Title: Nightshade
Author: Michelle Rowan
Release Date: February 1st, 2011
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Jillian Conrad never believed in vampires-until she was unwillingly injected with a serum that was supposed to act as a deadly poison to them. Now, tormented half-vampire Declan Reese wants her blood to destroy the undead kingdom. Unfortunately, the serum has also made her blood irresistible to all vampires-including Declan, whose desire for Jillian is more than mere hunger.
Summary from Goodreads.com
My Review: I started reading this book after finishing up another one, so it was later in the day and I thought I might be able to get halfway through before I had to go to bed that night. After a while I took a break to check the time and I was on page 220 out of 325. I had no idea I had gotten that far into the book. I was so sucked into all the action I hardly came up for air. You are thrown into fast paced action right from the beginning of this book so the pages just seem to fly by.
Our main character, Jillian, is on a coffee run when she ends up in the middle of a fight between a scientist and a mystery man wielding a gun. Jillian ends up getting injected with serum the scientist is trying to protect and is thrust into a world she never wanted to be a part of. Dragging her kicking and screaming into that world would be Declan, a dhampir assassin who seems to be a cold hearted killer. However, things are not always what they appear to be in this world, especially Declan.
Another reason I love this book? No fluff. Meaning, there is nothing there that is not necessary and adding to the story. I had just enough information to keep me from feeling lost, but not enough that I did not have to read more to be satisfied.
The vampires in this story were another interesting element. They do have many common vampire characteristics, they drink blood, they are pretty hard to kill, but they can be out in sunlight. That is if they want their eyes burned out of their skulls, pretty picture right? The vampire mythology in Nightshade was very interesting and I enjoyed seeing a different element to the vamps in this world. It kept me intrigued and it differentiated Michelle’s vampires from those in other worlds.
My favorite thing about this book though was the relationship between the two main characters, Jillian and Declan. They start out as kidnapper and victim but of course, that does not last too long. I relished watching Jillian break down Declan’s barriers and help him to see what kind of life he is really living. The chemistry between them is undeniable, even in the beginning, and watching them struggle through it was fantastic.
Overall Nightshade is a fantastic first edition to the series! Michelle has done a wonderful job of weaving a story so full of mystery and intrigue the reader is left not knowing who to trust or what is going to happen next. I ate up every second of trying to discover the truth behind the lies and I am now completely in love with this world. At the end of the book you are left with just enough information that you can walk away happy, but not enough that you will be able to resist reading more when the next book, Bloodlust, hits the shelves later this year.
FTC: I received this book for review from the publisher
