It's like a compulsion. I know what's going to happen, I've read this entire series. But here I am, I said I was going to take a break after this book but you know what, nope. I am reading the next book. You know why? Because I am a glutton for punishment lol. I have to read it. I have to see what's coming next. Even though I know. I know the ending. But, I have to read it again. But I swear after this book not this one, the next one, lol, I am going to take a break from Bella, to finish my Jr ward tbr. And then I'm either going to read more of Bella or something else. Lol. I swear. My compulsion can be controlled, God damn it! Lol ( )

A Shadow of Light
By Bella Forrest
A Shade of Vampire #4

In the last book Gregor had summoned Derek to the Dome and ambushed him. Gregor is the king of an island called the Shade which is protected by a witch’s spell to be hidden from humans and where it is always night. The island is ruled by vampires who have thousands of human slaves. Derek is Gregor’s son and prophesized to find his true love and then be the savior of the vampire race…to bring them to sanctuary. Gregor had his flunky, Felix, and his men shoot Derek with tranquilizers.

Gregor also had Derek’s love of life, Sofia, arrested for supposedly being part of a slave revolt plot. He ordered Sofia and the other slaves who had part in the plan to receive 50 lashes. A human would never survive that many lashes.

But Gregor underestimated Derek’s strength. Derek broke free despite the tranquilizing serum running through his body. He went to the town square and took the lashes in Sofia’s stead. Other vampires stepped forward and took the lashings for the other slaves, something that had never before happened on the Shade. The vampires had always treated the slaves as disposable commodities.

Derek then overthrew his father and became king yet he allowed his father to be free. Once again, I questioned the intelligence of Derek. His father had made no secret of his hatred for Sofia and wanting to destroy her. He had even killed some of Sofia’s friends yet Derek did nothing to protect Sofia or himself against his father which ended up biting him in the ass.

The witch, Corrine, made it known that if anyone tried to overthrow Derek as ruler, she would take the protective spell off that keeps the island in darkness and let all the vampires burn in the sun.
Lucas sent a message through Natalie Borgia, a liaison between vampire covens, to Ben that said that he would get Ben back on the island to rescue Sofia but he really just wants to get to Sofia so he can give her to Borys. Ben goes back to the island.

Gregor and Claudia went into Derek’s penthouse and drugged Derek while he was sleeping and grabbed Sofia and Ben. Claudia took them to the Oasis, Borys’ underground hideout in Egypt.
Sofia meets her mother, Camilla Claremont who now calls herself Ingrid Maslen. Sofia thought she was in a mental hospital all these years but she was actually a vampire sired by Borys. She nuttier than a peanut butter sandwich. She tells Sofia that she promised her to Borys when she was nine years old and Sofia was now going to marry Borys. Ingrid wavers between seeming like she might have feelings for Sofia to outright irrational behavior and hatred.

Borys tells Sofia she is to be his virgin bride but Sofia lies to him and tells him that he is too late. She’s married to Derek. Borys tells her that he will send for Derek and be happy when she watches him die.

Derek goes to the Oasis and is tortured by Borys.

Ben is given to Claudia who has had a change of heart. She realizes that she is in love with Yuri, a vampire who on the Shade, and doesn’t want to torture Ben anymore. She thinks she can win Yuri’s heart if she saves Sofia and Derek. She tells Ben he needs to get the hunters there and helps him escape.

Borys takes Sofia to see Derek way down on the 7th level of the Oasis to torment her but while they are down there, a guard comes and tells Yuri something so Yuri leaves and closes her in the room with Derek who has been tortured almost to death. The room shakes like there was an earthquake so Sofia gets scared and makes Derek drink her blood so he can heal and they can escape. They get out of the room and find the entire place in chaos. The hunters are there fighting the Maslen vampires. She sees her father for the first time in years and realizes he is a hunter.

During the fight, Claudia grabbed Sofia and bit her neck to inject her with the venom or serum that turns humans into vampires but nothing happened. Claudia said it was her gift to her. Somehow, Lucas grabbed Sofia and Ben tried to defend her but Lucas gutted Ben with his claws. Sofia’s father, Aiden, shot Lucas in the head with a UV bullet. Lucas died. Yay! Finally, one evil vampire down! But sadly, Ben died.

Borys escaped.

When the fight was finished, Aiden aka Reuben, allowed Claudia and Derek to get into the helicopters and go to Hawk Headquarters, the hunter headquarters. Claudia was put in the dungeon but Derek was allowed to go with Sofia into a suite of rooms. Sofia let Derek drink her blood again and then fell asleep.

Aiden came into the room and told Derek that he could stay until after Ben’s funeral for his daughter’s sake but then had to leave. Derek agreed. He knew he had to leave Sofia now that he had tasted her blood. He’d always crave it and would end up killing her if he lost control.
Sofia had a dream and remembered her mom had brought Borys to her home when she was nine years old. He had tried to turn her then but she was immune.

In this book, Derek leaves Sofia and goes back to the Shade. It bugs me that this is the second time that Derek and Sofia have separated when Derek knows that they are strongest together and that the darkness tries to take over when he is not with her.

When he gets back to the island, things are chaotic. Felix and his father have everyone in an uproar. They tried to have a culling, where the vampires gather all the weak and sick and drain them of their blood to put in cold storage, but the humans had all gone into the Catacombs in lockdown. Felix stood down when Derek got there.

Derek faces suspicion from all the other vampire covens for what happened at the Oasis. They think he worked with the hunters because he was able to leave hunter territory alive, something no other vampire has ever done.

He also has to figure out how to feed his vampires since their blood supply is running low. I’m throwing up my arms in disgust at this point. Hasn’t anyone ever heard of a blood bank?

Ingrid, who was captured at the Oasis, demands a shower and to have someone to talk to. She grabs the UV bars and starts burning herself. Aiden, who still has feelings for her, puts her in a room with Claudia who can only blubber on about how much she loves Yuri.

Aiden tells Sofia she cannot leave Hawk Headquarters and has to train as a hunter. She goes along with it but plans on escaping as soon as she can.

Sofia thinks vampirism can be cured and thinks this is the answer for Derek and her to be together. Aiden tells her there is no cure for a curse but agrees to have his scientists try to make a cure.
Aiden tells Sofia that he’s found a cure and demonstrates on Ingrid. Ingrid turns into a human in front of Sofia so she and Aiden travel back to the island to share the news with Derek. What Sofia doesn’t see is that Ingrid really wasn’t cured. At this point in the book, it wasn’t clear if Aiden had tricked Sofia and Ingrid into thinking she was cured or if he really thought Ingrid was cured. Ingrid, of course is thrilled that she is still a vampire.

Ingrid escapes.

Sofia tells Derek about the cure. He is skeptical but hopeful. When Sofia asks Aiden to show them how it works, he tells them that he has to have his scientists administer the drug because so Derek gives the okay to let the scientist some. Aiden is up to something.

This book had a part in it that really ticked me off. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone because it was at the very end of the book but it made me question the purpose of the stuff that has gone on in the all four of these books. It actually made me wonder if I should continue reading these books but I will, at least, read the next book to give the author the benefit of the doubt and hope she knows what she is doing.

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I'm done with this series. I don't understand why it's as well liked as it is. The interactions are abrupt, the jumping back and forth between the different characters is chaotic and distracting from the overall story. The writing, though decent in some aspects, sucked! Too much like the daytime soap operas. ( )

3 suspenseful, head-spinning stars!

Whew what a ride this one gave me. Reading a different POV every chapter left me confused. Though I did enjoy Claudia's story.



Sofia is trying to make it back to Derek and the Shade but her delusional father will not allow it. With her crazy mother right on his heels this book was a good peak at just how dysfunctional poor Sofia's family is.

With war on the way Sofia and Derek must find a way to save the vampires (and humans). I still can't wait for the next book but I hope that she keeps the POVs between Sofia and Derek.

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A Shadow Of Light (A Shade of Vampire #4) by Bella Forrest Review

shadeofvampire4Melissa Cushing's review
Dec 25, 2013 ·
4 of 5 stars

[polldaddy rating="6971359"]

Well... first I am huge fan of this series!!! I waited for this book to be released.... because I was seriously hooked after the first 3 books.... with those first three being some of the most fun, amazingly written books I have read in a while. With that said, you may notice that I gave this book 4 stars versus the 5 stars I gave the first 3 books.... and really 4 stars is not bad, it is an above average rating, it is just not the addictive read that the first 3 books to this series were!!!

Ok.... let's get one thing straight... the book is GOOD.... I read it in a day.... because I did not want to put it down and that is rare lately for me. But there was definitely something different about this book versus the first 3. Not sure if it was the POV change that occurred every chapter....and maybe it played out as a distraction to the 2 main characters storyline, Sofia and Derek??? And maybe it even distracted me from following the plot of the storyline, overall....whatever it was though... it was not enough to give this book a bad rating... i just felt the book was different from what I had fallen in love with. I wanted more from Derek and Sofia, the main characters...I mean they are the reason I am a fan! Well.... there are other amazing characters as well, but those two are..... AWESOME!!! I had expectations for this one....and it just seemed to keep missing somehow.... regardless... a good read and a necessary read if you want to read Book 5!!!! The ending gave you just enough of a cliffhanger to leave you wanting more!!! I cannot wait!!! That is next!! I love this series and you need to read all 5! Book 5 review coming soon!!!

As Always, Thank You For Following Simplistic Reviews and Leave Some Comment Love For Me!!! ( )