Heather’s Bookshelf: Amalina and the Secrets of the Wailing Castle
Author: CL Holmes
Released: 12/17/19
Genre: Dark Fantasy
“Her attention was stolen by the Count, who stood at the end of the carriage, once again observing her with the greatest appetite, his features stretched and blood-bloated.
But then ghastly echoes filled the courtyard. A disturbing wheezing and grunting.
Amalina gulped.”
“Amalina and the Secrets of the Wailing Castle” is the first book in a series called “The Count at Play & Slaughter”. It introduces Amalina, a young baker’s daughter who finds herself drawn to a mysterious castle with an even more mysterious owner.
The master of the castle is a vampire count with an assistant, Genadie, who is a devout follower of his master. Amalina ends up at the castle as part of a trade of sorts, leaving behind everything she knows and loves. She soon finds she’s not alone and hopes to rely on those around her to escape imprisonment and whatever the count has planned for her.
Trigger Warning: death, torture
Overall, I was a little torn by this story. The pacing was tough for me. Some of the scenes were really creative and intriguing. The scenes with the graveyard and Neku highlighted this aspect of the book. However, there were other parts that were drawn out like a long conversation about beards. Amalina was an enjoyable lead character- strong, determined, and realistically frightened about the situation she’s in. But the count was not as well developed as I would like for him to be. I didn’t feel necessarily scared, intrigued, or smitten by his presence. The author keeps true to many of the typical vampire tropes, but unfortunately nothing especially new. While the book is well written and easy to follow, I kept waiting for something different or novel to peak my interest. The ending was also a little bit of an enigma for me. It seemed to be stopping right in the middle of Amalina starting to figure things out. It almost felt a little like a prequel to me. It is the first episode…so stay tuned!
I split platforms of PDF and Audible for this review and absolutely loved the narrator! Great voices, accents, and acting.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A pretty straight-forward tale about a vampire, a castle, and a young woman trying to escape.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with CL Holmes
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Find it for purchase here on Kindle Unlimited or Audible
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