Solid 4/5 stars!

When I received an ARC for this, I was so excited to dig in. I'm always searching for new vampire novels, and i find that indie authors are the best places to look. The synopsis sounded really interesting and similar, but still very different, to other books I have read.

Waverly is not your typical female MC. She's strong-willed, foul-mouthed, and knows just how oppressed the human race actually is. While all the humans have been brought up to serve their vampire masters, Wave knows exactly how it feels to have your freedom stripped from you. She's defiant, and I loved nearly every moment with her character. Lord Zein, the vampire who oh so graciously rescued her from a vampire attack when she was 8, brings her into his castle to be a part of his bloody supply unit. He has always taken special interests in her, and has never severely punished her for her misbehaving in the past when others would be dealt with for less.

We learn more about them as the book goes on, delving deeper in Wave's past, as well as seeing another side of Zein we didn't expect. While I found their character developments to be the main focus, it did drag around the 70% mark. We had a change of setting and some scenes felt a bit out of place. However, it was only for about 10% of the book before it all quickly built back up. We have a calm before the storm, before a very explosive and emotional ending. The beginnings of the climax were felt to be forced, but once the ball got rolling it was hard to put down. Needless to sat, I am very much looking forward to the next book! The sneak peak included for the next book had only confirmed my speculations, and I'm very excited to read it!

ARC provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this book. The writing style, the story line, and all of the characters. I’m so glad I got an opportunity to read this story..

I recieved an ARC of this book from the publisher through Netgalley for a review. All opinions are my own.


This story is about a teenager named Wavorly Sterling. She use to live in Avignon, France. Which was over run by rogue vampires and killed everyone she ever known. One of the five purebloods saved her and after that owned her. His name was Lord Anton Zein. After he rescued her he put her in Nightingale school. Which is a training center to be a blood supply for one of the five Leaders of Cain. Wavorly finally meets him again 10 years later.

Wavorly is different from the rest of the supply units given that she was once free. So she knows she is a slave. She always longs to be free and will do anything to be free. The rest have been bred and brainwashed to serve their masters. To them nothing else matters but making their masters happy. They dont understand why she wants to escape so bad. Just about all supply in Nightingale comes from Saya. Which is a breeding house for when supply units dont have any value to the lords of cain. So they have babies until they can anymore.

This is the first vampire novel I've read in a long time and I enjoyed every second of it. The story pulled me in immediately and made me want to keep reading. I really liked the writing and the story is very well developed. The characters are well rounded and very well describe. You ever get to know and learn about the supporting characters. I just loved everything about this story and can't wait for the second book come out.

This book was on my wish-list and I'm absolutely happy to say my wish was granted to me.

This world that the author created it threatening, forbidden and captivating. I found myself catapulted by the twisted concept of being born with no fundamental rights is definitely prevalent in this book.

The mindset that was used in the story to justify slavery has its complexity, and Kelsey Quick the main character expanded it further in a simple and ordinary way, whether you were human, simply you were enslaved. And the society was summoned accepting of that. Especially how this kind of enslavement applied to all aspects of the character's life and everyone else around her.

This book inundated my brain with images of what a world like this can look like if lived in, especially when Wavorly realizes that she has been tricked and that she's now more trapped than ever. She's devastated with anger and grief and acts out in self-destructive ways, which, especially at her age and around these tough circumstances, I find it understandable.

Freedom is something that is amiss in the castle, although clearly it the story dealt with a topic that kind of slavery is justified, it wasn't fathomed by the main character. Which as a matter of humanity and the way it was portrayed in the story, of a young woman who was barred from all her rights, it was made in no mistake the verdict mattered to her dearly.

Wavorly Sterling is a fascinating character--a blood supply unit, as you say, in a world of vampires. Personally, I find her situation extremely sympathetic. For someone so wise and rational, she certainly goes in for a lot of vengeance and escapism, the character will have gone on a huge journey from the first scene till the end in intense and creative detail that helped me imagine the world more vividly through her eyes completely.

Lord Anton Zein, he's the one who fascinated me--the most beloved companion of the Vampire Stratocracy of Cain, his character is the whom intrigued me in a way that it bothered me as I flipped through this book I wanted to understand him, and why he meant so much to Wavorly in a way that it didn't hate or love or even indifference. The only time I considered a biased switch was towards the end, even then I was conflicted in my own head.

Thwarted love, freedom, greed, jealousy, fear and resentment towards merciless vampires, in this book Kristen, had the ability to take an emotion or a situation and push it to the limit, her particular style helped create a cadre of which it was gripping and brilliant.

And finally and I will not spoil the marvelous twist at the end, I loved Wavorly's ending in the book to be for herself and no one else. But she isn't the character who has taken up residence in my brain for this next novel to follow hopefully. I never know, but in the meantime, I hope that others will tackle this creative world because it's worth reading and I can't recommend it more.

*Received a free e-copy from Net-galley in exchange for an honest review!*

Real rating: 2.5/5 stars.

Wavorly still remembers life outside of Cain, the vampiric city where humans are treated as little more than cattle to sate the thirst of their vampiric overlords. Her rebellious nature catches the attention of Lord Zein, one of the five lords of Cain, thus sparking a tumultuous romance at war with the rage in her heart. Oh, and there's magic too!

A Violet Fire is full of all the classic vampire love story tropes: a spitfire protagonist who defies her captors at every turn, a cruel yet sympathetic vampire lover/overlord, said vampire picking the protagonist over all of the other women in his harem, etc. If you take it for a fun vampire romance, it's decent. I found Zein to be interesting and the romantic scenes suitably steamy. I especially appreciated the female camaraderie that formed despite the circumstances, as even the "bitchy rivals" have depth and nuance that Wavorly can recognize. I was glad that the author took this route instead of allowing the rival girls to be flat minor antagonists who are just here to bully the protagonist. I appreciate that Wavorly has several important female friendships with ups and downs that get resolved with some proper communication. Thank god.

There are some tropes that I indulge in (like the ones mentioned previously), and there are some tropes that I have a harder time with. Specifically, Wavorly being a Chosen One with a special destiny and magical ability that allows her to basically destroy vampires on sight... who of course gets recruited to join The Revolution by a childhood friend who she thought was dead... This book did not handle the magic system very well, and it felt very tacked-on with little explanation. The overall setting is just not at all conducive to a magical atmosphere. We know that vampires have magical powers, but this is never elaborated on until the very end and as a result, the tonal dissonance of the last 1/3 of the book bothers me to no end. The sudden developments at the end just gave me whiplash. We get weird scenes where Wavorly sees a mysterious "violet fire" (aha!) that are at such odds with the fairly dystopian setting. I wanted for the text to more thoroughly weave the fantastical elements into the narrative, because I kept imagining this society as something along the lines of Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules, as being much more sci-fi than it turned out to be.

As a result of the uneven integration of magic, the pacing within the story was also very off. It's jarring to move from visions of magic to the systematic routines of the dystopia setting. It got to the point where I was just severely uninterested in the magical scenes because they made little sense and interrupted the flow of the story.

Also, I like spitfire protagonists who are still rational people at their core. Wavorly... was not quite that. Many times I let out an audible groan when she snarked at decidedly the wrong time, and got herself (and others) into heaps of trouble. The rest of the cast was pretty average, though I did like that Savvy and Anaya were allowed complexity. Zein was suitably attractive, though I never understood the romance that developed between him and Wavorly. I have a hard time believing that she's the first spitfire redhead he's encountered in all his years of life.

At the end of the day, when I read this as a quick romantic romp, I had a decent experience. The overall structure and worldbuilding elements were very lacking, however, and so I just kind of "liked" it. I suppose I'm interested enough to want to look into the next book?

a new kind of vampire book , vympires rule the world and humans are their slaves, but a young woman starts to change things. a real interesting story, I m looking forward to the next part.

Just finished reading A Violet Fire. Interesting take on a society where Vampires rule and humans are basically food for the rulers. The main character is a human girl who rebels against the ruling class and has a love/hate relationship with her vampire owner. The twist at the end is quite interesting and sets the stage for the next book. Hopefully the next book will have the main character showing some maturity and not just attacks of rage against her oppressors. Maybe show who the elders are and what the so-called prophesy entails.
I was fully engaged and entertained with the book but until I get to read the next one won't be able to give a final review because of the cliffhanger ending.

Whoa! What an incredible Journey!

I like Vampire books, but have tended to stay away from books where the main character is a blood slave because that storyline just didn’t appeal to me. However, I requested this book from Netgalley for some reason and I ended up loving every minute of it. I have been reading it straight since I started and haven’t even stopped to eat dinner. It is now after midnight, so that tells you how much I liked it. My son even offered to make dinner But I was too engrossed to stop and eat.

The story is fully developed, all the characters are well rounded and described perfectly, there are a bunch of supporting characters in this story and you get to know all of them very well. The story surrounds an eighteen year old human girl named Wavorly Sterling who used to live in a town called Avignon, France. Until it was overrun with rogue vampires and her family was killed when she was eight. One of the five Pureblood Militarily leaders of Cain, the Vampire Stratocracy, was nearby and came to check what was going on and saved Wavorly.

He was one of the most feared in all of Cain and after that, he owned her. His name was Lord Anton Zein. After “rescuing” her he put her in Nightengale school of infantry supply, basically a training center to be blood supply for one of the five Leaders of Cain. Almost all of the “supply” in Nightengale came from Saya which is a breeding center where they get sent if their blood isn’t good enough or after they are done being used by the Lords of Cain. Once they get to Saya, they have baby after baby until their bodies give out.

Wavorly is different from everyone else in that she was once free, so she knows she is a slave and she longs to be free again. Whereas the rest have been bred to serve their masters and brainwashed since they were born to think that it is their duty and the best they can attain. They don’t understand why she wants to escape.

The pace really picks up once the day comes that the Lords arrive to choose their supply. Each Lord already owns a bunch of humans, but they test the blood of each to decide who goes with them to the castle, who goes to Saya, and who is fed to the rogue vampires in the cells under the school. The rogue vampires tear them to pieces.

Wavorly meets Lord Anton Zein again for the first time in ten years. I won’t give away spoilers but it is a good story. There are so many unexpected surprises and Wavorly never does what you think she will. She is a pretty great heroine and though there is a huge cliffhanger, I will be reading book 2 as soon as I can.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I generally enjoyed this story, if not finding it a little predictable from time to time. I see the typical trope of "Im an ugly woman but everyone seems to fancy me" a bit tired now, but the authors pulls it off well. I look forward to seeing what the next book is like.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review (Thank you!)

Wavorly Sterling’s treatment at her Nightingale school, prior to being taken to Lord Zein’s estate, is strongly written, and deals with the world building well. Many times, there are too many new terms and laws that an author must introduce to a reader, and quick does a good job at introducing them gradually without feeling like I was reading a dictionary.

Upon Wavorly’s entrance to Zein’s estate, the book really begins to pick up steam. In a classic vampire novel, there are frequently tropes that take place, centered around the vampire falling in love with a mortal. and that does begin to take on the ye old vampire novel touch.


The author does a good job of introducing the vampire genre into the 2019 light and does a wonderful job of not making the reader feel like this is another 2009 sparkle vampire book (for the most part).

“Enslavement is still enslavement, no matter how soft the chains.”-Kelsey Quick, "A Violet Fire"

3/5
I love that vampires are making a comeback!!! I really do think that vampires make great center pieces for YA novels. Violet Fire's world building was superb.
I also liked how the author made the vampires slightly different - they are a different race, not just humans who were turned. And anyone bitten by a vampire actually turns into a zombie-esque creature.
I also really enjoyed the last 25% of the book. No spoilers but this is where the book really begins and becomes something I hadn't read before! It was really fun high stakes read at the end.
The first 75% is follows the very basic, "I'm a human, I shouldn't trust vampires. But this one is different." The world building made it tolerable but it was very Twilight for the first 3/4s of the book. I wish that part was shortened to more like 1/4 of the book, and we could have explored series of events at the end even more.
Overall, I enjoyed it but I wouldn't reread it.

*Thank you netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review*

A Violet Fire not only met but exceeded my expectations for an inventive and thrilling vampire novel set in a world not entirely apart yet not completely the same as ours. Following 18-year old human protagonist, Waverly, readers are introduced to a vampire-led stratocracy, based specifically within the region of the world known as Cain. In Cain, vampires brainwash, enslave, torture, and feed from humans. What follows throughout the novel is Waverly - a human who grew up outside the restrictive grip of Cain - battling with her hatred for vampires and her need to escape.

Honestly, similar to Waverly, I also grappled with my thoughts about not just vampires but the book itself while reading. The writing itself is well-crafted and engaging, but I was expecting to review the book overall as a problematic, yet gripping read. Fellow readers: I was wrong. Or rather, it took the electrifying twists and turns of the novel's plot to its very end for me to develop a true appreciation for the story Kelsey Quick has crafted within the world of A Violet Fire. Brace yourself for a protagonist who is strong of mind and heart, and likely to become your latest young, female protagonist to root for as a character that commands attention and solidarity.

As a former Twilight fan (shout-out to those middle school years), I'm excited by any opportunity to fall in love with a new vampire novel or series. Looking forward to the next installment, and as ever, appreciate the opportunity through NetGalley to read an advanced edition of this book.

4.5 stars

Upon reading the first sentence of the synopsis of A Violet Fire I knew I wanted to read this book. I mean "In the Vampire Stratocracy of Cain, human blood is scarce." First it's telling me there are vampires (my favorite weakness) and then it tells me human blood is scarce so I know I'm going to get some craziness with how vampires need to feed. And oh boy do we ever!

In Cain humans are considered supply units due to a blood shortage. They are bred and raised like cattle only for the elite vampires to feed on. The rest get a poor substitute for human blood in a synthetic version. The supply unit humans are trained in a finishing school of sorts and conditioned to only want to please and serve their vampire owners. Unlike her captive bred supply units happy to serve their owner, Wavorly knows freedom. She was not bred in Cain. She grew up free and fights to escape her oppression instead of accepting being enslaved to her vampire master Anton Zein.

We get a gorgeous, fierce, dangerous vampire in Zein. The villain I end up rooting for to contrast fierce independent Wavorly. She who would dare to not follow the tight societal rules of supply units and risk becoming one of the Fallen, monsters who are no longer quite human and can never be all the way vampire. Wavorly wants to take control of her present and her future, but she's in a castle surrounded by comforts and maybe Zein really isn't as bad as he seems?

I enjoyed this book overall, however I'm incredibly partial to vampire stories. The world building was a slightly different take on vampire society where vampires are born not made than I've read before and I enjoyed that. It's difficult to read a book where humans as a whole are considered slaves even if they don't realize this. It made sense in the construct of the society of Cain where humans are nearly extinct. Vampires respond in a way that ensures their food source, similar to how humans do so in our own world.

The pacing of the story is slow which gives a lot of time to become immersed in the world Wavorly lives in. We get betrayal, lies, and some steamy vampire scenes that feel totally right for the characters. When I went into the book I didn't realize it was going to be a series. Knowing this now, the pacing makes even more sense. We get more to come so the world building and reveals could take their time. I definitely will keep reading because I'm invested in finding out what happens next for Wavorly.

Wow an awesome first book a Y/A vampire dystopia about Waverly a human who is kept for a food supply and Zein. Vampire lord who saved her as a child but is a little on the rough side.
Waverly knows what freedom is and keeps trying to escape.
She catches the eye of Zein and things start developing between them.
Great drama,dialogue twists angst beginning of a possible romance.
With a unexpected ending.
Can't wait to read what happens next.
Really kept by interest.
Voluntarily reviewed.

There's a good story in here (I especially liked the twist on the traditional vampire/human 'love story' trope), but this had a few too many flaws for me to bump it any higher than two stars. The tone and pacing were incredibly uneven, and the prose really needed polish when it came to flow; by which I mean, there's a certain clunkiness against the ear that kept jarring me out of the story, (which could probably be smoothed out with another draft or two).

I know I say it a lot, but I am conflicted about this book.

Usually, I don't like vampires, it's probably because I was forced to read Twilight (because my friend's mom wouldn't let her read it) and I've been against them ever since.

But these ones were actually pretty interesting. The story was interesting. The characters were... okay.

And still, it's just not my kind of book.

There's so much going on in this book. The vampires use humans as cattle (called 'supply'), basically, so that they can keep a steady supply of blood. Most of the humans are perfectly fine with this, since they've been raised by the vampires and don't know anything else.

But Waverly, the main character, was born outside of Cain, in a free city, so she knows what freedom is and she is determined to return to it.

She has little to no interest in being a part of the 'supply lines' that govern life for humans in Cain, and the only thing that stops her from continuing to attempt to escape is that her owner Lord Zein, is holding her friends and threatening their safety.

///// Worldbuilding

Honestly, the best part of this by far was the worldbuilding.

It was unlike anything else I've ever read (granted I've not read a lot of vampire books).

But then in the last quarter of the book, the world-building gets a bit weird. Suddenly there's magic. Suddenly there's a prophesy and a chosen one. People from Waverly's past return. It gets complicated and I'm still not entirely certain what happened.

And then it just ended.

At the time that I read this (July 2019) there was no hint that this book was part of a series. Granted it was an advance copy, but you'd think they would have said 'keep an eye out for book two!' or something.

Goodreads now lists that it's book one in a series, and I'm probably going to read the rest.

///// Characters

I'm really not sure what was happening with some of the characters.

They were just... confusing.

There's a lot of Stockholm syndrome involved, which means you can't expect rational thought, but still, I cannot tell you what was happening with Waverly or Lord Zein for 50% of the book (particularly the end).

///// Overall

I might read book two.

I might not.

I haven't decided yet.

An amazing read, not a vampire love story, but a ale that will be spread over books. Engaging and thoroughly entertaining. Wavorly is an amazing character, so gutsy I loved her so much, we don’t get to know Zein too much as it’s kept quite withdrawn and it’s obvious we will learn over time. I can’t wait for the next.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I was given a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this novel. It was slow to start but worth it once you got into the thick of it.

It has everything you need; a strong female protagonists, romance and so many twists and turns your head will spin. I couldn’t put the book down. I’m also looking forward to any other novels that may follow.

#avioletfire #netgalley
I was given this book free an exchange for my honest review through NetGalley. This was an interesting read, I had a hard time getting into it though.

This book is the first in a series so most of the book is spent setting up the background and getting to know the characters.
It oozes passion that is all tied up in lies and betrayal. It's an interesting take on the over used , cliche insta-love vampire romance, it's focus in the emotional and mental manipulation.

It's a good read and makes you eager to see where the story goes next.