Oh.

My.

Nocturnal Nights.

It’s official.

My heart is broken, my feminine energy is bristling, and vampires are back with a bloodthirsty vengeance.

The world has been dominated by vampires for centuries now. In Cain, Humans are bred to serve vampires in whatever form necessary – as blood supply units, servants, or breeders. They are instructed in special schools in how to best serve their immortal masters, through meekness and subservience. But for Wavorly, one of the few humans who were born and raised outside of vampire rule before her inevitable capture, she would rather die than be a slave to a vampire. After countless escape attempts, her day of judgment has finally come: to see if her blood will qualify her a spot in her master’s household as a live-in servant and supply unit. Somehow Wavorly is accepted into Zein’s home, despite her insubordination and unabashed hatred for his ownership over her. But as time goes on, Wavorly wonders if the vampire who brought her to Cain isn’t the monster she believes him to be. And maybe he sees her as more than just a blood supply.

A Violet Fire has given me a book hangover from Hell, and it’s unclear if I’m going to make it.

Send help.

Finally.

An addicting YA Vamp Fantasy untainted by glittering blood-lusters and a female protagonist who lacks self-worth and looks to a man for breath.

This, is true living corpse bliss.

This book is the vampire Handmaid’s Tale I didn’t know I needed, and it is packed and layered with beautiful writing, witty and sharp dialogue and a plot that will make you weak at the knees. I am HOOKED by this story-line, and for good reason! Like The Handmaid’s Tale, this world is suffering from a distinct decline in human life, which is the main source of survival for vampires. Though some parts of this world give more respect to human life, Cain, much like Gilead, is the hub of humans enslaved to work as servants, blood supply units and breeders.

When a human comes of age, they are brought before their master at the Distribution Ceremony where their blood is sampled. If their blood is accepted, they are brought to their masters home to be used as a supply unit when needed. The brainwashed humans who were born and bred in Cain are raised to believe their life mission is to look pretty, be submissive and to strive for the honor of having their blood sucked out of them.

Dreamy, isn’t it?

But the kicker here is this: quality of blood is improved by quality of life and happiness. So naturally that means our sassy, foul-mouthed, and all-around pissed off gem Wavorly has got to have some top-shelf vital fluids right?

“My blood should be the foulest thing to ever touch his lips.”

Swoon!

Wavorly is the definition of a strong, fierce, “gives no shits” female lead! We first meet her as she is attempting another escape from Cain the day before the Distribution Ceremony, and immediately we learn that she is not a damsel in distress sitting around twirling her hair around her finger. She wants nothing more than to be free of her enslavement to Zein, who swore to protect her when he “saved” her from a rouge vampire when she was a child, and to search for other humans off the grid. Though she is forced into becoming a supply unit for Zein, she does so with a sharp tongue and zero remorse for her rash actions.

Girl. Is. Fierce.

“While you’ve been staring at yourself in the mirror all your life, I’ve been training myself on how to best ruin your reflection.”

But where this story gets even more interesting is when we get to see more of Zein.

He is one of five of the most powerful and ruthless vampires in Cain, and has a long and bloody history on the battlefield and just…in general. He is said to be cruel and sadistic with zero regard for human life, but as time goes on, our girl begins to see a less murdery version of this mysterious immortal.

Now don’t worry, I’m not going into any more detail beyond that, but my oh my guys, Zein is giving me all the Lestat meets Rowan (TOG) vibes and I am dying. DYING. He’s vague, he’s angry, and he’s got sharp looks that will make your blood run cold and sizzle all at once. But in true form of my questionable taste in men, I am swooning over this vampires’ hot and cold demeanor. It has been a solid 24 hours since I finished A Violet Fire and I am STILL questioning my stance on him! I love him. I hate him. I‘d die for him. I’d die to stab him in the face.

It’s all very confusing.

“…his eyes return to their mysterious gray and appear to be lost in a sea I can’t even begin to navigate.”

I could go on for days about this book and the immense torture that I am experiencing due to this cliffhanger, but I must stop for fear that I am going to spill all the secrets just so I’m not the only one writhing in pain. This is so much more than just a possible vampire romance. It’s dripping in feminist vibes, has an epic and mysterious plot where a prophecy speaks of a human savior, and makes you question your feelings right alongside Wavorly. I am so obsessed with this book, I have already started reading it again just to find details that I’ve missed!

Do yourself a favor, buy this.

I like Vampire books but have tended to stay away from books where the main character is a blood slave because that storyline just didn’t appeal to me. However, I requested this book from Netgalley for some reason and I ended up loving every minute of it. I have been reading it straight since I started and haven’t even stopped to eat dinner. It is now after midnight, so that tells you how much I liked it.

Vampires are back, but I'm not sure if I really enjoyed this book that much. I only found out that it was a start to a series after reading it, and I would have rather that this one was written as a stand-alone, so if you wished to continue the series you could, but if you didn't then you'd still have a satisfying ending.

This book was pretty good. I wasn’t completely blown away by it. But I’m hoping for a comeback with vampires, hopefully this book is the start.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me and I wasn't able to finish it. The concept is intriguing but I did not enjoy the execution of it and the main character's perception and treatment of other women was disappointing.

If Vampires/Dystopian fiction is your jam you’ll like this book. It was a fresh take on the vampire story.

“Your generation of humans are lucky... for your existence upon this earth is spared only by the impending extinction of your race. You should be grateful that your masters have become less predatory and more parasitic over the last century.”  

I haven't read a vampire story in so long, I didn't know I missed it so much! I've finished this book in two sittings and loved it, especially so because I wasn't expecting much from it. There's a few things left to be desired but overall it was a great read.

The story focuses a lot on Waverly's thoughts and actions plus the romance rather than on the fantasy elements like the violet door that is eventually introduced. I wish it was mention more often than set aside until it was explained in the end but the romance was my cup of tea so I didn't mind it much. It honestly reminded me of Alina and the Darkling but much better since there's actually romance and intimacy happening. I really enjoyed the world building as well, it didn't feel too much nor too little.

A few other things bothered me thougg like it was implied that Narref and Zein has some sibling rivalry happening but no situation nor anything substantial happened that shows this. To me, I found it to be the opposite, Narref works hard to not inconvenience Zein.

My other issue was the murky emphasis on the technology advancement. Sometimes it implies that it's advance, other times that it wasn't that advance so it left me confused whenever it was mentioned.

As for the characters, I liked Violet's strong personality but didn't find any sense in her sudden outburst of trying to befriend people she didn't get along with out of nowhere. Glera doesn't show up as much until the end but I really liked her as well. It was interesting knowing the reasoning for why most other characters are the way they are. As for the vampires, I loved Gemini and Narref so much especially the banter between them and Waverly. Zein was the perfect "Darkling" to me and loved him the most.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and romance though I wished it balanced it a bit more with the fantasy elements. The chosen one plot happened in the last 50 or so pages which felt a bit sudden and out of nowhere because of the focus on the romance. Nevertheless, I can't wait for the sequel!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

This is a new twist in the relationship between humans and vampires. In the vampire world of Cain, human blood is scarce and the solution they have is to 'cultivate' humans as supply units for their masters. Most supply units are fully compliant with this since they have known nothing else. However Wavorly has been 'rescued' from a 'rogue' vampire by her new master, Lord Anton Zein. He has taken her from the world she knew and she is determined to escape even if it means her punishment will mean she is fed to the 'fallen'. At least that was her determination until she is arrives at Lord Zein's castle and discovers that all is not as she first thought. How much is she willing to sacrifice for her freedom?

Not finishing this book at this time. Will be checking into it in the future. The NetGalley kindle ones are hard to read.

This was a fun read with an interesting world, but I had issues with the romance.

Some spoilers below

Even before the twist ending, the romance is far from perfect. Wavorly met Zein when she was a child and he was a grown man. Yes he's a vampire and hasn't aged, but I would have felt better about the age gap if he hadn't met her as a child. He also straight up abuses her and then is nice right afterwards to make up for it, which is what real life abusers do to keep their victims thinking "Well, he's not THAT bad. He apologized!" Lastly, Zein has no interest in realizing why she doesn't want to be a slave. He thinks she should be happy as a slave that he favors because he's not as bad as other slave masters. This makes more sense after the reveal, but... Yikes.

This is part of a series and I ended this first book not sure whether the author wants for me to root for Wavorly and Zein's relationship or not.

I'm usually not a vampire reader, probably since Twilight, but I enjoyed this book! I thought it was fantastically written, and the story kept my attention the entire time.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. It had a great premise and I'm a sucker for a vampire novel but I found it a bit jumped and couldn't get through the entire thing (which I felt bad about because I HATE not finishing books). It had great potential and I'm sure other people would love it but in the end it just wasn't for me.

And on a side note about the cover, I understand the need to show the bite mark but the neck is unnaturally long and just makes the thing look wonky. All I can think of when I see it is the messed up leg on the Ready Player One Movie poster.

Wavorly lost her parents due to the vampires. She was next but a vampire named Zein saved her. Wavorly. Was taken to the Nightingale school to learn how to please and be strong enough to feed their masters. The world has been ruled by vampires. The humans are becoming an extinct race so the vampires have decided to raise their human stock. For those born into the vampire world, they are more than willing to do as taught. If they were born free, they may not feel so willing to be a vampire’s feed. Wavorly has been doing all that she can to escape the vampire world. She wants to escape before she must partake in the coming-of-age Distribution Ceremony. She speaks her mind which is not the correct attitude to have. When she comes before the five vampire rulers, she rails against them to their faces. Almost being sent to die, Wavorly is rescued and becomes the favorite of her vampire — Lord Zein. She starts to have feelings for him but is disgusted that she is beginning to like Lord Zein. She wants to be free. Will she be able to escape Lord Zion’s home? Will she be free ever again.

The romance between vampire and human is written so that you are not sure it is happening. The writing is excellent. The story moves quickly by not going into details. Yet I didn’t miss it as I only wanted to know what was going to happen next. This is also a novel that explores the right to have freedom and life. Wavorly wants the right to choose.

Wavorly has grown up knowing the life she lives is wrong. The people around her have been deceived into being loyal to their captors.

This book definitely takes a long time to get to where it needs to go, but now knowing this is the first book - it makes a little more sense. I look forward to seeing how this story unfolds.

I enjoyed the book. The author did a good job with creating a unique vampire story unlike any I've ever read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kelsey Quick, and D&B Management for the opportunity to read A Violet Fire in exchange for an honest review.

A Violet Fire is the first book in the Vampires of Avignon series. It has been quite a while since I have read a good teen vampire book, as they were a bit overdone a few years back (you know, the Twilight era). Though some people aren't into the whole blood-slave plot, that is actually what drew me to this one. I requested in hopes of an enemy-turned-lover romance, and while it sort of went there, it also didn't I appreciate how this vampire book takes the genre in a different outlook.

This book is told in the first-person perspective of Wavorly Sterling, an eighteen-year-old girl who was saved from a vampire, by a vampire, as a child. The rescue was a bit too late for the rest of her village. This is a world ruled by vampires, and there is a blood shortage (not enough humans to fill the vampire's sustenance needs). Wavorly is sent to Nightingale, basically a school where humans are taught how to be "supply units" for the reigning vampires. Humans are stupid, of course, so it's easy to brainwash them. Survival instinct is a reigning factor as well.

Wavorly strives to escape. She is not a brain-washed human, though she still ends up being a blood slave against her personal interests. She has also taught herself to read, and she understands more of vampire law and politics than most humans, though she fains stupidity often. Those whose blood isn't high quality, or often those who pass a ripe age of youth but can still bear children, are sent away to basically be breeding factories to create more humans to supply the vampires of Cain.

There is something special about Wavorly, though. She can see a strange violet wall that shows her memories she can't quite place. Her lord, Zain, also has a keen interest in using her as his supply unit, even though her blood is a little less than savory. He even selects her out as a favorite, but why?

There is more to this vampire world than blood slaves and romance. Wavorly is a decently strong female protagonist who fights for her freedoms, battles with her own judgments, and has to determine what is best for humankind.

An interesting take on vampires that leaves a lot of room for character and world development in later installments.

When I saw A Violet Fire up on NetGalley, I couldn't resist the call of the vampire YA genre. I love vampires so much, so I couldn't help but jump at the chance to read this book. I think it is essential to make sure that everyone knows this isn't a vampire romance. The primary genre is fantasy/dystopian.

My main issue is that I never really connected with any of the characters. I liked Wavorly, and the other characters but unfortunately, I couldn't connect with them as much as I wanted. Wavorly was a strong character who acted her age. I could see 18 years old me behaving similarly, and I liked that it was realistic.

The plot was exciting and something a bit different with various borrowed elements as well. I could see a little bit of the many Young Adult dystopian novels in the book, so I was impressed that Kelsey Quick was able to write something refreshing in a genre that has (for me) been a bit overdone. I enjoyed seeing how the book unfolded though I admit, I did guess many of the twists.

Even though I guessed a lot of the twists, I enjoyed seeing it all play out. All in all, this is a refreshing take on the vampire YA genre. I think any Young Adult reader will enjoy this book.

Big note at the beginning of this review is that not only did I receive an ARC of A Violet Fire for a free and honest review by the author, but that Kelsey Quick and I have become author buddies along the way! I helped her with some of the late-stage editing of AVF, provided cover feedback, and we also talk shop about author stuff. So this review is biased fo sho! But I still wanted to get up a review. 🙂

I had tons of fun reading A Violet Fire. Anyone who’s spent time around these parts knows I’m a big vampire fan, and A Violet Fire was just the right strain of different to keep me glued to the page. I loved the world-building; save for The Passage by Justin Cronin, which I didn’t entirely get along with, I’ve never read a vampire book where vampires have taken over the world. The premise here is simple and makes for great romantic power dynamics: vampires in this universe own humans like cattle, and our human MC, Wavorly, is a blood supply unit of hot vampire bad boy Zein. Yeah, it sounds a little fucked up on paper, but if you’re like me and love a Beauty and the Beast backbone, then this is a book to put on your list.

Quick has a voice for YA, and the book moves swiftly. It does have a first book feel; by that I mean that you can tell it’s gone through a lot of editing and has some patches, but I don’t really deduct for that since every author has a first book. It was all the little touches I enjoyed most: Wavorly’s friendships, the way she uses French to her advantage, her insistence on human dignity, the dark and lush imagery. Reading AVF is kind of like eating candy; the two are nothing alike story-wise, but I was reminded of the momentum I felt when I read The Selection a few years back. It’s just fun.

I’m excited for the sequel to AVF, which I believe is slated for release next year. Vampires are back in YA, thank the lord! And a big congratulations to Kelsey again; as I said in my interview with her, I’ve never seen an indie author put so much effort into a release, and I admire her as a fellow author businesswoman. I will definitely be reading book two.

I have a lot to say about this book; it was not what I expected going into it. At first I expected one thing from the book but by the end I was pleasantly surprised to find out my prediction was wrong.

The beginning was a bit rough for me, I at first struggled getting into this because of the complex world I was learning about and the intense intro. However, before the halfway mark I was very invested! My prediction made me think I wouldn’t enjoy it, but the outcome meant that I was actually blown away when I finished this book. Talk about plot twists and cliff hangers!

SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY
In the Vampire Stratocracy of Cain, human blood is scarce. For centuries, councils have sought to assuage the blood shortage by enslaving and breeding humans, turning them into profitable supply units. Today, eighteen-year-old Wavorly Sterling is officially a supply unit, bound to serve her blood willingly to her master for the rest of her life. One of only few humans not bred in Cain, she knows freedom better than anyone, and is determined to escape. Where Wavorly's hatred for both vampires and her enslavement once flowed free, it merely trickles now as she grows to admire her reserved, yet receptive master, Anton Zein. Although warmed by comforts never felt before, danger still lurks in the castle, and a prophecy calls from beyond the walls of a lavender gate.

The concept of a vampire controlled dystopian world where humans are blood slaves was new to me, and I’m surprised to say I’ve never read anything like this before. I ended up really enjoying it as well as the main character Wavorly, even though her thoughts and recklessness sometimes gave me anxiety and frustrated me. I recommend this book for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale, dystopias, stories about secret plots and stories about obsession.

3 5*
Set in a dystopian future, A Violet Fire follows Wavorly Sterling. Her entire family got slaughtered by vampires when she was eight, and she herself got rescued by a very powerful vampire, Anton Zein,only to be sent to an academy of sorts,where children get trained to become meek and submissive to serve as food suppliers for their vampire masters. Humans are kept in captivity in this world, they can only be servants, blood units or breeders.
I loved how dark this book is. It kept reminding me of the manga The Promised Neverland, only with vampires. Our protagonist, Wavorly,is sassy and brave,a person who would rather die a free human that live a slave. And that made her very different from the rest of humans who were brainwashed all their lives and never knew real freedom the way Wavorly had.
A few complaints. We didn't get to know much about Zein in this book,so he is still very much a mystery. But he will have a point of view in the next book,so hopefully that will change. The plot got predictable at times. There was especially one thing that I thought Wavorly understood about Zein as it was obvious, but not to her for some reason. Also,there was too much girl hate for my liking.
An interesting debut, if you like vampires I think you should check it out. I will pick book two when it comes out.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

Let me tell you about some things I love in fiction.

- Vampires
- Dystopian Worlds
- Strong Female Characters


A Violet Fire has all three. Set in a world where vampires are at the top of the food chain and humans are left to be used as feeders and breeders, Quick tells a tale of one woman's refusal to submit.

As a young girl Wavorly was saved by a vampire when her family was murdered, she was taken to be raised as a future feeder of vampires. A blood supply unit until she's older, then she's destined for breeding future feeders. No more, no less. Knowing freedom once makes it difficult for her to accept those terms.

Vampires are an oppressive evil. No more, no less.

When the one who saved her, the one who currently survives off her blood, begins to show signs that he could be more - everything Wave has believed becomes a question.

But things in his world aren't really all they seem and the past comes to knock it all out of balance leaving Wavorly to fight harder than ever before.

It's a gothic tale with action, betrayals, and lies existing in a well created world that I'm looking forward to more of!

It was a tad wordy at times and drug the pace down, but that got better as it went. I still found it to be a good start to what has the potential to be a great series.