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The War of Blood and Roses #1
Revenant
Revenant is a haunting, intensely sexy, and passionate paranormal romance.
When Abby Rose meets Ethan Sterling, the Vampire leader, she's unsure what to think. She's never met a vampire before and has only heard bad things about them. But she's helpless against the dangerously sexy vampire, and his touch ignites a new hunger that threatens to consume them both.
After meeting Abby, Ethan is forced to make a hard decision. He wants nothing more than to keep her safe, but his secrets are piling up. As events unfold, a new enemy threatens to destroy everything he's worked so hard to protect her from.
What happens when Abby finds out that everything she believed about her life is a lie—and that Ethan knew all along...
⚔
If you're looking for a thrilling story to sink your teeth into, then this is the book for you! Filled with sexy heroes and villains, strong women, and bad guys, it's the perfect blend of action, adventure, and romance. The War of Blood and Roses is a sexy, addictive, and action-packed unique fantasy perfect for fans of J.R. Ward and Jennifer L. Armentrout!
The War of Blood and Roses is a dark romance fantasy series. This series contains adult themes for readers comfortable with violence, gore, explicit language, and detailed intimate scenes. This book series is a DARK ROMANCE with DARKER THEMES and TROPES that may not be suited for some readers. Caution is recommended. This series is not recommended for readers under eighteen or anyone who isn’t comfortable with darker themes, or those mentioned or listed.
*Advisory: For a full list of Content Information, please visit the author's Facebook page:
facebook /authorrvalentine
Follow Author on TikTok for up-to-date information, release dates, and new works!
tiktok /@ r.valentine_
Revenant is book one in The War of Blood and Roses paranormal fantasy series.
When Abby Rose meets Ethan Sterling, the Vampire leader, she's unsure what to think. She's never met a vampire before and has only heard bad things about them. But she's helpless against the dangerously sexy vampire, and his touch ignites a new hunger that threatens to consume them both.
After meeting Abby, Ethan is forced to make a hard decision. He wants nothing more than to keep her safe, but his secrets are piling up. As events unfold, a new enemy threatens to destroy everything he's worked so hard to protect her from.
What happens when Abby finds out that everything she believed about her life is a lie—and that Ethan knew all along...
⚔
If you're looking for a thrilling story to sink your teeth into, then this is the book for you! Filled with sexy heroes and villains, strong women, and bad guys, it's the perfect blend of action, adventure, and romance. The War of Blood and Roses is a sexy, addictive, and action-packed unique fantasy perfect for fans of J.R. Ward and Jennifer L. Armentrout!
The War of Blood and Roses is a dark romance fantasy series. This series contains adult themes for readers comfortable with violence, gore, explicit language, and detailed intimate scenes. This book series is a DARK ROMANCE with DARKER THEMES and TROPES that may not be suited for some readers. Caution is recommended. This series is not recommended for readers under eighteen or anyone who isn’t comfortable with darker themes, or those mentioned or listed.
*Advisory: For a full list of Content Information, please visit the author's Facebook page:
facebook /authorrvalentine
Follow Author on TikTok for up-to-date information, release dates, and new works!
tiktok /@ r.valentine_
Revenant is book one in The War of Blood and Roses paranormal fantasy series.
389 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2018
660 people are currently reading
1996 people want to read
About the author
R. Valentine
14 books63 followersAuthor of:
The War of Blood and Roses Series:
Revenant
Virulent
Evanescent
Vehement
Revivescent (February 2024)
Fate of Arcana Series
Coming Soon...
The War of Blood and Roses Series:
Revenant
Virulent
Evanescent
Vehement
Revivescent (February 2024)
Fate of Arcana Series
Coming Soon...
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
July 29, 2022
Not very interesting
The characters are dull, there's not a huge, interesting storyline. The love story isn't very good. Overall just very blah.
The characters are dull, there's not a huge, interesting storyline. The love story isn't very good. Overall just very blah.
August 22, 2024
Eye bleed
Something that should have been something ended up nothing.
This was a long drawn out paragraph of school like education on who is who ( and promptly forgotten ) and what is what ,down to the vehicles type brand and storage . This is a idealistic view of normalcy in a world gone to death .
We have sentences describing uniforms ,clothes ,buildings,vehicles ,towns and all the way to vampire feeding vacation pads with 4 wheelers ,bouncing pond pads, cabins and bon fires at night ........... ...in a zombie apocalypse.
This would have been an ok read if not for the over description of ...well ..EVERYTHING!
So many names and describing how they kill on and on. They do not matter to the actual story plot and took away from it .The romance was blah and not very interesting. .
And to add to this on August 21 ,2024 ,that I was tricked again by cover change into rereading this .Took me back to my reviews and BAM !!!oh yea I read this overly descriptive fun loving ,vampires,people and zombies living in a utopia of bouncy to the lake ,4 wheel driving with bon fires for all the peeps to have LOUD fun and why they got it made ...no bill,zombies and vampire paradise where zombie DO NOT gather...sorry could resist .I got fooled into reading it again ,ranting at pages I flipped because every time it has someone say something immediately goes into description or new chapter . Describing for a whole chapter .
Here is a insert of chapter 😐 2
chapter Two “All great changes are preceded by chaos.”
—Deepak Chopra
Before anyone may enter the city limits, several steps are taken before entrance is permitted; for everyone, every time. It can be a tedious process and is guaranteed to get on your nerves, but it keeps the town clean of infection and the people in it safe—and its why Thompson Falls is one of the larger settlements that has never had an outbreak. There are two main entryways where people can come and go from the town, that are connected to an old highway that runs through Thompson Falls. They each include three separate security check,checkpoints that are fenced off and have their own tracked mesh security gates to pass through before you make it to the final entrance that will allow you into the town. The first is a guarded gate that allows you in based on who you are and what you are doing; the obvious requirement to process through this gate is that you display no visible signs of infection or have hostile intentions. Once you’ve passed through the first gate, you will be in the decontamination zone. A medical outpost in this guarded section is a mandatory checkpoint for all breathers, including animals. This is also where weapons, clothing, and any outside items are inspected and cleaned before eventually being reissued, destroyed, or shipped to the town. Most clothing items contaminated with blood go to the incinerator. Weapons are cleaned and sterilized along with our protective gear. Food items are inspected and if there are any signs of contamination, it is also disposed of via incineration. Food is not known to be a carrier of the disease and the only time it is contaminated is if it is within range of blood spatter. It’s also rare that any member of the vanguard teams would ever bring back something that has the potential of infection, but it has happened and nothing is left to chance. Animals are not carriers of the virus either, so putting any animal through the medical bay is mostly cautionary and humane. Animals of all kinds will die from a bite, but they don’t spread it, and thankfully they don’t come back after death either. If an animal has a bite, it will be euthanized instead of allowing it to suffer before its eventual death.
Any breathers that make it to the medical bay are stripped of all weapons and clothing and then showered. After you have been cleaned you are provided with a hospital gown and a member of the medical team will examine you for any bite marks or wounds. Once you are cleared there, you will be given a blood test as a last inspection before clearance. The blood test is a finger prick where a smear of blood is placed on a slide brushed with mercury. If the blood is contaminated with the virus it will react with the mercury immediately upon contact. It was discovered, with the help of vampires, that mercury has a deadly effect on zombies because of its known poisoning effect on blood. Since blood is their diet, and consumes the reanimated in every way, its effect on them is exponential. Even in humans, mercury in high doses will cause sepsis that could lead to death. Vampires have a high allergic reaction to it, but not as severe as it is to the kooks. The mercury blood test is the only test really needed, but in the past, it has proved not to be foolproof, which is why the physical examination is still necessary. If you are cleared from the medical bay, you are given something to wear and processed through to the next gate. If you do not pass the exam or the blood test, you are taken to a holding cell within the decon-zone. What happens there varies from person to person. The last checkpoint section is an overflow space that leads to the main gate. There’s nothing but time in this section and acts as a buffer in case of an outbreak from the medical bay. The last defense in this section before the town is like that of an old castle and is connected to the outer brick wall that surrounds the entire compound. The main gate, as it’s called, has two towers that act as an anchor for our last line of defense. The entrance has two separate gates that can be opened manually, or with controls, on both sides of the wall. The first is a cantilever sliding gate with infill and rotating serrated edge spikes at the top. It slides across the entire roadway, which allows vehicles and groups of people of all sizes in and out before being securely locked behind you. This gate is closed at all times. The second is a crash-resistant solid sheet infill sliding barrier that is closed only during emergencies. Each separate gate section is fully staffed and patrolled by armed vanguard at all times. The gate towers also have a guard that sits as a gunner at the gun turret positioned at the top of each tower.
Connected to the towers is the large brick barrier wall that surrounds the entire town. It is roughly 15 feet high and wide enough to have a walkabout. In addition to the gate towers at the main gate, guard towers are positioned every one hundred feet around the town, each equipped with its own alarm, CB radio, armed guard, and spotlight. On the inner side of the brick wall and guard towers are the last line of defense for the town—the large steel fence that borders my running track. The steel fencing was retrieved from old prisons, airports, and any other high-security facility that wasn’t capable of being an outpost or community. The fence is a high-quality galvanized steel that measures approximately sixteen and a half feet tall, topped with coiled razor wire which adds between one and a half to two feet of additional height. The fence in most areas is anti-climb with no toe or finger holes, giving it a flat profile and making it nearly impossible to scale. Once you’re inside the gates of Thompson Falls, you’ll find what a small town used to look like before the ‘end of the world happened’. The cozy town and all the buildings were rebuilt or repaired and left almost exactly how they were originally. With some new buildings, roads, and housing we put in ourselves, the only things noticeably different are the extra wind turbines and solar panels. Everything else probably looked like it did when all the original inhabitants lived here. Thompson Falls runs alongside the Clark Fork River. It’s our primary water source and we use it for everything, including energy that we collect from the water turbines. Unfortunately, the town walls block out most of the river view so you can only hear the river water as it flows by. Only if you are up higher than ground level, can you see the beauty around us. We take pride in keeping our small home beautiful and safe and try to make it as comfortable as possible given the circumstances. Every yard or space is filled with a garden, plants, trees, or flowers to make up for the comforting, but dreary view of our border wall. Everyone in the town has had to pass through the same security measures before being allowed into our little community. It can make you feel separated from the rest of the world sometimes, but what’s waiting for you on the outside makes these precautions necessary to keep you safe here on the inside.
Chapter three .
Ugh .Yep eye bleed
Basically the writer killed this book and It wouldn't surprise me if they had a board with post it notes to keep track of all the information ,descriptions and who everyone was just to keep it straight in their own mind .
Ima gonna leave the eye bleeding to those that love everything from gas to chicken eggs described to them 👾
Something that should have been something ended up nothing.
This was a long drawn out paragraph of school like education on who is who ( and promptly forgotten ) and what is what ,down to the vehicles type brand and storage . This is a idealistic view of normalcy in a world gone to death .
We have sentences describing uniforms ,clothes ,buildings,vehicles ,towns and all the way to vampire feeding vacation pads with 4 wheelers ,bouncing pond pads, cabins and bon fires at night ........... ...in a zombie apocalypse.
This would have been an ok read if not for the over description of ...well ..EVERYTHING!
So many names and describing how they kill on and on. They do not matter to the actual story plot and took away from it .The romance was blah and not very interesting. .
And to add to this on August 21 ,2024 ,that I was tricked again by cover change into rereading this .Took me back to my reviews and BAM !!!oh yea I read this overly descriptive fun loving ,vampires,people and zombies living in a utopia of bouncy to the lake ,4 wheel driving with bon fires for all the peeps to have LOUD fun and why they got it made ...no bill,zombies and vampire paradise where zombie DO NOT gather...sorry could resist .I got fooled into reading it again ,ranting at pages I flipped because every time it has someone say something immediately goes into description or new chapter . Describing for a whole chapter .
Here is a insert of chapter 😐 2
chapter Two “All great changes are preceded by chaos.”
—Deepak Chopra
Before anyone may enter the city limits, several steps are taken before entrance is permitted; for everyone, every time. It can be a tedious process and is guaranteed to get on your nerves, but it keeps the town clean of infection and the people in it safe—and its why Thompson Falls is one of the larger settlements that has never had an outbreak. There are two main entryways where people can come and go from the town, that are connected to an old highway that runs through Thompson Falls. They each include three separate security check,checkpoints that are fenced off and have their own tracked mesh security gates to pass through before you make it to the final entrance that will allow you into the town. The first is a guarded gate that allows you in based on who you are and what you are doing; the obvious requirement to process through this gate is that you display no visible signs of infection or have hostile intentions. Once you’ve passed through the first gate, you will be in the decontamination zone. A medical outpost in this guarded section is a mandatory checkpoint for all breathers, including animals. This is also where weapons, clothing, and any outside items are inspected and cleaned before eventually being reissued, destroyed, or shipped to the town. Most clothing items contaminated with blood go to the incinerator. Weapons are cleaned and sterilized along with our protective gear. Food items are inspected and if there are any signs of contamination, it is also disposed of via incineration. Food is not known to be a carrier of the disease and the only time it is contaminated is if it is within range of blood spatter. It’s also rare that any member of the vanguard teams would ever bring back something that has the potential of infection, but it has happened and nothing is left to chance. Animals are not carriers of the virus either, so putting any animal through the medical bay is mostly cautionary and humane. Animals of all kinds will die from a bite, but they don’t spread it, and thankfully they don’t come back after death either. If an animal has a bite, it will be euthanized instead of allowing it to suffer before its eventual death.
Any breathers that make it to the medical bay are stripped of all weapons and clothing and then showered. After you have been cleaned you are provided with a hospital gown and a member of the medical team will examine you for any bite marks or wounds. Once you are cleared there, you will be given a blood test as a last inspection before clearance. The blood test is a finger prick where a smear of blood is placed on a slide brushed with mercury. If the blood is contaminated with the virus it will react with the mercury immediately upon contact. It was discovered, with the help of vampires, that mercury has a deadly effect on zombies because of its known poisoning effect on blood. Since blood is their diet, and consumes the reanimated in every way, its effect on them is exponential. Even in humans, mercury in high doses will cause sepsis that could lead to death. Vampires have a high allergic reaction to it, but not as severe as it is to the kooks. The mercury blood test is the only test really needed, but in the past, it has proved not to be foolproof, which is why the physical examination is still necessary. If you are cleared from the medical bay, you are given something to wear and processed through to the next gate. If you do not pass the exam or the blood test, you are taken to a holding cell within the decon-zone. What happens there varies from person to person. The last checkpoint section is an overflow space that leads to the main gate. There’s nothing but time in this section and acts as a buffer in case of an outbreak from the medical bay. The last defense in this section before the town is like that of an old castle and is connected to the outer brick wall that surrounds the entire compound. The main gate, as it’s called, has two towers that act as an anchor for our last line of defense. The entrance has two separate gates that can be opened manually, or with controls, on both sides of the wall. The first is a cantilever sliding gate with infill and rotating serrated edge spikes at the top. It slides across the entire roadway, which allows vehicles and groups of people of all sizes in and out before being securely locked behind you. This gate is closed at all times. The second is a crash-resistant solid sheet infill sliding barrier that is closed only during emergencies. Each separate gate section is fully staffed and patrolled by armed vanguard at all times. The gate towers also have a guard that sits as a gunner at the gun turret positioned at the top of each tower.
Connected to the towers is the large brick barrier wall that surrounds the entire town. It is roughly 15 feet high and wide enough to have a walkabout. In addition to the gate towers at the main gate, guard towers are positioned every one hundred feet around the town, each equipped with its own alarm, CB radio, armed guard, and spotlight. On the inner side of the brick wall and guard towers are the last line of defense for the town—the large steel fence that borders my running track. The steel fencing was retrieved from old prisons, airports, and any other high-security facility that wasn’t capable of being an outpost or community. The fence is a high-quality galvanized steel that measures approximately sixteen and a half feet tall, topped with coiled razor wire which adds between one and a half to two feet of additional height. The fence in most areas is anti-climb with no toe or finger holes, giving it a flat profile and making it nearly impossible to scale. Once you’re inside the gates of Thompson Falls, you’ll find what a small town used to look like before the ‘end of the world happened’. The cozy town and all the buildings were rebuilt or repaired and left almost exactly how they were originally. With some new buildings, roads, and housing we put in ourselves, the only things noticeably different are the extra wind turbines and solar panels. Everything else probably looked like it did when all the original inhabitants lived here. Thompson Falls runs alongside the Clark Fork River. It’s our primary water source and we use it for everything, including energy that we collect from the water turbines. Unfortunately, the town walls block out most of the river view so you can only hear the river water as it flows by. Only if you are up higher than ground level, can you see the beauty around us. We take pride in keeping our small home beautiful and safe and try to make it as comfortable as possible given the circumstances. Every yard or space is filled with a garden, plants, trees, or flowers to make up for the comforting, but dreary view of our border wall. Everyone in the town has had to pass through the same security measures before being allowed into our little community. It can make you feel separated from the rest of the world sometimes, but what’s waiting for you on the outside makes these precautions necessary to keep you safe here on the inside.
Chapter three .
Ugh .Yep eye bleed
Basically the writer killed this book and It wouldn't surprise me if they had a board with post it notes to keep track of all the information ,descriptions and who everyone was just to keep it straight in their own mind .
Ima gonna leave the eye bleeding to those that love everything from gas to chicken eggs described to them 👾
May 9, 2023
Tropes/Key Points:
🍂Dystopia/ Apocalyptic World
🍂Fated Mates
🍂Slow Burn
🍂Dark Secret
🍂Unique Vampires / Zombies
🍂Paranormal Romance
🍂Found Family
🍂Forced Proximity
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Trigger Warnings: Gore, Death, Mutilations, Child/Infant Death, Murder, Miscarriage/Still Born Child, Abuse (Physical, Psychological, Emotional), Torture
Blurb:
The earth has turned against us. We pushed it too far and we had to suffer the consequences of our actions. Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornados, Volcanic Eruptions and Wildfires took a population of billions down to millions. Out of the shadows came a new race that we knew nothing about. Vampires appeared because their food source … us… were dying and they needed a solution. Their best minds came together with our brightest and created this vaccine called “I-M”. It gave humans superior strength, stamina and a near immortal life without actually turning into one of them. All that in exchange for guaranteed blood donations and both races began to live happier again. We were able to fight back against Mother Earth and survive what she threw at us.
All of our problems were solved, until the first human with the vaccine died…. Then came back to a broken kind of life. Driven by instinct and a desire for blood, the kooks were born. We were able to handle them, it wasn’t too bad until they evolved. The Evols were more intelligent and harder to kill, but we made do. As long as you weren’t bitten or scratched, you were fine. Settlements began to form and isolate, putting into place safeguards and even working with vampire enforcers to keep safe. Life went on.
My human only settlement was one of the most secure towns around. We have never had an outbreak and kept the surrounding area clear. Things were fine, at least until a nearby city was decimated leaving only a small group of survivors who managed to escape. We went to investigate and found an ambush waiting for us. The zombies were working together, acting in ways they never should have been able to. Reluctantly uniting with an unlikely set of allies in four vampire enforcers, my quiet life turns into anything but and my world is rocked. One of the vampires, Ethan, has something about him that draws me in. I can’t get him out of my head, and of course, he did save me.
Review:
This book does zombies right! In a world that is flooded with Vampires and Zombie stories, this book rises above the noise! This author has such a unique take on the zombie apocalypse and I like how she explains things so there is no question as to how it all started. Not to mention, there are quite a few vampire hunks to choose from. I already have my love, Sylis. He is mine! Go find your own!
I will say, my only real complaint is that the book is slow to start. The author had to give us some world building and she sets up the premise, but it did cause for the beginning of the book to drag a bit. I will say it only lasted for thr first few chapters. Once you get to the city that needs help, the book shoots off like a rocket and I couldn’t put it down without counting down the minutes to when I could pick it up again.
Pushing past the initial set up, the pacing of the book was amazing. The author does a good job of keeping it going while also allowing you time to process what is happening. I don’t recall a lot of moments that I felt were unnecessary or “filler”. There is a nice balance of plot-/ Character-driven moments that kept the story going.
There is a wide variety in the cast of characters. If you want them, they are here! You have comedic relief, the possessive best friend, the asshole, and many more! While there are a decent amount of people in the book, I didn’t find myself getting confused. The author does a great job at giving them their own distinct personalities that keeps them defined.
My biggest praise to the author for this book are the twists! I pride myself on being able to work out the twists early on, its something I strive to do and I get a little tingle in the back of my head when I get it right. I didn’t get it right. I managed to figure out some smaller moments but I was blown away by how the author dropped clues that I didn’t even notice.
Overall such a great start to a series and I am looking forward to continuing
🍂Dystopia/ Apocalyptic World
🍂Fated Mates
🍂Slow Burn
🍂Dark Secret
🍂Unique Vampires / Zombies
🍂Paranormal Romance
🍂Found Family
🍂Forced Proximity
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Trigger Warnings: Gore, Death, Mutilations, Child/Infant Death, Murder, Miscarriage/Still Born Child, Abuse (Physical, Psychological, Emotional), Torture
Blurb:
The earth has turned against us. We pushed it too far and we had to suffer the consequences of our actions. Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornados, Volcanic Eruptions and Wildfires took a population of billions down to millions. Out of the shadows came a new race that we knew nothing about. Vampires appeared because their food source … us… were dying and they needed a solution. Their best minds came together with our brightest and created this vaccine called “I-M”. It gave humans superior strength, stamina and a near immortal life without actually turning into one of them. All that in exchange for guaranteed blood donations and both races began to live happier again. We were able to fight back against Mother Earth and survive what she threw at us.
All of our problems were solved, until the first human with the vaccine died…. Then came back to a broken kind of life. Driven by instinct and a desire for blood, the kooks were born. We were able to handle them, it wasn’t too bad until they evolved. The Evols were more intelligent and harder to kill, but we made do. As long as you weren’t bitten or scratched, you were fine. Settlements began to form and isolate, putting into place safeguards and even working with vampire enforcers to keep safe. Life went on.
My human only settlement was one of the most secure towns around. We have never had an outbreak and kept the surrounding area clear. Things were fine, at least until a nearby city was decimated leaving only a small group of survivors who managed to escape. We went to investigate and found an ambush waiting for us. The zombies were working together, acting in ways they never should have been able to. Reluctantly uniting with an unlikely set of allies in four vampire enforcers, my quiet life turns into anything but and my world is rocked. One of the vampires, Ethan, has something about him that draws me in. I can’t get him out of my head, and of course, he did save me.
Review:
This book does zombies right! In a world that is flooded with Vampires and Zombie stories, this book rises above the noise! This author has such a unique take on the zombie apocalypse and I like how she explains things so there is no question as to how it all started. Not to mention, there are quite a few vampire hunks to choose from. I already have my love, Sylis. He is mine! Go find your own!
I will say, my only real complaint is that the book is slow to start. The author had to give us some world building and she sets up the premise, but it did cause for the beginning of the book to drag a bit. I will say it only lasted for thr first few chapters. Once you get to the city that needs help, the book shoots off like a rocket and I couldn’t put it down without counting down the minutes to when I could pick it up again.
Pushing past the initial set up, the pacing of the book was amazing. The author does a good job of keeping it going while also allowing you time to process what is happening. I don’t recall a lot of moments that I felt were unnecessary or “filler”. There is a nice balance of plot-/ Character-driven moments that kept the story going.
There is a wide variety in the cast of characters. If you want them, they are here! You have comedic relief, the possessive best friend, the asshole, and many more! While there are a decent amount of people in the book, I didn’t find myself getting confused. The author does a great job at giving them their own distinct personalities that keeps them defined.
My biggest praise to the author for this book are the twists! I pride myself on being able to work out the twists early on, its something I strive to do and I get a little tingle in the back of my head when I get it right. I didn’t get it right. I managed to figure out some smaller moments but I was blown away by how the author dropped clues that I didn’t even notice.
Overall such a great start to a series and I am looking forward to continuing
June 27, 2022
I'm not sure how I came across this series, but it was somewhere on this site, and I added it to my list through that. While looking into it a little more, I came across the author's promotional posts on TT, and I have to say...that almost turned me away from starting this. The only reason I gave it a shot after those was because it was free to read on KU. That being said, I am so glad I gave it a shot. This was so interesting. A post-apocalyptic world where lower level vampires run amok and humans are just trying their best to survive in their settlements, a vampire coalition dedicated to taking down these lower level vamps (known as kooks or evos), a deeper arching plot involving the main character Abby, and basically a good reason as to *why* she's the main character and pulled into all this. It was so good. I was honestly bummed to have to be pulled away; if work hadn't called I would've finished this in one sitting. I like a lot of the characters; Abby in particular is a fun main character, she's got a good head on her shoulders, and her reactions to events and developments around her are relatable. I found that Hendricks, Zach, and Pike were written very interestingly as well. Ethan I like, but I would like to see a little more from him. But this is the first book; we have plenty of time for that, so this is not a complete flaw. The romance is decent, I'm not too impressed by the scenes with smut, but they weren't completely unbearable. I like the pairing of Abby and Ethan, I think their dynamic was sweet from the beginning, and that cliffhanger at the end had me groaning. I want to know what happens next! I've downloaded the other two books and will be promptly starting them. My only recommendation is that the author try and highlight these more interesting plot points in their marketing posts. Presenting this with just a few snippets of the romance between Abby and Ethan almost feels like a disservice, I really do think this series will get a lot more interest and traction if the plot is included in the marketing.
January 8, 2026
→Rating : 4,3 /3
HEA: No, cliffhanger.
Relationship type: MF
Romance: 3.1
dark: 2.1
Drama: 1%
Suspense: 3%
Rhythm: Slow.
opinion:
It's a very descriptive book, the author spent the first few pages describing everything and rolled up a few times. I admit I was a little annoyed by this, but I started to get into the groove as they left town to help other survivors. It didn't have as much action as I expected, but it was very interesting to put zombies and Vampires.
HEA: No, cliffhanger.
Relationship type: MF
Romance: 3.1
dark: 2.1
Drama: 1%
Suspense: 3%
Rhythm: Slow.
opinion:
It's a very descriptive book, the author spent the first few pages describing everything and rolled up a few times. I admit I was a little annoyed by this, but I started to get into the groove as they left town to help other survivors. It didn't have as much action as I expected, but it was very interesting to put zombies and Vampires.
September 4, 2024
The Last of Us
girlies, where are you at??? Because this one is for us!!!
I had absolutely zero expectations going into this and it was so good!!!
The pros:
• the mutating zombie virus! I have never read a zombie book and I’m not much for post-apocalyptic stories but this was done so well???
• the vampires! So glad the author stayed away from goofy stereotypes and really normalized the vampire characters. Also, adding the additional species to the post-apocalyptic zombie setting was, like, really cool.
• our fmc! She pretty bad ass! (No, not Aelin-level, but the standard is high). We learn with her as she goes and it doesn’t feel annoyingly naive like can sometimes be the case
• the research! I am a slut for a well-researched story. The author doesn’t pull “facts” out of nowhere, all the weapons, injuries, locations, etc. feel factually accurate and not totally made up.
• the writing! Okay, hear me out: once you get past the first 3 chapters the writing gets good. Push through the info dumps!!
The cons
• the info dump beginning. Yes, the first 3 chapters feels like an unnecessary crash-course in world building. I say unnecessary because you are introduced to many named characters and locations that are never referenced again. A huge pet peeve of mine is when the author gives a character a name who is so non-essential to the story; if you fill my brain up early with pointless details I get frustrated trying to make room for the important ones later!!
• the romance. It is a little too insta-love for me, which is just not my cup of tea. I want yearning and banter, not instant chemistry. Just a personal preference.
I will absolutely be continuing this series and am so pleasantly surprised by this find.
I had absolutely zero expectations going into this and it was so good!!!
The pros:
• the mutating zombie virus! I have never read a zombie book and I’m not much for post-apocalyptic stories but this was done so well???
• the vampires! So glad the author stayed away from goofy stereotypes and really normalized the vampire characters. Also, adding the additional species to the post-apocalyptic zombie setting was, like, really cool.
• our fmc! She pretty bad ass! (No, not Aelin-level, but the standard is high). We learn with her as she goes and it doesn’t feel annoyingly naive like can sometimes be the case
• the research! I am a slut for a well-researched story. The author doesn’t pull “facts” out of nowhere, all the weapons, injuries, locations, etc. feel factually accurate and not totally made up.
• the writing! Okay, hear me out: once you get past the first 3 chapters the writing gets good. Push through the info dumps!!
The cons
• the info dump beginning. Yes, the first 3 chapters feels like an unnecessary crash-course in world building. I say unnecessary because you are introduced to many named characters and locations that are never referenced again. A huge pet peeve of mine is when the author gives a character a name who is so non-essential to the story; if you fill my brain up early with pointless details I get frustrated trying to make room for the important ones later!!
• the romance. It is a little too insta-love for me, which is just not my cup of tea. I want yearning and banter, not instant chemistry. Just a personal preference.
I will absolutely be continuing this series and am so pleasantly surprised by this find.
January 22, 2024
Sometimes had my attention, other times not so much. Kinda cheesy and the writing isn’t the best. 2.5 ⭐️
October 10, 2022
Bram
Revenant is book one in the series The War of Blood and Roses by author R. Valentine. Ok so firstly I found this book through TikTok and as I started to read it I thought - well you see it’s not what I normally read. However I’m am hooked - absolutely brilliant the storyline is intriguing filled with just the right pieces of bait to keep you captivated. It’s dark - brutal- sad and yet there’s still bits of hope. Oh and the secret s - they are big - BIG!! Can’t wait to read book two!
Enjoy!!
Revenant is book one in the series The War of Blood and Roses by author R. Valentine. Ok so firstly I found this book through TikTok and as I started to read it I thought - well you see it’s not what I normally read. However I’m am hooked - absolutely brilliant the storyline is intriguing filled with just the right pieces of bait to keep you captivated. It’s dark - brutal- sad and yet there’s still bits of hope. Oh and the secret s - they are big - BIG!! Can’t wait to read book two!
Enjoy!!
April 28, 2024
I bought this book on one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days last year. I picked it up because the cover looked cool, and it sounded interesting. Overall, this book was a strong start to the series, but I was hoping for more.
This book is based on Abby Rose. She is a human girl who is trying to get by after the disease ruined her town. This all changes when she meets Ethan Sterling whilst on a trip out of her secure town with her team to get supplies. Ethan is the vampire leader and Abby is unsure what to think. She has never met a vampire before and has only heard bad things. But she’s helpless against the dangerously sexy vampire, and his touch ignites a new hunger that threatens to consume them both. After meeting Abby, Ethan is forced to make a hard decision. He wants nothing more than to keep her safe, but the secrets are piling up. As events unfold, a new enemy threatens to destroy everything he’s worked hard to protect her from. Everything is about to fall about for Abby when she finds out everything, she believed about her life is a life and Ethan knew from the moment he met her.
This book has been really difficult for me to review because I liked Abby, but at the same time wanted to smack her and tell her to think for herself, the only time that we see her stand up for herself is when she is defending Ethan from the human love interest who was so boring and niche that I've forgot his name. Again, like Ethan but wanted to smack him for lying throughout the whole book. Abby’s mum drove me nuts as well as Hendericks and the drunk dude. All the vampires sorted of blended into one besides the villain and Ethan. The info dumps which take up to 45% of the book just wasn’t needed, especially as the action was started to build and then it would just shift gears and go on about the history of this character or this town. I can see why it’s been done with this book being a series and hopefully getting all the information out in one book will help the flow of the series.
I liked Gigi and if she dies in this series then I'm out. I also liked the tension and the twists that are revealed in this book, the humans were a bit predictable (the kid that like a brother to Abby, being in love with her – saw that the second he arrived) but the plots with Abby and the vampires, I was shocked about and you can tell with the way it’s ended, it has left you with enough breadcrumbs to want more and want to carry on with the series.
This book is based on Abby Rose. She is a human girl who is trying to get by after the disease ruined her town. This all changes when she meets Ethan Sterling whilst on a trip out of her secure town with her team to get supplies. Ethan is the vampire leader and Abby is unsure what to think. She has never met a vampire before and has only heard bad things. But she’s helpless against the dangerously sexy vampire, and his touch ignites a new hunger that threatens to consume them both. After meeting Abby, Ethan is forced to make a hard decision. He wants nothing more than to keep her safe, but the secrets are piling up. As events unfold, a new enemy threatens to destroy everything he’s worked hard to protect her from. Everything is about to fall about for Abby when she finds out everything, she believed about her life is a life and Ethan knew from the moment he met her.
This book has been really difficult for me to review because I liked Abby, but at the same time wanted to smack her and tell her to think for herself, the only time that we see her stand up for herself is when she is defending Ethan from the human love interest who was so boring and niche that I've forgot his name. Again, like Ethan but wanted to smack him for lying throughout the whole book. Abby’s mum drove me nuts as well as Hendericks and the drunk dude. All the vampires sorted of blended into one besides the villain and Ethan. The info dumps which take up to 45% of the book just wasn’t needed, especially as the action was started to build and then it would just shift gears and go on about the history of this character or this town. I can see why it’s been done with this book being a series and hopefully getting all the information out in one book will help the flow of the series.
I liked Gigi and if she dies in this series then I'm out. I also liked the tension and the twists that are revealed in this book, the humans were a bit predictable (the kid that like a brother to Abby, being in love with her – saw that the second he arrived) but the plots with Abby and the vampires, I was shocked about and you can tell with the way it’s ended, it has left you with enough breadcrumbs to want more and want to carry on with the series.
April 24, 2024
The infodumping exposition in the beginning of the novel was exhausting and really brought down the overall rating for me. Every single person who was introduced, even those who exist in only one scene, got a really long descriptive paragraph about their appearance, personality, history, strengths and weaknesses, etc. A lot of things were over-explained, for example, when the team sees a couple of suspiciously clean vehicles in the wasteland and someone calls out “we got a couple of shiners over here,” we don’t need two more sentences explaining whose idea that slang term was and what it means. A lot of the information about the apocalypse’s origins as well as those of the undead could’ve been condensed, left out, or hinted at through dialogue rather than what we got, which was dense and front-loaded.
Pushing past the beginning, I appreciated the fact that we have an FMC who is just as comfortable slinging pistols as she is washing dishes and waiting tables; she’s not “not like other girls,” she wears cute dresses to parties and jumpsuits, tanks and boots out in the wastes. She’s empathetic with people, even though she’s appropriately desensitized to the zombie apocalypse.
The book was hyper-gory, unsurprisingly, but interspersed with bright spots in the form of nature’s beauty and the joys of found family and community.
It ends with the villains unaccounted for and a big reveal that changes the way the FMC feels about the MMC, which some might consider a cliffhanger, but I don’t mind it so much in this case. The villains are probably out there—sure—and the MMC has some groveling in his future, but it’s not so bad as endings go.
Pushing past the beginning, I appreciated the fact that we have an FMC who is just as comfortable slinging pistols as she is washing dishes and waiting tables; she’s not “not like other girls,” she wears cute dresses to parties and jumpsuits, tanks and boots out in the wastes. She’s empathetic with people, even though she’s appropriately desensitized to the zombie apocalypse.
The book was hyper-gory, unsurprisingly, but interspersed with bright spots in the form of nature’s beauty and the joys of found family and community.
It ends with the villains unaccounted for and a big reveal that changes the way the FMC feels about the MMC, which some might consider a cliffhanger, but I don’t mind it so much in this case. The villains are probably out there—sure—and the MMC has some groveling in his future, but it’s not so bad as endings go.
January 14, 2024
First book captured me from page one ! I love the storyline and the characters, the relationships as they progress !! This series is a perfect crazy mixture if you like The Vampire Diaries & The Walking Dead with wayyy more spice , seduction , & adventure!! The first book was a bit of world building but also a spicy af romance growing & it ripped my heart out there at the end but felt so good lol (if you know , you know) .. Now the second book .. OMG .. I thought the first book pulled me in?? Nope. The second book even better !! WOW .. I have no words .. but I will say it ended with a twist & a cliffhanger & just as my heart was finding its way back into my chest it was wrenched out AGAIN !! But it’s so so good !! Now book 3 ?? Damn it’s an addiction at this point.. & wow book three has been the best yet .. with more emotions that I could handle I was crying right along with the FMC feeling everything .. just wow .. my heart is taking a beating at this point !! With added characters & more adventures I’m loving it .. & as my heart starts to swell from the happiness & the coming together of certain things it is QUICKLY jolted from my chest again & I was audibly screaming “wtf” , “is this a dream” , “is this really happening” , “what is going on” , “what the f NO!” … so many things fell out of my mouth at the end of book 3 .. WOWWWWWW my effing heart hurts so damn good !! I’m off to start book 4 … I’m so nervous, anxious , excited & READY!! I will definitely update the next review ! BUT READ THIS BOOK/SERIES !!
May 5, 2024
3🍁 | 🌶️
If i read this book around 10 years ago it would have been all the rave: Vampires, zombies, deadly virus, post-apocalyptical, survival and all the jazz! The book was good but I had to constantly change the tenses while reading (is it so hard to choose a tense and stick to it? It’s either present or past for the narrative… )
Did i still finish it, yes I did, will I read next books? No, i don’t think so. Unless I’ll have nothing to read (which is doubtful) or I’ll be craving some zombie apocalypse, I’ll go back to it. I did enjoy the characters, and the banter and flirting between Ethan and Abby was so cute. I didn’t understand what exactly did Abby do as to not have any kids, and her reasoning (why bring kids into this awful world was a bit weird for me). Like do you want for humans to just die off with you? Or maybe this part wasn’t really thought out. I mean hello, how do you think you were born? But anyway, after the trauma she took it would be a miracle if she can have kids. Now I understand her reasoning for being angry at everyone, but also her reasoning was fully screwed. What would it accomplish it she new the truth early on? Absolutely nothing.
If i read this book around 10 years ago it would have been all the rave: Vampires, zombies, deadly virus, post-apocalyptical, survival and all the jazz! The book was good but I had to constantly change the tenses while reading (is it so hard to choose a tense and stick to it? It’s either present or past for the narrative… )
Did i still finish it, yes I did, will I read next books? No, i don’t think so. Unless I’ll have nothing to read (which is doubtful) or I’ll be craving some zombie apocalypse, I’ll go back to it. I did enjoy the characters, and the banter and flirting between Ethan and Abby was so cute. I didn’t understand what exactly did Abby do as to not have any kids, and her reasoning (why bring kids into this awful world was a bit weird for me). Like do you want for humans to just die off with you? Or maybe this part wasn’t really thought out. I mean hello, how do you think you were born? But anyway, after the trauma she took it would be a miracle if she can have kids. Now I understand her reasoning for being angry at everyone, but also her reasoning was fully screwed. What would it accomplish it she new the truth early on? Absolutely nothing.
February 9, 2023
I absolutely loved this book. Each chapter read like I was watching a series. I kept saying just one more and I will stop for the day just one more. The writing is so descriptive and amazing you can picture everything clearly and feel every emotion. This is a thriller, dark paranormal romance with fantastic action scenes. A few twists in the story that made gasp out loud. Definitely worth the read.
Abby is a young woman working to protect the town of Thompson falls from zombies. She and a small team was sent on a search and rescue mission in Honor, another small settlement, where she met Ethan, a vampire and the leader of his team of VIGs. They instantly formed a connection and so love bloomed between them. All seemed okay until their world got turned upside down when they discovered who or what was controlling the hordes of zombies. Heartache and disbelief follow Abby.
This book contains spicy scenes and is for readers comfortable with violence, gore and explicit language.
Abby is a young woman working to protect the town of Thompson falls from zombies. She and a small team was sent on a search and rescue mission in Honor, another small settlement, where she met Ethan, a vampire and the leader of his team of VIGs. They instantly formed a connection and so love bloomed between them. All seemed okay until their world got turned upside down when they discovered who or what was controlling the hordes of zombies. Heartache and disbelief follow Abby.
This book contains spicy scenes and is for readers comfortable with violence, gore and explicit language.
March 28, 2023
Action packed and sexy!
This book is filled with action and drama, a post-apocalyptic world that's a mix of the supernatural and science. It's a beautiful weaving that this author has achieved with wonderful world building and details that tie it all together. You can see each moment, every scene as if you're there with the characters, can feel Abby's emotions right along with her. The spice and romance added another level that built the storyline up, hooking me in even further. Several times I found myself on the edge of my seat.
If you like dystopian, paranormal, romance, and action, I highly recommend giving this book a chance. It'll keep you invested!
This book is filled with action and drama, a post-apocalyptic world that's a mix of the supernatural and science. It's a beautiful weaving that this author has achieved with wonderful world building and details that tie it all together. You can see each moment, every scene as if you're there with the characters, can feel Abby's emotions right along with her. The spice and romance added another level that built the storyline up, hooking me in even further. Several times I found myself on the edge of my seat.
If you like dystopian, paranormal, romance, and action, I highly recommend giving this book a chance. It'll keep you invested!
April 28, 2024
Abby is a strong independent woman living in a post-apocalyptic America, who is a lean, mean, zombie-killing-machine. While out on a reconnaissance mission, her team is saved by a team of vampires, one of which seems strangely protective of her, but she doesn’t mind because he’s gorgeous. While Abby advocates to return the favor and bring them back to their compound, there’s still plenty of anti-vampire feelings in her teammates and the struggle between Abby, her community, and her new vampire friends becomes complicated, to say the least.
Star quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sizzle factor: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Purity scale: 🤍🩶🖤
Tropes: Dark secret, Antihero, Vampire MMC, Strong FMC
Star quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sizzle factor: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Purity scale: 🤍🩶🖤
Tropes: Dark secret, Antihero, Vampire MMC, Strong FMC
January 4, 2024
❤️🔥💀
Ok, so this was a wildcard for me, but the zombie/vampire combo WORKED! Way to go R. Valentine!!! Great characters, twists and turns, high stakes, hot chemistry, scary monsters, badass, well trained, top of her class warrior FMC who also has a kind heart and a good sense of humor??? I got sucked in. :)
Ok, so this was a wildcard for me, but the zombie/vampire combo WORKED! Way to go R. Valentine!!! Great characters, twists and turns, high stakes, hot chemistry, scary monsters, badass, well trained, top of her class warrior FMC who also has a kind heart and a good sense of humor??? I got sucked in. :)
January 4, 2024
overall I enjoyed the book & will continue reading the series. The author does vastly over describe so many trivial details. Normally I like this as I picture it all in my head but it got to the point where I was skimming because the details were irrelevant. Romance was a meh, take it or leave it.
January 11, 2024
Good Storyline, Needs Editing
The plot is interesting but the writing was frustrating. Lots of switching between past and present tense, commas and periods at inappropriate places, and heavy on useless details. Would be better if it had more editing.
The plot is interesting but the writing was frustrating. Lots of switching between past and present tense, commas and periods at inappropriate places, and heavy on useless details. Would be better if it had more editing.
June 6, 2024
Revenant
Slow burn. When it picks up it becomes fast paced. So fast you won’t. Put it down then surprise cliffhanger. Your like WTH on to the next book to find out what happens next
Slow burn. When it picks up it becomes fast paced. So fast you won’t. Put it down then surprise cliffhanger. Your like WTH on to the next book to find out what happens next
October 28, 2022
I loved this whole series and can't wait until the next book comes out! ❤
June 30, 2022
I saw this book on TT and added it right away. I am so glad I did!
This is spicy but beyond that, it has a story and I am here for it!
This is spicy but beyond that, it has a story and I am here for it!
Want to read
January 2, 2024🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/3/2023)! 🎁
February 7, 2024
Lots of exposition
Holy info dumps Batman! This book was sadly lacking in voice and character building. Clunky exposition broken up by brief action. Its just a miss..
Holy info dumps Batman! This book was sadly lacking in voice and character building. Clunky exposition broken up by brief action. Its just a miss..
August 13, 2025
I rarely do not finish books but I just couldn't suffer through this one anymore. It is so ungodly boring. I like to read before bed, but I could barely make it through a few pages before I would just decide I had enough lol. I did this for over a week and barely made it to 20 percent in. I planned on slugging through the beginning because based on the cover I imagined it would get exciting eventually... nope.
I must have read 100 pages of descriptions of the town and every resident that lives there. Their name, age, height, skin, hair, and eye color. Here's the next person. This is what they're like. This is why our town is how it is. This is how the world got to how it is. So on and so forth. Nothing ever happens. I love world building, but without any sense of urgency to the plot, why do I care about any of this?The author needs to learn some basic ways to show us the environment while things happen rather than give us a multi chapter history lesson and bore us to death.
Despite the painstaking detail the author takes to describe EVERYTHING, the research freaking sucks and nothing about the world makes sense. Charlie the waitress is apparently vegan, and makes pizza for the town's restaurant using cashew cheese sauce. Cashews from where exactly???? You're in Montana. Post zombie apocalypse. Where most of the human race is dead. Cashews are grown in the tropics... are you telling me there's a convenient shipping route from Brazil to mother effing Montana just so Charlie can get her Cashew fix? I think not.
Don't let the cover fool you, this book is dumb as rocks and as spicy as white bread.
I must have read 100 pages of descriptions of the town and every resident that lives there. Their name, age, height, skin, hair, and eye color. Here's the next person. This is what they're like. This is why our town is how it is. This is how the world got to how it is. So on and so forth. Nothing ever happens. I love world building, but without any sense of urgency to the plot, why do I care about any of this?The author needs to learn some basic ways to show us the environment while things happen rather than give us a multi chapter history lesson and bore us to death.
Despite the painstaking detail the author takes to describe EVERYTHING, the research freaking sucks and nothing about the world makes sense. Charlie the waitress is apparently vegan, and makes pizza for the town's restaurant using cashew cheese sauce. Cashews from where exactly???? You're in Montana. Post zombie apocalypse. Where most of the human race is dead. Cashews are grown in the tropics... are you telling me there's a convenient shipping route from Brazil to mother effing Montana just so Charlie can get her Cashew fix? I think not.
Don't let the cover fool you, this book is dumb as rocks and as spicy as white bread.
July 14, 2024
The world building and creativity of the book was good, but everything else fell flat. The writing was not a vibe, the first 20% of the book was just descriptions of characters. Ugh it was so annoying, the main character would be chatting with someone and there would be like 3 paragraphs of filler between her statement and the other persons. Like it would’ve been better to have just a line or two description between. by the time we get to the persons reply i forgot that there was even a conversation happening. Some descriptions are confusing or just wrong, like she dislocates her left shoulder, but then talks about how her right arm is dislocated because she can only shoot with the left? I thought the ending was good. This book had a lot of trigger warnings but literally it was just violent. Their relationship is kinda a backstory and nothing is too graphic. The main stage is the war between the 2 to 3 ish groups. It is also hard to keep track of all the characters. 2 stars because I liked the plot. 1 star writing for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2024
The setting and background started off fairly interesting, but the story was quickly bogged down with too much exposition. The consistently repeated formula was as follows: "[Character name], [role], [verb]. He/she was about [height] and [body type], with [hair color], and [color] eyes. He/she was wearing [list of clothing types and colors]." This kind of tedious character sheet was listed anytime someone new was introduced, before the story would continue. The overly detailed description and irrelevant details continued with every single building, food, vehicle, weapon, piece of equipment, etc. that was encountered, and it even extended to boring, repetitive explanations of why every action or situation happened. None of this helped to further the plot- it was all just info-dumping. The book needs too much editing for me to finish. It was also full of incorrect punctuation, run-on sentences, malapropisms, and such a choppy flow that it was a slog to try to read. I DNF-ed at 17%.
April 2, 2025
Romance:3
Steaminess:3
Action/suspense:3
Overall:3
The world building is good but the writing felt overdone.
Abby was an okay character. Level-headed. Ethan was okay too. A vampire without much of a personality. Their romance felt a touch inauthentic. It’s love at first sight, supposedly. The novel setting was a post-apocalyptic zombie survival thing. That was interesting and different.
But I thought the writing was just so overly descriptive at times. We didn’t need to know everything about everything. And parts of the novel felt like the author had used a thesaurus t replace some words. The book was barely steamy. What was there was fine but there wasn’t too much. The big thing about this book was the action. That was interesting and the twist ending was exciting.
Overall, it was fine. I didn’t connect to the main couple but the book had a fair action plot line.
Steaminess:3
Action/suspense:3
Overall:3
The world building is good but the writing felt overdone.
Abby was an okay character. Level-headed. Ethan was okay too. A vampire without much of a personality. Their romance felt a touch inauthentic. It’s love at first sight, supposedly. The novel setting was a post-apocalyptic zombie survival thing. That was interesting and different.
But I thought the writing was just so overly descriptive at times. We didn’t need to know everything about everything. And parts of the novel felt like the author had used a thesaurus t replace some words. The book was barely steamy. What was there was fine but there wasn’t too much. The big thing about this book was the action. That was interesting and the twist ending was exciting.
Overall, it was fine. I didn’t connect to the main couple but the book had a fair action plot line.
May 7, 2025
This was a tough one for me to rate. Overall, I really enjoyed it. But I liked it more as I reflected on the book as a whole than while I was reading it.
A different zombie concept. Plague strikes humans. Vampires fear for their food source (no Twilight vegetarians here). To ensure human survival, vampires develop a type of vaccine to bestow humans with vampire immunity. The catch is that when a vaccinated human dies, as they do, they rise as a zombie.
Since the vaccine is more like a virus, it mutates and so we get a variety of zombies.
It's a new world to introduce. But I feel it should not have taken 80 pages (literally) until something other than world building happens. While there is a significant amount of action, it is by no means action packed.
Even the love/connection between Ethan and Abby is fairly mundane. They're playing house like a married couple more than relishing in their overwhelming attraction in the midst of a rising zombie apocalypse.
Keeping in theme with the first quarter of the book, there is a lot of down time. Abby has a very repetitive mind. Her recurring inner thoughts quickly became paragraphs my eyes and mind glazed over. There are several contradictions that boiled down to 'because - plot' that interrupted the flow for me.
The ending has a pretty good twist with a bit of a cliffhanger. While I am curious to see where this goes, I'm not rushing to read the next book.
A different zombie concept. Plague strikes humans. Vampires fear for their food source (no Twilight vegetarians here). To ensure human survival, vampires develop a type of vaccine to bestow humans with vampire immunity. The catch is that when a vaccinated human dies, as they do, they rise as a zombie.
Since the vaccine is more like a virus, it mutates and so we get a variety of zombies.
It's a new world to introduce. But I feel it should not have taken 80 pages (literally) until something other than world building happens. While there is a significant amount of action, it is by no means action packed.
Even the love/connection between Ethan and Abby is fairly mundane. They're playing house like a married couple more than relishing in their overwhelming attraction in the midst of a rising zombie apocalypse.
Keeping in theme with the first quarter of the book, there is a lot of down time. Abby has a very repetitive mind. Her recurring inner thoughts quickly became paragraphs my eyes and mind glazed over. There are several contradictions that boiled down to 'because - plot' that interrupted the flow for me.
The ending has a pretty good twist with a bit of a cliffhanger. While I am curious to see where this goes, I'm not rushing to read the next book.
July 31, 2025
The truth will almost break you
The world has changed it gas been destroyed and the remaining humans live in secured towns. But there are as the undead and the vampires. When Abby meets the vampires she is interested in learning more about them. Even better that they are going go be sticking around for awhile. Ethan is attracted to Abby even though he is a vampire. Their relationship starts getting more serious but everything changes when she almost dies. Ethan uses his blood to save her without realising that he could lose her for good. She is taken by another vampire & she finds out the terrible truth about her father. Will she ever be able to forgive everyone for keeping the truth from her? Will she ever forgive Ethan for his part in everything?
A good read can't wait for part 2
The world has changed it gas been destroyed and the remaining humans live in secured towns. But there are as the undead and the vampires. When Abby meets the vampires she is interested in learning more about them. Even better that they are going go be sticking around for awhile. Ethan is attracted to Abby even though he is a vampire. Their relationship starts getting more serious but everything changes when she almost dies. Ethan uses his blood to save her without realising that he could lose her for good. She is taken by another vampire & she finds out the terrible truth about her father. Will she ever be able to forgive everyone for keeping the truth from her? Will she ever forgive Ethan for his part in everything?
A good read can't wait for part 2
March 13, 2024
Overall I enjoyed the book and will continue the series.
👍🏻 - Vampires, an interesting take on human-vampire relationships, and a different take on typical “zombie” tropes. Very detailed descriptions of the scenery in nearly each scene.
👎🏻 - For me personally, not enough detail went into building the backstory and current workings of the safe town that is the main setting. You get bits and pieces, but not enough to make you care about the town. Some of the descriptions of scenes is unnecessary and feels a little like filler or the author was trying to hit a word count.
Of course some of this may be rectified in the next books in the series, this is a review for this first book only!
👍🏻 - Vampires, an interesting take on human-vampire relationships, and a different take on typical “zombie” tropes. Very detailed descriptions of the scenery in nearly each scene.
👎🏻 - For me personally, not enough detail went into building the backstory and current workings of the safe town that is the main setting. You get bits and pieces, but not enough to make you care about the town. Some of the descriptions of scenes is unnecessary and feels a little like filler or the author was trying to hit a word count.
Of course some of this may be rectified in the next books in the series, this is a review for this first book only!
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