A review by followingfantasies
A History of Vampires: A New Queen by Amanda Lewis
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in return for my unbiased review.
When 35 year old archeologist Angelina meets a handsome vampire King named Jude, she is drawn into the world of vampire society. Will their romance stand the test of time? Does Angelina have what it will take to face the dangers in this new world if she becomes his Queen?
This book is pitched as an adult vampire romance. I couldn't disagree more with that branding. There is absolutely no spice in this at all. I understand that adult romances don't need to have spice, but aside from kissing there is absolutely no other romance to be found in this book. The romance to me was very PG, I think this may have been better characterized as YA. The plot was very hard for me to follow as it just kind of takes you around as Jude shows Angelina his world. The pacing was way too slow for my liking and the plot was basically non-existent for me. It started to get ok towards the very end but it was brutal trying to get there. I loved that the heroine was an educated and intelligent woman but this also confused me because when she first meets Jude, all her common sense basically goes out the window. Jude basically admits to stalking her and she just doesn't even bat an eye. Definitely not a good message to be putting out there, but I understand that often when it comes to vampire romances this is the case. I guess I was also expecting a more dark vampire story than I got in this book. There is no blood drinking, sex or other typical vampire behaviors in this book. I would say this is a very purist take on vampires, so if that sounds like something you'd enjoy, I'd say definitely give it a shot as it is a very unique take on vampire lore. This book also had the insta love trope which I am not a fan of at all. To top it off, I just didn't enjoy the romance aspect at all. All of their interactions felt awkward and forced instead of full of emotion and tension. I did really enjoy seeing some of history's famous historical figures reimagined as vampires!
Overall, this one just wasn't for me and I feel it should have been placed in a different category. I think this would be good for younger readers who are interested in vampires, but whose parents don't want them reading about all the violence that usually comes along with those types of books.
2
When 35 year old archeologist Angelina meets a handsome vampire King named Jude, she is drawn into the world of vampire society. Will their romance stand the test of time? Does Angelina have what it will take to face the dangers in this new world if she becomes his Queen?
This book is pitched as an adult vampire romance. I couldn't disagree more with that branding. There is absolutely no spice in this at all. I understand that adult romances don't need to have spice, but aside from kissing there is absolutely no other romance to be found in this book. The romance to me was very PG, I think this may have been better characterized as YA. The plot was very hard for me to follow as it just kind of takes you around as Jude shows Angelina his world. The pacing was way too slow for my liking and the plot was basically non-existent for me. It started to get ok towards the very end but it was brutal trying to get there. I loved that the heroine was an educated and intelligent woman but this also confused me because when she first meets Jude, all her common sense basically goes out the window. Jude basically admits to stalking her and she just doesn't even bat an eye. Definitely not a good message to be putting out there, but I understand that often when it comes to vampire romances this is the case. I guess I was also expecting a more dark vampire story than I got in this book. There is no blood drinking, sex or other typical vampire behaviors in this book. I would say this is a very purist take on vampires, so if that sounds like something you'd enjoy, I'd say definitely give it a shot as it is a very unique take on vampire lore. This book also had the insta love trope which I am not a fan of at all. To top it off, I just didn't enjoy the romance aspect at all. All of their interactions felt awkward and forced instead of full of emotion and tension. I did really enjoy seeing some of history's famous historical figures reimagined as vampires!
Overall, this one just wasn't for me and I feel it should have been placed in a different category. I think this would be good for younger readers who are interested in vampires, but whose parents don't want them reading about all the violence that usually comes along with those types of books.
2