Book Tour Book Recap: In The Shadows by Julieanne Lynch

The Fairytale Nerd is the next stop on the In The Shadows Blog Tour!

Check out my review of this edgy vampire book!
An interview with Julieanne can be found HERE.

Cover Inspection:
Fitting... since Giselle was brought to
Armenia as a bride.

SUMMARY (book description based on GoodReads):
“In The Shadows”, the first of The Shadows trilogy, is an urban fantasy of vampires and the supernatural, and much, much more. In the shadows you will find lust and passion, battles for power and for blood, and death and fear around every corner. In the shadows you are carried away to an unknown future. Your destiny awaits, and you are no longer who you thought you were. You have a thirst, for blood perhaps, but a thirst for very much more than that.
Giselle was a normal girl with an attitude common to most girls of her age. Her family might not have been perfect (whose is?) but she loved them, and her future looked bright. She had an awesome best friend and a steady boyfriend, but how could she possibly have been so wrong about someone she loved? And how could she have been prepared for the darkness and for what she was to become?

BOOK REPORT CARD:

Cover	3.0
Plot	2.5
Writing	3.0
Characters	2.5
Ending	2.5
Overall Rating	2.5 Good! (85% to 88%) * highest rating possible is 4.0

LOCATION/SETTING:

The story is set in modern day Minnesota. But the protagonist was taken later in the story in the mountains of Utmish Ato-tem in Armenia.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

The main character is Giselle Bergman. High school student. Prom queen. Forever late. In a long term relationship with Marc, the prom king. Best friends with the handsome and sophisticated Alex, who turned out to be some cuckoo vampire prince.

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT:
** spoilers ** The story opens with Alex and Giselle on the way to school. Nope, they are not a couple. They are just friends. Giselle is in a long term relationship with Marc. Upon arrival in school, Marc and Giselle were sent to the Principal's office for their public display of affection. That same day, she received this blank envelope in her locker containing a letter and a disc. She decided to ditch school and watch it at home instead. To her surprise, the disc contains a video of Marc having sex with another girl, one whom Giselle really hates. So, she called her best friend Alex. Alex planned the ultimate revenge on prom night. Come prom night and after having been crowned prom king and queen, Giselle showed the video to the entire school. Hurt, Giselle ran out of the school and entered a park. This is the point of the story where things get really strange. She felt that there were dark figures following her. To her surprise, it was Alex. Alex revealed the truth about himself - that he is a vampire. It appears that Giselle has been chosen by Alex to be by his side in order to redeem Alex's bloodline, and create a new breed of vampires. In other words, Giselle was to be a vampire baby oven. So, Alex turned her a vampire, and she was expected to marry him and have his child. Then she was taken to Armenia. All these happened without her consent as Alex has been using his vampire compulsion. Giselle felt like she does not know Alex anymore. He turned out to be violent, abusive and hurtful. Not only that, Giselle was also wanted by these shadows. They want her to become their queen. So many things changed for Giselle in such a short period of time. She does not know who to trust in the new world he has been forced to live in. Enter Leonid and Antoine. Leonid is Alex's father and Antoine is Alex's cousin. The two want to protect Giselle and help her escape. But there are just so many enemies coming from all sides, Giselle feels that she can never have a normal life again. She must now face a very strange future that is thrust upon her. ** spoilers end **

LOVE:
This book is very dark, very twisted. It's filled with deception, sex, and betrayal. Julieanne did not sugarcoat anything in this story. I believe that's what makes this story beautiful.

NO LOVE:
I felt like the entire book was a very long introduction of the story. It took a while for me to fully understand the sick and twisted world that Giselle entered. There were just so many dark things happening to her. And by the time I was getting the story, I was already near the ending! I guess I would just have to wait for the sequel to know what happens to Giselle.

FAVORITE CHARACTER:
Antoine. Although he is a minor character in this book, I felt that there will be more of him in the sequel. I love that he is sarcastic, and loves to get on Giselle's nerves. However, I feel that he is the only one who truly cares for Giselle.

FAVORITE LINE:

“Oh great, a vampire with morals,” I shouted.

MUSINGS:
Although the protagonist in this book is a teen, this book is not for younger teenagers. It contains domestic violence, adulterous conduct, incestuous themes** and a little detail on the sex scenes.

DOODLES:

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:
Julieanne Lynch

SIMILAR READS:
This book is a sick and twisted version of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

CONTENT REVIEW:
profanity: heavy
violence: heavy
sexual content: heavy
mature themes: heavy
age recommendation: 15+

** It is quite important to note that there are different meanings of incest in different jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, incest is marriage or sexual relations between persons related by consanguinity (by blood) or by affinity (by marriage). In other societies, it is not limited to blood relatives alone, as it may extend to in-laws and adoptive relationships.