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Vampire Trilogy #1
Shades of Gray
Alexi
Bound by chains of silver, the vampire had slept for a hundred years, locked in a world of pain and hunger, until the seductive scent of one woman's blood recalled him to ravenous life.
Marisa
Unnerved by the sight of the carnival's captive "vampire," she stumbled from the tent—into the arms of the most striking man she'd ever seen. Mesmerized by his supernatural embrace, she believed him when he swore all he desired to drink were her kisses.
Grigori
Lost in darkness, Grigori found new sustenance in the light of Marisa's love, and new purpose in his life. Only he could protect her from the evil that stalked the night. Now, hungering for her bittersweet caress, he vowed to show her that not all of the undead are monsters, and that somewhere between the black and white of damnation and desire lay infinite shades of gray.
Bound by chains of silver, the vampire had slept for a hundred years, locked in a world of pain and hunger, until the seductive scent of one woman's blood recalled him to ravenous life.
Marisa
Unnerved by the sight of the carnival's captive "vampire," she stumbled from the tent—into the arms of the most striking man she'd ever seen. Mesmerized by his supernatural embrace, she believed him when he swore all he desired to drink were her kisses.
Grigori
Lost in darkness, Grigori found new sustenance in the light of Marisa's love, and new purpose in his life. Only he could protect her from the evil that stalked the night. Now, hungering for her bittersweet caress, he vowed to show her that not all of the undead are monsters, and that somewhere between the black and white of damnation and desire lay infinite shades of gray.
390 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
January 17, 2021
Reviewed for THC Reviews
Shades of Gray is the first book in Amanda Ashley's Shades series (also named Vampire Trilogy on some websites). While attending a carnival, Marisa, a human woman, visits the sideshow tent where all sorts of unusual “people” are on display, but none are more odd than a purported thousand-year-old, evil vampire named Alexi. As she tries to get a closer look at him, she injures herself and the scent of her blood awakens the creature who goes on a killing spree throughout the city, although his true obsession is with finding Marisa and making her his. But Grigori, who is also a vampire, and Edward, a human vampire hunter, make her acquaintance separately, both with the express purpose of protecting her. Grigori lost his entire family to Alexi’s cruelty and Edward has sworn to kill all creatures of the night, but the two men have formed an uneasy alliance while working against their common enemy. When Alexi kidnaps Marisa, they travel to the past in search of her and deal a serious, though not fatal, blow to their foe. Grigori and Marisa gradually fall in love, but Marisa struggles with what it might mean to be with a vampire. However, just as she’s come to terms with it and things seem perfect between them, Alexi returns, and this time, he may succeed in his mission.
Marisa is an ordinary human woman with a very ordinary human life. She’s a secretary to an attorney and cares a great deal about her family, though they all live far from her. After visiting the carnival and accidentally awakening Alexi, then meeting Grigori and Edward, her life goes from ordinary to extraordinary overnight, as she discovers that the creatures of the night are indeed real. She also suddenly finds her life in danger as she’s pulled into the search for Alexi in the hopes that he can be found before doing her harm, a search that also leads them to the past. As they work together, she finds herself deeply attracted to Grigori, but struggling with the idea of being involved with a vampire. I couldn’t help feeling that Marisa was a very underdeveloped character. What I’ve outlined here is about all we get to know of her, which is precious little. She’s a twenty-four-year-old, modern-day virgin who seems intent on waiting for her wedding night, but with no real reasoning given for this decision. For such a young woman, she’s into some rather old-fashioned things (eg. John Wayne movies). She spends the better part of the story insisting that she can’t be with Grigori because of what he is, repulsed by his need to drink blood to survive, and not really trusting him. Then during the last third or so of the book, she has a miraculous turnaround with little thought or reasoning going into it beyond the fact that she can’t stop thinking about him. Unlike in most paranormal romances I’ve read, Marisa is pretty timid and isn’t even close to being a kick-butt heroine. Not all of them have to be, but when Edward tries to kill Grigori, the man she supposedly loves, she doesn’t do anything beyond begging him not to. Even in the climactic fight scene against Alexi, it takes Grigori pushing her to get her to really act. Normally I love sweet heroines, and while I didn’t exactly dislike Marisa, her passivity could be rather frustrating at times.
Grigori is a two-hundred-year-old vampire, who in his human life, had a beloved wife and two children. Obsessed with Grigori’s wife, Antoinette, Alexi killed his son and daughter, and enthralled Antoinette, turning her into a zombie-like creature with no will of her own except to please her master and be his minion. After losing his wife and kids, Grigori was approached by a female vampire who offered him the Dark Gift in order to avenge his family, something he eagerly accepted. Ever since, he’s been hunting Alexi, who always seemed to be one step ahead of him, but then Alexi was captured by the family who owned the carnival and placed in a crypt out of Grigori’s reach until they decided to take him on tour with the carnival. Now Grigori is back on the hunt, but when he realizes that Alexi has targeted Marisa, he vows to keep her safe. She stirs him in a way that no other woman has since Antoinette, but even after two centuries, he still pines for his wife. However, once he receives some closure on that part of his life, he’s ready to make Marisa his if only she can accept him and if Alexi doesn’t get to her first. In spite of Edward’s assertions that he’s evil like all vampires and Marisa’s misgivings, Grigori is a genuinely great guy. Although he killed some people in the beginning, once he learned to control his Hunger, he hasn’t killed anyone in a century and a half unless it was for his own self-preservation. He’s never anything but kind and gentle with Marisa and is willing to put his life on the line to protect her, which is why I had a hard time with her distrusting him for so long. Out of all the characters in the book, Grigori is probably the most well-drawn, but even still, when he flipped to being the one having some doubts after Marisa finally acquiesced, I couldn’t help feeling just a tad irritated with him.
Not only is Marisa an underdeveloped character, but so are Alexi and Edward. Aside from supposedly being bored after a millennium of life, Alexi just seems to be evil for the sake of being evil. Edward is merely from a long line of vampire hunters, and as such, hates all creatures of the night. Although he doesn’t trust Grigori, they have an enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend type of relationship, reluctantly working together to take down Alexi. But once the task is finished, Edward is determined to kill Grigori, too, even though Grigori has never done anything to him, which didn’t entirely make sense to me. Another thing that troubled me was the relationship development between Grigori and Marisa. For about two-thirds of the book, I felt an emotional disconnect between them. In spite of being very attracted to Marisa, Grigori still pines for Antoinette, and when he comes face-to-face with her after all these years, it only exacerbates the problem. Then once he finds closure, he gets over her rather quickly to turn his focus back on Marisa. For Marisa’s part, she’s distrustful of Grigori, which always puts a damper on any burgeoning romantic feelings for me, because I can’t see how two people can have a successful relationship without trust. As I mentioned before, she’s also repulsed by his need for blood and absolutely insistent that in spite of falling in love with Grigori, they can’t be together, because he’s a vampire. Then at the prescribed turning point in the story, she simply gets past most of these concerns and decides that she wants a life with him after all. Not only that, but she starts thinking about letting him turn her vampire as well. There just wasn’t enough thought going into any of this to make Marisa changing her mind this quickly and drastically believable.
In addition to weak character and relationship development, I thought the plot was pretty thin, slow-paced, and lacking in focus. Things kind of drag through the first half of the story until they travel back in time. However, this part doesn’t last long before they return to the present. Despite being one of the better parts of the story and even though it provides a bit of action and adventure, this section didn’t really serve any purpose I could discern that couldn’t have been accomplished in the present. Once Alexi is temporarily neutralized and they come back, literally nothing much happens again until the very end. Grigori and Marisa go on dates, talk, kiss, and simply spend time together and that’s about it. Then their relationship finally culminates, followed by Alexi’s return, but I felt like he was dispatched a bit too quickly. I really thought the story would have been better if Alexi’s threat had been more intense and immediate, instead of him being rendered to the background or out of sight for a large part of the narrative. As an aside here, I was also deceived by the cover (I have what I believe is a copy of the original publication). The models are shown in period dress on the front, and on the back, there’s a horse and carriage, which made me think this was a historical paranormal when only a small portion of the book actually takes place in the past. It’s predominantly a contemporary paranormal.
Ultimately Shades of Gray was merely an OK read for me, not terrible but neither was it great. I was able to power through in spite of there being parts that were rather dull for this genre. Even though some of the characters were underdeveloped and occasionally frustrated me, I generally liked Grigori, Marisa, and Edward. Edward goes on to become the hero of the next book of the trilogy, After Sundown, and apparently Grigori (and maybe Marisa) are in it as well. In looking at the cover blurb, it sounds rather interesting, and as it turns out, I have the book on my TBR pile. However, after reading a total half-dozen novels and novellas by this author, most of which have fallen into the OK rating zone, I’m not sure if I’ll be in a hurry to pick it up.
Shades of Gray is the first book in Amanda Ashley's Shades series (also named Vampire Trilogy on some websites). While attending a carnival, Marisa, a human woman, visits the sideshow tent where all sorts of unusual “people” are on display, but none are more odd than a purported thousand-year-old, evil vampire named Alexi. As she tries to get a closer look at him, she injures herself and the scent of her blood awakens the creature who goes on a killing spree throughout the city, although his true obsession is with finding Marisa and making her his. But Grigori, who is also a vampire, and Edward, a human vampire hunter, make her acquaintance separately, both with the express purpose of protecting her. Grigori lost his entire family to Alexi’s cruelty and Edward has sworn to kill all creatures of the night, but the two men have formed an uneasy alliance while working against their common enemy. When Alexi kidnaps Marisa, they travel to the past in search of her and deal a serious, though not fatal, blow to their foe. Grigori and Marisa gradually fall in love, but Marisa struggles with what it might mean to be with a vampire. However, just as she’s come to terms with it and things seem perfect between them, Alexi returns, and this time, he may succeed in his mission.
Marisa is an ordinary human woman with a very ordinary human life. She’s a secretary to an attorney and cares a great deal about her family, though they all live far from her. After visiting the carnival and accidentally awakening Alexi, then meeting Grigori and Edward, her life goes from ordinary to extraordinary overnight, as she discovers that the creatures of the night are indeed real. She also suddenly finds her life in danger as she’s pulled into the search for Alexi in the hopes that he can be found before doing her harm, a search that also leads them to the past. As they work together, she finds herself deeply attracted to Grigori, but struggling with the idea of being involved with a vampire. I couldn’t help feeling that Marisa was a very underdeveloped character. What I’ve outlined here is about all we get to know of her, which is precious little. She’s a twenty-four-year-old, modern-day virgin who seems intent on waiting for her wedding night, but with no real reasoning given for this decision. For such a young woman, she’s into some rather old-fashioned things (eg. John Wayne movies). She spends the better part of the story insisting that she can’t be with Grigori because of what he is, repulsed by his need to drink blood to survive, and not really trusting him. Then during the last third or so of the book, she has a miraculous turnaround with little thought or reasoning going into it beyond the fact that she can’t stop thinking about him. Unlike in most paranormal romances I’ve read, Marisa is pretty timid and isn’t even close to being a kick-butt heroine. Not all of them have to be, but when Edward tries to kill Grigori, the man she supposedly loves, she doesn’t do anything beyond begging him not to. Even in the climactic fight scene against Alexi, it takes Grigori pushing her to get her to really act. Normally I love sweet heroines, and while I didn’t exactly dislike Marisa, her passivity could be rather frustrating at times.
Grigori is a two-hundred-year-old vampire, who in his human life, had a beloved wife and two children. Obsessed with Grigori’s wife, Antoinette, Alexi killed his son and daughter, and enthralled Antoinette, turning her into a zombie-like creature with no will of her own except to please her master and be his minion. After losing his wife and kids, Grigori was approached by a female vampire who offered him the Dark Gift in order to avenge his family, something he eagerly accepted. Ever since, he’s been hunting Alexi, who always seemed to be one step ahead of him, but then Alexi was captured by the family who owned the carnival and placed in a crypt out of Grigori’s reach until they decided to take him on tour with the carnival. Now Grigori is back on the hunt, but when he realizes that Alexi has targeted Marisa, he vows to keep her safe. She stirs him in a way that no other woman has since Antoinette, but even after two centuries, he still pines for his wife. However, once he receives some closure on that part of his life, he’s ready to make Marisa his if only she can accept him and if Alexi doesn’t get to her first. In spite of Edward’s assertions that he’s evil like all vampires and Marisa’s misgivings, Grigori is a genuinely great guy. Although he killed some people in the beginning, once he learned to control his Hunger, he hasn’t killed anyone in a century and a half unless it was for his own self-preservation. He’s never anything but kind and gentle with Marisa and is willing to put his life on the line to protect her, which is why I had a hard time with her distrusting him for so long. Out of all the characters in the book, Grigori is probably the most well-drawn, but even still, when he flipped to being the one having some doubts after Marisa finally acquiesced, I couldn’t help feeling just a tad irritated with him.
Not only is Marisa an underdeveloped character, but so are Alexi and Edward. Aside from supposedly being bored after a millennium of life, Alexi just seems to be evil for the sake of being evil. Edward is merely from a long line of vampire hunters, and as such, hates all creatures of the night. Although he doesn’t trust Grigori, they have an enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend type of relationship, reluctantly working together to take down Alexi. But once the task is finished, Edward is determined to kill Grigori, too, even though Grigori has never done anything to him, which didn’t entirely make sense to me. Another thing that troubled me was the relationship development between Grigori and Marisa. For about two-thirds of the book, I felt an emotional disconnect between them. In spite of being very attracted to Marisa, Grigori still pines for Antoinette, and when he comes face-to-face with her after all these years, it only exacerbates the problem. Then once he finds closure, he gets over her rather quickly to turn his focus back on Marisa. For Marisa’s part, she’s distrustful of Grigori, which always puts a damper on any burgeoning romantic feelings for me, because I can’t see how two people can have a successful relationship without trust. As I mentioned before, she’s also repulsed by his need for blood and absolutely insistent that in spite of falling in love with Grigori, they can’t be together, because he’s a vampire. Then at the prescribed turning point in the story, she simply gets past most of these concerns and decides that she wants a life with him after all. Not only that, but she starts thinking about letting him turn her vampire as well. There just wasn’t enough thought going into any of this to make Marisa changing her mind this quickly and drastically believable.
In addition to weak character and relationship development, I thought the plot was pretty thin, slow-paced, and lacking in focus. Things kind of drag through the first half of the story until they travel back in time. However, this part doesn’t last long before they return to the present. Despite being one of the better parts of the story and even though it provides a bit of action and adventure, this section didn’t really serve any purpose I could discern that couldn’t have been accomplished in the present. Once Alexi is temporarily neutralized and they come back, literally nothing much happens again until the very end. Grigori and Marisa go on dates, talk, kiss, and simply spend time together and that’s about it. Then their relationship finally culminates, followed by Alexi’s return, but I felt like he was dispatched a bit too quickly. I really thought the story would have been better if Alexi’s threat had been more intense and immediate, instead of him being rendered to the background or out of sight for a large part of the narrative. As an aside here, I was also deceived by the cover (I have what I believe is a copy of the original publication). The models are shown in period dress on the front, and on the back, there’s a horse and carriage, which made me think this was a historical paranormal when only a small portion of the book actually takes place in the past. It’s predominantly a contemporary paranormal.
Ultimately Shades of Gray was merely an OK read for me, not terrible but neither was it great. I was able to power through in spite of there being parts that were rather dull for this genre. Even though some of the characters were underdeveloped and occasionally frustrated me, I generally liked Grigori, Marisa, and Edward. Edward goes on to become the hero of the next book of the trilogy, After Sundown, and apparently Grigori (and maybe Marisa) are in it as well. In looking at the cover blurb, it sounds rather interesting, and as it turns out, I have the book on my TBR pile. However, after reading a total half-dozen novels and novellas by this author, most of which have fallen into the OK rating zone, I’m not sure if I’ll be in a hurry to pick it up.
July 14, 2023
Now this is how I remember Amanda Ashley stories being like. Boring with a capital B.
The heroine goes to the circus because she's drawn to the main attraction. Supposedly the oldest vampire is existence. There she cuts her finger and inadvertently the blood awakens him from his slumber and when she returns to see the creature again, the circus is shut down and the killings of young woman begin.
Now, when we first meet the heroine, it's almost like she is fascinated with vampires because she goes out of her to go to the circus and is interested in nothing but the creature. But she doesn't believe in vampires and really has no interest in them at all...Strange, but whatever. Then she meets the hero. He starts by following her to the restaurant, then following her home and the heroine, instead of being super creeped out by this, actually goes out walking with him late at night. This is a chick who lives and works in a major city. She should know better than this and honestly it won't be a vamp to kill her but just a regular old crazy. Then she meets the.... other hero, I guess you'd call him. He's a vampire hunter who also follows her home and stalks her from her work and apartment...again...is she really not creeped out by this? You get the feel that this was supposed to be the formula of a love triangle but there's never any hint of attraction between the heroine and hero #2. In fact, there was very little romance between her and hero #1. This book felt like Groundhog Day from hell. It just kept going around and around in circles. Get up, get breakfast, ask a whole lot of questions, go to work, nothing, VAMPIRE ATTACK, oh it's over, back to the questions. Please make it stop! The vampire was like a damn wack a mole, he just kept popping up throughout the story in between food and Q&A sessions. Also, the cover is misleading. This is not a historical novel but contemporary. The addition I own has carriages and characters in Victorian dress. This is a lie!
The heroine goes to the circus because she's drawn to the main attraction. Supposedly the oldest vampire is existence. There she cuts her finger and inadvertently the blood awakens him from his slumber and when she returns to see the creature again, the circus is shut down and the killings of young woman begin.
Now, when we first meet the heroine, it's almost like she is fascinated with vampires because she goes out of her to go to the circus and is interested in nothing but the creature. But she doesn't believe in vampires and really has no interest in them at all...Strange, but whatever. Then she meets the hero. He starts by following her to the restaurant, then following her home and the heroine, instead of being super creeped out by this, actually goes out walking with him late at night. This is a chick who lives and works in a major city. She should know better than this and honestly it won't be a vamp to kill her but just a regular old crazy. Then she meets the.... other hero, I guess you'd call him. He's a vampire hunter who also follows her home and stalks her from her work and apartment...again...is she really not creeped out by this? You get the feel that this was supposed to be the formula of a love triangle but there's never any hint of attraction between the heroine and hero #2. In fact, there was very little romance between her and hero #1. This book felt like Groundhog Day from hell. It just kept going around and around in circles. Get up, get breakfast, ask a whole lot of questions, go to work, nothing, VAMPIRE ATTACK, oh it's over, back to the questions. Please make it stop! The vampire was like a damn wack a mole, he just kept popping up throughout the story in between food and Q&A sessions. Also, the cover is misleading. This is not a historical novel but contemporary. The addition I own has carriages and characters in Victorian dress. This is a lie!
June 13, 2013
3.5 stars...overall, I felt the book dragged a bit and the heroine doesn't deserve the hero (she seemed to be a bit too whiny and unaccepting of him because she thinks vampires are lower than humans...she definitely got on my nerves)
Also, the ending was a bit abrupt and rushed.
Overall, an ok read, but an interesting change for me after reading so many carpathian novels by Ms.Feehan;p
Also, the ending was a bit abrupt and rushed.
Overall, an ok read, but an interesting change for me after reading so many carpathian novels by Ms.Feehan;p
March 23, 2014
Marisa Richards, the novel's protagonist, decides to attend the Roskovich Carnival, a small circus visiting Los Angeles, California, her hometown. There she encounters a strange exhibit: "Count Alexi Kristov, Oldest Vampire in Existence". She also meets the mysterious and very attractive Grigori Chiavari, who claims to be a magician.
Shortly thereafter, on the evening news (this is a modern-day vampire tale), Marisa is shocked to learn that the bodies of four women, drained of blood, have been discovered at the Los Angeles Zoo. The report also mentions the death of Silvano Roskovich, owner of the circus Marisa had visited. He was also the caretaker of the Alexi Kristov exhibit. It becomes immediately obvious to the reader that Kristov is responsible for these deaths. Marisa, of course, is not aware of this yet, but will be as the novel progresses.
Ashley also hints at a long-standing enmity between Kristov and Chiavari. The novel's subsequent events bear this out, since Kristov was responsible for the deaths of Chiavari's wife and children, centuries before. After this, Chiavari intentionally became a vampire in order to avenge himself on Kristov.
Marisa feels an increasing pull toward Grigori Chiavari, and they begin dating. Then, another character enters the picture -- Edward Ramsey, vampire hunter. He tries to warn Marisa about Kristov and Chiavari. When he finds out that she's dating the latter, his warnings become even more emphatic. Marisa is puzzled by Ramsey's apparent tendency to overprotection, until she finds out that Grigori Chiavari is also a vampire. Then she begins to doubt her safety when she's with him, which prompts her to attempt to fight her growing feelings for him.
So far, this is a very interesting plot. I love it when Ashley contrasts a vampire who strives to do good, despite his nature, and one who is totally evil. The title is a reference to this. One would say that all vampires are evil. We who love The Twilight Saga know that this is just not so. Therein lies the fascination, as I have already pointed out in one of my literary musings, on the subject of the vampire as metaphor.
I won't reveal anything else about the story, save to say that, in spite of the likable characters (the good guys, of course!), and the skillfully constructed plot -- which, by the way, involves a bit of time travel, as well -- I don't think this is one of Ashley's best books. There are at least two important reasons for this. The first is the fact that Grigori actually wanted to become a vampire, in order to exact his revenge. I can't wholeheartedly love or empathize with a character who possesses such a glaring moral defect. It would be understandable for Grigori to feel hatred toward Kristov; however, his decision to purposely become a vampire in order to kill Kristov makes him almost as evil as Kristov himself. Second, I was repulsed by the way one of the characters was "disposed of" so that the two leads could be together without any impediments. I wasn't expecting this from the author. I have read several of her novels in the past, and she clearly possesses a strong, Christian-based sense of ethics. In fact, I would say she stands alone among vampire romance authors writing for adults, in this respect.
A third reason, less important in the moral sense, but not in the literary one, is the attraction between Grigori and Marisa. Ashley's couples usually share some very powerful chemistry. The attraction between these two, however, seems lacking in some way. It just didn't strike me as very believable, especially when compared to that of other couples Ashley has presented in her novels. (I'm thinking of my two favorite ones, A Darker Dream and Midnight Embrace.) The addition of Ramsey as a rival for Marisa's affections didn't ring true, either.
Although I did finish the book (I don't think I've ever left one of Ashley's novels unfinished), I did not enjoy it as much as I would have expected to, considering the author. Amanda Ashley is still one of my favorite vampire romance authors, however. It's unfortunate that I can't give this book a higher rating, but I am committed to giving honest reviews. I can only wholeheartedly praise a book when I truly believe such praise is merited.
For more of my reviews, please visit my blog, A NIGHT’S DREAM OF BOOKS.
http://anightsdreamofbooks.blogspot.com
Shortly thereafter, on the evening news (this is a modern-day vampire tale), Marisa is shocked to learn that the bodies of four women, drained of blood, have been discovered at the Los Angeles Zoo. The report also mentions the death of Silvano Roskovich, owner of the circus Marisa had visited. He was also the caretaker of the Alexi Kristov exhibit. It becomes immediately obvious to the reader that Kristov is responsible for these deaths. Marisa, of course, is not aware of this yet, but will be as the novel progresses.
Ashley also hints at a long-standing enmity between Kristov and Chiavari. The novel's subsequent events bear this out, since Kristov was responsible for the deaths of Chiavari's wife and children, centuries before. After this, Chiavari intentionally became a vampire in order to avenge himself on Kristov.
Marisa feels an increasing pull toward Grigori Chiavari, and they begin dating. Then, another character enters the picture -- Edward Ramsey, vampire hunter. He tries to warn Marisa about Kristov and Chiavari. When he finds out that she's dating the latter, his warnings become even more emphatic. Marisa is puzzled by Ramsey's apparent tendency to overprotection, until she finds out that Grigori Chiavari is also a vampire. Then she begins to doubt her safety when she's with him, which prompts her to attempt to fight her growing feelings for him.
So far, this is a very interesting plot. I love it when Ashley contrasts a vampire who strives to do good, despite his nature, and one who is totally evil. The title is a reference to this. One would say that all vampires are evil. We who love The Twilight Saga know that this is just not so. Therein lies the fascination, as I have already pointed out in one of my literary musings, on the subject of the vampire as metaphor.
I won't reveal anything else about the story, save to say that, in spite of the likable characters (the good guys, of course!), and the skillfully constructed plot -- which, by the way, involves a bit of time travel, as well -- I don't think this is one of Ashley's best books. There are at least two important reasons for this. The first is the fact that Grigori actually wanted to become a vampire, in order to exact his revenge. I can't wholeheartedly love or empathize with a character who possesses such a glaring moral defect. It would be understandable for Grigori to feel hatred toward Kristov; however, his decision to purposely become a vampire in order to kill Kristov makes him almost as evil as Kristov himself. Second, I was repulsed by the way one of the characters was "disposed of" so that the two leads could be together without any impediments. I wasn't expecting this from the author. I have read several of her novels in the past, and she clearly possesses a strong, Christian-based sense of ethics. In fact, I would say she stands alone among vampire romance authors writing for adults, in this respect.
A third reason, less important in the moral sense, but not in the literary one, is the attraction between Grigori and Marisa. Ashley's couples usually share some very powerful chemistry. The attraction between these two, however, seems lacking in some way. It just didn't strike me as very believable, especially when compared to that of other couples Ashley has presented in her novels. (I'm thinking of my two favorite ones, A Darker Dream and Midnight Embrace.) The addition of Ramsey as a rival for Marisa's affections didn't ring true, either.
Although I did finish the book (I don't think I've ever left one of Ashley's novels unfinished), I did not enjoy it as much as I would have expected to, considering the author. Amanda Ashley is still one of my favorite vampire romance authors, however. It's unfortunate that I can't give this book a higher rating, but I am committed to giving honest reviews. I can only wholeheartedly praise a book when I truly believe such praise is merited.
For more of my reviews, please visit my blog, A NIGHT’S DREAM OF BOOKS.
http://anightsdreamofbooks.blogspot.com
February 9, 2015
Marissa decides to go to a carnival being held in her hometown of Los Angeles. She is intrigues by an exhibit, “Count Alexi Kristov, Oldest Vampire in Existence.” I’d been intrigued by a title like that. She goes into the tent and while she is there she manages to cut her finger and also bumps into a mysterious, handsome man named Grigori.
Grigori has been following the carnival. He wants to end Alexi and exact revenge upon the depraved vampire that murdered his family. The scent of Marissa blood awakens the old vampire and he breaks out. Grigori now must hunt and destroy the crazed killer vampire, who wants to make Marissa is own. Grigori has no intention of falling for the mortal woman, but flames are ignited.
Marissa is thrown into a world where a mortal must fear the dark. She is approached by a friend, Ramsey, who she thinks is just overprotective until she learns he is a vampire hunter. Ramsey warns her about Grigori and Marissa has to struggle to make sense of everything that is going on.
Now, I love the vampires and paranormal romance. It is rare that I come across one that really…doesn't do much of anything for me. I teetered between 2 and 3 stars for this book. I was really hoping for more. The plot was thin, the romance was a bit on the weak side, and the action was anticlimactic. I liked that Marissa and Grigori weren’t instantly an item, but there really could have been more heat between them. And Marissa was way too whinny at times while Grigori was stereotypical as a vampire hero. The ending was also abrupt, but there was enough intrigue to make we want to pick up the next within the trilogy.
The idea behind the book was interesting and I will give Amanda Ashley another shot.
Grigori has been following the carnival. He wants to end Alexi and exact revenge upon the depraved vampire that murdered his family. The scent of Marissa blood awakens the old vampire and he breaks out. Grigori now must hunt and destroy the crazed killer vampire, who wants to make Marissa is own. Grigori has no intention of falling for the mortal woman, but flames are ignited.
Marissa is thrown into a world where a mortal must fear the dark. She is approached by a friend, Ramsey, who she thinks is just overprotective until she learns he is a vampire hunter. Ramsey warns her about Grigori and Marissa has to struggle to make sense of everything that is going on.
Now, I love the vampires and paranormal romance. It is rare that I come across one that really…doesn't do much of anything for me. I teetered between 2 and 3 stars for this book. I was really hoping for more. The plot was thin, the romance was a bit on the weak side, and the action was anticlimactic. I liked that Marissa and Grigori weren’t instantly an item, but there really could have been more heat between them. And Marissa was way too whinny at times while Grigori was stereotypical as a vampire hero. The ending was also abrupt, but there was enough intrigue to make we want to pick up the next within the trilogy.
The idea behind the book was interesting and I will give Amanda Ashley another shot.
July 11, 2009
Marisa the main character is at a carnival. She goes into the tent to see the vampire on display. Somehow she cuts herself. This awakens the long sleeping vampire. Soon, the vampire kills his keeper and goes after Marisa for his own. Along come Grigori who is after the killer vampire. By the way, Grigori is also a vampire himself. Also along comes Edward a human vampire slayer. He decides its his duty to protect Marisa while he is also falling in love with her. But, to his dismay she is falling in love with Grigori. It is action packed with romance. Love the story and loved the characters.
March 11, 2011
Overall, I liked the books. I had issues with the quick switch between first and last name in the same paragraph. I found that very annoying. It was almost like there were three extra characters. Referring to the same character by his first name in one sentence and then in the next referring to him by his last name had me rereading cause I thought the author snuck in some extra characters.
There were some dragged out parts. There are 390 pages in this books...perhaps 50 could have been cut out. I didn't find all the extra details necessary to the story and only made the book longer.
There were some dragged out parts. There are 390 pages in this books...perhaps 50 could have been cut out. I didn't find all the extra details necessary to the story and only made the book longer.
April 4, 2012
I was hoping for more... The plot was thin, the characters while interesting were underdeveloped. The vampire and virgin fall in love meanwhile she's being persued by another vampire. I've heard the story before told much better. There's action, but the final showdown is anticlimactic. This is more of a fluffy romance than a story with any substance. I'll read the next few books because I've already purchased them. Luckily the half priced book store buys books back!
June 22, 2007
I find it hard to believe that I only have one of this author's books. The reason being that every time I pick up a different one at the bookstore and read the blurb and a couple of pages of it, I feel like I've already read it.
September 1, 2014
Great read, my favorite of the books I read by Amanda Ashley's books so far.
June 13, 2013
I can see why someone else wrote that the ending was an anticlimax.
May 10, 2019
Great book, but could definitely improve. The storyline was great, the characters were great, but the writing could have been a bit better. There is quite a bit of repetitive usage of the same words or actions used in this book. The author also skimmed a lot of scenes very quickly. The story setting mostly takes place during evening and night time hours, so everything else seemed a bit rushed. For instance, the scene of a wedding, was described in only a few sentences, before transitioning to another scene. Aside from these few points, the story is all in all something that is easy to imagine in your mind as you go along reading it, and you’ll definitely grow to love some of these characters.
October 11, 2025
I adored this book ✨✨✨✨✨5 stars from me. Loved the story line and the characters where brilliant all slotting in together. I was a bit worried there might be a love triangle 🫣🫣All good but lol 🤭Loved the slow emotional burn the two main characters developed. Loved the past affected lives that opened up and created these new lives. Well written and put together. Plenty of action, mystery and the ending was fantastic 💞. Can’t wait to read the next book in line 📚.
August 15, 2020
Grigori is the vampire that started my addiction to this genre. I happened upon this in my local library so many years ago and eventually purchased paperback and reread at least twice. Very captivating and gave me a new interesting romantic outlook to erase the horror of Dracula. :)
January 8, 2023
My first read of this author and I enjoyed the story. The fairytale romance between Marissa and Grigori is sweet. The rivalry between Grigori and Alexi keeps the story moving and Edward keeps everyone on their toes.
November 18, 2024
2 ⭐️
*Read this book ages ago (decided to add all the books that I remember reading and established 2017 as the year to add all those reads).*
I really didn't liked this book. It felt uncomfortable to read, although I can't pinpoint why.
*Read this book ages ago (decided to add all the books that I remember reading and established 2017 as the year to add all those reads).*
I really didn't liked this book. It felt uncomfortable to read, although I can't pinpoint why.
May 22, 2017
Kept me hooked. It was thrilling.
P.S. My review might be biased because it was the first Vampire book I read.
P.S. My review might be biased because it was the first Vampire book I read.
May 15, 2018
As usual I found myself unable to put this one down once I got started. Amanda Ashley always knows how to get me every time!
July 20, 2018
Wonderful as I remembered it!
Haven’t read it since the 90’s was as great the second time around as the first. I highly recommend! 5 stars!
Haven’t read it since the 90’s was as great the second time around as the first. I highly recommend! 5 stars!
March 11, 2021
Vampires and time travel dont go together..it's weird
November 7, 2022
I only finished it to see how much worse it could get, was not surprised.
October 4, 2011
I read this book for the first time two years ago, and recently re-read it. I loved it the first time, and loved it the second time around.
Shades of Gray is the first book in this trilogy, and tells the story of Grigori and Marisa. Marisa unknowingly awakens an evil vampire named Alexi Kristov from the confines of a death sleep. Grigori, a vampire also, has been trying to destroy Alexi since he destroyed his family when Grigori was mortal. Edward Ramsey, a vampire hunter, joins Grigori to try to track down and destroy Alexi once and for all.
One thing that I really liked about this book was the fact that Marisa did NOT fall immediately head-over-heels in love with Grigori when she first meets him. It actually takes a while in the book before she admits to herself that she is in love with him.
If you are looking for some down and dirty sexual scenes, you won't find them in this book. Amanda Ashley is known for writing sexual tension, but light (and I do mean light) on any sexual scenes. I actually like the fact there are authors out there writing vampire romances like this.
I like the characters, and I like the ending in this book. It pretty much tells you whats to come within the next book (about Edward Ramsey).
If I had to pick on one thing that bothered me, I would say I didn't like the cover of this book. The edition that I have looks like a historical romance instead of a vampire romance. If I had just looked at the cover instead of reading the synopsis, I would have passed over it. The cover has since been updated with two other editions.
I noticed one typo on page 338. It reads: 'Grigori slid a glance at Maria.' Maria was actually suppose to have been written as Marisa.
Overall, I think this book was a great read. I love Amanda Ashley's vampire romance books.
Shades of Gray is the first book in this trilogy, and tells the story of Grigori and Marisa. Marisa unknowingly awakens an evil vampire named Alexi Kristov from the confines of a death sleep. Grigori, a vampire also, has been trying to destroy Alexi since he destroyed his family when Grigori was mortal. Edward Ramsey, a vampire hunter, joins Grigori to try to track down and destroy Alexi once and for all.
One thing that I really liked about this book was the fact that Marisa did NOT fall immediately head-over-heels in love with Grigori when she first meets him. It actually takes a while in the book before she admits to herself that she is in love with him.
If you are looking for some down and dirty sexual scenes, you won't find them in this book. Amanda Ashley is known for writing sexual tension, but light (and I do mean light) on any sexual scenes. I actually like the fact there are authors out there writing vampire romances like this.
I like the characters, and I like the ending in this book. It pretty much tells you whats to come within the next book (about Edward Ramsey).
If I had to pick on one thing that bothered me, I would say I didn't like the cover of this book. The edition that I have looks like a historical romance instead of a vampire romance. If I had just looked at the cover instead of reading the synopsis, I would have passed over it. The cover has since been updated with two other editions.
I noticed one typo on page 338. It reads: 'Grigori slid a glance at Maria.' Maria was actually suppose to have been written as Marisa.
Overall, I think this book was a great read. I love Amanda Ashley's vampire romance books.
April 2, 2017
SPOILERS: As far as Amanda Ashley books go this one was not my favorite. I wasn't happy with the character of Grigori and Antoinette. I didn't like how the female and male love story was supposed to be between Grigori and Marisa but then brings the ex-wife into the picture. Antoinette was the love of his life, mother of his children, and he is set to avenge their deaths for hundreds of years and then surprise! She’s still alive but I'm still going to fool around with Marisa and not try to build a life again with my now reunited wife because hell she just wants to die anyway so no big deal! Within the matter of two pages she turns into a vampire doesn't avenge her children’s death and then gets her head cut off. So they go to Paris for dinner and a show and it's no big deal moving on. Really unrealistic love patterns and I think the whole character of Antoinette was just unnecessary to be there because it just ended anyway with her life and now I'm not completely in love with Grigori and Marisa being in love. The ending felt rushed with the wedding and meeting her parents and the death scene AND the SEX scene! I was overall pretty disappointed with the book especially being such a huge Amanda Ashley fan. Perhaps it’s her more recent work I enjoy better because this 90s fluff isn’t why I fell in love with Amanda’s romance
August 14, 2012
Oh how a little cut can start a chain reaction of events that leads Marisa on one hell of an ride. Who would have thought that a rainy Halloween and a travelling carnie, Marisa would find herself looking at a real vampire. Convincing herself that it must be a hoax, she accidently trips and cuts herself. Her blood awakens the vampire, Alexi, from his century old sleep as he must find the owner of that sweet blood, and of course draining many innocents along the way.
Not realising the danger she is in, Marisa meets Grigori who happens to be a vampire hunting Alexi. There is immediate attraction to Grigori, but something just holds her back. But that is not all, enter Edward Ramsey a vampire hunter who wants all the vampires destroyed. All this seems too much for Marissa as she just wants her normal life. What will she do?
I thought this was a romantic tale and quite an adventure to read. It had a real "Dracula" feel to it as both Grigori and Ramsey bide for Marisa's affection.
Not realising the danger she is in, Marisa meets Grigori who happens to be a vampire hunting Alexi. There is immediate attraction to Grigori, but something just holds her back. But that is not all, enter Edward Ramsey a vampire hunter who wants all the vampires destroyed. All this seems too much for Marissa as she just wants her normal life. What will she do?
I thought this was a romantic tale and quite an adventure to read. It had a real "Dracula" feel to it as both Grigori and Ramsey bide for Marisa's affection.
September 25, 2008
Ugh, I do not want to read anymore Amanda Ashley books. This is the second one I read (the other was Dead Perfect). I like the storylines well enough, but....
I don't want to spell it out, but let us just say that I read paranormal romance because I am looking for "the act" that is the ultimate expression of romance but with a supernatural twist. Unfortunately, this author seems to have a hang up about sex only occuring in the confines of marriage. In both these books, her heroines proclaim they must wait until they are married before "getting busy". So there is a lot of "oh, that feels so good, but we mustn't!". So you don't actually get a full scene until the end of the books. That is a real disappointment.
I don't want to spell it out, but let us just say that I read paranormal romance because I am looking for "the act" that is the ultimate expression of romance but with a supernatural twist. Unfortunately, this author seems to have a hang up about sex only occuring in the confines of marriage. In both these books, her heroines proclaim they must wait until they are married before "getting busy". So there is a lot of "oh, that feels so good, but we mustn't!". So you don't actually get a full scene until the end of the books. That is a real disappointment.
October 22, 2014
This book was given to me during a time that I couldn't be picky about what I read or I would have nothing to read. I know I read this since it was about vampires, but other than that, I have no idea what it was about. I must not have loved it or hated it as I am drawing a blank when I picture it in my mind. I have a recollection of it being a easy read that helped me kill a few hours in the night, battling insomnia.
But I know that I never attempted to seek out any more of the books (if they even existed back when I read this) or this author.
But I know that I never attempted to seek out any more of the books (if they even existed back when I read this) or this author.
August 10, 2010
My first Ashley book, and I have to say it was pretty darn good. Story line flowed, characters were great. Fairytale type romance with the wining, dining and showering with gifts stuff. Many girls dream of that type of man to sweep them off their feet. So, a little more romancier then I wished but none the less good. Wish there was a little more action/violence...lol
Want to read
February 22, 2010My Night Series:
1. Night's Kiss
2. Night's Touch
3. Night's Master
4. Night's Pleasure
Other Misc. Series:
1. Shades of Gray
2. After Sundown
3. Desire After Dark
Everlasting Series:
1. Everlasting Kiss
2. Everlasting Desire
1. Night's Kiss
2. Night's Touch
3. Night's Master
4. Night's Pleasure
Other Misc. Series:
1. Shades of Gray
2. After Sundown
3. Desire After Dark
Everlasting Series:
1. Everlasting Kiss
2. Everlasting Desire
May 14, 2012
I don't know why but I just didn't get into this book. I found the characters really one dimensional and it really seemed that the "romance" was forced and just didn't ring true. I know it is one of a trilogy but I'm just not intrigued enough to keep reading.
October 17, 2018
I love Amanda Ashley. You know you're in for a exciting time when you read one of her series. Grigori and Marisas' story was so intense; and kept me wanting more. I still want more, so on to book 2 of the trilogy.
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