Sunday, July 14, 2013

REVIEW: A CASTLE OF SAND (A Shade of Vampire, #3) by Bella Forrest

Title: A Castle of Sand
Series: A Shade of Vampire, #3
Author: Bella Forrest
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: June 26, 2013
Genre: Paranormal
Reviewed by: Ellen Fritz
Source: Received from author for review
Ellen’s smiley rating: 5/5

SUMMARY

What Sofia has with Derek feels like a sandcastle; temporary and something that the waves of life and time will soon ruin...

Since the return of Gregor Novak, the island has turned several shades darker. His hatred toward Sofia and thirst for fresh blood lead to a brutal war igniting between father and son. 

Meanwhile, the hunters are gaining formidable strength and resources by the day; they know that the safety of The Shade hangs entirely on its ability to remain hidden from them. 

And a sinister secret lies in wait for Sofia within the bowls of an Egyptian desert... a secret that threatens to crush her sandcastle much sooner than she could have expected.


REVIEW

When I started reading A Castle of Sand, it felt like returning to well loved family. This book starts off with the evil Gregor Novak as king of the vampire sanctuary, the Shade. The humans on the island are in mortal danger. Sofia must choose whether she wants to become a vampire or join the other humans at the catacombs and the exiled brother, Lukas, who, together with Borys Maslen, are planning something. None of this is good news for Sofia Claremont and Derek Novak. At the same time Ben Hudson has to conquer his own demons at Hunter or Hawk Headquarters.

I thoroughly enjoyed returning to the series for this third book. Not only does A Castle of Sand continue the story of Derek and Sofia, it also takes a look at others like Sofia's friend, Ben Hudson, and Derek's brother, Lukas. Characters only mentioned before become more prominent during this story and a bit of what really happened with Sofia's parents is revealed.

In A Castle of Sand I can definitely sense growth in the main characters. The author brilliantly describes Derek Novak's struggle with his darker vampire nature and Ben's inner battle with his need for revenge against the vampires and especially the vampire, Claudia. Ben has to seriously consider whether revenge is truly all that sweet. Sofia, on the other hand, has to deal with the deepest of betrayals while trying to cling to the few romantic moments which she and Derek are able to enjoy. Amidst the vampire family politics and intrigue, the fighting and the romance, Sofia's friend Ashley provides the reader with some humor with her witty quips.

A Castle of Sand is a page-turner in which vampire family drama and romantic interludes are balanced by lots of abducting and fighting. I highly recommend this book and happily give it a five star rating. Let's hope to see the next instalment in the series soon.


READ more REVIEWS

A Castle of Sand by Bella Forrest has 47 reviews on Goodreads. Read it here.

PURCHASE LINK


AUTHOR LINKS

Website    *    Facebook    *    Twitter    *    Goodreads    *    Amazon


No comments:

TIME-OUT!

I’ve been an avid blogger and reviewer since October 2011. It has changed my life in so many wonderful ways! I’ve met other reviewers ...