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/