Review: Shadow of the Vampire - Meagan Hatfield

Even vampires should never sleep with the enemy.

Vampire princess Alexia Feodorovna has been undead for 125 years, so it's been a while since any man has made her pulse race. Until Declan Black. One look at his bronzed body and a fire like no other consumes her. Then she discovers that he's a dragon lord come to take revenge on the vamps who killed his parents. And claim a crystal said to imbue its owner with incredible powers.

Alexia is ordered to torture and kill the dragon lord. Yet with each reckless encounter, she finds herself consumed by his fiery passion. A passion Declan battles, as well. Will he be able to resist the fire of lust she kindles within him and keep revenge in his heart? Or will he risk everything to quench the burning desire and claim the vampire as his own?

Although it doesn't state on Meagan's website that this is part of a series she does have 2 other books that feature characters who appeared in this book:
Dragon Warrior (available now)
Vampire in her Mysts (coming soon)

Visit Meagan Hatfield's website for more information

Review:
Alexia is a princess on the verge of taking over from her mother and becoming queen of the vampire horde.  She is aware that someone is plotting against her and her mother and wanting to take her place but she is struggling to stop them.  When she is ordered to torture and kill a prisoner she isn't expecting the instant attraction she feels when she sees Declan.  She feels even more confused when she discovers that Declan is a dragon lord - a mortal enemy of the vampires.  Declan was captured when he came to get revenge on the vampires who killed his parents.  He was determined to kill the vampire queen and her daughter but after meeting Alexia his feelings start to change.  Is there a way for the 2 enemies to work together?  Will they be able to resist each other or will the passion between them ignite?

I love dragons and I love vampires so when I saw Shadow of the Vampire on netgalley I couldn't wait to read it.  I'm a big fan of paranormal romance and it didn't disappoint me - I loved Declan from the very beginning, the heat between him and Alexia was instant and I wanted to see them find a way to be together.  Declan is so caring for Alexia even though his instincts tell him that she is his enemy but he soon realises that things are not as they first seemed and that she has suffered at the hands of someone within the vampire horde who is plotting against her. 

Alexia has been through hell and back, she never chose to be involved in Declan's torture but she is powerless against the orders she has been given.  She is a strong character though and when it comes down to it she is quite kick ass against her enemies.  I have to say that Meagan Hatfield did a great job with the evil vampire - without giving any spoilers I'll just say that I really did detest them which is obviously how I was meant to feel.

There was a lot of action along with some great smexing between Declan and Alexia - definitely my kind of story.  I did find myself getting a little confused about the dragon and vampire abilities, it felt a little like I was reading the second book in a series and had missed some information, but that was a minor thing and didn't really effect my enjoyment of the story.  Although the story did have a complete ending between the two main characters things are definitely left open for another book in the series which I will definitely be reading if it is released.  After looking at Meagan's website it looks like Dragon Warrior (which is available now) is set before Shadow of the Vampire and reading the description for Vampire in her Mysts (no release date available at this time but it says coming soon) this definitely features characters from this book but I'm not sure where it fits into the timeline.  Neither of these books are the one I was expecting after the ending of Shadow of the Vampire so I'm guessing that there is at least another book to come and I'm looking forward to reading them all.

If you're a fan of paranormal romance and like dragons and or vampires then I'd definitely recommend giving this one a try.  It was a great read & I'm looking forward to trying more of Meagan's work.

Source: Received for review from publisher via NetGalley

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