When Jade Eby Isn't Writing...

Originally published at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements

First things first...are you looking at how gorgeous that cover is? O M G. I love it. I'm transfixed by it. It's why I requested it from Netgalley. The best thing about it though? The inside blew me away just as much as the outside did! Kristen Painter has now won a spot on my "to be watched" author list.

The Good: Again, I have to point out how much I love the cover, especially AFTER reading the novel, I can totally see Chrysabelle in this picture. It's been awhile since I've read about vampires...I've tried to avoid them since the whole Twilight thing exploded but I was very pleasantly surprised with the vampires in this novel as well as the world building. Good lord, the world building is amazing in this novel! There are not just vampires but all sorts of other supernatural creatures but they all seem to fit together perfectly. I love that Chrysabelle is sort of a pure but rogue creature. She still respects her upbringing but she has just enough rebellion to question and challenge those around her. Plus she is totally kick ass! I love the secondary characters! Mal, Doc, Fi and even Dominic has a special place in my heart. I loved the interaction between the characters and the plot was really well done. I applaud Painter on creating this whole different world yet using themes that are age-old. Not only are the characters written extremely well, but the plot, pacing and setting were very well done. I really liked that Painter put a glossary at the end of the novel. I was able to pretty much figure out all the creatures and vamps but it was nice to have that index to back up my suspicions. I enjoyed this novel so much, I'm SO happy two more are already out so I can go read them!

The Bad: Really the only thing that bothered me was the ending. I thought it could have been more climatic, as we wait the entire novel for the important-ness of the end and then it just sort of falls short of expectations.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! Vampire fans, supernatural fans, romance or paranormals fans will enjoy this novel. I give it an A!

**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.