'Ben hunched his shoulders and pulled his coat closer. The cold didn't bother him. His body healed from nearly any injury, so when his fingers got too told, they just started to reheat a few moments later. He healed and he lived and he hated it.

Plot

Ben Prescott hates Christmas. Ben is a Vampire, and for him, there's nothing jolly about the holiday season. While the humans are merry, Ben plans on spending his holidays stalking his prey.

Fate has other plans for Ben. Three visitors are on their way; a Demon who will force him to confront his past, a Ghost who will show him the present, and a Shifter who will show him what his future will be if he doesn't change his ways.

The woman Ben loved and lost, Simone Laurent, is the person who holds his redemption in her hands. If Ben is to become more than just a beast living in darkness, he must learn to change and prove himself to Simone. But a few years ago, on Christmas Eve, Simone died in his arms, so this could prove difficult.

My thoughts

I spotted this book on NetGalley and thought it sounded interesting as it's a re-writing of a very popular Christmas story. I thought it would be perfect to read in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and as it's a novella I knew it would be a quick and easy read.

I finished this book within two days, but it could easily be finished in a single day, as my Kindle informed me that the book only takes around an hour and a half to read. I probably could have finished it in one day if I wasn't reading any other books at the time.

As I said before, this book is a re-telling of the popular Christmas story, A Christmas Carol. I haven't read the original story yet, but I plan on reading that next for my Christmas reading challenge. I've seen this story told in many different ways through Christmas films that always find a new way to tell the story, but I've never seen it told in this way.

Ben is a Vampire who has every reason to hate Christmas, since his girlfriend Simone died on Christmas eve a few years ago. This causes him to fall into the darkness that so easily comes with being a Vampire. Blaming himself for Simone's death, Ben stays in the shadows and becomes more and more of a recluse.

Instead of being visited by three ghosts, Ben is visited by a Demon, a Ghost and a Shifter. This of course is a completely different take on the story of A Christmas Carol, and one that fits in well with today's love for Paranormal stories. This unique way of telling the story definitely made the story enjoyable for me, but it's also not a book that stood out for me.

That being said, it's certainly entertaining with it's new take on a well known story. If you're looking for something fast paced to read over the holiday season, and you're a lover of Paranormal stories, then you should definitely give this a read.
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*Book source ~ A review copy was provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For ten long years Ben Prescott has been a monster who hunts monsters. Turned into a vampire on Christmas Eve and left to figure things out on his own he killed the one person he loved, Simone Laurent. Now, he hunts those who prey on the innocent. But he’s about to make a terrible mistake and his eternal soul rests in the balance. When he’s visited by three supernatural beings, he needs to not just listen, but really hear what they are saying and change his path or he’ll be hitching a ride on the Hellbound train. Maybe he won’t care about his own destiny, but what about Simone’s?

A heart-wrenching Christmas story where, instead of three ghosts, Ben has three supernatural beings visit him to try and get him to see that he’s headed straight for Hell, no hand basket in sight. A demon, a ghost and a shifter (sounds like the beginning of a bad joke) do their best with the hour they have with him, but Ben is such a hard case. In fact, I wanted to beat his head in a bit just because he was being so willfully blind. How much more proof did he need by the time the shifter showed up anyway? Yeesh! Anyway, other than that, this may be a short read, but it’s got a lot of emotion packed into it. If you like your Christmas stories with some paranormal goodness (especially when it’s a retelling) then I recommend picking this one up. ( )

I've seen and read many versions of Christmas Carol even though I don't celebrate it. This one is by far a christmas filled with a lot of brooding angst and blood. A Vampire's Christmas Carol was about a vampire slowly losing himself and about his choice to fall into the darkness and lose himself to madness or redeem his soul. A demon who owed him his life came to Ben and decided to play the ghost of christmas past, reminding him the good days before he was killed in the alley, when he still have the love of his life in his arms and before everything changes and how anger will only drive him to a destructive path and he will soon destroy what left of his humanity.
For a one short novella, it was a good love story. Ben was a very dark character wrought by his past and the the Victorian Gothic Romance atmosphere in the story was a nod toward was Dickens. It was an emotionally heavy book and can be exhausting for those seeking some light reading but it was rewarding in the end. The storytelling was driven around the character and how he came to be and what he had lost. There was a side plot with the circumstance of the revenge path he had taken and how a deadly mistake could change everything.

It was not a usual feel good christmas romance which was accompanied by the season. It was a dark and violent book. Death and blood was a common theme in it but also forgiveness and love. It was a good short story you'll enjoy at one sitting.

The ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

In 72 pages you...

Laugh
Cry
Get Aroused
Get Mad
And then get very happy!

Imagine a world where vampires, shifters, angels and demons existed. Now imagine that in a parnamoral twist to the Christmas Carol story. Sounds awful doesn't it? I admit I was skeptical but man that was such an awesome read!!!!!!!

I am soooo glad that I this book was given to me for review because I don't if it would have been something that I would have read on my own. Love surprises!

I am going to have to read the rest of Cynthia's books because if this little book can captivate me imagine a whole one.

This book was given to me for a fair and honest review.
Read more on my blog Home Is Where the Wine Is Book Blog
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**Review written for an originally posted on my blog, Book Bliss.I received a copy of this in exchange for an unbiased an honest review**

Review: 5 stars

General: This book is hands down one of the best take’s on the classic Christmas story on the market! From beginning to end this book captured my attention. It kept classic elements- the 3 ghosts, William Marley, and needing to be a better person. But it spiced it up with all things dark and sexy; demons, shifters angels and of course vampires.Ben has a choice to make after his life has been ruined by being turned into a vampire. One of the 3 ghosts that he saved is trading their life for his if he doesn’t change and that twist was amazing! Plus, this story has never been so hot! The chemistry in this book was amazing. Too bad it wasn’t a full length novel because I would’ve loved for more of William’s snark and Simone and Ben’s heat!

Characters: Ben- Ben is a scrooge to fall in love with. Dark and deadly because he lost it all I felt the best moments were watching him in the past. He was loving and tortured all at the same time. Not a true alpha if you don’t count how powerful he is I liked that about him! He was intense at whatever was going on- past, present or future and hot as hell.

Simone- Simone is hard to describe without giving away secrets. She’s a beautiful soul and her love for Ben, and her passion, jumped right off the page. I thought they were a perfect pair.

William- One sexy smart mouthed demon.

Jamison- A shifter who seems to have his own agenda. He came across a bit snarky and a slight bit of a coward but with what he went through under his alpha, it made total sense! ( )