Hunted by Shalini Boland.
Vampires of Marchwood Book 3.
My name is Madison Greene and my boyfriend is a vampire. And not just any vampire, one with brooding good looks and a smile that makes my heart skip a beat. As I curl up against Alexandre’s side, our hands entwined, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
Wow. Really enjoyable read. Wasn't sure about Nadia. Great story and characters. Loved Madison Alexander Isabelle Jacques Freddie Leonorra even Esther and Morris. Twisty and gripping. 5*.

Ahh that bittersweet feeling you get when you finish a series. You want to remain there but every story ends. And my friends we are here at the end of the journey. I honestly am not able to tell how I felt when I finished this.

Book 3 of the Marchwood Vampire Series was a fitting finale of a great series, gripping, tense and just brilliant!

It’s only been a few days since Maddie, Alex, Isobel, Jacques and Freddie have arrived back from their encounter with the Cappadocian vampires. It’s Christmas Day and they are determined to try and have a nice day despite knowing that the Cappadocian vampires still have them all in their sights and it’s only a matter of time until they hear from them again. Because of this Alex cannot relax and his fears come true when a tragedy befalls one of their close knit group on the evening of Christmas Day. Whilst dealing with this tragedy a mysterious girl, Nadia, suddenly shows up and Alex feels himself inexplicably drawn to her despite his feelings for Maddie. When Alex senses Nadia is in trouble, he goes out to save her but doesn’t return home. When he is found he is extremely unwell and delirious. Maddie fears Alex is dying, she is desperate to heal him and so turns to the one lady, Sophia (known as Aelia in book 2), who may know what’s wrong and how to cure Alex. Maddie must summon her courage and once again return to Turkey to find Sophia. There is also a dual storyline which is set in 514BC in Scythia and follows a young Scythian warrior called Kelermes. He learns about the blood demons (vampires) and wants revenge after they kidnap his wife to be and his entire fighting group with just him and another left. Will Maddie find Sophia, and will she know what’s wrong with Alex and how to cure him and who is the mysterious Nadia who has now completely disappeared after Alex went after her?! And will Kelermes succeed in avenging his betrothed?!

Well, what an explosive finale to the series!!!!! I found this one just as addictive as the last two books and it yet again kept that magical feeling I had with the other two books. However, I do admit, I slowed down my reading as I was reluctant to say goodbye to the Marchwood vampires! I love how we got into the action really quickly in this book and it got intense really fast. I did find the tragedy very hard to read on an emotional level- but as this is a spoiler free review, I will say no more so I don’t ruin it. Once again, we had dual storylines which I loved and I really enjoyed reading about Scythia and Kelermes. Of course the relevance of the dual storylines became apparent in the last quarter of the book.

Overall, a great final to a great series. I am so gutted that my adventure into the Marchwood vampire’s world is over however I am really happy that I found this extraordinary series which I am certain I will be reading over and over again. Thank you for an amazing series Shalini Boland I loved every minute!

Thank you to NetGalley, Shalini Boland and Second Sky for my advanced reading copy. Out now.

I received an E-Arc from the publisher for an honest review!

All the books are out in paperback now!

Oh my gosh…this ending was great! So many twists and turns. I loved the entire series. It’s a must read for vampire readers…Get all the books…do it! Do it.

Characters of new and old come to play in this last book.

So a new character comes to play as I was taken off guard by this character. At first I thought this character was in cahoots with the evil bad vampires who have no mortality left in them but I was wrong. So wrong and yet was like “Yes” due to the fact this character was cool in its own way. You’ll have to read to find out what that character was all about.

Isn’t it rad when the author comes up with something pretty damn cool in a story?

Something happens to Ben which made me feel so much for Maddy. Maddy was so worried for her brother. I could not believe this would happen. Does he survive? What will become of him?

Of course Ben isn’t the only one who has something happening to him.

Alexandre gets in danger and everyone is concerned! What could it be? How? Who? What? Why? I had all these questions about what happened to Alexandre. As the story goes on towards the end, it all makes sense. At first I was like no no no it cannot be but then I realized ‘hey this makes a good story and yet will Alexandre live?’

Once again the author does have some more history that ties in with what is going on. It all made sense to me. I know some people don’t like the back and forth time frame but I did with this series! It was easy and gave a perfect flow for the story.

Action, adventure, historical elements, feelings and real relationships are magical in this book that the author creates. Even the vampires in this book is pretty cool..the good and the evil side of vampires!

Pick up the entire series today and you won’t regret it. I am so glad that I decided to read these books. I will always enjoy the adventures Madison and Alexandre. Would there ever be more adventures of this family?

By the way, do Madison and Alexandre get their happy ending? Go read today to find out.

The Vampires of Marchwood Trilogy. Second Sky Books are publishing a fantasy trilogy by popular, thriller author Shalini Boland.
These books are written for the YA market, and focus on the eternally popular human/vampire love story. However, Boland endeavours to add some surprises to her tales and I particularly enjoyed her mix of historical references through the fantasy elements of the story arc. As with old good vampire tales, we delve into the backstory of our heroes (or enemies in some cases, but that is enough of spoilers 😀). Spanning a time frame of several centuries, Boland takes her readers on a voyage from contemporary England to 20th century Turkey, to Cappadoccia and ancient Scythia.
Hidden' (formerly published at 'Chosen') is the first book in the 'Vampires of Marchwood' trilogy, and is aimed at the young adult market but is amusing enough to keep adults interested, especially with the decidedly dark and creepy beginning of Alexander's story.
Popular culture tells us that vampires are dangerous creatures, with a thirst for human blood and can rarely be trusted. And getting involved with a vampire community is a fairly hazardous endeavour. Of course, following convention is a boring idea and our protoganist has other ideas.
And so, let me introduce Madison Greene, an English teenager who resides in care, along with her younger brother, Ben. Decidedly cynical and hardened by her experiences in the foster care system, Madison is disillusioned by the arrival of her seventeenth birthday. Once she is approached by a suspicious lawyer, who tells her of a family fortune that has been left to her, Maddie is overjoyed to accept her inheritance and run from her old life.
Naturally, when a character receives an unexpected inheritance, there is a complicated family history that will only be revealed as the story progresses. And Maddie soon finds herself inextricably drawn towards the 'statues' in the locked basement. Hmm, I think we can guess where this is going, eh?
Meanwhile, we have the storyline of Alexander and his family on an expedition in 1881, which turns horribly wrong when they encounter some hungry demons. And, will lead into the story of Madison in the present day.
Maddie, Ben and the vampire quintet soon find that they are being watched and that danger is not far behind.
When reading a YA novel, I often find myself thinking about the naivety of the teenage characters and also wondering what has happened to the role of the adults within the story. That is the case here, but when reading a fantasy novel, I guess that a certain suspension of belief is also required. And once that suspension is applied, the story becomes much more enjoyable.
'Taken' is the second novel in the series,
previously published as Thicker than Blood.
Although the novels can be read as standalone stories, I would recommend reading the series in order for the full background and to understand the connection between the characters, in particular the older individuals who join the story in book two.
Once again, we have are two timelines, separated by over 1,000 years: one in 6th century Byzantium and the other in contemporary Britain but both storylines are interlinked and will come together in an exciting battle at the end of the novel.
I found the 'earlier' timeline set in Byzantium the more interesting timeframe. And the author used this era to answer many of the questions set up in the previous novel.
A critical character in 'Taken' is Aelia, a young girl living in 6th century Byzantium. Aelia is about to become the saviour of future generations. Fourteen hundred years later the lives of Madison and Alexandre are once again plunged into danger. This time around, our quintet of vampires and friends will return to Cappadoccia to save Maddie and confront the ‘Emperor’.
We author also provides numerous PoV from Aelia, Alexander and Maddie giving the reader a better insight into their behaviour and actions. However, I found myself struggling to like the character of Maddie as she seemed to veer from acting stubborn to damsel in distress with little balance in between.
'Hunted' is the final addition to the trilogy. And, we voyage back to 514 BC in Scythia to learn about the Persians and their battle against the vampires.
Maddie and her family are struggling to accept the recent events in Cappadoccia and the reader is given a peek into the thoughts of 'someone' who is watching them. A someone with vengeful thoughts....
Again, Boland effectively uses multiple PoVs to provide the user with an insight into the emotions and thoughts of her characters.
At the end of this trilogy, I can look back and see the highlights and humour that is evident throughout. There have also been numerous comparisons to the Twilight series, which is probably to be expected in any YA series that deals with humans, vampires, romance etc. However, I prefer the historical aspects added to this series and that (much as I became frustrated at times), the teenagers did act as emotional, excited teenagers throughout the series.
Definitely worth a read and with this series I believe that Boland has established herself as a successful fantasy author aswell as a well respected thriller author.

I would have given this book 5 stars but 2 things bothered me.
First of all Ben was going to school and then all of a sudden can't but the school never called or asked where he has been and no consequences.
2nd is this has bothered me in other books I have read is names. Ok I understand people have nicknames, don't get me wrong. But when there is a character named Kelermes and when the author talks about him and then changes to his nickname of Kel all within changing each paragraph, that is crazy. I can see another character in the book calling him Kel but when the author goes back and forth just telling what he is doing then that is just plain weird. She did ok with ALexandre and only calling him ALex when another character called him that.
Otherwise the whole thing the Bright One was really cool and all of these characters living in the mansion and how close they are and being there for each other is why I had to finish this series.
Thanks to NetGalley for the book to review.

This is review for a blog tour of an entire series and my review, even if details my opinion for each book, will be on the entire series.
I wanted to read these books as I am a sucker to everything vampire since I read Dracula ages ago. I think that the modern vampire was recreated by Anne Rice and there was an explosion at the beginning of the XXI century (Twilight anyone?)
When I started this series, I was very happy to discover that, even if the MCs are teens, they were not similar to the characters of Twilight or Vampire Diaries as they’re considered a sort of archetype for this type of books.
Ms Boland created two original characters and I loved Madison and Alexander as they’re well rounded and strong character.
I felt for Madison as she’s a girl who lost a lot and her only family is her brother Ben. She’s lucky and inherits a big mansion, the start of an incredible adventure. Her relationship with Ben is strong and sweet.
Alexander is a well rounded and energetic boy, he is the one who will drive Madison into a fantastic adventure and I liked hime.
Hidden is the first book in this series and, I think, the slowest one as it introduces the characters and there’s a lot of word building.
It kept me turning pages and I enjoyed it.
Taken is the second book in this series and it didn’t suffer from the book-in-the-middle syndrome. There’s a lot of developments, new characters and more world building.
It’s fast paced and I appreciated how the author developed a fast-paced plot that kept me turning pages and on the edge.
The storytelling is excellent and I liked the world building and how the plot flow.
Hunted is the grand finale, the switches between timeline but kept me hooked and inhaling this story as I wanted to know what was going to happen.
Action packed, full of twists and a firework of end that left me satisfied.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and hope there will be other stories set in this universe.
I thank Second Sky for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Hunted Vampires of Marchwood Book 3 by Shalini Boland was such a fun page-turning dark fantasy romance story that held me hostage till the very end.
This has been such a fun and entertaining series.
Boland drew me in with a gorgeous cover and kept me captivated with a stellar plot.
I was not disappointed in the overall execution of this story.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Second Sky for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

the end of the trilogy and what a send off, it’s picks up the story again of maddison and the marchwood vampires but flits between 2 time periods which made me wonder where the story was going but it all comes together for a spellbinding ending. really enjoyed the series

There’s a new threat in the form of Nadia – a blue-eyed beauty who seems determined to do everything she can to break us apart. I trust Alexandre but I don’t trust her.

So many new twists in the third book to keep it fresh. The addition of the Nadia threat is amazing. As always the development of all the vampires and the character development of Madison and Ben made the finally seem fresh. How do you fight off the threat of the oldest vampires in history? With great strategy.

Thank you to @netgalley and @secondskybooks for giving me the opportunity to give my honest review of this book.

After reading the first two books in this trilogy I was definitely eager to see what happened to Maddie and the rather unusual family at Marchwood. Maddie and her brother Ben have inherited Marchwood House and also discovered they have a family they knew nothing about. This family are o100 years old and are vampires. The previous two books have been brilliant at introducing the characters and then showing their journey together. Now, in this final episode, lives are at stake.

Once again the author has created a wonderfully addictive story. The previous books have followed a split timeline and with each book, the historical sections have got older and gone further back into history and time. This is where we begin to see some of the threads wrapping up and also to see what twists and surprises the author has had in store for us readers. I will admit now, I did not envisage the ending how the author did, but it does work brilliantly.

The journey from being alone to being part of a family has been a wonderful one. It has been fraught with danger but at the same time, it has brought these two branches of the family closer. Along with the two families, there is also Alex he was turned at the same time as the older members and is an important person in Maddie's life.

Slipping back and forth between times is a great way of keeping up to date with present-day events, but also giving something more sinister that lurks from the past. I really enjoyed the way the author made the past events exciting and atmospheric with a sense of mistrust and an ancient being.

Even though this is a mix of horror and a fantasy book, the way it has been written is fabulous no matter what your age. There are some things in the books that reminded me of Twilight but this book also had a lot more uniqueness. There are several routes the author has gone down that make for riveting if at times quite a gory blood-fest. Among all this there is also a romantic element, this is one that has a good feel to it, while other is confusion and arguments there is also a sense of getting used to new situations and feelings. Of young adults finding their place and dealing with a whole array of challenges.

This final book had some great twists and it saw the series brought to its conclusion. It felt right and the author for me has finished it properly, by this I mean it does feel that their story is at an end. There is however a little opening that has been left, well you never know!

This has been a wonderful set of books and if you are a fan of horror, vampires, Young Adult stories, romance and vampires then you will enjoy this one. I am so glad I came across this series and I would definitely recommend this final book and the series as a whole.

This is the third, and final, book in an exciting YA teenage love/vampire series. A fitting finale for the story of Madison and Alex’s love and fight against the ancient vampires who just can’t leave them alone. With a surprising start, the action never lets up. Again there is an interesting switching back and forward from present day to historical past; this for me makes this series of books so entertaining - seeing how the story lines drip feed you content and seeing how the parts come together. Again you could read this as a stand-alone, but the three books in sequence gives you the whole story and are really fun fiction to read. Thank you to Second Sky publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Having read this trilogy in a few days I’m a bit sad that I’ve finished it.
Book 3 is my favourite out of all of them I think as it brings some closure to the lives of Madison and Alex.
In this book there is someone hunting the group of vampires as well the ancient vampires wanting them all dead.
When Alex becomes ill, Madison is really worried and they have to travel to Turkey to find Sofia to see if she can help.
Things are not what they seem though and soon all of their lives have changed.
This is a great book and I’d highly recommend the series.
Thanks to Second Sky and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a fitting conclusion to this series and I won’t ruin it but I was really pleased with the ending. This book brings a final battle between the family and their old foe in order to bring them finally some peace and safety. As they start to plan their next steps to defeat them even though it seems like a lost cause a mysterious woman turns up at the house needing help that turns everything they ever knew on its head. Really fitting end to the series.