2 Bloggers 1 Series - Alliance Vampires

 

It took us a while, but Vamptember have Stormi and I the extra push to pick up the next novel in the Alliance Vampire series by Shannon Drake (aka: Heather Graham).  So read on for my thoughts and then hop over to Stormi's at Storm Reads for hers.

 

TITLE: When Darkness Falls (Alliance Vampires #2)

AUTHOR: Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

PUBLISHER: Zebra

PUBLISHING DATE: October 1, 2000

PAGES: 432   

SOURCE: Own

FROM GOODREADS: WHEN DARKNESS FALLS... 

In a windswept Scottish cemetery, Jade MacGregor's carefree vacation abroad is marred by a seemingly random tragedy. A year later, back home on a shadowy French Quarter street, she glimpses an oddly familiar face. Coincidence--or something far more disturbing? 

AND TERROR TAKES HOLD... 

Surrounded by her friends and engrossed in her work, Jade should feel secure. But somebody is dogging her every move. Somebody who knows what she saw on that long ago afternoon. Somebody who will try to rescue her from the evil that is waiting to destroy her. 

INNOCENCE DIES...

MY THOUGHTS: I must have purchased a really old Kindle copy when I was looking for this book (for some reason, none of my Libby cards had access to it) because it was full of typos and punctuation errors, and I found it often pulling me out of the story. However, all that aside, once I did manage to focus on the plot and not the small details (although is proper editing a small detail?) I really liked it.

Jade was visiting Scotland a year before the majority of the book happened, doing research for one of her books.  While on a tour, she and several other people are led to a dark cemetery and an incident happens which ends in major bloodshed and dismemberment for some of the other tourists, and almost death for Jade.  She is basically saved by a mysterious dark man and when she comes to, has a hard time grasping what actually occurred.  Fast forward a year and similar killing sprees are happening in the US.  However, upon closer look, the victims are people who survived the Scotland incident.  Jade keeps having dreams about the man who saved her and soon her shows up in New Orleans and introduces her to a world she never thought existed, one of vampires and ancient vampire history. Can he save her before it's too late?

I won't lie, Jade kind of grated my nerves.  She made some stupid decisions and even when faced with the fact that the man she was falling in love with was a centuries old vampire, refused to believe what was staring her in the face.  I also didn't like that Jade had a perfectly good cop boyfriend who she cheated on with Lucien, her vampire love interest.  On top of that, while he on his deathbed with a mysterious illness.  Yet I did love Lucien, who played a major role in book one, and I did enjoy learning more about his history and seeing him finally fall in love and find a mate.  We get to see the main characters from book one quite a bit which I enjoyed, and I found Jade's family and friend group interesting as well.  

Overall, I'm glad I continued on with this series and would probably have given this a higher rating if it wasn't for the issues I mentioned regarding editing and Jade's cheating.  If you like vampires or enjoy Heather Graham and have never picked up this series, it might be something you want to consider.

MY RATING: 3 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - The Whisperwood Legacy

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

May 27, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: Knives Out meets The Hazel Wood in this twisty contemporary fantasy about an amusement park shrouded in dark secrets—and the family desperate to inherit it at any cost.

Welcome to Whisperwood, a sprawling theme park nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where thrilling rides and picture-perfect scenery bring cult-classic fairy tales to life. Or at least they did until eighteen months ago, when the family matriarch, Virginia Strauss, suddenly shut Whisperwood’s gates and the beloved park was left to wither away along with the family’s dwindling fortune.
 
For seventeen-year-old Frankie Strauss, Whisperwood's closure has been a blessing in disguise. After seeing three generations of wealth’s corrupting influence, she is more than ready to shed the Strauss-family's gilded handcuffs.
 
But when Virginia goes missing, Frankie realizes that her family might be guilty of something much worse than mere dysfunction. With the help of the mysterious and handsome groundskeeper, Jem, Frankie sifts through a web of near truths and outright lies, uncovering a reality where nothing is as it seems, and fairy tales aren’t just real—they’re deadly.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: So, I admit it was the cover that initially caught my attention.  And while I am a bit concerned this is YA, it is tagged as horror and does mention a decrepit theme park so that sold me.

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK????