Vampires, Ghosts, and humans are forced to co-exist in this amazing, fantasy story. I've been looking for a dark fall read and this was the perfect fit! This book kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. It was my first read by both authors, and I will definitely be looking out for more by them in the future!

“God has laws yet to be discovered, priest.”


In a village, an overbearing Countess believes her son, Alexander, is not worthy of his title. By Alexander, is the seer Sophia. On the outskirts of this village is Lilianna, a gypsy girl who dreams of a wealthy life. Unknown to the three, there is a dark kingdom rising lead by Luciano. 

Lilianna, turned by Luciano to be his bride, is trying to come to terms with her new role. Sophia turned against a creature of the night against her will tries desperately to cling her humanity. On the other hand, Alexander turned with the promise of great power, embraces his dark nature. Starting this book, it was hard to grasp the hero of this story. Even after finishing the book, it is still hard to find the hero.


The upside of this book is the vampires; however, there is no world-building with these vampires. These vampires have a hierarchy in part by Vedel and Luciano's role and the reveal of the lower ranking vampires. Vedel, the Queen of the Vampires and mother to Luciano, acts as a mere backdrop in this book. There is a hint at Vedel's life before being Queen; however, we are told through Sophia's vision and isn't explored later in the story. It is Vedel's goal to bring rise to the era of the Vampire. Vedel appoints her son Luciano to take on this task, but Alexander takes on the task after his death. With the rise of the vampires, the human's only hope is...ghosts? I'm not buying it, chief.


First off, this book is pretty dull since the book's focus is on the fight between good and evil. In truth, the vampires in this story are intriguing, more so than the humans. Our primary “villain” is Vedel, an ambiguous Queen wanting for the Vampire to rise. It’s not told why the Queen wanted to take over or if she was trying to restore the Vampire to their former glory. We get a small backstory into Vedel’s life but not nearly enough to understand the character's complexity. 


Our “good” character is Sophia, the seer with a heart of gold. Sophia is a servant girl in Alexander’s home and offers her sight to help people speak with their loved ones who have died. Due to Sophia being a symbol of goodness, she is used as a goodness trinket by Alexander. Alexander, being a horrible whiny flesh of person, clings to Sophia. Sophia, in return, clings to him because they are childhood sweethearts. 


The real villain, Alexander, embraces his dark nature as a vampire. He is a selfish character, believing he deserves Lilianna while also wanting to keep Sophia at his side. Alexander fears appear to evaporate until the showdown. The most confusing and perhaps most confused character in the story. With the struggle between his dark nature and having the urge to prove his birth mother wrong, Alexander isn't a likable character.

There were interesting parts of this story, but it leaves a reader wanting to know more about this world of vampires.