Vaempires In Reviews Tour: Day 2

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Hi, welcome to Reader Girls! This is Laurie, the adult and mom of this blog, and I'm taking over today to tell you about one of my top favorite vampire book series: the Vaempires series by Thomas Winship. I have been honored to interview this author and host his book tours. For those new to our blog, I am crazy about vampires, have been since I was a kid and I read a lot in this genre. If you're a fan, this series is truly worth checking out!

Purchase links for the Vaempires books: 



Vaempires: Revolution (The Evolutionary War #1)
YA paranormal*paperback & e-book, 216 pages*Published October 31st 2011 by Createspace (first published October 28th 2011)

It is the morning of Princess Cassandra’s sixteenth birthday. Everyone’s attention is focused on the heir to the vampire throne. World leaders, the rich and famous, and VIPs from every corner of the globe have gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the momentous event. 

Cassandra’s boyfriend, Daniel, is late for the party. He’s still outside the city when all hell breaks loose. What he believes is an act of terrorism proves to be a full-fledged revolution. Væmpires—former vampires who mutated into warm-blooded creatures with an insatiable hunger for cold blood—have launched coordinated attacks across the globe, with three goals: the eradication of humanity, the enslavement of vampires, and the ascension of væmpires as the dominant species on the planet.

The vampire and human leaders are killed. Cassandra is missing. Daniel is the acting king. Desperate to find the princess, Daniel and his friends fight their way across the besieged city. With the hopes of the free world resting on the shoulders of four vampire teenagers, væmpires unleash their secret weapons—væmpires with special powers.

What can four teens do against an enemy that can shape-shift, fly, or walk through walls?

Our review | Our rating: 4, Liked it a lot


Vaempires: A White Christmas: A prelude to the Evolutionary War (The Evolutionary War 0.5)
YA paranormal*ebook & paperback*Published December 30th 2011

It’s almost Christmas. With the global holiday days away, the people of the world should be turning their attention toward celebrating peace and goodwill, but tension between humans, vampires, and væmpires is at an all-time high. Desperate for solutions, King Brant schedules a secret summit deep in North America’s Northern Forest. Along with Queen Anne, Princess Cassandra, Daniel’s family, and the human President and First Lady, the vampire leader seeks to reaffirm the ties between humans and vampires, while brainstorming ways to respond to the growing hostility among væmpires.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Cassie’s relationship is at an all-time low. The princess is still reeling from her breakup with Vielyn, and Daniel doesn’t know what he should or shouldn’t do to help. Little does he know that the summit will be flooded with surprises—guests, allegations, accusations, proposals, and even Christmas Eve revelations—but not all of the surprises will be pleasant.

Review:
I'm so glad I read this after reading  Vaempires: Revolution because now I totally understand Daniel and Princess Cassie's relationship. This novella shows the many sides of Daniel since it is told from his viewpoint. Grappling with the responsibilities of training to someday take over his father's position as Royal Guard, with Christmas days away he thinks back to childhood wishes like wanting to see snow while wrestling with his feelings for his best friend, Cassie. 

Thomas Winship really created a softer side of Daniel readers can easily fall in love with. His consideration for not killing the bear in the opening scene, to his indecision about revealing his love for Cassie (and his gift), having to dance with everyone except for who he really wants to at the holiday dinner, to the subtle ways he reads the body language of others and senses things at meetings, Daniel matures before our eyes and we fall for him. 

The scenes in the woods with Cassie are so romantic. Daniel's first snow fall is coupled with his first kiss with Cassie--these are the gems Mr. Winship puts into his stories--the parts which give his character heart and make one a fan of his talent for storytelling. And there's a scene with Ray and Linq!

1/2
Rating: 4.5 Loved it!


Vaempires: Zombie Rising
ebook*Published October 2012

The tale of the Evolutionary War resumes in Væmpires: Zombie Rising.

Væmpires have taken control of twelve major cities. Their leader, Vielyn, seeks the atomic weapons that will bring the rest of the world to its knees.

Vampire forces are reeling. As Linq and Ray race to the royal estate to rendezvous with Cassandra and Daniel, the princess is captured and Daniel falls.

With the fate of world shifting to their teenage shoulders, Linq and Ray must deal with tremendous losses while battling a most unexpected—and undeadly—new foe.


Review: I know I mentioned in my review for Vaempires: Revolution that readers didn't get to really see Daniel's friends, Linq and Ray. They had a great but brief scene in Vaempires: White Cristmas, but we really get to see them in action this time. I really enjoy this group of four friends. Zombie Rising picks up after the vaempire uprising in Revolution. Things are chaotic. Daniel is trying to find Cassie, and his friends are trying to find him and stay alive. Everything I really liked from Revolution is back: the fast pacing, no skimping on the violence and mayhem, the camaraderie among friends, the raw emotions--all amidst a truly unique world of factions of vampires and vaempires. 

After finishing this installment, I'm left needing more. What can I say? I love this series!

Rating: 5


About the author: Thomas Winship 




Thomas Winship was born in Middletown, NY and still resides in Orange County. He holds an MBA in Management from St. Thomas Aquinas College, where he serves as an adjunct professor of courses in English Composition, Communications, and Business. He also spent fifteen years working for a global pharmaceutical company, specializing in organizational development, talent management, and training.

Tom writes in his spare time. His first novel, a mystery/legal thriller entitled Temporary Insanity (a.k.a. Case Closed), was a 2008 finalist in a national contest but failed to garner industry attention. His second novel, Væmpires: Revolution, was published in October and a follow-up novella, Væmpires: White Christmas, was published in December. 

He is an avid collector of books, comic books, music, and movies. His interests are diverse: on any given day, Tom is likely to be found watching a horror movie, attending a hard rock concert, or enjoying a Broadway show.

The remaining tour dates:

November 7: Night Owl Reads
November 9: Words In Sync
November 12: Picked By Poison
November 13: Death Books And Tea
November 14: Much Loved Books
November 15: Mother/Gamer/Writer
November 16: Mind Reader
November 20: JennRenee Read
November 21: Novel Nerd
November 22: Turning The Pages

Comments

  1. TomNovember 6, 2012 at 9:26 AM

    Hi Laurie,

    Thank you so much for being part of another Vaempires tour! I love your reviews and I'm glad you liked the deeper look at Linq and Ray!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Laurie TNovember 6, 2012 at 5:21 PM

    Thank you, Tom, for this incredible series.

    Laurie

    ReplyDelete

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