marilanoire's review
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
I liked the story but it’s one of those books that have to be read in order and you have to read the whole series to get it. On the positive side, I already knew all of the characters because I read Len‘s story first at the beginning of the year and that absolutely helped the rating on the positive side. I’m not sure what my rating would have been if I didn’t already know and liked the characters.
anothercurleyhairbooklover's review
4.0
Decent start...but of a artificial ending point rather than a conclusion of a storyline.
nadenetotallyaddictedtoreading's review
3.0
The Last Vampire, Book 1 is the start of a potentially good series.
The story began on an interesting note. I met a 26-year-old Zorah Bright who found herself plunged into the supernatural world when she encountered Rans, a vampire in her garden shed. My interest was further piqued when the said vampire’s attempt to glamour her failed. She remembered every detail of the encounter. Just when she thought things could get no worse, she lost her job, and the police is looking to arrest her. Then she discovers she is succubus hybrid i.e. half human, half succubus. How much more can she handle?
Now I went into the story expecting to be reading about a vampire. Who wouldn’t, given the title of the book? A vampire made an appearance, however the focus of the story was on Zorah. I found her to be an interesting character, although sometimes I found her actions annoying. I learnt that Rans is a centuries old vampire and the last of his kind. He also took it up on himself to be Zorah’s protector. However, I wished the authors had provided more about him, so I could understand what drove him.
Zorah and Rans had lots of chemistry. I sensed instantly that they would share intimate moments.
The secondary characters are an interesting bunch. I am curious to learn more about them, especially Zorah’s father.
The authors went into so many details, which led to the story moving at a slow pace. Despite the slowness, I found the storyline interesting. I was curious to know how the events would unfold.
Given the circumstances, I was happy that romance was not the focal point of the story. There were some passionate moments, but it did not take over the story. I thought this aspect was well done, and fitted the story perfectly.
Everything was going so well until that cliffhanger of an ending, which left me with so many unanswered questions.
Narration
I am not a big fan of the narrator. Her male voices were fine, but she made the heroine sound like a whining and bratty teenager.
Conclusion/Recommendation
Overall, not a bad story. I will read the next book as I need answers, but I am not sure if I will continue with the audio version.
The story began on an interesting note. I met a 26-year-old Zorah Bright who found herself plunged into the supernatural world when she encountered Rans, a vampire in her garden shed. My interest was further piqued when the said vampire’s attempt to glamour her failed. She remembered every detail of the encounter. Just when she thought things could get no worse, she lost her job, and the police is looking to arrest her. Then she discovers she is succubus hybrid i.e. half human, half succubus. How much more can she handle?
Now I went into the story expecting to be reading about a vampire. Who wouldn’t, given the title of the book? A vampire made an appearance, however the focus of the story was on Zorah. I found her to be an interesting character, although sometimes I found her actions annoying. I learnt that Rans is a centuries old vampire and the last of his kind. He also took it up on himself to be Zorah’s protector. However, I wished the authors had provided more about him, so I could understand what drove him.
Zorah and Rans had lots of chemistry. I sensed instantly that they would share intimate moments.
The secondary characters are an interesting bunch. I am curious to learn more about them, especially Zorah’s father.
The authors went into so many details, which led to the story moving at a slow pace. Despite the slowness, I found the storyline interesting. I was curious to know how the events would unfold.
Given the circumstances, I was happy that romance was not the focal point of the story. There were some passionate moments, but it did not take over the story. I thought this aspect was well done, and fitted the story perfectly.
Everything was going so well until that cliffhanger of an ending, which left me with so many unanswered questions.
Narration
I am not a big fan of the narrator. Her male voices were fine, but she made the heroine sound like a whining and bratty teenager.
Conclusion/Recommendation
Overall, not a bad story. I will read the next book as I need answers, but I am not sure if I will continue with the audio version.
prationality's review
10% DNF - had a feeling this book was heading towards how super special our MC is and I wasn't wrong.
I should have known considering any book that has "panty melting" as a sexy unironic attribute for the Hero/love interest is not my cup of tea.
I should have known considering any book that has "panty melting" as a sexy unironic attribute for the Hero/love interest is not my cup of tea.
danaichristopoulou's review
4.0
A page-turner until the end!
Having recently finished the other vampire themed series by R. A. Steffan, Circle of Blood, I knew I was in for a ride. Fair warning though: this series is very, well, serialised. The first five books end in cliffhangers (although I'd personally put the end of Book 3 in the HFN category), something that tends to get many readers upset. Well, here's my unpopular opinion: there's nothing wrong with cliffhangers, especially when all the books of a series are already available. As far as I'm concerned, cliffhangers in this case only made me want to keep going.
The world of The Last Vampire is quite nuanced: throughout the 6 books we are being taken on a rollercoaster ride that involves several trips around the human world, the Fae realm and even Hell. We're also being taken on car chases, motorcycle chases, boat chases and several quite explicit battle sequences. Would I, personally, have preferred to spend more time in the two supernatural realms and less in James Bondesque chases across the globe? Potentially yes. But like I said, this is a rollercoaster ride; you need to hang tight and know you'll end up in a good place in the end. You gotta respect a writer who can do thriller/suspense/fight sequences in such a way WHILE ALSO writing the hell out of the many, delicious romance scenes that may be taking place between the same people but are definitely not repetitive at all. Chapeau.
Now, for the characters. When I started reading Book 1, I had some misgivings about how fast Zorah, broke waitress with chronic illness and low self-esteem, falls for the "dark angel" Rans. But you know what? In the long term, it works just fine. The character of Zorah deals with real, human issues we don't quite see a lot in books like these, and in the end, all these issues contribute to who she's slowly becoming (no spoilers). And while Rans may originally be suffering from a case of "too perfect/too tortured" male protagonist, these two grow together quite nicely. I was afraid that reading 6 books in Zorah's first person POV would be a bit tiresome, but instead I found her refreshing. Especially when she got over herself a bit and became-hey, no spoilers.
Plus: as per usual in R. A. Steffan's work, many of the supporting characters are equally if not more fascinating. I would pay good money for an M/M romance between a certain demon of the first order and his demon-bound human magician servant... Or an enemies-to-lovers story between a certain shibari artist and a stuck-up Fairy... Just saying.
P.S. I finished this series too fast and now I can't wait to sink my teeth into Vampire Bound, that's taking place in the same world and features some of the characters we've already met.
Having recently finished the other vampire themed series by R. A. Steffan, Circle of Blood, I knew I was in for a ride. Fair warning though: this series is very, well, serialised. The first five books end in cliffhangers (although I'd personally put the end of Book 3 in the HFN category), something that tends to get many readers upset. Well, here's my unpopular opinion: there's nothing wrong with cliffhangers, especially when all the books of a series are already available. As far as I'm concerned, cliffhangers in this case only made me want to keep going.
The world of The Last Vampire is quite nuanced: throughout the 6 books we are being taken on a rollercoaster ride that involves several trips around the human world, the Fae realm and even Hell. We're also being taken on car chases, motorcycle chases, boat chases and several quite explicit battle sequences. Would I, personally, have preferred to spend more time in the two supernatural realms and less in James Bondesque chases across the globe? Potentially yes. But like I said, this is a rollercoaster ride; you need to hang tight and know you'll end up in a good place in the end. You gotta respect a writer who can do thriller/suspense/fight sequences in such a way WHILE ALSO writing the hell out of the many, delicious romance scenes that may be taking place between the same people but are definitely not repetitive at all. Chapeau.
Now, for the characters. When I started reading Book 1, I had some misgivings about how fast Zorah, broke waitress with chronic illness and low self-esteem, falls for the "dark angel" Rans. But you know what? In the long term, it works just fine. The character of Zorah deals with real, human issues we don't quite see a lot in books like these, and in the end, all these issues contribute to who she's slowly becoming (no spoilers). And while Rans may originally be suffering from a case of "too perfect/too tortured" male protagonist, these two grow together quite nicely. I was afraid that reading 6 books in Zorah's first person POV would be a bit tiresome, but instead I found her refreshing. Especially when she got over herself a bit and became-hey, no spoilers.
Plus: as per usual in R. A. Steffan's work, many of the supporting characters are equally if not more fascinating. I would pay good money for an M/M romance between a certain demon of the first order and his demon-bound human magician servant... Or an enemies-to-lovers story between a certain shibari artist and a stuck-up Fairy... Just saying.
P.S. I finished this series too fast and now I can't wait to sink my teeth into Vampire Bound, that's taking place in the same world and features some of the characters we've already met.
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