
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Awakened (Vampire Awakenings #1) in Books
Sep 13, 2018
Awakened is the first book from the Vampire Awakening Series and it is written by USA Today bestselling author Brenda K. Davies. This is a book where a guy meets a girl. Girl has a secret and tells it on their first date. Boy is a vampire, but we are 80% in the book until it’s mentioned (even though title clearly states it, and you keep expecting it to happen). When secret is told - boy gives girl a choice to escape. Girls chooses to stay, and boy becomes possessive because he wants her too much. Then he does something to her, kind of against her will. And then they live happily ever after.
If I was a few years younger, I would have loved this book, probably because I wouldn’t have noticed all the glitches in it. But right here, right now - I didn’t enjoy it as much I wanted too.
Strong, sexual language and sex scenes can be found throughout the book. This was a book from my sister Tea’s Wishlist Challenge - and I was embarrassed to tell her I am reading this book - because I knew what kind of scenes she has read…
Apart from that - the characters were unrealistic. And unlikable. I liked their friends and their enemies more than I liked the main characters.
Sera - a girl that doesn’t talk to men, and has her own opinion on things, suddenly meets this guy, and he becomes possessive of her, and her character development stops right here. She keeps nodding at him, and obeys his every command. Not much of a heroine, is she?
Liam - a guy that is actually a vampire, but doesn’t tell Sera until things get really serious. He lies to her, is possessive, wants to kill everyone that touches her, and loves her and wants her so much that he has to turn her into a vampire, otherwise he’ll kill her. Really?
Now, if we take the fact that this is a vampire book - firstly, we don’t get to read about vampires until the book is almost finished. And when we do, it is unfinished, and barely even described. I don’t know anything about the way they become vampires, how they survive in the world, how they feed, how they die, but apparently, they can have children, so I guess the author covered everything. Oh, and, also - vampires can walk into the sun, but the more they kill, the more the sun hurts them. So believable - and FAIR.
The only thing that I liked was the ending - the point about how children are possible seemed to have worked out well. Not believable, but it was nice to see that as a theory. And it was also a great layout for the next story to come - which I will be reading, just to see if this writing will improve.
What is your favorite vampire book?

Darren (1599 KP) rated Redwood (2017) in Movies
Dec 1, 2019
Story: Redwood starts as a couple Josh (Beckingham) and Beth (Nardone) head away for a hiking trip to get back to nature before Josh start his treatment for leukaemia, the pair meet ranger Steve (Khan) who warns them to stay on the path and the two set off on their adventure.
The couple see a chance at a shortcut up the mountain, which sees them go off the trail where they run into bloodthirsty vampires forcing them to battle to survive.
Thoughts on Redwood
Characters – Josh is a workaholic that has just discovered he has leukaemia, which sees him want to do more open to nature, which sees this hiking trip come about, he is dealing with everything well believing everything is under control and he suggests the shortcut off the trail. Beth is the supportive girlfriend that is getting scared about what is happening to Josh, wanting to get the most out of their time in case the treatment doesn’t work. Vincent and Steve are both rangers that are met on the way up the mountain, both have the same warning about staying on the trail.
Performances – Mike Beckingham and Tatjana Nardone both are solid enough through the film, we get the ideas of how their relationship is facing a new problem, with how they are both trying to stay strong. Anybody we meet is simply a cameo like performance.
Story – The story here follows a couple that head off on a hiking trip on a mountain range only to head off the trail and find themselves facing off against vampires. This is a typical type of story which follows a couple making the mistake of going of the trail, there really isn’t much more to the story, we do have the relationship strain between a couple when one could become terminally ill. Once we get to the vampire side of the story, we just don’t get very much going on because by the time we get to the vampire side of the story, it is just running without doing much. We don’t get much out of this story by the end.
Horror – The horror in the film does feel weak because we have a couple of moments which is mostly just running, with the emotional drama seeming to take centre stage.
Settings – The film is set in a mountain range which shows us just how far the couple have gone to get back to nature, it could have mystery about it.
Special Effects – The effects are simple when it comes to the vampire creations, we don’t need too many effects either.
Scene of the Movie – Getting to the top.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too much talking.
Final Thoughts – This is a poor vampire movie that tries to do something bigger, but ends up dragging along way too long.
Overall: Forgettable Vampire Movie.

The Ostin Rebel (Isle of Ostin #4)
Book
Everest Ostin thought being a royal vampire was amazing when he was younger. As he aged, he...
MM Paranormal Romance

Merissa (12911 KP) rated A Vampire's Tale in Books
Dec 17, 2018
Corgan wants to tell his story so that he can 'face the sun'. He's lived a long time and has had enough. Marisa is only 23-years-old and is scraping by on her living as a fiction writer. These two come together, but love and war make an appearance too, and Corgan hasn't been telling Marisa the whole truth.
This book was well written, although I found it to be a bit disjointed at times. There are quite a few scenes where Marisa is monologuing, or describing her dreams, some of which seemed to have no bearing upon the story except to emphasise that she had strange dreams! It moves with a swift pace, and situations are sometimes upon you before you realise it.
It is a different take on the vampire/virgin story, so I would recommend it for anyone wanting something that differs from the norm.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, #1) in Books
Apr 13, 2020
Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker–and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.
Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred-year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately, he expects her gratitude–and servitude.
But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war–and there will be blood.
This is a reread for me and can't remember if I reviewed the first time. Possibly not as I didn't tend to back then! I have had Merit withdrawals I absolutely love this series it's one of my favourites. I forgot how much of an ass Ethan was at the beginning! Love to see the early sparring between them!!
If your a first time reader to this series buckle up it one heck of a ride!!

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock #1) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
This starts with Jane going to New Orleans to meet a vampire client who asks her to take down a rogue vampire that has been killing and eating people and just leaving what's left of them in the street. It's the first time Jane has ever met a sane vampire and she's not sure what to make of her at first and meets a mix of characters as she hunts down the rogue killer.
I did like this but as a reader of romances, I did feel this lacked it a lot. There's some flirting going on but nothing concrete. That's not to say I didn't get dragged into the story. I was as intrigued with finding out who the rogue was and how they were managing to get away all the time.
Jane was a strong character and I enjoyed seeing inside her mind and how she dealt with Beast when she turned into her cat form.
We had a handful of secondary characters like Rick, Jodi, Leo and Bruiser - George - that I grew to like and I'm intrigued how Jane's relationship with them will grow in future books.
I'm intrigued enough to continue the series at some point.

Let Me In
Ebba Segerberg and John Ajvide Lindqvist
Book
English version translated by Ebba Segerberg. Let Me In Takes Top Honors at Tribeca Film Festival...
Vampire Sweden Let the right one in

Digging Up the Dead (The Gravedigger #3)
Book
“Reapers, vampires, and… zombies?” I wasn’t sure just how much more emotional upheaval I...

Vamp on the Batwalk
Tabletop Game
As an immortal vampire, you wouldn’t be caught dead in last Millennia’s attire. But how do you...

Mongrel
Book
Mongrel, a creature more wolf than man, leads a lonely life on the fringes of pack society—until...
Paranormal Historical MM
Leah (: (569 KP) Sep 13, 2018
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) Sep 13, 2018