GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Book Review: Absolution (The Vampire Alliance #1) by Angela Louise McGurk | I Smell Sheep

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Book Review: Absolution (The Vampire Alliance #1) by Angela Louise McGurk

Absolution (The Vampire Alliance #1)
by Angela Louise McGurk


Eve Blakethorn can barely remember what it was like to be unaware of the vampire world around her. Many years have passed since she met the stranger, the man who saved her life, gave her the world and promised her immortality. Unfortunately for Eve someone in power had not wanted her to have the world. Within days of her marriage her life is shattered. Everyone Eve cares for, vampire and human, is taken from her and she is left alone to fend for herself in a world she neither understands nor fits into. How can she hope to survive her dark and lonely existence while still plagued by the horrors she witnessed when her husband died? How can she avoid becoming prey to the monster who stalks her footsteps, the devil she has long suspected to be the one who brought about her husband’s downfall?

Desperation drives her every move, leading her into the darkness where monsters wait. Can Eve discover the truth about how her world came to crumble and who was really responsible? Is there another stranger out there capable of bringing her some sense of peace? And just what is the vampire government, The Senate, hiding in the dark tunnels under the city?


Have you ever read one of those books that you loved so very much it was hard to put into words the plethora of feelings you experienced from the tale? Well Absolution is such a book for me. The tale is told primarily from two points of view, which took a moment to get used to, switching from Eve's present events to journal entries of historical events that took place in another character's life (I will not tell who's as it would be a spoiler and we cannot have that - oh no we can't) and back again finely converging at the present. While this was at first off putting, primarily because I wanted to get back to what was going on with Eve, as I continued to read the journal entries were so engrossing and heartbreaking and I was sucked into the story and could not put it down. 


Absolution is beautifully written with fantastic world building and excellent character development. It is not a happy or lighthearted tale, but rather often dark, brutal, and full of injustice that will have you signing up for the next demonstration down in the square and raising your fist in protest. I loved the characters and became completely emotionally invested in their saga crying tears with each act of brutality and emotional pain inflicted, as well as cheering on each act of rebellion. The book's ending is satisfactory and a little open-ended without actually being a complete cliffhanger, but I can say that look out in the next installment because there is a storm on the horizon. 

On finishing this read I had to hop over and find out more about book two and found Allegiance was released on Feb. 2nd, 2014 and I am so excited to be able to jump right back into the action. I definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy the darker tales involving vampires and the supernatural, as well as a completely new and original take on the vampire mythos with that little bit of "what if" should history have a slight turn in a different direction from what is the norm and familiar.

5 Sheep




DeniseZ


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