This books was DNF for me. Like other reviewers, I could not get interested at all. Book does not match description!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in return for my unbiased review.

I wanted to love this book - I was in the mood for Vampires and some romance. But unfortunately this was not what I was expecting and I DNF'ed at about 30% This book is pitched as an adult vampire romance - but it didn't;t seem "adult" to me, more like a YA level.

There is nothing wrong with YA books - I love them myself - but I did not go into reading this with a YA mindset. In my opinion, I found the plot hard to follow and the pace to be too slow. World building can take time and can be slow, but I got to points where I wanted to stop before officially stopping.

Overall, this was not for me.

I hate to do it...but I dnfed this book. I couldn't get through it. The writing style was repetitive and full of unnecessary details. For example, she describes a scarf in detail for a character unrelated to the plot. Those aren't details I'm interested it. This was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in return for my unbiased review.

When 35 year old archeologist Angelina meets a handsome vampire King named Jude, she is drawn into the world of vampire society. Will their romance stand the test of time? Does Angelina have what it will take to face the dangers in this new world if she becomes his Queen?

This book is pitched as an adult vampire romance. I couldn't disagree more with that branding. There is absolutely no spice in this at all. I understand that adult romances don't need to have spice, but aside from kissing there is absolutely no other romance to be found in this book. The romance to me was very PG, I think this may have been better characterized as YA. The plot was very hard for me to follow as it just kind of takes you around as Jude shows Angelina his world. The pacing was way too slow for my liking and the plot was basically non-existent for me. It started to get ok towards the very end but it was brutal trying to get there. I loved that the heroine was an educated and intelligent woman but this also confused me because when she first meets Jude, all her common sense basically goes out the window. Jude basically admits to stalking her and she just doesn't even bat an eye. Definitely not a good message to be putting out there, but I understand that often when it comes to vampire romances this is the case. I guess I was also expecting a more dark vampire story than I got in this book. There is no blood drinking, sex or other typical vampire behaviors in this book. I would say this is a very purist take on vampires, so if that sounds like something you'd enjoy, I'd say definitely give it a shot as it is a very unique take on vampire lore. This book also had the insta love trope which I am not a fan of at all. To top it off, I just didn't enjoy the romance aspect at all. All of their interactions felt awkward and forced instead of full of emotion and tension. I did really enjoy seeing some of history's famous historical figures reimagined as vampires!

Overall, this one just wasn't for me and I feel it should have been placed in a different category. I think this would be good for younger readers who are interested in vampires, but whose parents don't want them reading about all the violence that usually comes along with those types of books.

I wasn't a fan of the romance - instalove is really not my thing. I need more angst. I didn't finish around the 20% mark, but I can see how it would appeal to romance lovers who also love vampires.

A History of Vampires: A New Queen - Amanda Lewis ⁣
@theamandalewis⁣
⁣
@netgalley⁣
⁣
At 3% the author has just painted a mental visual of a very sexy man! ⁣
⁣
Our MC is Angelina, archaeologist. I love her enthusiasm and love for people.⁣
⁣
Jude - coming across as a sexy pussy boy right now - he cries A LOT in a new relationship, does he have a majorly tortured soul!? ⁣
⁣
The historical figures make me laugh so much! I love the way they have been given a new life and are now in the present.. very good in my humble opinion. ⁣
⁣
I have to admit I keep waiting for a Keith Richards reference and how he is the ‘vampire’ who has been turned, eaten loads of crap that’s not good for him and hasn’t faked his death yet!⁣
⁣
This was a good read, not spicy but engaging nonetheless.⁣
⁣
It was immediate between our two MCs and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, turns out I really did.⁣
⁣
An enjoyable read.⁣
⁣
4 stars ⭐

The cover drew me to this book, and I'm so glad I managed to read this, the story hooked me from the first 2 pages, its very creative, clever and gripping, I love a book that grips me straight away and this did the story progressed brilliantly, you will not be disappointed with this book and its definitely a must read.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this eArc.

I DNFed this, it reads like fanfiction, and not a good kind.

This was a struggle for me to read - I couldn't connect with the characters, the writing style felt off, and the romance itself was so cliche and unfulfilling. I normally enjoy insta-love when written well, but in this case, I couldn't buy into it. I didn't see why they were attracted to each other. Overall, a lackluster read with a lot of potential left unfulfilled.

I was excited to conquer a vampire read for spooky season, but I struggled with this one. Not even sure if you could consider this a story of vampires. I found the writing to be a bit annoying and I did not connect with the MC. However, I did think it was cleaver how historical figures were weaved through the story - so that was a fun addition.

I dnf this book, I found it dull and repetitive and very cliché.
Just not my cup of tea at all, somebody else might love it,.

No real plot, insta-love in this story just felt off, and the vampires were not very...vampiric. So this is a pass for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Oh book how I wanted to love you. But...you are not for me. I struggled to finish this; very little actual paranormal kind of stuff and alot of "wait, what now" happening. I admit anything with insta-love is very hard for me to get through; it automatically shuts my brain off to engage bc I find it lazy plotting. Which can be unfair bc lots of people are totally fine with that but if you expect rich backstory and developed character and plot, this isn't the book for you.

I picked up this book expecting a haunting vampiric read. Unfortunately, I struggled to engage with the plot and characters throughout.

*Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book early in exchange of a honest review*

If you're expecting to read a story about vampires, come again. This book couldn't be farther from it.

Not only do they not have proper fangs, they hardly drink blood and they spend their time contributing to a secret society that aims to better the world.

Now, my problem isn't with that even though I was disappointed that it wasn't what you would expect from a book on vampires.

My problem is with Angelia, Jude and their whole affair.

She is a doctor in archeology, she's supposed to be smart and have common sense. So when she knows that a man has been stalking her and then he admits of doing so, she shouldn't have gone on a date with him.

Angelina, girl, however sexy he might be, you know better than that c'mon.

Also, a girl who has spent her whole life studying and investing in her degree and her future just does not throw away everything just because a handsome man asks you to marry you.

A man who you've known for less than a month who has been stalking you for three years.

It's complete nonsense and it was maddening to read.

The two stars are wholly for Edgar and Ludwig.
Now that was cool. I cannot deny that meeting your favorite authors and historical figures have its appeal and I'd love that.

But everything else? Utter nonsense.

It's safe to say that I won't continue the series.

This book was not for me. I tried really hard to plow through but it was like slogging through mud.

The lore of this world was not fully fleshed out and left me feeling irritated. The characters were a bit all over the place. There was so much potential but the author just didn't follow through effectively.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book through Netgalley and thought it would be similar to Twilight or The Vampire Diaries. Sadly, it was not.

About a quarter bid the way through I almost stopped reading, but struggled until the end.

It did pick up a little, but it never developed into anything exciting

The characters were just hohum, no depth and the romance was PG at best.

Not an adult or YA book.

More suitable for teens or tweens!

'A History of Vampires': 2⭐

(Unpaid Review: thank you @netgalley, @amandalewis and the publishers for allowing me to read this eArc copy in exchange for a review.)

Alrighty, let's start:
Vampires ✅ historic plotline ✅ bring back famous people as vamps ✅ insta-love ⁉️

Yep, that's right. For the first time, the romance part of the story is not my favorite thing. I mean, the main characters are just weird and how they have the 'hots' for each other just REALLY creeps me out. I didn't enjoy the fact that the girl was like 'ew, vampires are not real' and then, 'hello, don't go away'? It was super strange and really confusing. Apart from that, really interesting having Beethoven back and some other super cool figures!

Definitely recommend if you're a historian type of reader!

Review: This book was interesting and had some awesome moments. The writing was interesting and engaging. Overall, I felt like the story was good, but it didn't hit for me as much as I wanted it to - there were some really interesting characters. I am intrigued enough to give book 2 a shot so I definitely think this one was a personal preference for me.

Synopsis: Angelina Arbonne is obsessed with history. Driven by a passion for travel, the thirty-five-year-old archaeologist has no time for love. But she can’t resist knowing more when she’s stalked by a hopelessly gorgeous stranger who claims he’s a vampire king.

With her handsome suitor leading her through the hidden society of the long-lived, Angelina’s heart begins to beat to an intriguing new tune. But with an ancient magical war brewing, dating a two-thousand-year-old is giving her second thoughts about becoming an immortal queen…

Can they bridge their improbable age gap and enjoy an eternal happily ever after?

A New Queen is the compelling first book in the A History of Vampires paranormal romance series. If you like intelligent characters, original storylines, and historical themes, then you’ll adore Amanda Lewis’ enthralling tale.

Angelina thought she had her life figured out: teach her college archeology classes, visit her aunt, and go home alone. But then she met Jude. After following her for years, Jude finally reveals himself to be the king vampire, and he would like Angelina to be his queen. After getting to know Jude, as well as some of his historically-famous brethren, Angelina knows her life is about to change forever and everything she thought she knew about history is no more.

I loved the potential A History of Vampires had. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else that I truly enjoyed about this book. I did make myself finish the book in case the ending changed any opinions, but reading was slow going and I honestly struggled to pick it back up. I usually devour paranormal romances, but I acknowledge that just because this one wasn’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean others will have the same reaction. Here are some of the issues that I personally had while reading:

The connection between the two main characters. Jude and Angelina are supposed to be courting, but I struggled to find any chemistry between the two of them. Angelina went on and on about how attractive she found Jude to be, but there was just very little chemistry when they were actually together. It felt like Angelina spent more time around Jude’s family/friends than around him, so that might have contributed to the on-page chemistry.

The vampire lore. There was a lot of potential to really create a new and unique vampire lore, but it felt like Lewis hit just the tip of the iceberg on the background and history of vampires and then gave up trying to flesh it out. The first book in a series really needs to lay the foundation of any new world if readers are going to be swept away into the story, but there was just too much that was briefly mentioned and then never touched on again. When creating a new vision, especially one so different than normal vampire lore, fleshing out the details is important.

The writing style. I was very conflicted over the writing style versus the intended audience of this book. The writing style itself came off as very YA, but Angelina, at 35, was too old to be the main character of a YA novel. The writing style seemed very disconnected to the actual characters. I wasn’t sure if this was meant for adults and came off as younger writing, or if this was meant for younger audiences and just featured older characters; either way, the combination put me off the story a bit. There were also phrases that Lewis kept repeating, and even using synonyms instead of the same phrases over and over would have freshened up parts of the writing.

Character perspectives. Lewis included a few, random chapters told from secondary character perspectives. I appreciated that these chapters were meant to provide an alternative look at Jude’s history, rather than him telling Angelina himself. However, I wish Lewis would have either committed to the alternative perspectives more or left them out altogether. By only including a few throughout the whole book, they felt out of place and interrupted the natural flow of Angelina’s narrative.

Famous historical figures. I really liked that Lewis included these famous historical figures in the story. Discovering that all these famous people she had studied in history books were really vampires was probably the part I found most interesting about Angelina’s story. However, Lewis made it a point that these characters aren’t the same people we’ve read about and studied; in fact, they were very different from everything ever written about them. I appreciated this approach to historical figures - it definitely added a new layer to both them and the story. But, some of the new character traits were hard to really believe, and those disjointed traits often pulled me out of the story. It was interesting, but I’m not sure these secondary characters were more helpful or harmful to Angelina’s narrative.

I enjoyed the overall idea behind the story, and the potential for this new vampire lore. But, there were a lot of areas that just hit wrong or just skimmed the surface of what the story could have been. I wish Lewis would have provided more detail, grounding the characters in this new world and fleshing them out. The first 80% of the book was just Angelina and Jude committing to being in a relationship, and no real conflict was introduced until the epilogue. A History of Vampires included a lot of fluff, and I would have loved this story if there was more chemistry between characters and more actual action in the plot. Sadly, this story just didn’t do it for me, but readers who enjoy lighter paranormal romance might enjoy Amanda Lewis’s new series.