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Sunday, October 18, 2015

ARC Review: Alasdair by Ella Frank


I don't even really no where to start with this one. I guess I should start by saying that I absolutely love Ella Frank. Everything that I have read by her I have really enjoyed, so when I got the opportunity to read and review Alasdair I jumped on it. I didn't even read the blurb because quite frankly it was Ella and I didn't need to. So let me give you some basic information so that you aren't in the same situation I found myself in. Alasdair is a M/M paranormal novel that centers around Alasdair and Leo. This book is not what I would call a romance at all, and I think readers need to be aware of that before beginning since I wasn't. This book also ends with a cliffhanger. 

Since he was turned by the Ancient Vasilios, Alasdair has been one of the most powerful and feared vampires in existence. He has self control unlike any other, but he takes what and who he wants when he wants them. So when he comes across Leo Chapel, he knows that he must have him. But when Alasdair takes Leo, he never expects that Leo could be his very downfall and that his eternal life could possibly end. Leo knows that the world he has been thrust into is a dangerous one, and he must do whatever it takes to escape. But the more time him and Alasdair spend together, the strong their attraction to one another grows. But with each of them trying to discover the other's secrets, they'll have to try and figure out who is the enemy and who they should trust. 

I felt no connection other than attraction between Leo and Alasdair. For the majority of this book, Alasdair was not with Leo and was actually with his sire Vasilios. They had a very strong and unbreakable bond, that was very much a physical one. There were several scenes where they were sexual together, sometimes with Leo being a small part of them. I wouldn't really classify this book as a menage because they weren't all together, but they were all a part of sexual scenes a few times and readers should know that it wasn't just one on one. Because of the strong connection Alasdair had with Vasilios, we never really got to see him develop anything with Leo and I felt like that was very misleading here. I wasn't able to ever feel invested in Alasdair and Leo, and so when they would mention the strong pull they had I just didn't believe it was anything but lust or a physical response. The fact that not a lot happened between Leo and Alasdair until about 85-90% through was just too much for me, and at that point I didn't really care. Ella Frank is fantastic with the sexy stuff, so when those parts were happening they were great. She packs such a huge amount of heat and passion into her sex scenes, and that was the case here as well. I just missed the emotional connection between the two that were supposed to be the main characters here and I didn't feel like the love and intense emotional connection I usually feel between her characters was present.

I also felt like this book was very slow, and I will admit I got bored pretty easily here. Things were dragging and going around in circles. Alasdair was constantly accusing Leo of lying to him, though he was able to read minds and could see that he wasn't. There were a lot of times that I felt confused and like I didn't know what was going on. I expect some of that for a paranormal story, especially the first book that usually has a ton of world building to do. But I also expect to get answers, and I felt like we were left hanging and there was so much that didn't get answered here. Though I am curious to get some answers, I will say I am a bit skeptical about continuing this series. Though we were left with some things alluded to and implied between Alasdair, Leo, and Vasilios (things I can't say I was overly happy about), the next book is titled Isadora. She is a female vampire introduced in this book, and knowing that the next one is titled after her leads me to believe that it will be more about her than about the guys from this book. I am not sure if we will get answers to everything from this one, or if we will but just in passing. That idea doesn't really thrill me, and I just don't know that I am willing to take a chance on it or if I should just cut my losses here. While I love Ella Frank, this one was disappointing and wasn't what I have come to know and love from her.

**ARC Provided by RockStarLit PR**

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