Review of Shades of Gray

Shades of Gray (Vampire Trilogy #1)

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by Amanda Ashley
3 of 5 Stars


Description:
Bound by chains, the vampire had slept for 100 years, locked in pain and hunger, until the scent of one woman's blood recalled him to life. Lost in darkness, Grigori finds new sustenance in the light of Marisa's love, and new purpose in his life. Only he can protect her from the evil that stalks the night. Grigori vows to show Marisa that not all the undead are monsters, and that somewhere between the black and white of damnation and desire lay infinite shades of gray.
(Goodreads)

Review:

Marissa decides to go to a carnival being held in her hometown of Los Angeles. She is intrigues by an exhibit, “Count Alexi Kristov, Oldest Vampire in Existence.” I’d been intrigued by a title like that. She goes into the tent and while she is there she manages to cut her finger and also bumps into a mysterious, handsome man named Grigori.

Grigori has been following the carnival. He wants to end Alexi and exact revenge upon the depraved vampire that murdered his family. The scent of Marissa blood awakens the old vampire and he breaks out. Grigori now must hunt and destroy the crazed killer vampire, who wants to make Marissa is own. Grigori has no intention of falling for the mortal woman, but flames are ignited.

Marissa is thrown into a world where a mortal must fear the dark. She is approached by a friend, Ramsey, who she thinks is just overprotective until she learns he is a vampire hunter. Ramsey warns her about Grigori and Marissa has to struggle to make sense of everything that is going on.

Now, I love the vampires and paranormal romance. It is rare that I come across one that really…doesn't do much of anything for me. I teetered between 2 and 3 stars for this book. I was really hoping for more. The plot was thin, the romance was a bit on the weak side, and the action was anticlimactic. I liked that Marissa and Grigori weren’t instantly an item, but there really could have been more heat between them. And Marissa was way too whinny at times while Grigori was stereotypical as a vampire hero. The ending was also abrupt, but there was enough intrigue to make we want to pick up the next within the trilogy.

The idea behind the book was interesting and I will give Amanda Ashley another shot.