If you take fbaa and acomaf and blend them together you get this book! I ended up just speed reading the end because the writing is a bit rough, it's hard to connect with the characters.

I binged read this book so hard, it was so good.
I think that because of Olivia's naivety, and being
kept as a recluse most of her life, she doesn't see
or rather understand certain things happening
around her. One night all that changes, and
everything she knows is turned upside down.
Sebastian is a vampire, and she's a sorceress.
He's unfamiliar to her, so she's weary of him.
The chemistry between these two is evident but
slow burn. I love how the story slowly unfolds and reveals
things at the same pace. That cliffhanger was sooo good,
there's a lot of things I didn't see coming.
Can't wait for the next book.

I thought my twilight phase was over. But send me back to high school and hand me the glitter.

But in all seriousness, I sat down to read this book and was so enamored that I couldn't get up until I finished it. It was engrossing, to say the least. The world building was simple (it's vampires after all, though it did address all of the misconceptions about them and set the reader straight on this version of vampires.)

The banter—quality. The entire book you're rooting for Olivia to kiss the guy (cue the little mermaid music.) Plus there's some of our favorite tropes, I'm looking at you having to share a bed.

Shadow Kissed was fun as hell, and had you sucked in from the first page. At no point did I feel like it lingered or dragged on. So it was perfect for my ADHD brain.

Look if you're into some fun vampire story with a hint of spice—only a hint because we're still in the angsty will they or won't they phase.—get your thumbs ready.

Kindly, Miss Rebecca, I'm gonna need book two, like yesterday, please and thank you.

Also, I'm really hoping the king doesn't end up being a toolbag, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

DNF
Got through half of it and wanted to like it but the characters just weren’t interesting enough and the story drags on a bit.

Received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 4.75/5

Olivia has been protected from the monsters outside, all of her life. When vampires attack her guild, Olivia is swept away from the safety of her home and is captured by a vampire - Sebastian -, who insists he’s protecting her. Feeling more like a prisoner than a guest, Olivia must do whatever it takes to get the help she needs in finding her mum and best friend… even if it means help them plot against the vampire royal family.

I usually avoid vampire stories because I feel like there overly saturated and there’s so much you can growth from it…! However, Rebecca gave it a completely different twist and made what’s already technically over explored, completely new and captivating!

I found it fascinating the difference between the mortal part of the region versus the vampire dominated area: mortals have technology, cars, phones while the vampires are still stuck in a world built centuries ago - which is a very very well portrait of them! To some extent, you find yourself going back to a different century - fitting for these type of creatures.

All the characters are super captivating and it makes you want to know more about them individually and to find out their past and what made them who they are today.

This book is full of intrigues, deceits and secrets fit for a high court and it’s delightful to figure out everything at the same time Olivia does! It brings you right to the core of the story! This is a fast paced book that keeps you on edge and wanting to just read the next chapter at any early opportunity! A great beginning a new trilogy!

And the ending? I need the next one for tomorrow, thanks!

This review is coming out on the next 20/03 on my bookstagram (@maria_bookshelf) so sure to check it out!

I want to start off by saying thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced readers copy (ARC) of Shadow Kissed in exchange for an honest review.

Shadow Kissed is the first book in the new Marked by Blood series by Rebecca L. Garcia. It has absolutely everything you could ever want in a book, including:

Vampires ✔
Magic ✔
One bed trope ✔
Slow burn romance ✔
Fake engagement ✔

Olivia’s story begins when she is swept away from her home in the mortal lands by a mysterious vampire after an attack on the Guild, which is tasked with protecting mortals from vampires. She is a 19-year-old empath who has no control over her magic other than feeling out and manipulating others emotions. After her mother is taken and she is brought to the vampire lands, she is thrust into a new world where she is guided by a dashing rogue of a vampire, Sebastian.

There are so many twists and turns in this book, from finding out Olivia’s father is to finding her “potential” mate (I seriously think so, the vibes are def. there). I give this book 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5 on Goodreads). I highly recommend reading this start to what I hope is going to be a fantastic series. Rebecca L. Garcia definitely did not disappoint.

I can see why so many people love/ will love this book. I’m just really sad I couldn’t connect to the characters in a way I could love this book more.
Maybe I’m just not really into vampire books. But Sebastian… He was my favorite and his friends. Even his bad decision in the end I really liked his character.
I couldn’t connect with Olivia. I’ve tried but somehow she wasn’t my fav and it was less interesting to read it.
I loved the world building and really hope we get more of this in the next books. I liked that it was fast placed, I didn’t needed to wait hundreds of pages until something interesting happened.
I liked the end. The best way to finish a book is a cliffhanger (literally my jaw dropped when I saw I can’t read more pages). It was very clever dear Rebecca.
Thank you for letting me read it before the pub date. And I definitely will read the next book. Until that comes out my heart will know no peace.

Thank you NetGalley, for ARC in return for honest review.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish this book. The premise grabbed me, but it felt very YA, which isn't usually a bad thing but on top of that I couldn't connect with the characters. It didn't feel...different. There wasn't anything to make it stand out and grab my attention. I've read this book before, parts of it, in a bunch of other books. The story itself had potential, but it fell flat for me.

I am grateful for receiving this as an ARC copy. Unfortunately, I didn't like it🤧 The pacing was soooo fast, so many important details were left out and weak or almost no world building. What kind of vampires are these? Where is the killing and the blood?! Sebastian was supposed to be a like a dangerous, badass vampire and I kept waiting for something to happen but that day didn't come. However, can we just take a moment to appreciate these stunning covers?!

I got an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. I couldnt even finish this. I knew from the first page it was gonna be a no from me. This book is supposed to be set in some kind of kingdom but they have cell phones and melatonin? Is this half real world half imaginary? I dont even know, the whole thing reads like a badly written fanfic.

Shadowkissed by Rebecca L. Garcia ❤️

🖤 Vampire Lore
🖤 Fake dating trope
🖤 Epic world building

Woahh, I was hooked onto this the moment I started it 😍

Hot vampire guy who reminds me of Damon Salvatore, need I say more? 🤤

This book is full of witty banter, slow burn goodness, the classic one bed scene. Rebecca L. Garcia serves it all. I’m not normally one to go for vampire books much but this was amazing! That ending?? Woahh, I desperately the sequel 😩

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Holiday House for the digital ARC 😊

Thank you to Victory Editing for giving me a copy of this book via Netgalley. Okay let's get into it.

Shadow Kissed follows the story of Olivia, a mortal sorceress part of the guild, a group which protect humans from vampires. After her mother and best friend go missing she is kidnapped and thrown into the vampire homeland, forced to cooperate with the handsome vampire Sebastian.

This book was such a fun and easy book. Slow-burn, Fake Dating, echoes of the hate to love trope, found family AND vampires????? oh and the vampires have wings and can fly btw. I loved it. The characters in Shadow Kissed were well written and I loved the relationship between Sebastian and Olivia. It was also refreshing to see Erianna and Olivia have a good friendship and not hate each other like i expected they would. Also I love Zach and his snide comments.

The plot was also entertaining and the writing of the story definitely improved as it went on. The world-building was well done in a way that it wasn't too simple nor too complex and the twists in the story were good to not be predictable. I also loved how the story ended, I didn't see it coming and it's done well to set up book two. I definitely look forward to reading more from this author.

A review post will also be up on my instagram by the end of next week.

When I first saw the blurb for Shadow Kissed, I was intrigued.

At first, I was iffy about the book, and I was sure that Olivia would end up with someone else.
But once I got really into it, I couldn’t put it down until it ended on that CLIFF HANGER!

Ok, let's back up.

This book has all the troupes: it's slow-burn, enemies to lovers in a way, fake dating, fake engagement, found family.

It was such an easy entertaining read that I flew through it in one day.

I spent the whole book with Olivia and Sebastian, wondering: will they? Won't they? WHEN WILL THEY?LOL

And then the cliffhanger which leaves me wondering…will Olivia get what she wants?

Can’t wait to read book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me to read the ​E-ARC of Shadow Kissed.

This book is a perfect blend of vampire, fake dating, fast pace, found family and world building! I need the sequel asap. Like really soon otherwise I'll die of suspense.
And there's one bed trope also!

I knew I was gonna like this book when I read the blurb. Plus, Vampires! They just make everything better.

The world building here was just muah! I loved every bit of it. The history of vampire, gods, kingdoms and the way of portraying it was stunning.

To say this book was hooking would be an understatement, I just read whole book in one sitting! The mystery around the death, the adventures, the plot twists, betrayal and thrill of what's going to happen next was oh-my-god-amazing!

I loved how friendship formed between all the characters. My fav character is of course, Zach. That grumpy boy has my heart. And yes, I need his seprate story.

I loved the writing style of author. It was in first person's pov and it gave me all better access to Olivia's thoughts.

I adore this book but at times Seb was said to have a bad boy side, auro but I never got the feeling. You can't just say one is bad, you have to make him bad. He wasn't made like that. Seb was, in my opinion, just a prop that was needed to enhance the character of Olivia. It seemed he never had a personality of his own.

The chemistry between the main characters seemed off. There was no whisper of feelings between them until the end of the book. And then suddenly there's this tension between them, an attraction towards each other which felt rather odd to me.

But I would say, reading this story was an absolute bewildering adventure! I need more of it!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Victory Editing for providing me an e-arc of Shadow Kissed in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a very fast read. The world building in this book was so interesting, and I really liked the characters. I wish that the pacing was a little slower, but at the same time I liked that it was fast paced because I didn't want to put the book down. I wish the book was a little longer, so that I could have gotten more character development, though.

Vampires, magic and betrayal. If your a fan of any of this you need to read this I loved all the characters and the slow burn romance and the one bed trope this book was perfectly written and I couldn't finish it fast enough!

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read it. This literally gave me some ACOTAR vibes mixed in with vampires. I was genially surprised at how much I liked the story and couldn’t put it down. And that ending!!! Left in a cliffhanger that has me wanting more now!

Only rating 4 starts because while I loved the story there were some areas I had issues with it felt lacking. However, this grasped my attention and kept me interested each step of the way.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60045255

First of all, thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for allowing me to read this story in exchange for an honest review.


I loved the fast pace of this novel and I enjoyed the fake dating/one bed trope.

The vampires and lore were really interesting.
It reminded me a bit of From Blood and Ash/A Shadow in the Embers.

I’ll leave a more detailed review on my Instagram on release day.

First off a big thank you to Netgalley for giving me a digital copy of Shadow Kissed in exchange for an honest review.

Shadow Kissed invites readers into world full of vampires, deceit, and secrets. I have to admit, I usually am not a fan of vampire books but this one really changed my perspective.

"In two weeks, I had somehow lost everyone I cared about. My mom always told me not to feel sorry for myself, to keep getting back up when life throws punches, but I wasn't as strong as her. Grief and pain had chipped what little resilience I had left in me."

Shadow Kissed follows 19 year old Olivia: an empath, sorceress, and the daughter of a member of a Guild tasked with protecting mortals from vampires. However, when the vampires attack the Guild's stronghold looking for Olivia and her mom, Olivia is thrusted into a new and terrifying world she now must learn to navigate all on her own with the help of a very handsome, yet terrifying, vampire.

"You were meant to be the one who could heal my heart, not break it."

If you are in the mood for a slow burn, forced collaboration, enemies to lovers, one bed trope kind of book then look no further. This book really has it all. The banter between Sebastian and Olivia was golden and I really enjoyed all of their interactions with one another.

I didn't give this book 5 stars because it was still lacking in a couple of areas for me. It follows a very cliché route for the main character's story and the whole thing was very predictable. However, I did really enjoy the ending and look forward to reading the next book!

A big thank you for Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for the E-Arc!

What a story! I don't know were to start but after just putting it down, i'm here going - When is the next book? The cliff-hanger on literally the last page is torture as you want to know what happens next.

More of my review over on my blog; www.stefytalks.com