Review: The Gates

Camille is determined to stand by the man she loves as he works to save his people.  Gavin is a vampire and he is leading a resistance to overthrow Samina, their powerful queen. But to do so, he and his small band of supporters must venture across the veil to her kingdom and the realm of Amaranth, where vampires go to reclaim their humanity.

In their travels, they reunite with old friends and uncover new enemies.  But the relationship between Camille and Gavin is the driving force of the story. Unfortunately, Gavin refuses to seal the deal until they are married.  He says he wants to prove to her how special she is to him.  This was not only bad news for Camille, but bad news for me as well.  Instead of striking a romantic chord, it left me irritated and frustrated.  This was even more true after the introduction of Gavin's ex, Scarlet, who makes no secret of their sexual history or her desire to have him back.

I empathized with poor Camille, as Gavin pushed away her advances and ignored her concerns about Scarlet.  And frankly, it wasn't until Camille and Gavin finally got physical that I stopped being annoyed.  Not because I was dying for the scene, but because the whole waiting-thing felt so heavy handed.  Like I was reading a YA book, a genre I generally avoid. I didn't like Gavin getting to make this decision on his own, as if Camille were a child or an unequal part of the relationship.  And then when he did finally decide it was time for them to be together, it felt totally arbitrary, like it was an unnecessary hurdle all along. 

Moving on.  I'm really interested in Gavin's adopted sister Arianna and her story.  (And I haven't given up hope that her man, Joel, is somehow still alive and planning a comeback in book 3.)  In fact, the secondary characters are fleshed out and interesting in general, which helped when the primary romance was ticking me off.  I like the world-building and I really feel like the author is building toward something big for the Resistance.  She has managed to deliver some pretty good surprises so far.

Despite the whole sex thing, I do like Gavin and Camille and hopefully now that we're past that issue, I can enjoy them together.  I look forward to see how the trilogy will end.  3 1/2 stars.

*ARC provided by author for review

Click to purchase: Amazon

The Gates

by Rachael Wade

Release Date: April 25, 2012

Publisher: Rabbit Hole Press

Review: Amaranth

Camille has pretty bad taste in men. She fled her Seattle home for a Paris vacation, in order to escape an abusive boyfriend. And she followed him up with another winner once she moved to Louisiana. She is trying to turn her life around and break ties with Jerk #2 when Gavin shows up. He is a charming guy she met during that trip to Paris and she feels an undeniable attraction to him that seems to be mutual.

But there is much more to Gavin than meets the eye. He's actually a vampire, though it takes him a long time to share that information with her. And even though he grows to love Camille, he has to leave her not long after they realize the depths of their feelings. He's on a personal crusade to help his people and in order succeed, he must travel to another world, where she can't follow.

It didn't take me long to get invested in the story. The writing style was easy to follow and the pacing was good. Gavin is very likable and I found myself rooting for their relationship to work, if for his sake alone.  I had a much harder time connecting to Camille. The first big turn off was in the moment she struggled to hide evidence of her abusive boyfriend to her best friend. I can't relate to a woman who would take a year to kick a guy like Jerk #2 to the curb. Then, when vampire stuff comes to light, she is inconsistent. She's angry; She wants to see Gavin; She loves Gavin; She can't be with Gavin; Then she can't be without Gavin. --On a side note, the developments with Camille's best friend seemed to come out of nowhere. I wish that had not been so abrupt. And by the way, I would have been a lot more pissed off with her than Gavin for how things went down... but I digress.

There is a lot more to the story than I have laid out here.  And while I didn't love everything about it, I didn't want to put it down.  There was nothing predictable about the storyline and I cared enough about poor Gavin to be invested in how things played out. I must warn you, though, that while there is romance, there is no sex. The book is part of a trilogy, though, so I'll hold out hope that it will come in the next installment. There is some resolution to the immediate story arc, but as the book ends, this tale is far from over. Almost 4 stars.

*This book was provided by the author for review.

Amaranth

by Rachael Wade

Release Date: July 27, 2011 

Publisher: Rabbit Hole Press

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