Good book that was well written. I enjoyed the story and the characters were well developed. I liked how the storyline moved and grew as the story went on.

Unfortunately, this was just not for me and a DNF. I love fantasy romance and the fated mates trope but the toxicity, lack of free will in the female characters and possessiveness with the male characters just turned me off.

It is unique in the fact that is is set in Amish culture with vampires that must mate or risk having mental disorders should that mate not be fulfilled, but the triggers and issues were too much for me to want to continue reading.

I can't believe it took me so long to finally read this book, it was so good! I love me some vampires and I
loved that this wasn't just more of the same cliché vampire romance books we’ve all read before.

Original Sin is definitely original, it was unlike anything I've ever read before and for me that made it
unputdownable.

Looking forward to reading more by this author.

This was a really brilliant, original idea in an oversaturated genre.
However, I disliked the portrayal of female characters as the reader constantly being told they are 'strong' though they seemed to have no agency or control over situations.
In conjunction, the reference to one of the brothers only having sexual experience with men and this being expressed as a bad thing was quite damaging and a major red flag to me.

Cringe in places, but overall, a really interesting idea.

After reading Lydia Michaels McCullough Mountain series I had kind of big hopes for this one even though it isn't the same genre.
For me this was not a hit but I hope you guys will enjoy it.

Amish vampires were certainly a neat twist, and the characterization and development were decent and the writing is genuinely good! That said though, I simply cannot get on board with yet another “fated mates” trope and hyper-possessive mmc. If that avenue of romance is your bag, then ‘Original Sin’ is an absolute must because it’s of a quality extremely rare in the niche, but if you’re like me and the trope has worn so thin it’s practically an Ick for you, a definite skip as this one leans very hard into that.

Honestly I think my favorite part about this novel was the unique mix of Amish culture and immortality/vampirism. I haven't seen that twist before, and honestly I think it really works.

But I'm kind of sick of reading 'fated mate' type stories where the guy's inner monologue is basically just possessive and running on the brink of non-consent. But there were definitely parts of this story I liked, so 2.5/3 star read.

Original Sin was published on October 12, 2021. Thank you to Bailey Brown Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the Advanced Reader's Copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

SPOILER ALERT
TRIGGER ALERT - emotional abuse, assault
and I’m going to cuss

Holy shit. In the first 150-ish pages the main character, Anneliese, is stalked, assaulted multiple times, kidnapped and gaslighted so hard I’m surprised she remembered her name. I can’t believe I finished this book. Based on the reviews I thought for sure I’d love. Who doesn’t love sexy vampires. EXCEPT THAT’S NOT WHAT THIS IS. The main male character, Adam, abuses his “mate” on the first night after finding her by BREAKING INTO HER APARTMENT AND FANG RAPING HER WHILE SHE SLEEPS!!! Like, what the actual fuck. Day two he follow that up by kidnapping her and SEXUALLY ASSAULTING HER! I am all for kink but I require CONSENT. He gaslights this poor woman and when she becomes difficult he simply compels her to shut up or sleep. Again, WTF. This is his “mate” who he literally can’t live without.

He takes her to the family farm where he complains she just needs to trust him. WHAT?! And meets his sister who talks about how he’s such a great guy and she so lucky to get him as a mate. He’s so kind, the sister says, because he didn’t force her into the bond by RAPING HER AND TAKING WHAT WAS HIS!!! Guys, this shit is bananas. The family is like vampire Amish. All the women are cowed. The men give advice like, “She’s yours. You don’t need her permission.” That is an actual quote from his dear old dad. WTF.

This book was uncomfortable and the main character was abused so badly. It was not good and I won’t be reading anymore in the series. The only likable character that was in the book was Adam’s twin brother who got a little handsy in a dream but never actually assaulted this poor woman. And he was portrayed as the bad guy. All the while, EVERYONE is singing Adam’s praises. He just the best when he’s not raping, assaulting or gaslighting you 🤮

I wasn't sure what to expect with Amish vampires, but I ended up enjoying this immensely. I will read any vampire novel, stemming from an early obsession of Twilight.

Thank you #netgalley for a read of #originalsin in exchange for my honest review

I loved this novel! I normally do not read many paranormal novels, but this novel had me hooked from the very first chapter. I could not put this novel down. I started reading this because I have read and loved other novels by this author, and this novel did not disappoint. I loved Adam and Annalise. Oh my gosh, the chemistry between these two was off the charts. I loved the twists and turns, this novel kept me guessing what was coming next. I love when a novel sucks you in, and you can't put it down. This novel did this for me. I did not want this novel to end. It was so good!

This is a great long read. Tumultuous vampire love story with twists and turns! Cannot wait to read the next installment.

Original Sin is book one in The Order of Vampires Series by Lydia Michaels
I'm so thrilled to have found a new vampire romance series to devour.

Lydia Michaels is such a talented writer. She has given us a riveting story with characters so wonderfully developed that I instantly fell in love with and couldn't stop reading.
Lydia captures the most romantic, enthralling characters ever.
This story pulled me in immediately and didn’t let go.
The setting was just as good. Like crazy good!
I enjoyed everything about Original Sin!
An addictive story that has me wanting book two.

I can’t wait to see what’s next in this series

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Bailey Brown Publishing,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Original Sin begins in the past with the horror of what happens to an immortal vampire who hears the call for a mate but never completes the relationship. A man named Ezekiel is forced to kill his un-mated brother because he has become a monster, and this story from the past haunts the man's grandson, Adam, who has recently heard his own call to mate. Adam is a vampire empath who can feel the pain of his parents who have struggled to reproduce, his sister Gracie, who can hear the thoughts of others, and his brother Cain. The family of vampires hides in plain sight in an Amish community, but the call to mate draws Adam out into the world to find Annalise, a woman he has dreamed of claiming.

The book is well written and connects religious ideas to a vampire story in an interesting way, but I found it difficult to read. Adam is a redeemable character who vows to provide his claimed mate with a choice, but the patriarchal structure of his society, which allows men to lay the rules within their own family and requires obedience from women, was a turn-off. I struggled to connect with and continue the story.

This is a great choice for those with a Christian background who also love a dose of vampire fantasy and sexuality. It does explore the difference between fate, choice, and convenience in choosing a life partner.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review.

In full transparency, I DNF'd this book at 45%. Please keep that in mind when reading this review in case you have a different opinion or are looking to use this review as advice as to whether or not to read this book. For me, it was not my vibe, by really any means. And normally I don't DNF books, even if I don't like them, but there were some persistent themes in this book that I was straight up not comfortable with and I could not see them turning any corners to better (read, "healthier") portrayals by the time I put the book down. I'll get into those problematic themes a little further down, but ultimately, I just don't think this book was the right fit for me.

PLOT
The premise of the story is a vampiric soulmate connection that, when realized within the vampire character, needs to be sought out in order for them to not lose their minds. One of our leads, Adam is vampire, who gets such a call for the other main character, Anna, and a steamy romance ensues. I was very intrigued by this premise because the connection needing to be affirmed in order for the character to survive was so interesting and enticing when wrapped up in a romance novel. However....

The themes I had trouble with overrode any excitement I had about the premise of the plot. Adam is a "gentleman" and won't force himself on Anna, but at the same time, he legitimately kidnaps her, constantly takes away her free will, forces her to completely change her way of life and self-expression, and views his relationship with her as "his right." Many things wrong here. Many, many things, which significantly lowered the rating for me because I just could never in a million years be comfortable recommending such content to someone. To do so would be essentially an endorsement that behaviour such as Adam's and the relationship Adam and Anna fall into is okay and healthy, when it really is not.

I was waiting for these toxic possessive edges and forceful removals of identity to be recognized and to have those attitudes (as expressed by Adam and his family) corrected. But by 45%, they hadn't started to change at all, and if anything, the attitude of "his right" and "it's necessary for survival" were becoming more ingrained, and I couldn't stand it anymore, so I stopped reading. Really sad, because I think the premise of a soulmate connection having such a strong impact on a person is a great one, but this was so bogged down by these horrible themes that I couldn't see a way out or a way to redeem it.

WRITING
What makes all of this so much sadder is that I actually liked the author's writing! I believe this may have been one of her earlier books, so there is no way I am writing off this author. Her style, while not high-brow literary, had that captivating edge to it that I love. It's the kind of writing that will draw you in and before you realize it you're up past midnight. Excellent writing, I just wish the execution of the story had been vastly different.

So in the end, I can't recommend this book because of its thematic issues. However, I am open to reading more from this author and seeing what else she has created!

Classic vampire tale with all the trimmings and intrigue. Add in a bit of a twist with fated mates and this one is not to be missed by vampire fans.

It started slow, made me question whether I should dnf or not but I was like hey you have nothing better to do so why not carry on reading. Which I did but unnecessarily so.

First, yes it was explained but really them being immortals and living an Amish life, I mean cmon I would off myself of boredom. Then he got to kidnap her (for some reason don't like that trope). I didn't mind that it was slow but the things that happened left a bad taste. For instance all that thing that happened with the twin brother, so unnecessary.
And don't even get me started on them living as per God's instructions and saying that it is his will or shouldn't question him (again another trope I do not like). Honestly they go after dark romances because of abuse etc even though the author made sure to put trigger warnings but we are supposed all okay with other books who wouldn't even write more precise descriptions. Oh and this book is supposed to be a dark romance, no offence but it wasn't either dark or have enough romance to call it so.