Barbara S. (barbsis) - , reviewed on 7/5/2011 + 1076 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Let me first say that I absolutely loved this book! Diana has moments of stupidity and Matthew is overbearing as hell at times but as a whole, they make a great couple. He's a strong ancient vampire with many allies and abilities, and she's a dormant witch who is just coming into her powers. Which is a very good thing because their forbidden vampire/witch pairing goes against the rules of the Congregation and all-out between the species (vampire, demon and witch), war is imminent. The courtship is very old-fashioned and enjoyable to this reader who gets sick of the "meet and immediately sex them up" story line that is evident in most books. Matthew is a real gentleman and though he is romantic, he isn't a sex fiend. As a matter of fact, he is terrified of having sex with Diana for reasons I cannot mention.

There are many things going on in this book which I'm sure the author will mesh together eventually. Let's see, there is the ancient alchemy manuscript called Ashmole 782 that everyone is interested in since it's reappearance; the Knights of Lazarus (similar to the Templar Knights); the suspicious death of Diana's parents; the possible war between the species; the dissection of Diana's spectacular DNA; and of course, the forbidden romance between Diana and Matthew. Quite a lot going on with numerous characters to untangle allegiances and keep track of. I found a lot of the alchemy stuff in the beginning to be boring and really couldn't understand the point but it eventually became clear. Not that I'll ever actually understand it but I do realize how it is going to help Diana in the future...like when she gets her hands on Ashmole 782 again.

Any book that is almost 600 pages long is going to have moments when the hero and/or heroine is going to get on your last nerve with their silliness, pettiness or just plain stupidity and this book was no different. For most of the first half, Diana was definitely one of those TSTL heroine that make me want to scream. I don't know if she was playing the damsel-in-distress for Matthew's benefit or if she really was just that stupid but it did get irritating after a while. In the second half of the book, her personality shifts enough to lose the stupid part and become the heroine she is meant to be. I believe that Matthew enabled this behavior in Diana with his own behavior - ordering her around and protecting her against the smallest threats. After all, who needs to think for themselves when someone else is telling them what to do, say or think. This is annoying to most readers but if the characters are flawless from the beginning, how can you judge their improvement?

I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of Diana and Matthew's love affair and the outcome of the coming war between the witches, demons and vampires. An absolutely terrific start to a series that is spectacularly different from anything else on the market. Bravo Deborah!

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