Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Apple iTunes (eBook) Download from Smashwords (eBook) Amazon Ramblings from the Darkness Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: Create Space ISBN-10:  1449511813 Type: Fiction Pages: 246 Copyright: October 2009 ISBN-13: 9781449511814 Price: $0.99 (eBook) Hunted by a coven of vampires, Katelina has only one person she can trust: Jorick. But what happens when her knight in shining armor turns out to be one of the monsters? Katelina will have to examine not only her feelings for those close to her but her perceptions of good and evil if she wants to survive. He lay on the floor in a heap. A puddle of congealing gore, so dark it looked black, spread out around him and made the carpet fibers stiff. “Patrick.”   Whatever killed Patrick wasn’t human, but if it wasn’t an animal what else could it be? What else is there to be?   Katelina is about to find out that if you turn over the rock of reality and look underneath it you’ll find things that hide in the shadows away from the light. Things you don’t want to see. Blood drinking monsters called vampires.   But what do you do when the vampire happens to be so beautiful you can’t stop looking at him? Or when he’s your only hope against a mob of monsters that think you’ve wronged them? Sure, maybe he saved your life, but how can you trust - really trust - someone who isn’t even human?   Katelina has no choice. Hunted by a coven of vampires, she has to rely on Jorick to help her escape. But no matter how far they run death chases them like a shadow until their only alternative is to turn around and fight.   Trapped between light and dark, the pair must travel down a path of mystery and terror as their pasts are slowly revealed and their passions ignite.  To survive, the two allies must join in an ancient power-struggle that could very well decide their futures and the fate of the vampire covens…         Excerpt “I didn't say his brother was human, did I?” “What?” As if there was something else to be! “If he wasn't human then what was he?” Jorick seemed to hesitate and then a smile flickered at the edges of his mouth. “Would you like to see?” Katelina leapt to her feet and looked around wildly. “What? He's here?” “Yes.” Jorick retrieved the candle. “I have him locked up right now.” His voice maintained its reassuring cadence. “It's perfectly safe. Come.” The last word was spoken softly, but it had the essence of a command. All Katelina wanted to do was run out of the God forsaken house, climb in her car and drive back to a gas station where she’d be surrounded by electric lights and Twinkies and motor oil and all of the mundane things that proved the difference between reality and fantasy; between waking and nightmares. Either Jorick was insane and there was no one there, or else he had Patrick’s murderous brother held prisoner in a smelly basement. Neither option was good, and she knew it was time to run. Despite that knowledge, she followed him through the cluttered basement. Just like entering the house, she was unsure even as she did it why she wasn’t running away. It was as if some outside force stopped her from escaping and propelled her forward through the darkness. They crossed the room and stopped before a door set into the farthest wall. As Jorick carefully unlocked it with yet another key, she noticed other doors along the walls, leading to who knew how many secret passages and storerooms. “Through here.” He ducked through the doorway and she followed uncertainly. She found herself in what appeared to be a narrow corridor. Dark, damp walls seemed to close in all around her. She clutched her phone in her pocket, and reminded herself that a lifeline was only a second away. They walked maybe twenty feet through the passage before they stopped in front of another locked door. Something moved inside and terror sliced through her. What if Jorick was only slightly delusional and Michael was really there? What if they were partners? Visions of her body chopped up and wrapped in garbage bags flashed through her mind again as Jorick unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Let me out of here!” a voice roared. The candle’s feeble light tried to brighten the stone room and revealed the single restrained occupant. The “thing” was connected to the wall by heavy chains shackled to its wrists and ankles. Pictures of the concentration camp victims or the starving in Ethiopia didn’t compare to the twisted, skin and bones figure. Discolored flesh cleaved tightly to its frame and made it look like a living skeleton; a monster who snarled and pulled the heavy chains taut with his struggles. Despite his appearance, there were vestiges of a human being. The thing's eyes were wide and blue – blue like Patrick's. Its hair was also a lot like Patrick's had been: thick and blonde. It hung in snarled tendrils nearly to his shoulders. Jorick leaned against the doorjamb and stared critically at the thing. Katelina stood in the corridor and stared, her feet unwilling to cross the threshold. The scene left the bitter taste of disbelief and fear in her mouth “Let me go,” Michael bellowed, his hollow face contorted in rage. “Claudius-” He stopped as those eyes, so like Patrick’s, landed on Katelina. He hissed and bared his teeth, long inhuman fangs that shone in the candlelight. A strangled cry escaped her lips and she hid behind Jorick. This could not be real!

Not your Twilight type vampires
If you loved all the Twilight vampires, you might not like this series. If you love the traditional Dracula-type of vampire, then you'll love it. This is the first of four books in the Amaranthine series.

Katelina's 'friend with benefits' is found dead in her apartment, but the mystery of his death goes unsolved until she gets an odd phone call from work stating that the person on the other end of the line knows who killed her friend Patrick. She tells her friend Sarah that the man had asked her to meet him, but that she wouldn't go. After all, going alone is how people get themselves killed!

Against her better judgement, she ends up driving to this out-of-the-way-in-a-dead-end-street place where all there is is an abandoned, broken down house. She thinks this is just stupid, but she gets out, curiousity getting the better of her. When the sun has set, Jorick appears.

What happens next sets off a chain of sometimes horrific events for Katelina. As if it wasn't bad enough that she is meeting this strange man at this abandoned house, but now she finds out that Patrick was murdered by his cousin, who just so happened to be a...what?...vampire.

She thinks this is all odd, because of course there is no such thing as vampires. Yet, she seems to come into contact with a whole lot of them over the course of the next two weeks, including Jorick. She was attacked, forced to watch other vampires die, taken against her will and nearly died herself. With Jorick there, she manages to find her way out of these near-death experiences. However, Jorick can't take away the nightmares that ensue.

Can she ever go back to her old life now that she knows about the existence of vampires? Will she make it out alive to see the next book? You'll have to read this one to find out.

Although I have to admit I'm kind of a romantic, therefore love the Twilight sort of vampires the best, I did like this book a lot. It was well written, easy to understand with all its many supporting characters, and the author wrote it with all the visuals as well. I almost felt like the vampires were biting me, that is how well written it was.

There were a lot of quite graphic scenes, especially with Katelina. She suffers bites, being tied up and beaten, raped, caged naked and forced to watch other atrocities as well as having to learn how to defend herself. I almost wondered if she were going to make it out at all.

It's very hard with vampire stories to make them different but still appealing to everyone. The vampires in this book were different than the Twilight and True Blood vampires which made the characters unique. The storyline was new and not at all like any others I've read. As with some vampire/human relationships, they can be virtually the same. This one was totally different, and very enjoyable. There was plenty of sexual tension for a book of this genre which made it even more enjoyable.

As I write this review, I'm not quite half-way done the second book in this series, and thoroughly enjoying it.

I give this book 5 stars!!
-Beth Muscat

Bitten by Books - Shades of Gray by Joleene Naylor
When the exciting first installment of the Amaranthine series begins, Katelina finds herself reliving the experience of finding her lover, Patrick, murdered six weeks earlier; the horrific images forever imprinted upon her mind. Jerked back to reality by her friend Sarah telling her she has a phone call, Katelina expects it to be from the police again trying to find out whatever they can to solve Patrick’s murder. The caller does not identify himself but states that he knows who killed Patrick and and he will share that information with Katelina if she will meet him that night. The location the caller specifies is the only house on a dead-end street and Katelina has no intention of going there.

Once at home in her apartment, Katelina discovers she has nothing to eat. When she leaves to go get something, she instead ends up at the address the mysterious caller gave her. Sticking her phone in her pocket, Katelina goes up to the house and meets Jorick, who asks her to follow him. Against her better judgment, Katelina enters the house to hear what Jorick has to say. After asking her if she is sure she wants to know the truth, Jorick tells Katelina about Patrick and his brother, Michael, whom Jorick identifies as the murderer. Unable to believe this given the condition of Patrick’s body, Jorick takes Katelina to meet Michael who appears almost a ravening monster. Katelina barely has time to digest this new information when she and Jorick are attacked by those coming to free Michael. As Katelina and Jorick escape, he tells her she cannot go home, and her life on the run begins.

Naylor possesses a distinct flair for description, demonstrated by a skillful use of simile: “The rusted aluminum monster squatted among weeds. Its broken windows were like shiny teeth that gleamed in the streetlights” (Chapter 16). The reader roots for Katelina throughout the narrative; her struggle of seeking to come to grips with the existence of vampires strike a realistic note in spite of the subject matter. The author does not shrink away from violence, and the villainous vampires are depicted as truly vicious. This action-packed addition to the paranormal genre has this reviewer looking ahead to book two.

Thousand Lives Book Blog
This would be a case of not judging a book by it's cover. To be honest I wasn't expecting much. I was very pleasantly surprised. I believed I had just purchased another paranormal romance but this novel is far darker than any other books I have read in this genre. Do not be fooled by the cover this is in no way shape or form a YA rated novel. Due to some of the content of this book, I really wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 18.

The story begins with Katelina, a young woman reeling from the death of her lover Patrick, who she found brutally murdered a few weeks prior. While she is trying to grieve and reconcile her feelings for him, she receives a mysterious phone call. The voice on the other end tells her he knows who murdered Patrick. She is to come alone to an abandoned farm house for the truth she seeks. While her better judgement tells her this is stupid and dangerous, she goes anyway.

At the farm house Katelina meets Jorick, the mystery voice from the call. He fills her in on Patrick's dark secrets, such as, his brother is a vampire slave, who had planned to win his freedom from his master. Patrick became tangled up in the bid for freedom and that lead to his demise. Jorick, of course, has secrets of his own. While Katelina believes he is a crazy maniac who plans to kill her, the farm house is attacked by another group of vampires. She has no choice but to follow and put her trust in him.

Up until this point the book had your basic vampire scenarios. Jorick is our typical lead vampire who has bucked the system. He's a loner, Dottie, a rebel! Luckily, for once, our female lead isn't a virgin. However, she is human and we all know what disadvantages that has when fighting in a vampire war. Of course, we have the sexual tension, undeniable attraction and chemistry. Eventually, our main characters give into the desires for one another, so far I'm thinking it's good book but fairly by the numbers. The story took such an unbelievably dark turn there shortly after that I'm still in shock.

*I was going to put in a spoilers button to describe the darkness but apparently I suck at code. So NO spoilers for you!*


Despite the darkness of this book, definitely no daisies or roses here, I really enjoyed this book. As a matter of fact, the dark tones were what made it enjoyable. As I'm sure has been noted in my latest reviews, I've grown weary of the paranormal romance genre. This book was so different from what we are used to. Though at times it was brutal and difficult to read, I loved it. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

I would recommend this book if you have become bored with the cookie cutter style of the genre, but only if you can stomach the viciousness that lies within it's pages.