Shadow of the Vampire by Meagan Hatfield

Even vampires should never sleep with the enemy.

Vampire princess Alexia Feodorovna has been undead for 125 years, so it's been a while since any man has made her pulse race. Until Declan Black. One look at his bronzed body and a fire like no other consumes her. Then she discovers that he's a dragon lord come to take revenge on the vamps who killed his parents. And claim a crystal said to imbue its owner with incredible powers.


Alexia is ordered to torture and kill the dragon lord. Yet with each reckless encounter, she finds herself consumed by his fiery passion. A passion Declan battles, as well. Will he be able to resist the fire of lust she kindles within him and keep revenge in his heart? Or will he risk everything to quench the burning desire and claim the vampire as his own?

Obtained: Netgalley
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series:
1. Shadow of the Vampire

My Rating:

My Opinion:
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.

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• Paperback - 368 pages
• Price: $7.99
• ISBN-10: 0373775008
• ISBN-13: 978-0373775002
• Released: July 1, 2010
• Meagan Hatfield's Website
• Buy it at Amazon.com