemed a bit loose or as if it's missing a peace on the puzzle, but that I bet in the next book we will have the answers to that.
Over all, was a very enjoyable reading and I am happy I got the opportunity to read it.
Since the first pages of this book it got me interested and curious to know more about the characters and the all environment all around.
Both Luca and Kate caught my heart right away, for how easy was for me to relate to them, one thing I really love in any type of book. Loved to see a strong female main character in Kate, her power, not just the witchery part but as a person, and the way she is willing to do anything to safe her people and protect her family... and when we add the other fun and enjoyable characters and see them grow and change each other and the family complexity too, it's just very pleasant and beautiful.
Really appreciated the fact that had some mix of elements like magic, vampires, myths, the epic fantasy worlds - beautiful worlds that I want to know more about - and I hope we can discover more about it all in the next book as I feel there is a lot more to discover, and some questions to be answered.
In the end, for me there is 2 final parts, one very clear - the path that is going and the doors of possibilities, but the actual last one made me a bit confused, to be honest, as it seemed a bit loose or as if it's missing a peace on the puzzle, but that I bet in the next book we will have the answers to that.
Over all, was a very enjoyable reading and I am happy I got the opportunity to read it.
June 30, 2024
I was sent an ARC and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This book definitely has a lot of potential and I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here.
I loved the two main characters, Kate and Luca. They had great chemistry and I enjoyed their scenes together most.
I do think there was almost too much happening at once and it made the plot feel a little underdeveloped at times. It almost felt like things were moving too quickly. I also didn’t like how the POV changed between characters. I think if one whole chapter was dedicated to one characters POV and then it switched to another’s POV the next chapter it might have felt more cohesive rather than switching POV mid chapter.
I also didn’t love the interaction between Kate and Alaric… it gave me non consensual / forced sex vibes and that really didn’t sit right with me at all and made me knock this down a star rating.
December 24, 2023
I really enjoyed this story and the world building. Well written! It leaves us on a cliffhanger that makes you want more!! Definitely need to read book 2!
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