Book Review: The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Spellshadow Manor #1) by Bella Forrest

The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Spellshadow Manor #1)

by Bella Forrest

March 10th 2017

Kindle Edition, 410 pages

A spine-tingling new fantasy, perfect for adults or teens who enjoyed Harry Potter...

*Over 260 worldwide 5-star reviews*

What would you do if you spotted a man following a young woman, but no-one else could see him?

Like most sane people, student Alex Webber thought he was hallucinating - perhaps he'd consumed something bad at the party he'd been attending that night, or he was severely overtired. But when he sees the mysterious man following Natalie again the very next day, he can no longer disbelieve his eyes.

Although Natalie denies the man's existence, Alex sees her walking with him down a road in his neighborhood he's never seen before - and can't help but follow. After a bizarre, but strangely short journey, he finds himself standing before a towering iron gate wreathed in gray ivy, behind which looms a decrepit old mansion named Spellshadow Manor.

Spellshadow, with its beautiful yet sinisterly decorated hallways, ever-changing outdoor scenery and very unusual residents... Alex will quickly learn it is a place that is as wondrous as it is deadly.

Especially for a normal person like him.

What if you found yourself recruited to an institute of magic, only to discover you really couldn't do magic?

What if your enrollment there was all one big, terrible mistake?

If you were at Spellshadow, you'd keep it a secret. A deep, dark, deadly secret...

Because Spellshadow's elusive Head is hiding a secret of his own, one that Alex soon realizes he and Natalie must uncover at all costs if either of them wishes to leave the Manor alive... and before it's too late.

Mystery, suspense, and oodles of twists and turns; an unforgettable experience awaits you in Spellshadow Manor... Welcome in.

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A very enjoyable tale of a "non-magical young man that follows and tries to rescue an abducted young lady from the halls of a magical school.

Alex's mother hosted a French exchange student for the school year and enlisted Alex to mentor her stay. Reluctant in the beginning, he quickly became fond of the young lady and when he saw a "rag man" following her around and sapping her essence he couldn't stand idly by and see her abducted by this strange man. He was astounded that no one else could see this "rag man".

Following her as she sommulently followed the stranger to a hidden building, he finds himself trapped in an uncanny school for magic. This is similar to other YA books I have read except Alex is not magical. He is "unmagical"! the schools graduation leaves him and the other students leary about what becomes of the students who then are never seen again. Thinking himself with no magical powers he plots and deceives trying to find a way to escape with his friends from this school and their path to destruction.

I enjoyed the magical twist flavor, the insertion of a little mystery and the cast of characters. I just might pick up the sequel!

Getting 4 "breaker, breaker" sheep.

Jeanie G.

About the Author:

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Bella Forrest is a lover of fantasy, romance, action, and mystery infused stories with twists you don’t see coming. She has sold over seven million books since her first novel was published in 2012. 

Sign up to Bella's New Release email list and you'll automatically be notified as soon as her next book is released: www.MoreBellaForrest.com

Book Review: A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire #1)

*** #1 Christmas Bestseller in Vampire Romance, Paranormal & Fantasy. Over 300 Five Star Reviews (Amazon USA & UK). ***

Plot:
On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.

A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.
An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.

Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

A Shade of Vampire is not what readers have come to expect from a YA vampire romance. It does not begin with a lovelorn vampire hero who saves the reluctant heroine from certain doom. In fact, it is quite the opposite. This novel doesn't waste time with lengthy beginnings, instead it begins with the heroine, Sofia, being abducted and chained to a wall like an animal to be used as a slave. Now there's an intriguing way to being a YA novel.

A Shade of Vampire switches between the points of view of Sofia and Derek, giving readers a chance to truly get to know the two main characters and to see this particular world of vampires through two totally different points of view. Though A Shade of Vampireis a YA novel, it does contain some dark themes and violence among the vampires towards each other and their human slaves.The basic idea of the story is a good one and the fact that author Bella Forrest created a brutal world of vampires who enslave humans with little or no mercy was intriguing, however the execution of the overall book was a bit of a let down.

Sofia is either pitying herself or confused about something. At times I wanted to shout "Get over it and grow up, this is not the time or place to be such an emotional teenager!" She had the potential to be a great YA heroine, one that would stand apart from all the "Woe is me, I'm an outsider but at least I'm pretty" characters that seem to be a constant thing in today's Young Adult novels. She has her moments where she appears to grow up and become a survivor instead of just the lucky girl who was pretty enough to catch the prince's attention. While physically she was no match for her vampire captors, she could have found a way to become their intellectual equal. I would have liked a more feisty female character who was tough and intelligent, as well as beautiful. Sofia wasn't flat out annoying to me but she wasn't a stellar heroine either. She does have potential though, if readers can stop being reminded how beautiful she is every few paragraphs or so.

Derek was the more interesting of the two. He has just awakened from a four hundred year nap that he apparently went into willingly. He resents what he is even as he drinks human blood to survive. Used to getting his way, Derek doesn't always know how to handle Sofia who doesn't appreciate being spoken at rather than to. He has a lot of growing to do in order to become a true leader to his clan, but more importantly, he needs to regain some of the humanity he lost when he was turned. With Derek, I would like to have had more insight into what made him act like he did, instead of his every thought some how coming back to Sofia. When Derek isn't thinking about, or talking to Sofia, he's an interesting and brutal character that could become yet another stand out character in the YA world.

A Shade of Vampire doesn't quite reach its potential but at least it has more than other vampire romances found in the Young Adult section. It is the first book in the series, so there's room for improvement and further character development. I truly hope Bella Forrest's second book in the series pushes past the boundaries constricting A Shade of Vampire and becomes the book it can be.

3 1/2 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Adria
Adria's Romance Reviews Among Wildlings
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About the Author:

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I guess my life as a writer started when I was five; I'd sit under the kitchen table with my box of multi-colored wax crayons (I miss those) and create picture books. Creative writing was always my favorite subject and I used any free time I had to sit down with a notepad.

Not much has changed, except that now I have developed vampirish habits: my writing "day" typically starts at 1am.

I'm an avid reader, a big fan of cookie ice cream and I'm often travelling. When working I have to disconnect the internet for fear of being endlessly distracted by websites such aswww.icanhas.cheezburger.com.

Oh, and unlike the beautiful girl on my cover, I'm camera-shy...

New series coming out May 2013!

Author Guest Post: Bella Forrest + Giveaway

A Shade of Vampire

On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.
A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.
An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.

Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

Excerpt from A Shade of Vampire

I’d been meandering along the shore for about an hour when I suddenly sensed that I wasn’t alone. Someone was approaching me from behind. My heart leapt. I was so sure it was Ben, that when a stranger showed up beside me, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

He must have noticed, because a smirk formed on his lips. “Were you expecting someone else, love?”

I eyed him suspiciously, remembering how many times my father had told me not to talk to strangers. I looked him over, taking in his appearance. My eyes widened. I couldn’t find words to describe how fine a man he was. He was almost beautiful. The first thing I took notice of was how his blue eyes were about three shades brighter than any I’d ever seen before. It was such a stark contrast to his pale – almost white – skin and dark hair. Standing beside me, he was easily more than half a foot taller. His height, broad shoulders and lean build reminded me of Ben, but he had a presence that was far more imposing than my best friend’s.

My gaze settled on his face.

I realized that he was inspecting me just as closely as I was him. His eyes on me suddenly made me feel uncomfortably vulnerable. I gave my father’s advice a second thought, but quickly canceled out all notions of heeding to his counsel when I reminded myself that he stopped caring a long time ago.

I straightened to my full height and mustered all the courage I had to keep myself from running away from this stranger.

Big mistake.

The confident smirk didn’t leave his face for even a moment.

“Like what you see?”

“A bit full of yourself, aren’t you?” I scoffed, annoyed by his audacity.

He stepped forward, closer to me, and leaned his head toward mine.

“Don’t I have the right to be?”

He knew he looked good and wasn’t about to act like he didn’t.

“Whatever,” was my oh-so-brilliant comeback.

My shoulders sagged with defeat as I took a step back, unsettled by how close he was now. I rolled my eyes and did a one-eighty, not quite in the mood to play whatever game this stranger was proposing.

I would soon realize that I was about to play his game whether I liked it or not.

He grabbed my arm and turned my body to face him. This motion alone made every single internal alarm I had within me go off in a frenzy.

This man was danger and I knew it. I tried to wriggle away from his touch, but I was no match for his strength.

“Tell me your name,” he commanded.

I was about to refuse, but was horrified to find myself blurting out my name in response.

“Sofia Claremont.”

As soon as I revealed my name, his eyes lit up with a kind of sinister approval. Then he reached for my face and traced his thumb over my jaw line.

“Hello, Sofia Claremont. You’re one stupid girl for taking a walk alone at this time of night. You never know what kind of evil a pretty little thing like you could happen to come by.”

I found myself wondering exactly what kind of evil he was. But I was suddenly overcome by the sensations that were surrounding me. My senses took in everything at once. I heard the waves, felt the sand, smelled the ocean salt, tasted the flavor of cherry and saw the stranger’s manic appearance as he stuck a needle to my neck. The effect was instant. I was barely able to gasp, much less scream. I went from sensing everything to sensing absolutely nothing.

My last conscious thought was that I may never see Ben again.

Author Bio:

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I've been telling stories pretty much since I could talk. Instead of having my parents read me bed-time stories, I would prefer to share with them my own made up tales.

As I grew older, I developed a passion for the fantasy genre.

I’m an avid reader and a hopeless Potterhead.

If you sign up for personal email updates from me here: www.forrestbooks.com ,
you'll be the first to hear about my new releases.

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