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Saturday, November 7, 2015

Book Review: The Mortal One (The Mortal One #1) by Shannon Bell

The Mortal One (The Mortal One #1)
by Shannon Bell

Paperback, 320 pages
December 9th 2013
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you went looking for vampires? What if you secretly believed they existed? Dylan decides to go on a vacation of a lifetime in order to find herself. She begins in Romania, contemplating the existence of vampires and quickly realizes that she was wrong. Once she ends up in Florence, however, she is confronted with an immortal, Nico. She must be marked if she wants to live because she learned the truth of vampires. Nico catches her and her heart by surprise. The Mortal One is a whirlwind romance amidst vampire politics. Dylan must be marked for her safety, yet she is trying to be claimed by another vampire, thus making her time in Florence very complicated for her. She tests the bounds of her relationship with a vampire and tries to create a life for herself as the mortal one. The main setting of the book is Florence, Italy, where Dylan is in love with the history of the city.

The Mortal One is a vampire tale centered on 28-year-old vampire fanatic Dylan. Her obsession with vampires leads her on a trek across Europe, and after one false encounter, Dylan stumbles across the real thing. Interpreted by the Italian vampire community as a “truth seeker” Dylan is marked for death with the debonair Nicco as her assassin. But when Nicco finds Dylan more than a little intriguing, he decides to forgo her immediate death and makes her an offer she cannot refuse.

This book has all main ingredients for an interesting vampire story, but for me, it doesn’t quite satisfy. Dylan is one of those female characters who, for reasons not wholly explained to the reader, is irresistible to most men (vampire and human alike) around her, and yet, was left at the altar. I found her lacking a fully formed personality. For a vamp fan girl since childhood, Dylan seems to know sweet little about vampires, their customs and behaviour. She finds herself constantly caught unawares by life’s circumstances and flits from one crisis to the next while always finding time and money to go shopping. A love triangle erupts approximately halfway through the book, kinda out of nowhere. During a brief stopover in Paris, Dylan apparently catches the eye of rebellious French vamp Olivier, and Olivier is prepared to do battle with Nicco to stake his claim on Dylan. I liked Olivier and found him infinitely more appealing, and interesting, than Nicco.

In the end, I had a hard time caring about the central crisis or threat in book since the main characters seemed to be doing little take charge. When the solution to the problem is well within reach and character find flimsy excuses to avoid that solution well, that’s just frustratingly annoying.

This series may improve, and if I was guaranteed more Olivier, I might bite.

2 ½ sheep




Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:
Hi, I’m Shannon Bell, a freelance writer in Riverview, Florida. Don’t let the location fool you – I’ve written for clients all over the world. I am married and have a daughter that keeps me laughing or pulling my hair out, depending on her mood.

I have a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. I am also a member of the Florida Writer’s Association, where I serve on the marketing committee.

I attend a variety of different writer’s conferences throughout the state annually, where I home my writing and editing skills. Writing is my life, my passion and my hobby. To say the least, I love to write. When I’m not writing, I usually have a camera or book in my hand. That, or I’m out with the fam!

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