Customer Reviews

Shadow of the Vampire

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Meagan Hatfield's paranormal romance Shadow of the Vampire, Alexia is on the cusp of taking over the vampire horde from her mother. She's powerful, but her mother's adviser and fiance is far from excited about Alexia taking over. He leads the search for a crystal that will give the vampires total power.

The vampire's enemies are the dragons who live high in the mountains. When dragon lord Declan is captured, Alexia is ordered to torture him for information on the crystal. Instead she falls in love. Something about him draws her to him over and over. He can't resist her either, even though he came to vampires to take revenge for his parents' deaths.

Hatfield writes vivid love scenes that keep readers rapt. Her attention to detail for all senses is notable and helps immerse the reader in the world she's created.

The strong cultures of both the vampires and dragons help paint an intriguing world for the characters of Shadow of the Vampire. One that, despite the book's flaws, I would be interested in seeing more of, with or without the same characters.

There were two things that held me back from truly enjoying Shadow of the Vampire. The first relates to characterization. We're given good background on the characters in the novel. This, of course, is a big plus. The problem comes in when some of their reactions don't ring true given said background. My real problem is that Alexia has been a victim of rape, yet early on reacts positively to the idea of being helpless during sex. Declan is sensitive to the idea and he's mindful of not being overbearing in that way, which fits with his character (and what readers want from him), but Alexia's reactions just don't fit. Later, sure, but from the get-go? No, I felt like Hatfield was just placating readers' enjoyment, mine included, of that type of interaction. The scene I'm referring to would have been great if I didn't already have this knowledge about our heroine's past.

Secondly, the book drags on a bit. Certain chapters, particularly toward the end of the novel, have prompt pacing but you had to work to get to them.

Shadow of the Vampire shows promise, strong characterization and Hatfield has the command of prose that can really grab readers, if you can get past the pacing issues.

This review was originally posted at [...]

Why three stars after all these glowing reviews? There were some things that simply weren't answered that should have been for the first book in a series. This book read like the third or fourth book in an already establish story verse the very first. Three because there was no back story on dragons/vampires.

Declan: um....he was okay. He could have been wall paper. There was nothing extraordinary about him. He just was. The norm. He cared for the heroine, lusted after her, was in a emotional upheaval, had to fight against the odds, showed great valor when it comes down to it and knows how to take a beating! hmm, i think that's the same guy in EVERY book. M(r)s. Hatfield didn't delve enough into his psych to make him a memorable character for me. The only thing different was his name....

Alexis: I found her to be very weak when she was the author was trying to portray her as damage but fierce. She fell flat. She never came off strong to me even when she should have been. Yes, the villain, pretty much took away her strength but if she is some powerful being why couldn't she fight off or at the very least keep things from happening to her???

Aside: The mother was also BEYOND weak despite being the QUEEN and having UNTOLD powers...wtf? What happened to her had me scratching my head trying to understand if Lotharus was RIGHT and women had no reason to be on the throne.....She, like her daughter, were mere muppets that Lotharus easily controlled desipte Alexis have seened through him.

Lotharus: the villain. He was truly bad to the bone. One of the best villain I ever read. I tip my hat off to the author for him. His cruelty knew no bounds and he simply didn't care. He had a plan and he went for it. He probably was crazed but he still thought everything out carefully and didnt act rash. I wish there had been MORE insight onto why he believed the things he did although....


Secondary characters: eh. There have been better but she did bring them enough into the book that you could see who where getting there own books and who could possibly be interested. It wasn't at all overwhelming as JR Ward likes to do her secondary character where they become the focus. In fact, I think she should have flesh them out MORE because I cant say any of them sounded the least interesting to want to read their books as they find love '_'

Sex: Good! No complaint there.

Romance/Love: I appreciate that they didn't proclaim their love asap and started saying ily after three seconds. But they did fall into their 'romance' (if you will) way too easily. It was odd since they hate what the other stand for and hate each other upon principle yet they are in an uncompromising position within their first meeting. There was no push/pull and they had faith in the other so their romance was good.

Fight: This is a DARK paranormal romance. People are get beat up and its graphic. It not a fade to black type of writing...so if reading about people being hurt/abuse this is not for you

Plot: Interesting! The world building she did was intriguing and that's really the ONLY reason I would buy her next book is to find out what happens next within the story that is picking up in the next one. She didn't fully explain WHY the vamps hate the dragons and vice versa. They just do...ok.... In every series of this type (i.e. vamps against were, vamps against a society trying to kill them) its clear why they are fighting each other and what either side is hoping to gain. Which is what this story lacks. She didnt do enough back story for me to hate the vampire or to believe dragons are the good ones. Also, what makes a dragon lord? Meaning how do you become one? Is it having pure blood? Why was Declan's mother able to become a dragon after drinking the dragon king's blood? How did he know that could happen?

An interesting read. I, for the most part, found myself more invested with the romance between Declan and Alexia above all else. They had a connection that sucked me into their world, and their initial interactions seduced me into wanting more.

As for most of the secondary characters, they fell a bit flat in the sense that they appeared slightly underdeveloped in the beginning. I understood the prejudices vamps and dragons had, but a lot of the dragons were just. I'm not sure. I never felt a need to learn more about them. I got tired of reading the scenes in their POV. In particular, I did not care for Tallon. She appeared intriguing in the initial stages of the book, but then her change--a change that I suppose is understandable due to the trauma her family has experienced thus far--made me dislike her. She came off as whiney and selfish at times, yet at the same time, she wasn't entirely. There was just something about her that was off....

Until around the last 50 pages in the book. It was at this point where something seemed to click in my head. Her anguish suddenly went from bratty and annoying to something I genuinely cared about. The descriptions Meagan used for the scene before Tallon goes to try and beat up her fellow dragon resonated within me. I think a lot of people can connect, on some level, with the anguish she was suffering from. THAT is what made her seem real to me, and that is what ultimately redeemed her in my eyes.

The action scenes tended to be a bit chaotic for my tastes--but fitting for the chaos that was occurring throughout story--and tended to drag on for a bit longer than necessary. Perhaps this is simply my preference speaking right now, but I'd rather it be short, sweet, and kick-ass, instead of slow, chaotic, and slightly confusing (from my perspective). I couldn't understand the motivation behind some of Alexia/Declan's decisions about halfway into the book when all hell breaks loose at the Horde's caves. It could just be that I was tired when I was reading this on my laptop, and maybe I would appreciate these scenes a bit more on paper... who knows.

Back to the romance: it was sweet. It was seductive. It had me giggling at times. I loved the scenes where Declan and Alexia meet, and then the one following in the dungeon, and then the one that concludes the story. The initial teaser successfully kept me hooked until the very end. Their relationship was bittersweet also. Suffice to say, I felt the connection between the two.

If you're into paranormal romances, if you like dragons, and if you like vampires, chances are, you will enjoy Shadow of the Vampire. Despite my initial reluctance, if this turns into a series, and if the next book is about Tallon (which I think it is), I would definitely be interested in checking it out.

Declan Black has become Lord of the Dragons now that his parents have been killed by the vampires. He and his sister, Tallon, head into the catacombs to retrieve what is rightfully theirs, the Crystal of the Draco. Just has Declan has it in his claws, he's captured, allowing his sister to escape.

Alexia Feodorovna is the daughter of the queen. If she could retrieve the Crystal of Draco, she'd earn the respect of the horde. There's something standing in her way--a sexy dragon named Declan. Trouble descends upon both as Alexia realizes there is an enemy and it's not a dragon. The enemy is a vampire set on changing the way the horde has been ruled.

At first, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about mixing dragons and vampires, but Meagan Hatfield pulled it off in style. The story begins with an action scene and things quickly heat up between Declan and Alexia. Unfortunately the action doesn't stay at an intense level and lags in places, causing me to put the book down several times before finishing it. By the time I was three-quarters of the way in, I pretty much knew how it'd end.

Would I recommend this book? Sure. The parts that were good, were really, really, good. For me, the sizzle well made up for the lag and predictability. There were enough questions at the end to make me want to read the next book in this series.

Originally posted at: [...]

This was a paranormal twist on Romeo and Juliet, where a vampire and a dragon-shifter fall in love, even though their clans are in a war that has spanned centuries. Theirs is a destiny that neither could ever imagine. Can a vampire and dragon help their worlds merge together or will fate deal them a cruel hand?

Alexia, the vampire princess - destined to become queen of the horde, is a hard as nails, leather clad vampire vixen, and torturer extraordinaire. She never even realized that true love could exist until she met bronze-skinned, blue-eyed, dragon lord - Declan. Declan is caught by the temptress Alexia, and cannot believe that such a tiny vamp could be the one to finally chain him down in more ways than one. The first time that Alexia and Declan truly meet - she cannot believe that she could react so strongly to his sculpted and muscular body, when all she is ever used to seeing is the pale, sickly thin vampires surrounding her. As the first few scenes between the two lovers are revealed, their longing for each other and their frustrations of being from opposite sides of the war are evident and make you want to cheer for them to make it through this challenge.

The actual plot is quite intriguing as it reveals that there is a secret crystal that could change everything for good or bad. There are snippets of the history between the two clans throughout the novel, shown in memories and old writings that are discovered. It's just a matter of who will find and use the crystal first - for good or evil?

Meagan Hatfield has created the perfect villain in Lotharus, such a sneaky, vile and creepy thing that makes you cringe in every scene he has. Ms. Hatfield has also created some interesting supporting characters, Tallon, Griffon, and others, that seem to blossom in the last 50 pages of the novel, thus opening the story up to a sequel.

In the end, the sarcastic humour between characters, the super steamy scenes between our hero and heroine, and the perfection of the creepiest villain ever are the things that make up this tale of love, loss, and hope for the future.

I have read so many paranormal books that I can't find anymore space for them in my home. Why I decided to try a new author when I follow a dozen established ones I'll never know. Something about the story intrigued me. But the story never lived up to my expectations. The vampire/dragon saga did nothing for me. There was no background on the problems between these groups and no insight into the main character. Everything seemed too superficial and in the end I just didn't care. Perhaps I have too many characters in my head to make room for new ones, but I really think this author fails to make her stories and her characters believable. If you haven't read too many paranormals, give this author a try. Maybe I'm just missing something that the other reviewers found that would have made this story a worthwhile read.

4.5 Meagan Hatfield writes a steamy novel! By page 25 things were heating up in the steamy department. While I really enjoyed the spark between Alexia and Declan, I was a tiny bit confused about what was going on sometimes. However, by the time I finished the book a lot of the issues I was confused about were explained and the book ended with me feeling much more informed on the politics of the whole Vampire/Dragon shifter's past. I think I would have loved this book if there had been a little more about what had been going on with these two very different clans. I felt that we really got to know and care about the Dragon shifters and I was very much in love with them and rooting for everything to work out in their favor. The vampire's that we were introduced to were mostly soldiers or insane, power hungry, evil vampires. Maybe that is why I was rooting for the dragon shifters! I am keeping my fingers crossed for another novel, because there was definitely another story line brewing toward the end of Shadow of the Vampire. Whoa~ I just saw that a novella called Dragon Warrior was released that actually gave background information to Shadow of the Vampire. Oh! if only I had known about this novella. My advice is READ Shadow of the Vampire but I'm thinking maybe you should read Dragon Warrior first, I'll be reading it to see if I think that I would have been a little less confused which would have made my experience top notch.

I thought this book was engaging, sexy and fun to read. I can't wait for the next book.

In this amazing new novel by Meagan Hatfield, you will be swept up in the immediate action, intrigued by the mysterious events, and mesmerized by the dynamic characters and the tragedies and triumphs that surround them, that make up Shadow of the Vampire.

~Summary Included~

War between clans was growing more fierce, claiming too many lives. Desperate to change the course of events, a dragon King, one of the last of his kind, makes a bold and costly decision. He sets out to seek revenge on his enemies, the vampires, for the deaths of his parents, and to capture a powerful crystal in their possession, said through ancient prophecy, that it had the ability to change the fates of his people.

Declan Black was determined not to see the remaining dragons, who looked to him as their new leader, be decimated in numbers until they eventually would cease to exist at all. But, little did he know that the daughter of the vampire Queen, Alexia, had too much at stake to simply allow Declan to walk in and take the valuable crystal out from underneath her nose. Unfortunately for Declan, he quickly finds himself in the hold of the enemy.

During the time of Declan's capture, a series of unplanned events take place that, much to his dismay, end up tying him to his sexy, blond captor. And Declan is not the only one who senses that his time in captivity has unleashed a turn in emotions and loyalty. Alexia, the sole heir to her mother's thrown, is tragically alone in the caves of her royal palace, without the necessary support, love, and guidance she desperately needs and seeks. With the surprising help of her new prisoner, Alexia is slowly awakened to reality that maybe not is all as it seems in her own kingdom, as well as the taught hate towards her enemy, and may have to lean on Declan for more than support.

Caught in the feud between clans, the demands of their positions, and the forbidden lust and love that develops between the two, bot Alexia and Declan are forced to make tough decisions that may have irreversible consequences for both them and their people.

Our hero and heroine both portray strong characteristics of those from two different clans with different perspectives. The tragic events (including physical and emotional abuse) and loneliness that surround Alexia, has you gaining more and more sympathy for her as you get to know her. But, not so much that you think her weak. In fact, I found her to be a survivor who wants to be the best leader for her people, and who grows stronger and more confident as the tale unfolds while still maintaining a sense of vulnerability. Declan, too, changes his opinions and personal characteristics throughout the story. Neither character is the same person that he, or she, started out the story as. I also truly enjoyed the way their growing desire and need for one another was written. It never felt rushed, but rather consuming with the high amounts of sexual tension.

The conflict is very strong in this story. Not only between the initial reactions of the hero and heroine's feelings towards one another and their forbidden love, but also the conflict between the protagonists and the antagonists. The antagonist -- specifically Lotharus, the vampire Queen's future husband, is definitely portrayed as an a villain! He's a vicious, power hungry male, who believes woman to be inferior. His cruel domination over Alexia will have you wanting to see to his demise immediately.

The secondary characters are just as strong. In fact, Hatfield includes some great additional characters with the perfect set-ups to see carried on in a series. I have my heart set on one character in particular -- Griffon! *mmm*

The style of writing in which Hatfield uses creates a great fast-paced action, with a believable plot that stays true to course, and subtle imagery that allows you to 'play out' the picture in your mind. I never felt like something was dragging on longer than necessary, and if the characters did stay in one place, we were only rewarded with new information. The only problem that I had was the ability for myself to come up a clear picture of the physical geographic setting. For example, it was mentioned that the vampires "inhabited the ground beneath the earth", but a couple of times I found myself questioning how some of the characteristics associated with their niche could be possible. But, I can't give examples for the sake of not including any spoilers. I also had a hard time with placing my own background knowledge to what the setting should ultimately entail --for example what types of trees, or what mountain system did their caves inhabit-- because I was unsure where it was taking place. Declan once said that Alexia had a hint of a Russian accent which lead me to thinking Russia?

With all the twists and turns in the plot and sub-plots, you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat right from the beginning. The steamy sexual tension that continues to build will leave you begging and pleading for closure as much as the two main characters do! And when it is finally rectified, you will not be disappointed!

This is definitely an adult category book based on the physical violence (including rape that is implied) and for sexual content.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a fantastic, action packed, highly engaging, dark paranormal romance! You will be pleasantly pleased -- and sated-- and sending out letters or requests, and crossing your fingers for Hatfield to turn this in to what could be a great series!

I just got this book and I have to say it is sooo good.I had never read this author but the book looked good and story sounded good. I was going to put it in my ( to be read pile ) but I got home and was looked at it and the pages and just started it and I could not put it down!!!!!!I read it in one day lol!! a day no housework got done.and I was up all night but it was worth it I hope to see more from this author and would love to see more from the dragons like Hawk,Falcon,Kestrel,Griffon or Tallon (Declan sister)I can't wait!!!!!!! you should get this book it was wonderful...O and I forgot the love or sex in the book was great !!! not to much but just the right amount.