Irina lives in a pretty dark world: by day she's a clinical psychologist at a juvenile correctional facility, where she deals with the extremes of human behavior on a daily basis; at night, she cares for her husband, who was paralyzed several years ago. Writing has always been her passion, and now it's what brings light into her life. She is originally from Russia, where she worked as a TV journalist.
Jo-An is a Leo, a lioness emerging to follow her dream: to write a book of her own. As the owner of a costume shop for many years, she was able to satisfy her creative nature and allow it to flourish. She believes that anything is possible if you believe in yourself. She currently resides in California with her five cats and one husband.
Vampire Elite, Volume I of the VAMPIRE ELITE Series
by Irina Argo
Synopsis:
A millennia-long war between two immortal races is about to come to an end. Long ago, the Vampire Elite began capturing the immortals called the Amiti, attracted by their unique blood properties. Now most Amiti live in underground cells, forced to serve as vampires' bloodstock. The few surviving free Amiti, preparing a final strike, have declared their Queen a traitor. Her execution makes possible the rise of a new Queen, her young daughter Arianna, who will inherit her mother's mystical powers. Working with the Keepers of the Key, Arianna may be able to eliminate the vampires, once and for all, from the face of the earth.The new Queen is the last hope to save her dying race--and she's ready to fight to the last drop of her blood.
But the King of the Vampires has other plans.
Based on an ancient Egyptian legend, Vampire Elite is the epic story of a bitter conflict between two immortal races--and the effect of that conflict on everyone living in its grip. The characters are driven to love and betrayal, vengeance and sacrifice in a world without easy black-and-white answers.
Vampire Elite, the debut novel of the VAMPIRE ELITE series, was a good read; an interesting mix of vampire lore and Egyptian Mythology. While a lot of the generalities were what we've come to know and love in Paranormal Romance, it had several refreshing spins, the characters were great, and the story was captivating.
The basis of the tale centers around 2 races created by the Gods - the Sekhmet (vampires), and Amiti (gifted humans originally created to be soul mates and a food source for the vampires). Unfortunately there was some scorn involved with the creation of the Amiti. This led to loopholes in the cohesion of the 2 races, allowing the Amiti power over the vampires which ultimately ended up making the vampires paranoid and thereby forcing the Amiti into slavery over the centuries.
Our main characters are Simone (the half-blood daughter of the vampire king Tor and the former Amiti Queen Istara), and Istara's other daughter Arianna (the new and future Queen of the Amiti). The 2 parts of the book cover their twisted & overlapping tale which is full of danger, drama, betrayal, romance & surprise. Along with these two, there are countless other supporting cast members, including some sexy winged demons that I found fascinating and can't wait to learn more about. :) I highly suggest reading through the Glossary in the book, and/or the Guide To The Book part of the authors' website before diving in, because there are many terms and multiple associations that can become confusing throughout the book without a little help.
Constructive criticism note: While the book was very good, I personally felt like it might have been better to split it into a debut novel and a sequel. I understand now that the final outcome is more of a saga, split into 10 Volumes rather than a standard 'Series', but there was a lot happening in the 530+ pages, and while it definitely keeps your interest as a reader, it did get a bit confusing at times as things started to compound and characters started to overlap.
My other note, more for readers than the authors... the ending is a major cliff hanger so be prepared. After the investment in the length of the novel and the tale itself, the ending was not the most reader friendly; in short, I read the last couple sentences and wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. It DID make want the next book immediately though!! ;-)
Bottom line: If you're a vampire fan, enjoy tales with a mythological undertone, and are looking for a sexy fantasy story with a bit of a dark edge, then Vampire Elite is a good bet for you. It's not a book that you want to read when your mind is on 10 different things, but it's a good one for when you totally want to get lost in a story. And... It's an amazing bargain!
LITERAL ADDICTION gives Vampire Elite 4 Skulls.
Vampire Elite
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