Review: A Shade of Blood by Bella Forrest

A Shade of Blood
A Shade of Vampire #2

Author: Bella Forrest

Publication Date: April 8, 2013

Thank you to Bella Forrest for the ARC

Genre: Fantasy

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Synopsis:

Having been delighted by the Christmas best-selling debut, A Shade Of Vampire, readers are begging for more. 

In A Shade Of Blood, Bella Forrest transports you deeper into a unique, enthralling and beautifully sensitive story. Prepare to be lost in its pages… 

When Sofia Claremont was kidnapped to a sunless island, uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet, she believed she’d forever be a captive of its dark ruler, Derek Novak. 

Now, after months of surviving an endless night, the morning sun may soon rise again for Sofia. Something has possessed Derek’s heart and he offers her a gift no human slave has ever been given in the history of his cursed island: escape. 

High school, prom and a chance to move on with her life now await her. 

But will she be able to forget the horrors that steal her sleep away at night? … and the feelings that haunt her for that tormented prince of darkness?

My Thoughts: A Shade of Blood picks up EXACTLY where the last book left off - with Sofia and Ben escaping the Shade with the help of Derek. It is like you didn't even miss a step, the moment I picked up A Shade of Blood I was immersed into the world of the Shade once more.

In this novel, Sofia and Ben finally escape the clutches of the vampires who were holding them captive on the island kingdom known as the Shade. However, when they return to their old life they find that they are changed. They are not the same carefree people they had once been and because of that they seem to drift apart for a while. Ben is hell-bent on getting revenge and destroying the people who ruined his life. Sofia can't stop thinking about the prince of the island, Derek.

The relationship between Sofia and Ben in this novel develops a lot and, at one point, became extremely awkward to read. I believe that was the intention behind it and it leaves the reader kind of with the same sense as Sofia. It was mostly just uncomfortable for me.

However, as the novel progresses I did start to get into it a bit more. Sofia has certainly seemed to grow more of a backbone now that she is no longer a slave to the Shade - or as much of a backbone as one can expect from Sofia Claremont in such a short amount of time. I am glad that she decides to make her own decisions and set out her limits clearly. Though, there are times that I seriously question her decisions or judgments  there are also times that I cheer her on completely.

I thought that this novel would be a lot more action-packed than it was, especially considering what happened in the last book. This one just seemed a lot like filler to make it to the third novel (which I still have complete intentions to read). I believe that a lot of the back story that was touched on in this novel will come into play during the next book, but the story just seemed to lull. There was some character development, of course, which was pretty excellent but I just wanted to see MORE. I think perhaps that one of the issues was that I loved the first book and just didn't want this one to end without some major happenstance? Either way, I loved getting in touch with the characters again and can’t wait to pick up the third one.