well. the hero was great. all dark and broody as vampires should be. the heroine was awful. tstl. would have liked her to become food. ( )

I very kindly received a review copy of this book, & unfortunately it sat until I had a chance to read it. Once I did, I quickly read & finished it. The book starts you off immediately into the main character's life, and as you can tell from summaries of the book, she quickly turns into a vampire. It's tough for her to adjust to her new reality, but she starts learning & training about how to become a vampire.

All in all, I enjoyed the book & will probably read the next book in the series.

I give the book 4 stars instead of 5 for two reasons:
1) I did not fall in love with any of the characters - I did enjoy reading about them, but I did not fall in love with them & I only give 5 star reviews to books when I both love the book & love the characters

2) Without spoiling you, I felt that the final climax of the story was too much of a stretch. If throughout the book, the main character doesn't like another character, doesn't trust her, feels something is "off" about her, then why would you put yourself into a situation when you are alone with her? And then wonder why you got yourself into this mess? ( )

Most excellent! This book had me hooked from the first sentence. I devoured this, and was left wanting more.

The mythology around the vampires was really intriguing. It felt right that they could be tracked to some Netherwoldy Ancient Gods. I mean, if I had to write a story based on vampire origins, that's they way I would go. It just makes sense.

I was really sucked into this story line, and felt emotionally for these characters. You could really feel their pain, hatred, and passion for one another. Which I find lacking in some other series, and was quite pleased to see actual emotions and connections from characters.

The character names I found to be fun to say, Alyssa, Lysander, Rozaline, Kallisto. The names really made me feel like I was part of an ancient godly, vampire war. As for the characters, I do not know why some reviewers are saying Alyssa is so annoying. I mean, if I went through the crap that she did, in the 2 weeks that this took place, I would be a little annoying/freaked too. The fear that she has is real, and that would not go away in the spawn of a few weeks. It will take time for her to get fully into her powerful, vampy new life, and I feel that will just make the 2nd book that much better.

Another thing that I liked was the Las Vegas setting. I found that rather interesting as they described the downtown, casinos, and the old Vegas. I hope the author gets further into the seedy downtown, artsy areas of Vegas as I am weird and like to adventure in those parts myself. LOL.

Overall, I found this book to be unique. The vampire clans, and families I thought was really nice to see. You could really feel the family vibes with Lysander's brood. Definitely a vampily that I would love to be part of. I recommend this book to anyone that love vampires, urban fantasy, and hints of mythological ancient gods.

**I was given this ebook in exchange for an honest & unbiased review.** ( )

I'm going to be honest, the first 30% was 1 star. I struggled against the awkwardness of the writing and really wanted to put it down and read other things especially when Lysander, the 2000-year-old vampire and leading man, openly admitted to his newly sired vampire child that he'd watched with curiosity while she was tortured, almost raped and about to be dealt a death blow.

'I regret that my fascination with the brutality of their attack prevented me from stopping them before they had done too much damage.[...] She was an innocent. A young woman. Too young to die.' ~An excerpt from Lysander's journal.

He only stepped in once she'd been stabbed and lay badly beaten waiting to be raped and murdered. I think in all the time he'd been alive he'd seen women beaten, stabbed and possibly raped before -why would he be curious about it now? Had he no feelings about it at all? I understand he was disconnected from the world but that stuck with me through the whole thing.

Anyway, after that first third of the book, the writing changed, new characters were introduced. The book lost that cabin-fever feeling with both Lysander and Alyssa getting at each other's throats and avoiding embarrassing lust-filled moments with only moderate success. The visiting clan of vampires brought with it 3 characters which made a true impact on Alyssa and the story: Jessie, Rozaline and Crystal. Jessie as the reckless youth and the others as wise elders.

Alyssa struggles with her new life as a monster killing people every night to survive. She even tries blood from a butcher which proved she had to have fresh blood from the living. She can't stand Lysander being right all the time and ignores his warning: "Immortality does not mean invincibility" defies him and follows another vampire's example leading to an unintentional death which preyed on her conscience because he was innocent and she meant to only kill criminals just as Lysander does.

Longing for her old life Alyssa imagines telling her best friend Fallon what she is and 'That I must feed every night, and because of that, I choose to feed from those who do harm to others? Even to myself, it sounded stupid. I sounded like some bastardized superhero.' I like how this was addressed because that's exactly how it sounds.

The adversary, Kallisto, was a woman scorned and we all know how that works. She's Lysnader's ex and believes herself worthy of worship and unending fealty as a sort-of queen of the vampires, as one of the eldest in existence. She's power-mad, selfish and cruel. No one matters but her own needs and survival. Lysander was her former king and mate though she never let him go, he walked away. She's given him every chance to re-join her and now she wants him dead because if she can't have him, no one can.

The people to be even more afraid of were the Saints, men of the Roman Catholic Church who came together to specifically hunt vampires. They even turned a dying warrior, Santino, into the very thing they condemned in order to kill more vampires, promising automatic entry into Heaven. He fails to acknowledge that lie, no matter how many times Lysander presents him with it:

"I know the commandments you are supposed to live by. There is no fine print in 'Thou shall not kill'."

The love or rather lust-becoming-more was borne out of a lack of other options, for Lysander in particular. I couldn't understand what he saw in 25-year-old Alyssa other than her youth and beauty. For Alyssa, on the other hand, she was presented with a knowledgeable older man who obviously wasn't hurting for money -that much was clear when their financial situation was contrasted with the gyspy-like travelling vampires. Of course, she would be infatuated by him, he was her teacher. He had power and authority over her. Her forgiveness of his hesitation to save her life at the beginning came too easily and quickly. It was brushed aside as something that didn't matter. No grudge, no fights over it. No disgust. Unrealistic.

I was surprised by Edmond's actions towards the end, honourable though they were. He worshipped Kallisto but he meant nothing to her which she delighted in telling Alyssa with Edmond in the room. I'm not sure how Lysander trusted what he claimed when he divulged the whereabouts of his life work and I'm unsure of what Edmond had ever really done to Lysander to provoke the death sentence he demanded but I found myself liking Edmond's character much more than Lysander.

Overall, I'm not particularly fond of the main characters. I liked the travelling vampires, Kallisto, Santino and Edmond. The writing was shaky and awkward to start with but improved as the author seemed to gain confidence in what she was doing, and the book became more interesting as a result.

*Although this was a free e-book from the author this did not impact on my rating or review. ( )

Originally Reviewed at:Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating:3.5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: From Author for Blog Tour
Reviewed by: Jennifer



Immortalis Carpe Noctorem was a delightful read. The simple yet fascinating story takes readers back to a time when vampires didn’t have silly powers, and the only worry they encountered was who would be their next meal and when. In a sense it’s a “classic” vampire tale set in a modern era. It was wonderfully refreshing to read about an ordinary young woman whose life gets turned upside down by a man and condition that changed her life.

The main character, 25 year old Alyssa, is having the worst day ever. She got fired from her job, she was ditched by her friend, and on top of that she was attacked and nearly raped while walking home. On the plus side though, she is saved by a sexy ancient vampire named Lysander. When he reaches her, she is on the brink of death and has no choice but to turn her into a vampire. Fast forward to the next day and Alyssa’s life begins to tumble downhill all over again. Our young heroine is forced to face the grim reality of becoming a vampire and exactly what that requires. Killing to survive.

The book goes on to detail her experiences as a fledging vampire, and her quiet and brooding sire who want to keep the secrets of his ancient life exactly that, a secret. Alyssa was an excellent heroine. Her adjustment to becoming a vampire and killing portrayed a more realistic idea of how hard it might be for a person to actually live as a vampire. It was not all fun and games and killing was never easy. But as one could expect, our MC did what she had to do in order to survive.

Katie Salidas did a phenomenal job of reminding me exactly what vampires are supposed to be: Killers, but not monsters. The writing was a little weak at some points, however it didn’t stop me from being engrossed in the story. If you’re looking for a novel that details the life of a classic vampire and contains a rather interesting plot, Immortalis Carpe Noctorem should be your fist choice. I recommend this book to everyone looking to get a quick vampire fix and to those who’ve had enough of freakishly powerful vamps with unrealistic lives (well if vampires were real and had lives).
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