"What had potential as a dark academia, suspenseful thriller quickly devolved into a "he said, she said" blame game. ciche, "who dun it" murder mystery. The only reason I finished the book was to find out "who dun it" and it was rather a let down in the end." 1 Star Pros: The idea of the Hyde Scholarship, the whole process had me intrigued but it quickly lost its edge. Cons: The characters couldn't have been anymore cliche or one dimensional. A veteran who insists that everyone call him Captain, the bespectacled, black clad, Doc Marten wearing English Major with tattoo sleeves and the good ol' home grown, American boy, Duffy who works on his family farm and I'm pretty sure, actually said, "Aw shucks" at one point/The fact that no one was ever honest with anyone got really old really quickly and is one of the main reasons I don't really read murder mysteries. Full Review Vincent Gaines, the Vice President of Institu
"An interesting mix of The Hunger Games meets "Underworld", where a human, Oraya, competes in a once in a century tournament, the Khejari, in hopes of binding herself to her adopted Vampire father, Vincent and gaining his powers in order to search for her family. There's violence, death, manipulation, betrayal and love, all the hallmarks of an engrossing and entertaining read. I'm interested to see how this series progresses." 3 Stars Pros: Oraya and Raihn did have good banter/The idea of the Khejari was interesting, though I had a feeling I knew how it would end. Cons: Some of the terms used during romance scenes were just cringeworthy/Oraya's friendship with Illana needed to be a little more defined for me to really care/Oraya always fighting with everyone, over everything. Full Review Oraya was found in the rubble of her home after an uprising by the Rishan Vampires in the city of Salinae. Vincent, a Hiaj Vampire and King of the House of Night, re