Amaranth by Rachael Wade Book Review

Amaranth is a vampire romance fiction novel written by Author Rachael Wade '" an Indie author. I will be honest, I was pretty skeptical at first. I haven't had much luck lately with Indie authored books. But, when I found out that Rachael was giving away copies of the book in e-book form to bloggers, I couldn't resist the indulgence. The following is my review of Amaranth by Rachael Wade, the first installment in the Resistance Trilogy.

Can You Judge a Book by its Cover?

Okay, so there are plenty of yucky book covers out there that house good reads but Amaranth has anything but a yucky cover '" very beautifully designed. I also really liked how the cover art tied into the book itself. Not a lot of books do this. The same outfit worn by the main character, Camilla Hart, on the cover is also mentioned and worn inside the book. Very great tie-in!

Character Development

Lately, I have noticed a huge flood of vampire/fantasy/angel/demon romance books on the market. I have bought a few, read a few and have, outside of on series, been rather disappointed. Poor character development has become quite common in this genre '" one-dimensional characters that have no motive, no depth and are sometimes downright annoying.

Not the case with Amaranth. Character development was very solid. Author Rachael Wade took you on an emotional journey. By the end of the book, I was completely engrossed in each of the main characters and had a pretty good glimpse of some of the minor characters.

Camilla Hart, especially, came to life for me. I could feel her fears, her desires and her doubts. I could see depth in them, feeling like I knew them, understood their inner struggles and inner desires just enough to make them seem alive.

Story Line

I could envision moments in the book '" see them as if they were really happening. It was like reading one of those "true story" books, only better. The fantasy added that extra touch of excitement and surreal indulgence that most fantasy readers are highly addicted to.

Some readers may be taken aback by the story line in Amaranth. If you're not into engaging books, then you probably won't enjoy Amaranth. You have to take your time here and there '" I believe it is part of the reason that the characters are so well developed '" because Rachael makes you slow down a little to experience the book. You taste, see, hear and feel the sights, people and places. In my opinion, this has become a sad rarity in the vampire/fantasy fiction genre. The absence of it in many of my recent reads made Amaranth a refreshing experience.

While Rachael does slow you down so you can better experience the world of Amaranth, it does not drag on. There are ebbs and flows, crescendos and decrescendos in the book. The way Amaranth moves throughout the story line reminds me of classical music. Beautifully moving, taking the reader gracefully through every moment, speeding up when the excitement peaks but slowing down so you can indulge.

Originality

Amaranth was not your typical vampire romance book. Author Rachael Wade really made this genre her own, reminding me of a time that vampire romance books didn't saturate the shelves of every book store. No copycatting found here '" very satisfying since I read a lot of vampire fiction.

The Bad News?

Probably the only negative I noticed about Amaranth was the end hook. Author Rachael Wade left off in a place where the story peaks, leaving you hungry for more. This, of course, is how trilogy books are supposed to end -- the "to be continued," so to speak. Sadly, however, I am one of those really impatient readers. I want the next book immediately accessible to me so that I can keep reading! I found this especially true with Amaranth. Alas, I suppose I will just have to wait for the next installment -- impatiently.

Rachael has made her book available to all bloggers in love with vampire romance fiction for free, as long as you are willing to review her book on your blog. You can contact her for your copy at AuthorRachaelWade@gmail.com.