THE VEIN CHRONICLES by ANNE MALCOM

Paranormal Series with a snarky heroine and a book boyfriend who will slay you!

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Purchase The Vein Chronicles Series below

Fatal Harmony Book One

Deathless Book Two

Reviewed by Gitte & Jenny
(complete spoiler free series review)

Fatal Harmony – 4.5 Stars
Deathless – 3 Stars

“What do you know about a rebel faction of vampires, witches, demons, werewolves and a variety of the supernatural vying for world domination?”

We are avid readers of paranormal stories – we crave them much like vampires need the sustenance of blood. Well, almost. So biting into this series was like a hit of fresh blood. A new to us Author and the promise of a paranormal satisfaction to quell that incessant need. We were immediately hit with a sensation of pure bloody bliss. The story was incredibly well written, it was action packed, the humour sarcastic and dry – just how we love it – the paranormal world-building was slow but intriguing. There really was something for everyone, what with Vampires, Slayers, Demons, Witches and Wolves.

‘The grave did not cater to such pious emotions as love, nor listen to promises whispered on the eve of the battle. The grave came for everyone. Even immortals if they happened to be star-crossed lovers.’

Who doesn’t love a kick-arse heroine who oozes self-confidence and rocks a wickedly sarcastic sense of humour? Well, we were immediately loving on Isla, the sassiest Vampire we’d met in a long while. Isla is a feisty, sexy, and scandalous Vampire of stately descent and fights to rival and outdo any other breed but has a penchant for humans no, matter her denial.

‘A Slayer. First used as villains in our bedtimes stories, slayers were what went bump in the night for us. The only thing that could kill us. Designed to kill us.’

Isla becomes entangled in a coup to end the supernatural world as she knows it, being the target of not only a nameless and faceless enemy but also her own family whom she’s been trying to survive for centuries. Added to the mystery, the violence, the double crossings and the drama is one enigmatic King of Vampires and a dark and broody Slayer who’s an enemy to all vampires.

‘He was hot when he got all murder. Granted, I’d only seen him murder, but that’s how I liked my men: broody with a side of homicidal.’

We have to say we were rather partial to the enigmatic Slayer….and Isla was….well you’ll have to read it yourselves to see who is the smooth-talking love of Isla’s bloodthirsty existence. A funny sidekick, a Scottish rogue and a sexy and savvy witch. We were in paranormal heaven.

“You want to tell me why it felt like you fuckin’ died in my arms the second after you made me feel more alive than a thousand battles could have?”

“That’s what you are, Isla – the ultimate battle. My ultimate battle.”

So many battles, so many twists. We were enthralled and bloody loved Fatal Harmony so we very quickly moved onto Deathless to continue our journey, excitedly. Where the first book excelled and built the story up with great injections of humour and romantic tension, the second one sadly went in the opposite direction for us. Yes, we were still invested and the writing was first class and flawless. However, the humour and jokey aspect overtook the story  and not necessarily in a good way, we began to feel uncomfortable at the insensitive jabs Isla took at various people in society. We started to lose our connection with her as she became a mean girl and not in a good entertaining nor attractive way. No one was safe; from ageism and body shaming to sexuality jokes and vanity. It made us cringe quite a few times. Where book one was slow, understandably so, book two had an even slower pace and became quite repetitive. This left us gutted as we were enjoying everything about this series and were loving the writing. Overall, we enjoyed many aspects of this series but book two just fell short for us, sadly. Saying that though, this series felt different and fresh from a paranormal aspect.

“As it was and always has been.
In Blood.
The blood will run The Deathless night. |
The curse.
The blood will run.”