
Member Reviews

There's a lot of potential in this story but I didn't liked the characters and the story fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review
2 Stars - Spoilers ahead
This book had some great things I would normally read; history, vampires, and romance! While I found the blurb intriguing when I requested it, this book fell short for me.
I wanted to DNF in Chapter 2, but I also wanted to give the book a solid chance. It’s a short read so there’s that. When I requested this book I thought I was getting an adult romance with vampires, which I did since the MC is 35, but it’s closed door sex and it’s insta love which isn’t for me. So if you’re looking for romance without actual sex this is it.
And while I don’t mind there not being sex in a book, what really made me question the book is when the MC is questioning her vampire’s motives about the night ahead and this is her inner thought:
“Get ahold of yourself, what’s wrong with you? You’re not a slut and don’t start acting like one on the second date!”
Like WHAT?!
I’m not for slut shaming in any capacity and I felt like that was this. If she had sex the first night meeting him, she wouldn’t have been a slut. For them supposedly having insta love and him wanting to marry her, this was so uncalled for. I just didn’t appreciate that being in the book personally. She could have said “I’m not ready for that…” It really irked me.
Also around the 80% mark a whole new plot line of the already minimal plot was introduced - basically its setting up for the next book in the series, but unfortunately I won’t be reading it. Nothing in this book grabbed me and made me want more.
Like I said this book isn’t for me, but it might be for someone else!

I wish I could love this book but it was quite disappointing and I probably won't be continuing it when the next one comes out.
I tend to judge a book by its cover so I thought this book was definitely for me, but I wasn't really a fan of the characters and I don't really think there was any plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is just my opinion.
The book description had me very intrigued in the beginning but it did not deliver in the end.
I liked that the female mc was 35 which resonated with me. I liked the twists on history with famous characters.
But the rest was just very hard to battle through. The romance was not it for me, and I was expecting a bit of good vampire spice, but meh. I need more of a story that takes you places in you head and puts you in “another world”.
I still think there are a lot of people that would enjoy this book so if you love vampires and history go for it!.

Wasn't really the story for me. Could not get past chapter 2. I like vampire stories as much as the next person but this did not click with me.

Not a big fan of the book and probably won't be continuing it when the next one comes out, I wasn't really a fan of the characters and I don't really think there was any plot (though I can see that the author was setting up the plot for the next book, but I just lacked interest in what was happening). It felt kind of immature in writing.

This book had the potential to be really really interesting. I must admit I did find the story interesting and think that the next book might be an improvement as it won't only focus on the relationship of the two main characters.
I think this was a good attempt but would benefit from the introduction of more characters with developed back stories sooner.
It was an easy read and the author has potential.

I thought i was a huge fan of anything and everything vampire and paranormal but this.. didnt work.
Vampire are the good guys? they dont drink blood? the main female is a 35 year old.. which i freaking doubt.

I really enjoyed this start of the vampire series, it was a great start to the series. It had great characters and a great plot. It left me wanting more in this universe.

As an old die hard vampire fan, when i saw this book i knew i had to read it immediately. I love vampire books and October is the perfect month to read these types of stories.
A history of vampires follows our 35 years old archaelogist, Angelina Bonne who is traveling aroudn the world. During one of her trips, she gets to meet this fascinating man who happens to be a vampire. And not an ordinary vampire, he's the king of them all. Soon, Angelina will see herself immersed in this brand new world, full of creatures and secret societies. However, there's an incoming war and she doesn't know where she fits in this new society. Angelina also develops feelings for the vampire king and that makes everything even more complicated...
First of all I would like to talk about the cover because is stunning. It caught my eye as soon as I saw it and i can not wait to own a psysical copy of it.
The second thing i'd like to share is that i adore the writing. Amanda Lewis is a great story teller and she created an unique story. The vampire genre was really saturated back in 2010 but she wrote a refreshing story, full of complex characters and with two great main leads.
I really enjoyed Angelina's character. Her passion for archeology, her will to travel and meet new people, her love and courageness... I think she was a cool heroine and the perfect match for our mysterious vamp king.
Speaking of, the vamp king was a really interesting and complex character but i wish we got to see more of his background and how the secret societies work. The upcoming was and the reasons were a little bit predictable but I've enjoyed how the author wrote it and it was a compelling plot.
I really enjoyed this book and i think everyone should give it a chance.

I want to start this review by saying that this book has been judged quite harshly party of which is that it’s not thoroughly described/ categorized. While it is a romance, it most certainly isn’t adult. It is very PG with next to no spice. Also it’s a very clean read so don’t go into this thinking vampires= sex, drugs and rock n roll (these vampires don’t drink blood they eat fried food). If you’re looking for any of those things you’d best head off in Jay Kristoff’s direction. The author is known for her Christian Romances, while I haven’t read any of her other book I can say this one is very pure and clean. There’s nothing graphic and aside from kissing there is zero spice.
Now that you’ve been warned and hopefully adjusted your expectation I can go onto what I thought about the book itself.
The story itself is interesting and different, I like inclusion of famous historical figures (Beethoven, Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Frank, Marie Antoinette to name a few). I also enjoyed the globetrotting and historical aspects. The main lesson is that basically it’s very easy to write history in a certain light and the history that was recorded isn’t necessarily how things actually happened.
The downside to the story line is that for the first 24 chapters nothing really happens. As in there isn’t really any plot. Aside from Angelina and Jude’s insta love and the historical retelling of a few of the character’s backstories (they didn’t really die since they’re somewhat alive and living as vampires) there’s really nothing else that happens.
Because of this, the book would have worked better condensed into a novella and labelled as a prequel for whatever the author has planned for the next book. Which we get a taste for in the last half dozen chapters.
Now for the main characters. Angelina is our MFC. She’s smart, educated and an archaeologist which is something I absolutely love and can 100% get behind. However, this all goes out the window when she meets Jude or should I say sees his pretty face. In their first encounter he tells her he’s been stalking her and describes in detail her entire routine and every little detail about her and still she doesn’t question any of that but instead agrees to go to his house for dinner. Honestly it doesn’t get much better from there.
Jude our beautiful 2400 year old vampire MMC is kind, polite and soft spoken. While I enjoy a man who is in tune with his feelings, Jude really need to be a bit more assertive and confident. I mean he’s had 2400 years to learn to not be so self-conscious. He’s also a bit of an oddball, like there’s one scene where Angelina finds him collecting works from the courtyard and putting them in the garden so they don’t get stomped on (while whispering sweet nothings to them). And again it doesn’t get much better form there.
Overall Angelina and Jude lacked chemistry and their interactions were just odd and awkward. I couldn’t get behind the insta love aspect, it was just too much and over the top but that’s just me. I’m sure there are plenty of people that are into that sort of thing.
I think this book had a lot of potential but was let down by the execution. The next book in the series does promise to be a lot better (if the last few chapters are anything to go by).
I was lucky enough to receive and ARC from the author through NetGalley

I was very disappointed in this book. The description had so much potential but it did not translate into the actual book. The prologue really confused and irritated me. I've never experienced a book that took chapter two and made it the prologue, especially when chapters one and two (three) are all part of the same conversation.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love vampire books - and a vampire romance - well sign me up.
Wow - this book was NOT what I expected. The first few chapters were actually really interesting. However, the insta-love was just weird. This man stalks her then tells her he is a vampire and she doesnt believe him, but she decides she can't stay away from him? Huh?
Then they "bring back" these characters from history. They say their deaths weren't real - so you have Beethoven, and Keats, and all these "dead" people running around. The method of storytelling was told from a distance - I felt no real connection to anyone. It was as if someone were narrating a story. Then add in a lame romance, and it was all too much for me. I started skimming, and then just jumped to the end, which of course made no sense to me since I had skimmed and skipped too much.
So why not just 1 star? because if you love history and would love seeing all of these famous people in time come "back to life" this might really interest you.
I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review. I just wish I could have given a more positive review.

I really wanted to like this book, I thought it would be an interesting take on a classic vampire tale. Plus it's spooky season, so who doesn't love to read books about spooky stuff? Well, if you're looking for anything remotely spooky or vaguely supernatural this is not the book for you. Not only is this book not very supernatural minus the immortal vampires, I would rate the romance at a PG maybe PG 13. I desperately wanted a steamy scene between Jude and Angelina that was more than some deep kisses.
The only part about this book that I really enjoyed was the historical fiction portion. I really loved the portions of the book that delved into Angelina's work and the various historical figures that turn out to be vampires. I loved the alternative history aspects that followed these figures that are now vampires. I honestly could have read a whole book about historical figures that are now vampires.
While I did enjoy the historical fiction portions of the book, it wasn't enough to save the book. The insta-love portion of the story really did not work for me, it almost seemed a little like Twilight where the main female character is essentially being stalked and then falls in love with the stalker. If there had been some more steam maybe I could have overlooked it, but I just couldn't get into it. I did love the third act twist and I think the overarching premise of this series could be interesting, this book just wasn't great.

I just can’t with this one. I was really excited to try and conquer another vampire read for spooky season. But I’m not sure I can make it through this one. I am DNF-ing at 25%. I’m not sure whether I just picked up the wrong book for me… But I think the synopsis does not reflect the type of read that this is.
I do not like the writing style, concept or execution. Generally when I sign up to read a book before it’s released, I do everything I can to finish the book. This time I just can’t. I don’t like anything about this woman or her actions. There are too many amazing books in this world for me to waste time on some thing that I just can’t stand from the get-go.
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
A History of Vampires: A New Queen by Amanda Lewis is an adult vampire romance that will satisfy cravings for True Blood and the Vampires Diaries spin-off, The Originals. The story revolves around Angelina, a 35 year-old archaeologist who meets a vampire king one day. Jude is handsome and possibly way too old for her. At first, Angelina doesn't believe that he's a vampire, but after he proves it, she's drawn into the world of vampire society. She meets all kinds of celebrities who have become vampires. Is Angelina and Jude's romance one for the ages? Does she have what it takes to be a vampire queen? And what dangers are lurking in the shadows?
Here is a magical excerpt from the Prologue, when Angelina first speaks to Jude:
"A shadow shimmers in the corner. He’s starting to move. If she doesn’t approach him, she’ll have to wait for the next time, whenever that may be. She can’t wait that long again, for the uncertainty. Not anymore. She has to know why.
Angelina gets up, carrying her sugar-dusted coffee. She bobs and weaves through the crowd, making a beeline across the covered patio, to his table. He won’t get away from her this time. His eyes are on her, observing her the whole time, until she’s standing in front of him. A curious, yet unhurried, expression adorns his handsome face.
“May I sit?” Angelina asks. He motions with a long, pale hand, welcoming her to the chair across from him. She sees him clearly for the first time. Before, there were only glimpses, whispers of a man. He’s devilishly handsome. He’s leaned back in his chair, and dressed superbly. Obviously wealthy, but arrogance is not a word he’s familiar with."
Overall, A History of Vampires: A New Queen is an original vampire romance with some great new ideas. One highlight of this book is the female protagonist, Angelina. I love the idea of a heroine who is intelligent and educated, and 35 year-old archaeologist is definitely a character I've never seen before. I wish more vampire romances featured sensible heroines who know a thing or two. I took off 1 star because of a scene where a vampire Anne Frank tortures Adolf Hitler, which I thought was kind of unnecessary. I took off another star, because I struggled to follow the plot of this book. If you're intrigued by the excerpt, or if you're a fan of vampire books in general, you can check out this book when it comes out in October!

A History of Vampires: A New Queen Kindle Edition
by Amanda Lewis (Author)
Thank you to Amanda Lewis, Edgar Press and NetGalley for the complimentary reviewer's copy. I am choosing to leave a fair and honest review.
With the hallucinary quality of an absinthe-fueled dream, Ms. Lewis paints a sensual and sensuous wold with reader-snaring prose poetry. Be it Jude's red lips or the pants of the driver. For all the beauty of the writing itself, Ms. Lewis has a very bad habit of info dumps when a character is introduced. Rather than meeting the character and discovering them as the story goes, we get nearly a full history of some of the characters before they even speak
Unfortunately, Angelina, our heroine, is equally frothy. And not in a good way. In an info dump, we find out she is an archaeologist and a professor. That would make the reader expect her to be slightly down to earth. Instead of that kind of strong character, we get a 39 year old woman with the emotional maturity of a 17 year old during prom season. Jude has been following her, for a very long time. He apparently has been doing so because he wants to marry her. The stalkyness of this would drive most 39 year olds running for the hills. Angelina, on the other hand, decides this is a good idea... within a couple of weeks time.
Jude's character is little better. Weeping at the top of a hat has he tells her about his mysterious life. The only thing we know for sure? He has very red lips.
The plot seems to rather lacking of any kind of tension. Other than getting Angelina together with Jude and the display of cleverly chosen famous/infamous folk in the vampire realm, the plot is thin. Speaking of the plot device of the famous/infamous, it starts out clever but starts being extremely offensive.
For a premise that held a lot of promise, this book was deeply disappointing. Beautiful, florid writing does not over come the lack of plot, the lack of character depth and the complete lack of taste for a good section of the book. It feels like the first draft of a dream book by a history nerd who wanted to see if people could guess the mystery vampires – who, by the way, are not vampires.
2 stars out of 5 – just because Edgar Allan Poe
https://www.amazon.com/History-Vampires-New-Queen-ebook/dp/B094G6MKZ4/