A Dark Gift

by Amber Morgan

~Editor's Pick~

Evie Bourne’s life plan is pretty simple—finish her degree and get a good job. She never counted on vampires.

But after a vicious attack leaves her with a whole new set of undead problems, she’s forced to lean on some unusual allies to guide her. Kaito, her enigmatic bodyguard. Carson, a shapeshifter king. And Adrian Mercer … Well, Adrian is complicated. But there’s no time for Evie to sort out her feelings. A group of fanatical vampire hunters is closing in. Everyone is under threat, and nobody can be trusted.

Now, Evie is dealing with her tangled emotions and a whole new, dark world of blood, danger, and lust. And the hardest part of it all is her mysterious sire, the vampire Rahab. Because someone wants them to think Rahab is a traitor to them all … And Evie just can’t rule it out.

Genres: Vampires

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 9, 2019

Reviews

[Rosebud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evie Bourne is just another college student trying to keep her grades up while working as a bartender to subsidize her living expenses. Not a bad thing when the bar she works at is part of a high end historical landmark hotel.

A sudden spike in customers who also seem to be staying at the hotel seems to indicate there's a convention going on but what type of convention and/or who the attendees are is a mystery. Regardless, it results in more customers, more work, and more tips which is always a plus.

Leaving after her long evening shift, Evie is confronted by a guy who had been hitting on her at the bar. Turns out the guy won't take no for an answer.

What Evie is about to discover is her stalker is a vampire and that her life is about to change forever

* * *

New to me author. Grabbed this contemporary paranormal reverse harem romance as the blurb and existing reviews looked promising. Cover was pretty hot too. Sure the price was a factor but after reading the sample 10% I was hooked.

For the most part this story features a naive college girl who has a run in with a vampire only to discover that paranormals exist and she's (for some reason) very popular. The story line includes Evie hooking up with a shapeshifting king (which I mention as the series name SEEMS to indicate vampires but in reality will include otherwise) and being under the protection of an ancient vampire who assigns her an Asian vampire bodyguard. Throw in the actual vampire who converted her who is one of the bad guy elements in the series.

While the page count (188 page) indicates a healthy number, there really wasn't a lot of concrete story to it. Fluff and non-meaningful content. If I didn't know better (reserving judgement) I'd say this was a serial read that includes the premise of juicy teasers and multi open ended scenarios to amuse the reader but never provides a concrete direction or conclusion in any way. Reader has to buy the follow up to know more, etc., etc. In the case of this installment.... the blurb indicated that this was a reverse harem romance, but, that doesn't factor into this story. The POSSIBILITY is there, and the framework for it too, but, nope. other than m/f scenes (and those aren't more than a tickle, tease) the story doesn't go further.

Secondary characters. There is a vast number of secondaries who may or may not factor into the future of this story. One irritating character Iona had no purpose. I am of the mind that the author is going to resurrect this character and serve as a significant twist or something, but, that's the intent of serials - overload and keep options open for the future.

The biggest problem for me was that I think (only will know when the author publishes the follow up book that would provide this info) I figured out the identity of the "Hermit" basically from the beginning. It's that obvious. Hermit is a vampire traitor sort of bad guy element. Seriously, if I'm right, and if I as a reader could figure it out that fast, I had a major problem connecting with the characters who should know too, or at least have the feeling that person is the Hermit and act accordingly.

I did enjoy the story as a whole, and if this story had provided more than a number of vague open ended not to be addressed (in this book) variables, I would have given this a four or five star. The author has a really good voice and style. Unfortunately, if this specific book is indicative of things, I'm going to pass on looking at her other works. Serials are not my thing.

ps. The story indicates "editor's pick"
No further info nor does the book itself give credit or acknowledgment of the source of this statement.
Maybe the author's own personal editor picked it???????

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book tells the story of Evie - a young student who is attacked by a vampire while returning from work at night. When she is close to death, a mysterious savior appears, who, hearing her plea for help, decides to save her in the only way possible, which is to turn her into a vampire.
I really liked the character of Evie. She turned out to be a strong woman who did not give up despite the obstacles that appeared on her way. Not only did she have to deal with the trauma of the attack, the loss of her former human life and human friends, but she was also drawn into the intrigues of vampire politics. Abandoned by her vampire maker she felt like a lamb among predators. As if that wasn't enough, there was an additional threat from Divina Lux - a mysterious organization that set itself the goal of destroying all paranormal creatures. Fortunately, she found a few friends in her new life. There is a special chemistry between Evie and Carson, the king of werebears and between Evie and Kaito -her vampire bodyguard.
The book is full of action with unexpected twists that keep the reader hooked from the first page to the last. In addition, the world of intrigue and mystery makes it difficult to predict what will happen. Amber Morgan drew me into her extraordinary world so much that I have already bought the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Elyzabeth Valey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spent the day reading this and absolutely loved it. The story is fast paced and full of intriguing turns. The characters are enticing, the romance promising and the sex sizzling. My only “but” is that it seems fairly obvious who the bad guy is (though, I could be wrong) and I was really hoping for a MFM scene at some point. Nonetheless, Amber Morgan’s writing is excellent and drew me into the story with ease. The book finishes with many questions to be answered and love connections to be set in stone, but it’s left me craving more. On my way to buy book 2 now.

[Sarah Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was okay. It enjoyable as an introduction to the series. If it was in another place in the series I probably wouldn’t have liked it. The characters were done well as was the world building. The love triangle makes for interesting and steamy parts of the book. The fact that there were shifters and vampires in this book and they got along is a new thing. It made this book a lot different than the usual vamps versus shifters storyline!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lisa Bing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an exciting series opener by a new-to-me author. I loved the way the culture of the vampires was laid out and felt Evie's situation made for a unique storyline. The action takes off pretty quickly in this story and kept the everything quite fast paced. The fact that this is an RH romance sure upped the heat factor ;) I'm loving Carson and Kaito and am starting to see potential in Adrian. Rahab, though, is quite a mysterious character and I'm dying to know how he'll end up fitting in...or if he's the bad guy ;P So much to look forward to in next installment ;D

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an almost lifelong fan of vampire fiction, I found this a gloriously nostalgic read - urban fantasy-romance for a new generation, that nods deliciously to the stories of the 90s and 00s while breaking all their rules. I loved how real, smart and vulnerable Evie is, and while I wasn't always clear on her motivations, I have a feeling my questions will be answered before long in the rest of the series. Luckily book 2, A Dark Desire, is out and lined up in my library!

[Ashley Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised

The cover to this book caught my eye first i patiently waited for it to release. And was pleasantly surprised it’s nice when old things get new kinda spin vampire sire relationship was interesting in this book.. the shifter name and relationships were different as well i really enjoy this book and am really looking forward to the next one

[Milinda (Mindy) Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off this was a SLOW SLOW burn, and barely the beginning of the “rh” part, at this point she is only with one so it’s barely ménage so far. It was just two slow and single person pov for me to be interested in even reading book 2.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Katerina Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Undeath is what happens when you're busy making other plans. Instead of finishing her degree, Evie is thrown into the world of intrigues and has to decide who are her friends and enemies, which sometimes isn't that obvious, especially when you are a young vampire.

[Tori Preitauer-McMichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists and turns

This story was intriguing from the beginning. I really want to know what happens next and what Evie’s maker is hiding?? (And not just behind the hood)....