The Decided Ones

by Laura Hrastar

When young teacher Meriel Wreathe leaves her family in New Hampshire and moves abroad, it's the last thing anyone ever expected her to do. Daring to leap doesn’t seem to be in her DNA. But Meriel is restless, and can't imagine settling into an ordinary routine. She needs to do something that makes her feel alive.

Struggling for work in the city of Malmö in Sweden, Meriel meets Talus Ekdahl, a charming, social chameleon who offers to share the secrets of his success. He appears to have everything, yet underneath his easy smile, Talus harbors a dark and violent past, and a thirst for companionship that has eluded him for centuries. A thirst that will alter the path of Meriel’s future, and force her to choose between love and her own desire to stay human...

387 pages, Paperback

First published May 24, 2013

About the author

Hi there. I am the author of the sci-fi fantasy series, Submerged and the vampire novel, The Decided Ones.

To write my stories, I draw upon my background in marine biology and science journalism. I also gather inspiration from my scuba diving adventures.

While I have written on a range of topics during my freelance career, fiction is an exciting new endeavor for me. Friends, on the other hand, would probably say they saw this coming…

To learn more, visit my: book website or Facebook book page.

Reviews

[Elin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up ages ago. What mostly interested me about it was that it was a vampire novel set in my home town of Malmö. And on top of that written by an American. It was so out of the ordinary urban fantasy bubble that's usually in America or the UK or if it's in Sweden it's mostly in and around Stockholm or even further north. Having something set in surroundings that I'm 100% familiar with was a novelty. And while it was really cool having the characters go to all these places that I know, the book itself was unfortunately not very good. It started off in the generic way: young woman who's sort of isolated in her job and who likes to read books, meets very attractive young man. Attractive young man turns out to be a vampire. Here's when I first started to dislike the book. When she found out about his nature her reaction was completely sub-par. Summed up it was basically a shrug, telling him she's ok with it and then moving on. Like, this is the real world - aren't you gonna be at least a little bit surprised by the fact that vampires exist?! Then we go on to the danger surrounding this guy because he's a vampire and she isn't and it's dangerous for her to be with him but they still want to be together bla bla bla. Can I please have a vampire novel with realistic reactions and something that hasn't been done before? Then we get to the end where she inevitably and expectingly becomes a vampire, but for some reason she gets webbing between her fingers for swimming as a vampire. Luckily, that was the end of the book, which was good because I was so done. I gave it two stars on Goodreads mainly because of the setting.

[Greenleaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a refreshing change from my usual reading material and purchased it on the recommendation of a friend. The author has done her research on vampires and the folklore surrounding them, and shows a very human side of all the characters, regardless of their current state. We have insight into Meriels private thoughts and conflicts as she wrestles with choices that will alter her life forever. This writing style makes the improbable seem possible as the story unfolds. I found it an enjoyable read for a change of pace.