Embraced by the Shadows [Kindle Edition]

Mayra Calvani (Author)

Book Description

Alana is surprised when she is chosen to manage a new restaurant opening in her home city of San Juan. She has neither training nor experience to justify her success. But La Cueva del Vampiro has the kind of ambience she adores, for Alana has always had a penchant for horror and the dark side of life. Yet she is also plagued with dreams of dark sensuality, dreams that take on shattering reality when she meets the stunningly handsome, charismatic Sadash.

"Mysterious, intriguing and somewhat unsettling at times, this novel is a must for all vampire reading fans. A rich, twisting plot and a surprising ending awaits you."
The Midwest Book Review

"...a superbly written, deftly balanced story of love and death and twisted loyalties that will keep you enthralled from beginning to end. More importantly, it will make you think and perhaps take a closer look at the shadowed corners of your own psyche."
The Blue Iris Journal

"...This is a must read for all fans of vampire romance novels."
Murder & Mayhem Book Club

Product Details

• File Size: 515 KB
• Print Length: 238 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Twilight Times Books; 2011 Revised edition (October 5, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005T4DPCM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,392 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Book Review May 15, 2012

By Mely

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Alana Piovanetti was 10 years old when, at a family vacation in Istanbul, she saw a man with fangs in his mouth. Since that day Alana has been having the strangest of dreams, all surrounding creatures of the night taking her into wild rides. Fast-Forward twelve years and Alana is a recent college grad looking for a job, just like any other person in her beloved Puerto Rico. Landing the job as manager of La Cueva del Vampiro, (a hip, new vampire-themed restaurant/nightclub in San Juan) turns Alana's dreams into nightmares; but when she meets a mysterious man named Sadash those nightmares turn into reality. Now Alana must face the ultimate decision between logic and love; one brings the safety and comfort of loved ones, the other brings unstoppable death.

The main reason I picked this book was because of its setting, being a Puerto Rican that have lived my entire life here on the Island I was beyond happy to see a story take place within my well known roads and I just love it. I am very visual and I have little problems imagining the places that authors describe in their tales, however there is such a great feeling to read about the cobblestone streets with its sometimes extremely steep inclines of Old San Juan and know that I have walked them up and down many times myself.

Word of advice to the female population, if you ever come here and visit Old San Juan leave you spiked heels at the hotel or whichever place you are staying. If you want high heeled shoes, opt for some pretty wedges or at least have a pair of those convenient bendable ballerina flats that you can keep in your purse; trust me on this, by night's end you'll want to throw them to the ocean.

Now, I already said that I loved the setting, I just wish there was a bit more of it.... The story takes place primarily in San Juan and just a bit in El Yunke. What I wasn't too happy about was the main character, Alana; yet I have to say that for the story her character works.

Alana is a 21-year-old woman who's always felt like she doesn't quite belongs anywhere, even though she is surrounded by people that love her. Among this Small group of people are Alana's best friends Valerie, Humberto and her uncle (her only remaining blood relative). Alana's personality is very gloomy, cold and distant, yet shy and introverted and sometimes impulsive. Something that irked me was that she enjoyed hurting Valerie's feelings, even though she loves her and considers her to be her twin soul. The bottom line is that Alana behaves like a teenager throughout most of the book without the excuse of being one as a buffer.

In books, specially-but not exclusively-in Paranormal Romance (PNR), you find that for every female lead there is an equally strong male lead with whom the female lead finds her Happily Ever After (HEA), vice-versa or whichever couple combination is your favorite read; Calvani's tale is no exception to this norm. In comes Sadash, the mysterious man that has recently made its way into Alana's life, who turns out to be a couple-of-hundred-year-old master vampire. Now, be aware the Calvani's vampires are not the typical sexed up characters that can make the most puritanical of women reach her all time high with a couple of well-placed kisses, oh no! In fact, Calvani's vamps are completely impotent-they are dead after all-yet they have beating hearts:

"He walked toward her table feeling quite breathless, keenly aware of the relentless beat of his heart, throbbing steadily in his chest." - Sadash; [Calvani, Mayra (2011-10-05). Embraced by the Shadows (Kindle Locations 1360-1361). Twilight Times Books. Kindle Edition.]
That twist thrown in by Calvani was very unexpected but amusing nonetheless; Alana's reaction to this bit of news made me smile. Still, that twist is not the only one, the whole feeding for the vampires and its co-relation with intimacy was a completely new concept (at least for me) and I found it very fascinating.

Back to Sadash, I cannot say much about him without giving away major plot points; I will say this, his attitude for more than half the book resembled that of a stalker, which I didn't like at all, but by the time the book turned around he had grown on me a little.

Over all I am conflicted with this story, there were some aspects of it that drove me mad as I was reading it; including the pace which was a little slow at times and it made it drag a bit, which in turn made me put the book down more than once. However at some point after I was around 65%-70% into the story it picked up really well and I was hooked one more time. The moody characters work within the setting they've been placed, i guess they just weren't my style of characters. Read more ›

3.0 out of 5 stars TWO STORIES IN ONE November 9, 2011

By Dark Haven Maven "Dark Haven Book Reviews"

Format:Kindle Edition

3 1/2 STARS

As a child of 12, while on vacation with her mother in Turkey, Alana Piovanetti is mesmerized by an oil painting of fallen angels. A man in the shadows reminds of her of the angels on the canvas or did she just imagine his face? Sadash an ancient vampire, turned during the time of the Ottoman Empire, is enraptured by the child. A child he follows through the years.

Nearly 10 years later Alana has graduated from college and returned to her island home of Puerto Rico to live with her childhood friend Valeria Acosta. It's a rekindling of a friendship and a new beginning for both girls. Though Valeria has a good job and is settled in her life, Alana is struggling to find her place in the world until an ad in the paper catches her eye. A new night club, the La Cueva del Vampiro, is about to open and is advertising for a manager. Throughout her life Alana has been drawn to darkness and the occult. She feels the job is made for her. Alana applies for the position, despite the fact she has no restaurant experience, and is hired. During the opening night festivities Alana is surprised by a face in the crowd. It's the face of the man who lingered in the shadows that day in Istanbul. The face reminiscent of the fallen angels in the painting she had wanted so desperately.

Embraced by Shadows is not your usual vampire tale. This is a dark fantasy with elements of romance and mystery but without the sexuality or eroticism prominent in many of the vampire genre written today. This is not a vampire who can walk in the sun or have sex with abandon until exhaustion of his partner. This is vampire whose sole nourishment is blood and sex is an impossibility and an enjoyment of life not missed. The blood is everything....

What I liked initially in the story was the relationship between Valeria and Alana. They were childhood friends, supportive of each other through their years in school, then through the death of Alana's mother; and now as they begin their working lives and relationships.

What I didn't like about the story was the character of Sadash. He is not a likeable character. SPOILER ALERT He was drawn to a child that years later, he admits reminded him of his dead daughter. Yet despite that initial reaction to Alana, he follows her through the years and seduces her. Her dreams of a vampire, and midnight flights are steeped in a reality blurred by the vampire's power. She doesn't have a chance and too soon her life as she's known it is over. From this point on, Embraced by Shadows takes an unexpected turn and the heart of the story becomes how Alana's mother really died.

I would have enjoyed this story a lot of more if the author wove these two story lines into a synchronistic plot, weaving the stories together to a simultaneous conclusion; or at least as close as possible. Instead, two story streams are awkwardly pulled together by two characters -- Valeria and Alana and the transition is blunt from one to the other.

Overall, I found enough to like in Embraced by Shadows that I would read another work from Ms. Calvani based on the uniqueness of this story. Read more ›

4.0 out of 5 stars A book worth buying November 2, 2011

By tanya contois

Format:Kindle Edition

Embraced by Shadows by Mayra Calvani has a good storyline and characters that are very relatable because each one has their own flaws. I loved the author's choice of setting because I haven't read many books that take place in Puerto Rico. The character of Sadash was too similar to another vampire from a popular book series in some ways. I did really like how Mayra Calvani made Sadash - and other vampires nearly impossible to kill.That's how I pictured vampires to be.They're immortal so there shouldn't be much that can kill them. The characters each had their own backstory and author Mayra Calvani made sure to include that in the story so that the readers can get to know each character.

5.0 out of 5 stars Shadow Embrace October 27, 2011

By Tiny_Reverse_Vampire

Format:Paperback

* Received for review

First of all a definite 5 out of 5 tiara wearing bats for this little story.

Do you ever feel a presence watching you from behind, following you and protecting you. Could it be that you have a Guardian Angel? No that's just your vampire stalker. This book draws you in and then keeps giving you reasons to read more and more.

I like that the mortal who bonds with a vampire starts to gain little traits that allude to it (i.e. eating nearly raw steaks, unstoppable urge to watch the bloodiest movies and shows to see the gore, and licking raw liver leavings.)

It is interesting how things lead into each other in this book. It ties everything together really nicely even with a couple of sub plots all going on at the same time. Oh and the mystery with her mom's death is done very well, I didn't even have a clue until the reveal.

I want the clubs and restaurants from that world to exist. If Fangs was located around here I would definitely be a regular. And that serpent necklace would so have to be mine it sounds so pretty.

This is a wonderful read that will keep you wondering and really draw you into the story. I liked the unique view of vampire society.

More About the Author

Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. She's co-author of The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, a ForeWord Best Book of the Year Award Winner and a 2011 Global eBooks Award Winner. She's had over 500 stories, articles, interviews and reviews published both online and in print, in publications such as The Writer, Writer's Journal, Acentos Review, Bloomsbury Review, Mosaic, and Multicultural Review, among many others.

A reviewer for more than a decade, she now offers numerous book reviewing workshops online. She also offers workshops on the art of picture book writing. She's represented by Mansion Street Literary and Savvy Literary. She lives in Belgium with her husband of 25 years, 2 wonderful kids, and her two beloved pets.

Visit her website at www.MayraCalvani.com. For her children's books, visit www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com.

Favorite writing quotes:

"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." ~Ray Bradbury

"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand." ~George Orwell, "Why I Write," 1947