Loved this book captured my attention right away and fell in love with all the characters and their story, you will have to purchase the second installment and sadly the third is still not out yet. Waiting to hear back since it said in the second book that it would be out in Jan 2019. I loved both books and found it so interesting and intense moments with the Saints and the kids that your dying to know what will happen next !

3.5 stars
Hmm.. The story was interesting and it has a great pace.
It well written with great characters. As the first book in the series, it was good.
I'm looking forward to seeing what this series will become.

I thought that this was a great paranormal vampire story. I enjoyed the pace of the story and how everything tied back together. Thank you NetGalley.

I'm still not certain how I feel about this story. I've never read any of the stories this was compared to, so I went into this with fresh eyes. It seemed a bit.... harem like to me? Or in some cases reverse harem? You have your "monarchy" aka your vampires (who are both male and female), and they each have "swans" aka people (male or female in some cases both) in which they drink from. Apparently its a very sexual experience. Don't get me wrong, there is some action and some mystery also contained within this novel, but being that Alex is somehow brand new to the vampire lifestyle, as a reader I didn't buy his story. It seemed way too unbelievable that not only did he have no idea what he was, but he would rather grow weak and die than do what he needed to survive.

There is a lot of potential here though, both with Alex's story and with the whole Saints and Renaissance story-lines that are also simultaneously playing out. I may eventually pick up the second book in this series (even though I'm not sure if its the final one or not), and I would read more from this author. My to-be-read pile is a bit too big for that right now however.

I do believe this will appeal to those who enjoy supernatural stories with interesting twists.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

I wasn't a huge fan going into the book but as the writing got more comfortable and the story progressed, I really enjoyed this.

First of all, I must say I'm surprised. I picked this book not having any expectation. I haven't read about vampires in a pretty long time so when I read the blurb I was like “Okay, this sounds good. Let's give it a try.” Well now, I'm glad I did give it a try.

The writing was enjoyable, it was easy to build your imagination and get lost in the world inside the book. The characters were great, they didn't particularly shine but the author succeeded in exploring each of their unique characteristics so it was easy to get to know them and follow their story. There are even a few characters that attracted my attention. Even though they're already great, I surely want them to develop more in the future.

The story was interesting and it has a great pace. I didn't have to wait too long until I found myself diving deep into the book. The world-building and the plot was amazing. It started out as a story of a teenage boy struggling to accept his identity as a vampire. From there, it developed into the secret of family bloodline, politics, rebellion. I even found hints of possible future betrayals. All of it was written through third person POV. And even though this book main focus was on the present, I got a glimpse of Alexander's life before he went to Academy and I loved it.

But there are some things that bothered me. First, the insta-love. I was actually fine by the idea of it if it wasn't so cringey I have to roll my eyes a dozen times. Second, why would the author had to have these characters be worrying over who ended up being someone's swan rather than focusing on important stuff. It was kinda disappointing, really. FYI, swan is a word for someone who willingly gave their blood to a vampire until the vampire get rid of them. As it described in the book, it's a mutually shared pleasure. Third, throughout the book, I found a handful of typos. It's not a big deal but it'd be great if there wasn't any.

Overall, as the first book in the series, Vampire Heart was good. It has a lot of potential and I hope the next books would be better. Looking forward about how the story will go.

This book was received as an ARC from BooksGoSocial in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was intense. This was a storyline that was completely unexpected. I wanted to read this book because I thought it would have a similar plot to vampire academy by Richelle Mead. It is similar where Alexander has to attend Bathory Academy after he figures out he is a vampire but it had a dark twist to the book as well when he murders a young girl and does not even know what he is capable of. Thinking that sending him to the academy would be good for him, he does not expect to meet others such as Scarlett who has a very deahtly persona to her and is set to end him once and for all, until she ends up falling for Alexander and is bound to save him. My adrenaline was a full rush by the end of the book and the book definitely had a dark twist.

We will consider adding this title to our Supernatural collection at our library. That is why we give this book 4 stars.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬,  𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐲?”

This is a story about a boy who has been sent to a school for vampires, after being raised by humans. He finds himself shipped off, after a tragic incident involving a human girl.
He really knows nothing about vampires and their world, other than what his grandfather briefly told him. Whilst he is trying to navigate his whole new life, enemies are trying to get to his new found friends.

I was quite excited to read this book, I really thought yes! A book similar too Vampire Academy & House Of Night, but it didn't quite get there for me.
I really did enjoy the story line, I just felt like all the mystery was just getting dragged out alot more than what was necessary.
I spent the whole book hoping someone would finally actually answer any of the questions poor Alexander asked.

I think I have even more questions than him! Haha

I will more than likely read the second book to see how it picks up, once Alexander knows everything there is too know about himself and this mysterious world.

I want to say thank you to net galley for providing me a copy of Vampire Hearts in exchange for an honest review. This is my personal opinion of the book.

A fun little freebie from Netgalley!

Given the fact that this is part of a series and has been published, I was surprised at the amount of typos and grammar mistakes. It didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the book, but I definitely noticed them and it pulled me out of the story a bit. I think it needs to be gone over again by a diligent editor!!

This book is definitely in the realm of YA, but content is targeted for an older YA demographic. There is drinking, sex (although nothing explicit), some bullying and mild violence.

The premise surrounds the arrival of a new vampire to a small school for supernaturals. The setting is the rugged mountains of Scotland and it seems to take place in present day. I enjoyed the trials and tribulations of Alexander, a vampire recently transformed. The vampire politics are kind of fascinating but the storyline as a whole was only mediocre. It ends with a pretty abrupt cliffhanger, which is annoying to some. I don’t mind that so much, but I know others find it to be a turn off.

Overall, 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book has so much potential. This has Vampire Academy vibes if you read the synopsis. The writing really fell short for me. The story in and of itself isn’t bad. Just the writing needs a lot of work. I think once that gets straightened out this could be a fantastic series.

I don't know what this book trued to be. A Vampire Academy Harry Potter crossover with more romance and drama? A sexy Vampire Uni romance?
DNF at 40%

I'm a big fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series and Anne Rice. I love Vampires, but this didn't win me over and I didn't want to finish reading it.

The dialogue was creepy-cringey and stiff and I neither cared for Alexander, Scarlett, Charlotte, Byron or any other character in the story.
Everything was unfortunately quite forgettable.

Alexander is an 18-year old Monarchy who has arrived at Bathory Academy because for the first 18 years of his life he has been living with humans, but his vampire tendencies have started to get out of control. We are then introduced to the Bathory sisters, Scarlett and Charlotte, who are also Monarchies. You can already see how powerful they are at this academy (hint hint their great, great, great grandmother Elizabeth founded the academy) and they sometimes come across as arrogant in some situations, but who can blame them when the whole reason vampeers and otherkin are able to exist safely is because of their ancestor.

One thing I truly dislike in novels is the insta-love trope, which unfortunately happens in this novel. The insta-love happens between Alexander and Scarlett in literally a couple of lines in this novel. Within the first two pages, we already see the guy falling for the girl because of the way she played the piano:

“He couldn’t see any more of her than her straight back, wrapped tightly in red fabric and shaped like a cello, all curves and grace”

“Alexander’s already beating heart, speed up even more…”

“Alexander suddenly believed in love at first sight” [ 5% Loc 135 of 2786 ]

There was also this weird and creepy encounter at the beginning with the “Head of the Academy, Madam De’ Arth”, which was said in a “delicious French accent”.

“Even though she was an elder, Alexander found Madam De’Arth hot” (cringeeee)

Then Alexander proceeds to describe his headmaster in detail, even going as far as complimenting the way her “black blouse left little to the imagination" because that's what we all do with our headmasters. Then he gets caught because, obviously, she can read his mind. (duh)

The writing of this book did not really appeal to me. I felt like at times it would be very descriptive and the imagery was amazing, but other times it fell flat- almost like it was written by a grade school student. The dialogue was really weird; sometimes it would be oddly formal between the characters who are supposed to be the same age, and then it would go back to the informal/casual tone.

The characterisation is a bit messy. Alexander is supposed to be from London, Britain (?) yet he uses no Londoner/British slang- I would know since I live here; plus isn’t he like 18 and not some Duke or Lord so I’m assuming he picks up on the slang. Instead, he uses “pretty neat” and “Totes” which I’m pretty sure isn't Londoner slang, but whateverrrrrrr.

Also, he's apparently a Team Captain of their Rugby team but got tired during the tour of the academy- and Scarlett even called him out for it. There was also a lot of inconsistencies when describing Alexander’s personality because when we meet him he's “bashful” when complimented, yet he was “simmering” in “quiet range” when Charlotte wouldn’t shake his hand. Another instance of inconsistency: Scarlett said something about “not caring for Alexander Augustine” but then proceeds to describe his “ridiculously handsome good looks” in the same paragraph (eye roll)

Of course, we also have a love triangle trope between Alexander, Scarlett and Bryon, which I felt like was poorly written. It was not enjoyable and I found myself rooting for no side and just wanting Scarlett to stay single for the rest of her vampire life. Fun fact- Byron is a descendant of Jack the Ripper (that makes no sense to me but whatever it’s fiction)

As for the plot, the first couple of chapters were only an introduction to the characters and setting (even if it was a messy and inconsistent one), and I felt like the plot did not really start till Chapter 7- or at least it was at Chapter 7 that something actually happens.

There were some grammar mistakes and sometimes the author forgets to place speech marks in dialogues:

“It’s [a] place to grow an understanding…”

Overall I gave this book 1 star and would only recommend this to people who like this author’s writing style and may be fans of the author. To be honest there were times where I felt like skimming through the pages or DNF-ing the book but I wanted to give it a chance.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to everyone.

Really wanted to love this novel as much as I absolutely love its book blurb. Sadly, author Katie M John chose to share with readers the inner most thoughts of each major character, within the same chapter, without warning or explanation. One paragraph could be clearly narrated by the male lead, the next by the female lead, and the very next by her sister, and then back to the male lead. There is a much better way to do this, so as not to confuse readers, and I hope the author considers editing this book to make it clearer. Would love to get through the plot if I could follow what was happening.