You can forgive Katelina if she thinks
the murder of her boyfriend Patrick is the worst thing that could happen to
her. Or she may have thought that, before she’s torn out of her life by the
mysterious Jorick, and discovers her association with Patrick has made her
hunted—by vampires
.
In “Shades of Gray (Amaranthine Book 1)”, Katelina is plunged into a
nightmare, unable to contact friends or family, separated from home and work.
Worse, her only protector is also a vampire, and he’s way more dangerous than
the sparkly sort.
Joleene Naylor’s first Amaranthine
book goes back to the good old days of vampires: They’re vile, merciless, and
see humans as only food or slaves, just as vampires should. And although Jorick
does seem to be one of the (or maybe the only) good ones, “good” is relative in
this series’ cold, gory world. The first book is dark and violent—and well
told—and hints and big things to come.
I did have trouble with the main
character's inaction, but not because she wasn’t written well—far from it.
Katelina spends much of the book in a state of shock, and who wouldn’t?
Terrible things happen to her at every turn. So, while Katelina’s struggles
with helplessness and hopelessness aren’t something I enjoyed, they came
because Naylor stayed true to her character, rather than giving her an
unbelievable transformation into an action hero halfway through. Just the same,
I hope Katelina catches some breaks in future books!
Good review!
ReplyDelete