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The Vampire Gift #1
Wards of Night
Book Description:
When 17-year old Eleira wakes up in a strange, unfamiliar room high above the redwoods of California, she has no idea what's waiting for her in the dark.
A trio of hauntingly beautiful vampires with a taste for her blood...
An ancient sanctuary locked away in time...
And a wicked queen determined to do anything to hold on to her rule.
Caught between three vampire brothers and coveted for her bloodline, Eleira is swept into a world of supernatural magic where nothing is as it seems and betrayal lurks behind every corner. She must fight for her survival or risk being made prey for the very creatures who keep her there. But when she discovers a dark, twisted prophecy with her at its center, she is pulled deep into the heart of The Haven... and realizes that the vampires she seeks to escape might just be the key to her salvation.
About the Deluxe Edition:
This is the new, updated, 2020 deluxe edition of The Vampire Gift 1: Wards of Night.
The entire book has been reworked from top to bottom. Scenes have been added, backstories expanded upon, edits made, new character perspectives put in, and more! There's almost 20,000 words of brand new material, so even existing readers of the series will find something fresh and exciting here.
(For comparison's sake, the original version was 58,000 words. This one is nearly 80,000.)
There's also a brand new map of The Haven included at the very start.
Why the update? Well, I wanted to give the series a richer beginning than I had originally had. The remaining books in the series are all deeper and more complex, and each of them is at least 90,000 words... so, I wanted a beginning to match that.
Right now, there are nine books in the series. The tenth one will be released March 2020.
When 17-year old Eleira wakes up in a strange, unfamiliar room high above the redwoods of California, she has no idea what's waiting for her in the dark.
A trio of hauntingly beautiful vampires with a taste for her blood...
An ancient sanctuary locked away in time...
And a wicked queen determined to do anything to hold on to her rule.
Caught between three vampire brothers and coveted for her bloodline, Eleira is swept into a world of supernatural magic where nothing is as it seems and betrayal lurks behind every corner. She must fight for her survival or risk being made prey for the very creatures who keep her there. But when she discovers a dark, twisted prophecy with her at its center, she is pulled deep into the heart of The Haven... and realizes that the vampires she seeks to escape might just be the key to her salvation.
About the Deluxe Edition:
This is the new, updated, 2020 deluxe edition of The Vampire Gift 1: Wards of Night.
The entire book has been reworked from top to bottom. Scenes have been added, backstories expanded upon, edits made, new character perspectives put in, and more! There's almost 20,000 words of brand new material, so even existing readers of the series will find something fresh and exciting here.
(For comparison's sake, the original version was 58,000 words. This one is nearly 80,000.)
There's also a brand new map of The Haven included at the very start.
Why the update? Well, I wanted to give the series a richer beginning than I had originally had. The remaining books in the series are all deeper and more complex, and each of them is at least 90,000 words... so, I wanted a beginning to match that.
Right now, there are nine books in the series. The tenth one will be released March 2020.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 8, 2020
3900 people are currently reading
1557 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews
August 4, 2016
I got this one as a freebie through audible, and man am I glad I didn't pay for it.
Special teenage girl with special name and special abilities she didn't know she had. 500+ yr-old vampire finds himself drooling over special girl, practically tripping over himself in adoration.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good trope every now and again, but trust me. You can find these tropes written better elsewhere.
With this book you'll get the following:
1) A complete lack of character development. Note: telling the reader your characters have changed by the end doesn't count.
2) A passive, often telly writing style. Don't tell me special girl is brave when she hasn't done anything others haven't done before her.
3) Choppy, disjointed story progression. At one point, The POVs even felt like they were tossed in out of order.
4) A reveal towards the end that falls short. The reveal was probably meant to justify said vamp's obsession with special girl, but it just came out of nowhere. And not in that awesome I-totally-didn't-see-that-coming kind of way. It was in that shit-isn't-adding-up kind of way. He's a POV character, so it should not have been the first mention of such a connection.
I just couldn't connect with the characters or the story. I'm offering an extra star only because I found the James/Victoria drama interesting. Their motives, at least, felt believable and realistic for their circumstances. But then, special girl has to go and automatically label them both evil.
Will I continue with the series?
Special teenage girl with special name and special abilities she didn't know she had. 500+ yr-old vampire finds himself drooling over special girl, practically tripping over himself in adoration.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good trope every now and again, but trust me. You can find these tropes written better elsewhere.
With this book you'll get the following:
1) A complete lack of character development. Note: telling the reader your characters have changed by the end doesn't count.
2) A passive, often telly writing style. Don't tell me special girl is brave when she hasn't done anything others haven't done before her.
3) Choppy, disjointed story progression. At one point, The POVs even felt like they were tossed in out of order.
4) A reveal towards the end that falls short. The reveal was probably meant to justify said vamp's obsession with special girl, but it just came out of nowhere. And not in that awesome I-totally-didn't-see-that-coming kind of way. It was in that shit-isn't-adding-up kind of way. He's a POV character, so it should not have been the first mention of such a connection.
I just couldn't connect with the characters or the story. I'm offering an extra star only because I found the James/Victoria drama interesting. Their motives, at least, felt believable and realistic for their circumstances. But then, special girl has to go and automatically label them both evil.
Will I continue with the series?
July 18, 2016
I tried the sample and liked it so I spent the 99 cents and downloaded the rest of the book. I ended up finishing the book in a couple of hours which I hate. I don't understand why books are so short these days but that's a whole different subject. Once done I thought long and hard about if I would review this book. I normally only review a few books here and there and never ever leave bad reviews. Some people are so mean in reviews it makes me feel bad for the author. But, I decided to go ahead and write the review. I'm of two minds about this book. While I didn't hate it, I don't love or even really like it. The writing was not bad at all even if it seemed a bit hurried. The story just didn't seem to unfold but rather felt jerky. But, it still wasn't bad until I reached the end. That just was bad. All of a sudden there's this huge twist that is completely unsupported. Almost as if someone decided the story needed one so there is one. It felt wrong and didn't make sense at all to me. Maybe if there was more background to it then it would have worked. I'm the type of reader that once I start a series I must finish them all and see it through to the end but I won't be reading any more of these and will be deleting the book from my Kindle account. I do hate it though. The book had such promise from the sample or else I wouldn't have purchased it. I am glad it was under a dollar, though.
January 17, 2019
Meh...too cheesy.
February 6, 2019
This book was super good
August 11, 2016
Look for another book.
This book was horrible. I'm absolutely blown away that a book written so poorly has such high reviews. The story begins with the main character E, waking up in captivity. She's in a glass dome, with a silver rope tying her to a hole in the ground. Her thoughts when she notices that she's tied up.."bizarre". Yup, This girl has just been kidnapped, her neck is jacked up and she's got a silver rope tying her to the center of the room and she thinks that it is bizarre, oh wait!? Maybe she's being pranked... This is definitely how sororities initiate these days... What?! Then she's attacked by one of her captures and the another comes in the room and all she can think about are his gorgeous eyes and how his long lashes make him look intense. Barf. This is the entire book, not only is everything cliched, but it's so stupid it's aggravating. Then there's Raul, the second oldest brother, who is falling for her and thinking of treason after only talking to the prisoner, E, three times, and constantly pushing her down or slamming her against walls. Mmkay must be love. Also, he's like 500-600 years old with the intellectual capacity of a 15 year old. There are huge plot holes, the writing is terrible, the ideas are over used. If you value your time, even a smidgen, skip this book and find another.
This book was horrible. I'm absolutely blown away that a book written so poorly has such high reviews. The story begins with the main character E, waking up in captivity. She's in a glass dome, with a silver rope tying her to a hole in the ground. Her thoughts when she notices that she's tied up.."bizarre". Yup, This girl has just been kidnapped, her neck is jacked up and she's got a silver rope tying her to the center of the room and she thinks that it is bizarre, oh wait!? Maybe she's being pranked... This is definitely how sororities initiate these days... What?! Then she's attacked by one of her captures and the another comes in the room and all she can think about are his gorgeous eyes and how his long lashes make him look intense. Barf. This is the entire book, not only is everything cliched, but it's so stupid it's aggravating. Then there's Raul, the second oldest brother, who is falling for her and thinking of treason after only talking to the prisoner, E, three times, and constantly pushing her down or slamming her against walls. Mmkay must be love. Also, he's like 500-600 years old with the intellectual capacity of a 15 year old. There are huge plot holes, the writing is terrible, the ideas are over used. If you value your time, even a smidgen, skip this book and find another.
January 7, 2017
Not Bad For the First Book
The beginning is a little slow but by the end I want to know what happens next. Not bad for a first book...
The beginning is a little slow but by the end I want to know what happens next. Not bad for a first book...
November 30, 2016
Good book. At first it started out hard to follow along as each chapter is written from the viewpoint of less than a handful of the main characters. As the book went on and you started learn who was who it started to all come together. Now I am looking forward to reading to reading book 2 which I have already purchased. Would definitely recommend but would just explain the above opinion and tell them to stick it out because it gets good!
January 11, 2018
The only reason I read this is because it's Kindle Unlimited, and later books in the series have more stars than this first book - which having now read book 2 I definitely agree with.
The principle character is, what we later find out, 17yo old and this does contribute to her pushing the envelope with what a more mature person would classify as outright stupidity. The characterizations are somewhat immature and unrealistic.
All up it's nothing short of amazing that I managed to complete this novel
The principle character is, what we later find out, 17yo old and this does contribute to her pushing the envelope with what a more mature person would classify as outright stupidity. The characterizations are somewhat immature and unrealistic.
All up it's nothing short of amazing that I managed to complete this novel
July 27, 2016
While I believe the story was good, it wasn't great and this is due to the character development in the book. Also I think it was too fast in the book showing a attraction between Raul and Eleira. I mean she was kidnapped and at the beginning of the book she is already feeling something for one of her captors. More character development could have made this story so much better.
January 9, 2017
The Vampire Gifts: Wards of Night Book 1
I enjoyed reading this book, it kept me enthralled and I couldn't put it down. I think Morgan is so funny, in how she talks to he son, while she is also scheming and always has an alternative motive. I loved the ending... can't wait to read the next book ;-)
I enjoyed reading this book, it kept me enthralled and I couldn't put it down. I think Morgan is so funny, in how she talks to he son, while she is also scheming and always has an alternative motive. I loved the ending... can't wait to read the next book ;-)
January 4, 2017
Couldn't put it down!!
Once I started I got so swept up in the characters and story I couldn't stop till I finished the whole book! I stayed up all night to read it. On to the second book!!
Once I started I got so swept up in the characters and story I couldn't stop till I finished the whole book! I stayed up all night to read it. On to the second book!!
October 10, 2016
I DNFed this book. I just could not get past how they treated humans. It was just too much for me. Maybe I will try again later but not for a while.
January 5, 2017
Wonderful!!!
Absolutely love this series. Chose this book in Prime reading and so glad that I did. Great characters and story line.Can't wait to read the next.
Absolutely love this series. Chose this book in Prime reading and so glad that I did. Great characters and story line.Can't wait to read the next.
January 29, 2017
Okay
Nothing amazing that made me not put the book down; however, there were a couple of good moments that made me want to keep reading.
Nothing amazing that made me not put the book down; however, there were a couple of good moments that made me want to keep reading.
March 16, 2017
The Vampir Gift
I recommend this book for any who want to read fantasy and romance. I loved this book. I would die to read as my own book
I recommend this book for any who want to read fantasy and romance. I loved this book. I would die to read as my own book
June 13, 2017
We know what to expect.
A young human, with an unusual name, is taken by vampires. They have a plan for her. She doesn't know the plan, but she gets that she's important. She has powers...unusual powers...and is actually more powerful than anyone knew.
There's deaths, vampires, wolves, some plotting, backstabbing aplenty -and a sense of something exciting just around the corner.
This sticks to the expected, but it does it reasonably well.
A young human, with an unusual name, is taken by vampires. They have a plan for her. She doesn't know the plan, but she gets that she's important. She has powers...unusual powers...and is actually more powerful than anyone knew.
There's deaths, vampires, wolves, some plotting, backstabbing aplenty -and a sense of something exciting just around the corner.
This sticks to the expected, but it does it reasonably well.
Read
November 17, 2017All I keep thinking while reading this book is, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!!!"
UGH! The queen needs to get EXACTLY what she's given.
Overall this book was very intriguing. Just as I thought that I had an idea of the characters' next move, it drastically changed.
{I had never read anything from this author before, but I have to admit that even though I am just getting into these types of books, I was NOT disappointed}
UGH! The queen needs to get EXACTLY what she's given.
Overall this book was very intriguing. Just as I thought that I had an idea of the characters' next move, it drastically changed.
{I had never read anything from this author before, but I have to admit that even though I am just getting into these types of books, I was NOT disappointed}
January 24, 2018
It was good
Reading the reviews prior to the book may have built it up more in my mind, but this was a good book. I just don’t know if I would say it is better than the Shade of a Vampire series or Twilight. Maybe if I hadn’t read them first. I probably will continue reading this series in the future and perhaps it will grow on me and make its way up to 5 star status. We shall see.
Reading the reviews prior to the book may have built it up more in my mind, but this was a good book. I just don’t know if I would say it is better than the Shade of a Vampire series or Twilight. Maybe if I hadn’t read them first. I probably will continue reading this series in the future and perhaps it will grow on me and make its way up to 5 star status. We shall see.
January 26, 2018
dnf at 46% this book just didn't hold my interest - or ever draw me in at all.
April 23, 2020
It's a good vampire flick. The book is addictive and easy to read.
May 9, 2018
HOHOHO I just saw that I had put two stars. NO NO NO mister, this book doesn’t even deserve one star. The plot was absolutely ridiculous, the characters were incredible in the sense that they are not credible at all. I mean what should I expect from a 99 cents book? However, of course these types of books are just entertaining to read because they are really bad and I keep ranting and reading at the same time.
December 4, 2016
♥♥♥♥
I read this book because one of the reviews I read about the book said that it was better than A Shade of Vampire Series. I will have to disagree.
I liked the book ok, but I did not connect to the characters like I connected with the characters of The Shade.
Eleira woke up in a room surrounded by glass. She had a huge bump on her neck. She could not remember what happened to her after she went to the library of her college. She called out but there was no one there to help her.
James, Raul, and Phillip were all brothers and they were also vampires. James is a sadistic man (who I did not like at all.) He is the one who found her and bit her. He injected a little bit of venom into her to turn her slowly. She was precious to their coven but she does not know that yet.
Raul is in love with her but he is keeping his distance because her blood tempts him too much and she is to be pure before the ceremony is to begin. He tried to keep her from this fate in life but something happened when she was younger and his mother found her. James is all about power and Raul and Phillip still have a some humanity in them. Phillip doesn't even drink human blood, he lives on animal blood.
Raul tries to find a way for her to prolong turning but he knows there is no such thing. James plays a dirty trick on him with the girl and he is so livid. You will have to read to find out what that is.
When Eleira sees Raul she is frightened but intrigued at the same time. She does not know why but he is a beautiful man. His eyes hold her interest even though he barely looks her in the eye. She does not know what that is about.
His mother is just as sadistic as James and the fact that she is a vampire witch giving her a lot of power. She does things that Raul does not agree with and him and James goes behind her back to try to help Eleira.
Bad stuff happens and he puts her in more danger than he even realizes.
Here is some questions to ask yourself while you are reading.
What happens to Eleira when Raul and Phillip try to help her?
What happens to Raul and Phillip?
What is James up to?
Is Raul able to save Eleira?
You will find answers to all of those questions as you are reading it.
Thank you for reading my review and I would love to hear from you.
Until Next Time: Happy Reading.
I read this book because one of the reviews I read about the book said that it was better than A Shade of Vampire Series. I will have to disagree.
I liked the book ok, but I did not connect to the characters like I connected with the characters of The Shade.
Eleira woke up in a room surrounded by glass. She had a huge bump on her neck. She could not remember what happened to her after she went to the library of her college. She called out but there was no one there to help her.
James, Raul, and Phillip were all brothers and they were also vampires. James is a sadistic man (who I did not like at all.) He is the one who found her and bit her. He injected a little bit of venom into her to turn her slowly. She was precious to their coven but she does not know that yet.
Raul is in love with her but he is keeping his distance because her blood tempts him too much and she is to be pure before the ceremony is to begin. He tried to keep her from this fate in life but something happened when she was younger and his mother found her. James is all about power and Raul and Phillip still have a some humanity in them. Phillip doesn't even drink human blood, he lives on animal blood.
Raul tries to find a way for her to prolong turning but he knows there is no such thing. James plays a dirty trick on him with the girl and he is so livid. You will have to read to find out what that is.
When Eleira sees Raul she is frightened but intrigued at the same time. She does not know why but he is a beautiful man. His eyes hold her interest even though he barely looks her in the eye. She does not know what that is about.
His mother is just as sadistic as James and the fact that she is a vampire witch giving her a lot of power. She does things that Raul does not agree with and him and James goes behind her back to try to help Eleira.
Bad stuff happens and he puts her in more danger than he even realizes.
Here is some questions to ask yourself while you are reading.
What happens to Eleira when Raul and Phillip try to help her?
What happens to Raul and Phillip?
What is James up to?
Is Raul able to save Eleira?
You will find answers to all of those questions as you are reading it.
Thank you for reading my review and I would love to hear from you.
Until Next Time: Happy Reading.
January 6, 2017
Good cerebral junk food...
The beginning is great, but further into the story there were some pretty far fetched events. I read this months ago. I am going to finish all of the series because I never desert a friend. Lol!
The beginning is great, but further into the story there were some pretty far fetched events. I read this months ago. I am going to finish all of the series because I never desert a friend. Lol!
June 1, 2016
Too similar to her Shade of a Vampire series
This isn't a horrible read. It isn't a fantastic read either. I don't think I would recommend the series based on this first book. I was hesitant after reading her Shade of a Vampire series (poorly written, waaaay too long of a series - I gave up).
This book has MANY similarities to the series I mentioned. From a hesitant heroine to the brooding vampire to the description of the location to the supporting characters. So much so that I knew exactly where the story was heading early into it. If you haven't read the other series this one would be interesting to read.
I do think her writing style has improved and it was an easy read. I don't think there was enough story development though. It would have been more interesting to develop the relationship more between Eleira and Raul instead of the typical "electricity when they touch" love that happens with barely any talking.
I will give the second book a try to see if it develops the story in an interesting direction. If not I will be done with this series.
This isn't a horrible read. It isn't a fantastic read either. I don't think I would recommend the series based on this first book. I was hesitant after reading her Shade of a Vampire series (poorly written, waaaay too long of a series - I gave up).
This book has MANY similarities to the series I mentioned. From a hesitant heroine to the brooding vampire to the description of the location to the supporting characters. So much so that I knew exactly where the story was heading early into it. If you haven't read the other series this one would be interesting to read.
I do think her writing style has improved and it was an easy read. I don't think there was enough story development though. It would have been more interesting to develop the relationship more between Eleira and Raul instead of the typical "electricity when they touch" love that happens with barely any talking.
I will give the second book a try to see if it develops the story in an interesting direction. If not I will be done with this series.
August 4, 2016
A bit clique and not really original
This book reads like a bad soap opera. It had potential, but ruined it through a lack of originality. The way the captured girl fell in love so quickly with the vampire was just daft. She hadn't even resigned herself to her fate yet, nor had the book really explained what was going on, before this happened. Almost immediately one of the vampire brothers was professing his love for her!
As such there was no character development and the story just didn't flow right. You couldn't emphasise with any of the characters. If the author had made the love develop a little more gradually and introduced the situation better, it would have been good. Instead it appears to be a poor copy of a very popular Amazon series.
This book reads like a bad soap opera. It had potential, but ruined it through a lack of originality. The way the captured girl fell in love so quickly with the vampire was just daft. She hadn't even resigned herself to her fate yet, nor had the book really explained what was going on, before this happened. Almost immediately one of the vampire brothers was professing his love for her!
As such there was no character development and the story just didn't flow right. You couldn't emphasise with any of the characters. If the author had made the love develop a little more gradually and introduced the situation better, it would have been good. Instead it appears to be a poor copy of a very popular Amazon series.
October 24, 2016
It gets better.
At first I felt the book was alright. It was originally going to rate barely a two or three. However, now that I finish I feel it was a lot better then I originally thought. I feel there was some hole in the writing style but this is just personally preference. I feel the flash back should feel more like flash backs and some times the flash backs were just sprung on you without any fore knowledge. The only way you could tell was because of the italics. The story was was decent. Yes it was kinda of slow and it just the you into without any build up. This first novel could have been a lot better but overall it was good.
At first I felt the book was alright. It was originally going to rate barely a two or three. However, now that I finish I feel it was a lot better then I originally thought. I feel there was some hole in the writing style but this is just personally preference. I feel the flash back should feel more like flash backs and some times the flash backs were just sprung on you without any fore knowledge. The only way you could tell was because of the italics. The story was was decent. Yes it was kinda of slow and it just the you into without any build up. This first novel could have been a lot better but overall it was good.
February 12, 2017
Twilight (James and Victoria evil vampires- come on!), the Legend of King Arthur, Vampire Diaries, Games of Thrones (even quoted!), Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire, and any other fad fiction piece wrapped into one. And NOT in a good way. I found this to be a mess! Taking a bunch of other people's ideas and warping them into this? Ick. Character development was seriously lacking, although I know Raul has flame-red hair if nothing else. I Hated the present tense narration and the first person POV for every character. It was honestly a headache. Free on Kindle Prime Reading and there is a reason.
May 11, 2016
It's not bad
The book was a decent read, there were a few errors I noticed in the first few chapters when it was Raul's POV and the brother being referee to was Phillip but it said Raul, I also found it a bit cliché how the main character so easily accepts what's happened to her like its no big deal people get kidnapped by vampires all the time to fulfill prophecy's. I rated it 3 stars because I honestly think the books middle of the road, I've read better, but I've also read worse
The book was a decent read, there were a few errors I noticed in the first few chapters when it was Raul's POV and the brother being referee to was Phillip but it said Raul, I also found it a bit cliché how the main character so easily accepts what's happened to her like its no big deal people get kidnapped by vampires all the time to fulfill prophecy's. I rated it 3 stars because I honestly think the books middle of the road, I've read better, but I've also read worse
August 1, 2016
While I do wish that there had been more context and background development earlier on in the story, it was a fast-paced and enjoyable read. Normally I think I would give the book 3 stars because of the lack of character development and questionable reasoning for the attraction of an old vampire to a teenage girl, but I found myself thinking about the book and wanting to get back to reading asap when I was otherwise occupied. I rate based on how much I had fun reading, and I certainly did have fun reading this book. Going to read the next one immediately.
June 4, 2016
Beginning of a great series
Loved the book. I couldn't put it down. It's the beginning of a great love story. Anxious for book #2. At the end of the story the heroine is coming into her own. She has the hero of the story by her side to help guide her. They still have a lot of dangerous obstacles to overcome. Both have a need to help human's live a better existence in the vampire world.
Loved the book. I couldn't put it down. It's the beginning of a great love story. Anxious for book #2. At the end of the story the heroine is coming into her own. She has the hero of the story by her side to help guide her. They still have a lot of dangerous obstacles to overcome. Both have a need to help human's live a better existence in the vampire world.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews