Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Book Review: Hearts at Stake (AKA My Love Lies Bleeding) by Alyxandra Harvey

Hearts at Stake (also known as My Love Lies Bleeding) by Alyxandra Harvey
Series: The Drake Chronicles Book #1
Published: July 12th, 2009
Publisher: Bloomsbury
248 pages (paperback)
Genre: YA paranormal romance
Acquired this book: From the library
Warning: may include spoilers


Synopsis: On Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family.

Luckily she has her own secret weapon—her human best friend Lucy—who is willing to defend Solange’s right to a normal life, whether she’s being smothered by her well-intentioned brothers or abducted by a power-hungry queen. Two unlikely alliances are formed in a race to save Solange’s eternal life—Lucy and Solange’s brother Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran Black—in a dual romance that is guaranteed to jump start any romance-lover’s heart.


Even fans of the genre who’ve seen it all will find a fresh read with kick-butt characters and family dynamics that ring true for all brothers and sisters—vampire or otherwise.

What I thought of Hearts at Stake:
Ok, so if you’ve read my reviews before, you probably know that I love fellow Canadian writers. When I found out Lesley Livingston is Canadian, I bumped Wondrous Strange up on my list, and it paid off, because it was amazing. Similarly, when I found out that Alyxandra Harvey is Canadian, I bumped her books up, too – and again, it paid off. Hearts at Stake was excellent.

I’m always happy to see any twist on vampires. In this case, there were a few – the vampire family, the human best friend, the story told from two different perspectives (Solange’s and Lucy’s), not one, but two hot boys to drool over, how a vampire becomes a vampire, and the different kinds of vampires, and how each are made.

All the characters in this book are great. Lucy and Solange are very different, but are fiercely loyal to each other, and would do anything for each other. Lucy is funny and sarcastic, tough and no-nonsense, and Solange seems to be the opposite, but she really comes into her own throughout the story and surprises you.

Nicholas…ahh, Nicholas. *sighs* He’s definitely high on my list of book crushes. Sure, he can be a bit of a jerk, but a lot of it is good-natured teasing, and when he’s sweet and caring - wow. He obviously cares about Lucy a lot and will do anything to protect her and keep her safe. And he's also a great big brother to Solange. Kieran wasn’t too shabby either. ;-)

I also really liked the secondary characters, especially a couple of Solange’s brothers, and her mother, who’s this totally kick-ass vampire.

Fast-paced, fun, action-packed, romantic, and funny, I would recommend this book to anyone. There’s a little something for everyone, whether you're a fan of vampires or not. Definitely a new favorite.
 



2 comments:

  1. I really love the sound of this book, I have heard of it before but not been bothered to pick up a copy or look into it more. Great review :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. I got a copy of this last week, and I'm excited to read it! Sounds good. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting Ramblings of a Daydreamer! I love hearing what you have to say, and I appreciate every single comment. I hope to see you here again soon! ♥
~Marie

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...