Night's Illusion by Amanda Ashley
Publisher: Kensington Books, Zebra
Publication Date: August 24, 2021
Genre: Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy

Night's Illusion by Amanda Ashley is the eighth book in the Children of the Night series. I had not read the previous books, but was easily able to read this as a standalone romance.

Let me start by saying I love vampire romance books, but I struggled to connect with this one. I think the author was trying for a soulmates, love at first sight thing, but I didn't feel it.

Outside of the romance, I actually really enjoyed the story. It had a great mystery and was a fast read. Most of the characters were interesting and had well developed histories. Others fell flat.

Overall, this was a good read and would probably (maybe) go back and read the other books in the series.

I'm so grateful to Amanda Ashley, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this book. The premise sounded promising and it was a new to me author so why not give it a chance?
Unfortunately this didn't work for me. There was no chemistry between the leads and the plot dragged.

Ok so let me start by saying that this is book 8 in the Children of the Night series, something I didn't realize. And not having read the previous books-I was definitely confused about a lot things. Giovanni Lanzoni may just be the oldest male virgin vampire. Giovanni has clung to the vows he made a thousand years ago as a mortal priest, especially since he was turned without his permission. Queen Mara wants to find him a mate, so he won't be so lonely now that other's in his family are settling down. Cassie Douglas has a hard time trusting men. But she trusts Giovanni. Now she has to decide whether to be with him forever or walk away.

I really wanted to love this story. I am definitely a PNR junkie and it is my most loved genre of romance. But I had a really hard time with it. The premise was there and I really wanted to love this story but it was just ok for me. Honestly, it didn't feel like a romance to me. Yes, the main character is a virgin...but where are the sexy times? And it jumped around to the other couples (I am assuming) from the previous books. I am sure people that have read the whole series will probably like it. Unfortunately, it really was just ok for me.

Giovanni was a priest when he was human more than thirteen hundred years ago and he's kept most of his vows since he was turned into a vampire. But recently he's become lonely and started to wonder what's the point of living forever if he has no one to spend that time with.

Cassie was attacked and Giovanni came to her rescue. He finds her mesmerizing and he's attracted to her right away. She's a little wary of him at first but he keeps showing up after her shift is over to walk her home, which she thinks is so nice of him.

Cassie lives in a really run down place and Giovanni lives in a place that has several unused bedrooms so he offers to let her move into one of the rooms but she doesn't take him up on the offer right away. But she does eventually move in with him, they get closer while living in such close quarters.

Mara is the queen of vampires and the oldest living vampire that they know of. She and Giovanni are friends and so she tries to help him find a girlfriend before he runs into Cassie. Mara is so sweet but scary at the same time. When Alric, Giovanni's sire wakes from being asleep for two hundred years, he wants revenge on Mara for killing someone close to him and he starts going through her friends and family to try and find her.

I knew things were about to get dangerous for Cassie and Giovanni and I was right but I had no idea what was coming. I really liked that Mara and the family all circled around him and helped out when danger approached. Cassie and Giovanni were so good for each other, they made a great couple.

Disclosure: I was given an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF at 25%.

This had a really interesting premise, but it read more like an outline of the story. Like this was the skeleton first draft and they forgot to put meat on it.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

This isn't the first book in the series! Fair warning, this is the 8th book in the Children of the Night series.
Don't read this first unless you want to be confused and left out. It honestly can be read individually though, its not much of a fuss, but it's always fun to be caught up with a series.If you like soulmates, vampires, and the quest to find the right now for you, this is the story for you.
There were some great aspects to the story, I liked the characters enough to finish the book.
The story fell a bit flat which is okay, not everyone's going to enjoy a book storyline or the writing this one, in particular, wasn't my cup of tea.

This isn't the first book in the series! Fair warning, this is the 8th book in the Children of the Night series.
Don't read this first unless you want to be confused and left out. It honestly can be read individually though, its not much of a fuss, but it's always fun to be caught up with a series.

If you like soulmates, vampires, and the quest to find the right now for you, this is the story for you.
There were some great aspects to the story, I liked the characters enough to finish the book.

The storyline for me fell a bit flat which is okay, not everyone's going to enjoy a book storyline or the writing. I've read some of the books in the series and they were great, this one, in particular, wasn't my cup of tea. It happens with a lot of my favorite series. It's okay!

One thing I would say for sure this book cover is stunning.

I struggled with this book a lot. I liked the blurb but it never mentions this is the last book, book 8, in a long running series. It feels like the finale too. You get tons of references to the other couples, references to their struggles, and lots of inside jokes.
The writing did not work for me. It’s written very montage style. It’s a few paragraphs, then a break, over and over. Sometimes just the POV is changing, sometimes its a new couple somewhere else. Sometimes it didn’t even make sense why we were breaking.
I’m sure for people who have stuck to this series since the beginning, this is a great bow at the end. I did not feel that way, I was just lost and annoyed.

I received this title via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The issue with this book ultimately came down to the writing style. It read more like a script for a tv show or movie, rather than a book, with a weird flow and more telling than showing. It threw me from the beginning, though I still read on hoping the story itself would grab my interest. Unfortunately, the story just kept getting weirder. The MMC is a priest turned vampire, who hasn't had sex for hundreds of years, but now, all of a sudden, he feels desire for this one woman. Claims to have never felt desire before, except the reader is told that he was in love with a woman as a young priest and even went so far as to meet her in secret, knowing she was engaged to be married and he wasn't able to be with her. But that whole history is casually thrown aside in favor of the narrative that this one human woman is the key to getting aroused? Nope, sorry, not buying it.

Also, I felt his behavior was really odd, as was the heroine's reaction to it. They had only met twice, and all of a sudden he's inviting her to come live with him. Um...weird? And her attraction to him made no sense, it just wasn't adding up. I felt like this story was written without really thinking about relationship development. It felt very artificial and forced.

I have tried reading Amanda Ashley several times over the years, and I think it's finally time to throw in the towel. This is just not an author for me.

I thought it would have steamy scenes like the cover seemed to indicate. But we didn't get it. I like a book with hot steamy romance. But this book disappointed me. Ugh! Besides there's so many repetitive stuff. To think I was actually excited about this book. The cover and synopsis was misleading. I hate it when it happened. The h, Cassie was annoying. I can't say I actually liked any character. The writing was a bit sloppy.


⫷ The ARC copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange of an honest review ⫸

Night's Illusion (Children of the Night) by Amanda Ashley
This is book 8 in the series and we catch up with all the members of the family. This book can be read as a stand-alone. This book is about Giovanni Lanzoni (former Priest) and Cassie Douglas. He is a vampire but in all his many years he is still a virgin and she has a mistrust of men. After his "family" tells him he needs to find a woman he does. Their adventure is full of angst, mystery, violence, laughter, tears and steam to get us to their HEA.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Funny Entertaining Scary Wonderful characters Easy-to-read Happily Ever After Haunting Action-packed Unpredictable Romantic Page-turner Steamy Tear-jerker Great world building

The last of a series. I didn't read the earlier books but it wasn't necessary in order to get what was going on. I found it a bit weird that the hero is an undead priest looking for a woman after 1,500 years of celibacy. He's still referred to as "Father", still has his cassock and other accouterments and is considered a priest by other vampires. For some reason, he suddenly falls in love with a 26 year old, unsophisticated waitress. I couldn't see what he saw in her that inspired him after so many centuries. Definitely a very odd couple. It was an OK romance other than that but not very exciting.

I struggled to with this one. Having catholic priest turn into a romance vampire was hard for me since I am Catholic. It felt very forbidden fruit and it was hard for me to route for the couple. People who don't have such respect for the priest and the discernment path they walk before taking.oaths might find.the romance of this sweet. But I found the manipulations of the others who just didn't understand his emotional grief wrong. In a world that strives for acceptance and the freedom to love who how you want, this was disrespectful. Just because it is not your path does not mean it is bad one and requires intervention.

Night's Illusion by Amanda Ashley is a book about a priest named Giovanni who gets turned into a vampire and then falls in love with Cassie, who's a waitress. They get attacked by the sire who created Giovanni, which then he kills. But, after the attack Giovanni realizes that Cassie is near death and has to turn her in order to be with her.
This was a very sensual paranormal romance. The hero was an interesting character, I liked how he evolved into a romantic lead. I felt the romance and passion between Cassie and Giovanni. The plot was a little too violent at times, but it didn't stop me from reading the book to the end. Even though this book is a part of a series, I had no problem reading it. I received an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book definitely had a unique premise. Father Giovanni Lanzoni is probably the world's oldest virgin - he became a vampire while he was still a priest (against his will) and has kept to at least most of his vows since then. Twelve centuries - however - is a long time to be alone. His friends try to help find him someone - but Giovanni ends up meeting Cassie by chance when he keeps her safe from a neighborhood gang. His relationship with her is a bit of a slow burn in terms of sex - but he and Cassie definitely go from 0 -60 in relationship land. I'm pretty sure Giovanni asks Cassie to move in with him the first or second time they meet. Cassie is a lot younger than Giovanni in almost every way. She definitely has a true sense of innocence about her - and I think that is what draws Giovanni to her the most. She seems a little lost in the world from the start of the book - and I am not sure she grows that much in the time we see her. I would have liked to see a little more growth from her.

This is 8th book in a series and although it does stand alone - I definitely felt like I had missed out with the inclusion of the other characters in Giovanni's extended vampire family. I just didn't feel the family connection like I am sure I would have, had a read the other books.

Overall - I liked it - but I didn't love it. Vampire books can sometimes be a bit of a miss for me - and I think although Giovanni was definitely sexy and sweet - his somewhat old-fashioned viewpoints and the lack of on page sexy-times just didn't do it for me.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Giovanni Lanzoni must be the world’s oldest virgin vampire after spending most of his time as a priest. Mara, Queen of the Vampires and his family is going to play matchmaker. Cassie Douglas meets Giovanni by chance when he saves her. Their romance will blossom but they will have many obstacles to overcome as Cassie does not wish to be turned. Things come to a head when Giovanni’s sire raises after many years slumbering. It will take the whole of Mara’s vampire family to make sure Giovanni can finally meet his destiny. A slow burning story to lose yourself into for a few hours. Part of a series will make you wish to revisit earlier stories to relate to the other members of the family.
I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a typical churned out PNR. We are on book 8, and it feels like book 8. We are reminded throughout the book of all the previous books that came before it and all the couples who got together before this couple did.

No one fucks in this book. Did anyone get freaky in the 7 prior books? Why you gonna write a PNR with no fucking? Why are you on book 8? Who is reading this shit? The plot is mechanical and obvious. The romance is a stretch. The love is pretty much insta. The only back and forth is like 'oh my, do I really want to be with a vampire? I know I said I wanted to marry him, but now I'm not sure. Am I sure? I don't know. Oh gosh he's a vampire, but I'm so attracted to him and he's so kind, but, but, but.'

The least I could have received is some paltry scraps of graphic fucking. I want my time back.

This was an interesting story about vampires. When a priest is turned he finds himself lonely after 1300 years. He has a family of sorts with other vanpires, but he doesn't have anyone just for himself. The Vampire Queen tries to set him up unsuccessfully, and then he runs into Cassie who is human. There is quite a bit of action in this book, some romance and a vampire that is set on vengence. A good story overall that I enjoyed

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Amanda Ashley always delivers and this one is no exception. What a fun, sexy ride! Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I feel a slightly cheated after a bit of false advertising. Words like passionate eternity and a suggestive cover meant I thought the book would be at least PG16, not the PG13, clean romance we got. Even the storyline had a good bit of abstinence before marriage woven into it.

Now, if you place that to the side and hope that the book would be marketed as a clean romance, the story is engaging enough and the rating is not impacted by the lack of on page passion. The premise is somewhat unusual with a long time male virgin vampire (Giovanni/Johnny) meeting a sweet, slightly down on her luck but very much in danger waitress (Cassie). Giovanni saves Cassie from an assault and they start dating. This interim time has all the sugary sweetness of YA romances without the need for a PG rating. We then have a series of conflicts, both from the human world as well as the longer running conflict with Giovanni's sire.

The following were niggles for me. Cassie seems to often question her relationship with Giovanni, who are not always sure about the way forward either. This back and forth became quite tiring in the end. The conflicts were endless as well and the book felt overly long with just another tension conflict thrown in because. Lastly, I did not feel that I got to know the characters well at all, they felt somewhat flat. Add in a slew of characters from previous books that had a lot of space and action with the tension points and both Giovanni and Cassie's HEA felt a little as a byproduct in this book.

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