Review - Shadow of the Vampire by Meagan Hatfield

Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: 7/1/10
How I got this book: eARC from NetGalley

Even vampires should never sleep with the enemy.

Vampire princess Alexia Feodorovna has been undead for 125 years, so it's been a while since any man has made her pulse race. Until Declan Black. One look at his bronzed body and a fire like no other consumes her. Then she discovers that he's a dragon lord come to take revenge on the vamps who killed his parents. And claim a crystal said to imbue its owner with incredible powers.

Alexia is ordered to torture and kill the dragon lord. Yet with each reckless encounter, she finds herself consumed by his fiery passion. A passion Declan battles, as well. Will he be able to resist the fire of lust she kindles within him and keep revenge in his heart? Or will he risk everything to quench the burning desire and claim the vampire as his own?

Hatfield creates a fantastic paranormal Romeo and Juliette with her new release Shadow of the Vampire. Alexia is the Princess of the Vampire horde, just days away from her ascension to Queen. The war between the Vampires and Dragons has been going on for as long as she can remember, and have recently hit its pinnacle. Just a few short weeks prior, the Dragon King and Queen were captured, tortured, and murdered at the hands of the Vampire Lotharus.

Declan, the only son and daughter of the recently murdered Dragon rulers, is now their Lord and leader. When the dragons find out that the Vampires have recently discovered a crystal that is said to have immense power, he sets off into enemy territory to retrieve the crystal from enemy hands. However, Declan is captured, and held prisoner by Lotharus.

As Declan is tortured, Alexia is coming to realize that everything is not as she once believed it to be. With the problems in the Vampire ranks, undermining of her authority by a vicious foe, and the constant attacks by the Dragons; Alexia and Declan will turn to each other and discover a passion neither has ever known before.

This paranormal Romeo and Juliette was fantastically done, and had just the right amount of passion, action, crazy twists and turns, and a wonderfully done happily ever after. I loved the way that Alexia was able to slowly realize that not everything is as it seems, and was able to uncover the lies of her past, and fight for what she truly believed was the right path for herself and her people.
Declan is the perfect shifter Lord and leader. He is sexy, totally selfless, and a great ruler. I was impressed by the way that Declan was forced to deal with some hard issues while dealing with his clan, and that he was strong and assertive when dealing with his people. The interplay between Declan and Alexia is both sweet and sexy.

The villain Lotharus is truly evil, and as we find out more and more about what he is up to, he develops into the absolutely perfect EVIL villain in my eyes. He is manipulative, undermining, and totally amoral. The twists and turns kept me guessing as to what was really going on, who was behind what, who could be trusted, and who would stab their friend or lover in the back.

All in all, I give Shadow of the Vampire 4.5 out of 5 magic crystals!