Of Light and Darkness Paperback – January 15, 2016

This book was well written and really good at having a world made not just magically but with logic in mind as well

If you ever picture yourself, "How would it be if i lived in this world? Where Magical Creatures exist." Then this is definitely a book to add to your collection. The story of our Protagonists takes us for a wild ride of a secreat war among our magical favorite creatures, while at the same time finding soft moments that pull at the heart strings. While yes this is there story, how the world building is told with just enough for the You to imagine it while at the same time making you beg for more infomation about its incredible world. It keep me wondering what else will i learn turning the page.Now for romance...if you like your romance, and i mean the true kind. The one that is just ment to be, sure there are times that i wanted to scream at them and be like "JUST SAY IT!" It made it all worth it! As it gives such a heartwarming feels all along this book.My only criticism would be is that it felt rush in some scenes, as if one second this is hapening, turn the page and now we are in a diferent scenerio in the same chapter length, so if you are more of a slow burn maybe youd find this a bit off and yet if you like this quick action phase then you will find no trouble in it since it is find in a lot of the chapters of the books. But this is merely preference and it does not ruin the storys phasing in my opinion. (Its still 400 pages of lore!)Now for all the Vampire freaks like me! yes it is a great addition to our never ending cycle to read all vampire books. It was refreshing to see new trates for vampires, and see how they affect the world and other creatures. How they mix the characters and how it affects the story. Sure there you clichés (and i love them) but i adore seeing more things added into the mix of what it means to be a Vampire. So if you want a refreshing take on Vampire lore, this is the breath of fresh vampire smell.

I received Of Light and Darkness in return for an honest review from the author. Charlotte was abandoned as an infant rescued by a vampire who raised her as his own. Charlotte grew up in a secret occult world for the last twenty years. Since that night almost twenty years have passed now and Charlotte is a grown girl with more than just maternal feelings for Valek the vampire who raised her. When one of her childhood friends decides an elf decides that he wants Charlotte he turns him over to his father who works for the Regime because humans aren’t allowed as pets. However before they can get away from the Regime they are captured sentenced to be executed with all the other vampires.Refusing to let his Charlotte be destroyed Valek breaks free fleeing with her into the countryside. Not without consequences because Charlotte has been attacked by several vampires and is growing weak. They show up at a fellow vampire’s friend of Valek but the only way to save her is to allow her to feed the vampires in the home. Deciding he would rather have her alive than dead he agrees for her to feed them. Francis wants to take on the Regime because they are hunting their kind and the new leader Aiden is determined to find Charlotte and make her his bride going against the rules. What will happen when Aiden finds them?I like Charlotte she’s a sweet girl who’s spent her whole life among the monsters, even falling in love with a vampire no less. She’s an interesting character I like that she was in love with a non-sparkly darker vampire who she even hunted for bringing back victims. I wasn’t sure about Valek because who sends a young human girl to bring you victims but as the story progressed it all made sense. That he was willing to risk it all for her just redeemed him a little more in my eyes. It wasn’t hard to dislike Aiden even if he thinks he’s doing the right thing because no one should come between a vampire and his human girl.I’ve had this one on my kind for a while just need to get to in on my list and I wish I hadn’t waited. While the concept of a human girl falling in love with a vampire isn’t new the author has put her own unique spin on one of my favorite concepts. Valek doesn’t sparkle, the sun can kill him, he has these claws, must have blood preferably and he’s not your traditional vampire. Of Light and Darkness is a fast paced story that captures the heart as well as the imagination with easy to connect with characters. A truly intriguing story that shows the darker side of the paranormal world, but does have its light tossed in. I enjoyed the author’s writing style its well written and flows along making it hard to put down. The characters are amazing I loved Charlotte and her dark vampire Valek as well as several supporting characters we are given a taste of. I hated to see it end but I know the next one is coming so now I’m impatiently waiting to get my hands on it. can’t wait to see how it’s all going to play out for Charlotte and Valek as well as for Aiden. I honestly loved every moment of Of Light and Darkness it's just so unique the whole story is beautifully done.

Honestly an amazing book amd I wish I had found it sooner. The way the book is written makes it read so well and kinda feels like your reading a tv series but without any filler episodes. The pacing and details in each chapter are perfect for anyone even first time readers. And I can't wait to read the second one.

Valek is a vampire who finds a baby abandoned on the streets of Prague, now he shouldn't have been anywhere near Prague in the first place since the Regime's first law states any Occult Creature must never expose himself to any mortal and this obviously includes entering a human city but Valek's here and he can't ignore the baby so he takes her home.Charlotte has never known anything else, she's been raised amongst the supernatural and for eighteen years this has been her life but life is becoming more difficult as the Regime seem intend on making it impossible for vampires to feed.So far so good but I have very mixed feeling about this book and I'll try my best to explain why.Firstly I loved the idea behind this book, magic villages where vampires, elves, witches and shifters etc all live and work together.I struggled with the vampires and this could just be me but I have a romanticised view when it comes to them and in this book they suffer death again and again every morning.Also due to the Regimes restrictions vampires are not allowed into human cities so Charlotte has to go out nightly and find 'food' for Valek. The people she brings back are drained completely which again I wasn't keen on but again that's just me it does make this a slightly darker more interesting read.I also struggled initially with the changing relationship between Valek and Charlotte, he's raised her from birth and it was a bit creepy to find their relationship turning to romance, this could have been partly due to the fact that Valek seems very cold and almost indifferent towards her at times but since I am a hopeless romantic I soon became resigned that this was the way the book was going and I went along with it.I wasn't sure at first about Valek and Charlotte since the blurb gives the impression of a love triangle of sorts.Personally I needed more for this relationship to truly work for me, I didn't actually really like either character that much and while they did grow on me a bit it wasn't enough for me to be fully invested in them individually or as a couple.I was also frustrated that the Regime seem to have been given almost free reign to have amassed such power.It's worth mentioning there's a lot of mistakes in this book and it makes reading a little difficult, I kept going back and having to re-read parts, it's not major but I've put a couple of examples below:1 - Her grasped both sides of her face.2 - But I do not regret going what I did for you.These were just chosen at random to give you an idea, like I said they're not huge but because of these the book doesn't flow as well as it should and slows down reading.This all sounds very negative and that's not my intention, while at times I found myself a bit bored and skimming I never really considered not finishing this book.The world that's been created here is fascinating and it has so much potential, it's more than it appears to be, it's well thought out with layers and nuances, little twists and surprises and well worth a read.I'm a picky reader I know I am and I truly wish I wasn't, so many times I'll read fabulous reviews and wish I could feel the same way about the book in question, I've tried but it's not the way I am and therefore I try to write as honest a review as I can trying to look at both the good and the not so good and all things considered this is a strong 3 stars for me.

If you like interesting world building, unapologetic vampires, conflicting romance and a splash of magic then this is the book for you.

Some plot holes but good if you like vampire fantasies.

The story started well enough, but the use of words like ''drug'' instead of dragged put me off so much that I gave up reading the book altogether.

“I’d take a ray of sunlight to the chest if it meant you and I could be together forever. I was fated to find you, Charlotte. And I won’t let the monsters get you.”I’m finally done with this book. I have a lot to say, but first a disclaimer. When ever I put a score to a book it isn’t entitled to mean it’s a bad or good book, what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. That being said, the tropes in this book are:✨ Vampire romance✨ Age gap✨ Guardian and warn relationship✨ Fate/soulmates✨ “ You are the reason I live”✨ YASo this book, found out about the book on #BookTok, saw her books where on Kindle Unlimited, decided to give them a go. The world it takes place are supposed to be a mix between monsters of Guillermo del Toro with the heart of a Studio Ghibli movie, a relationship pretty much alike Twilight’s Edward and Bella, except that they’ve been together since our mc was a baby. (which is kind of weird), all those elements where the pick of my life as a reader, it’s all I love placed in a book, except that I didn’t like the execution as much as I thought I would.The story follows Charlotte, a human girl living in Old Prague, a world of monsters and fae creatures. All her life she’s been a normal human, which makes her an outcast in the world she lives with her guardian, the vampire she is in love with, Valek. Together they’ll have to face the dangers that their love has to endure: a whole race of fae trying to extinguish the vampire race, and a Elf prince obsessed with Charlotte.”I was a lost soul before I found you. You’re my beacon of light, Lottie. If you go, I will be lost again.”The main thing that click with me in this story was the fact that this vampire man, Valek, who btw made me giggle each time he was with Charlotte, acts the way a vampire would, which resonated with me so much comparing him with Edward, (maybe they are cousins cause they even have the same age), he acted and did things that made more sense to a vampire, than Edward did. Contrary to Bella, Charlotte acted the WAY A HUMAN is supposed to in turns of being around a vampire, with actual fear and sense of survival, (no hate to my girl Bella, still love her very much). In terms if the relationship between them, I was so conflicted in the beginning when Valek found her as a baby, I thought they would have a father/daughter relationship, which was not the case, it scalded to a reciprocal relationship which I don’t mind, the book does not specify the age in which Valek was turn into a vampire, but he was young, and our girl is 19 which is good so it doesn’t bother me that much. I mean I guess I should have guess it with this quote of Valek when he found Charlotte:”That night, I’d found meaning. I’d found her. I was to be alone no more.”I really thought it was a cute fatherly quote, guess I was wrong.The ending has a HUGE cliffhanger, and that I was mad about, cause I find it so hard for me to grasp something that motivated me to continue, and towards the ending it got really interesting and now I’ll have to read the second book, which I’m still not sure if I will, maybe later.I recommend this books if you like magic, vampire romance and YA. Enjoy your reading. 📚✨ And remember..Make friends of monsters and you’ll never feel alone.goodreads: letrasdesopita