m.'s Reviews > Vein Of Love
Vein Of Love (Blackest Gold, #1)
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Vein of Love (Blackest Gold, #1) by R. Scarlett
Overall rating: 3.5/5 Stars - Great beginning to this new series, I most definitely enjoyed it. This is also a great debut novel from R. Scarlett and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from her!
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/New Adult
Type: Book 1 of ?, The Blackest Gold series
POV: Third person - Molly Darling and Tensley Knight
Release date: August 16th, 2016
Cliffhanger: (view spoiler)
HEA: (view spoiler)
Storyline: 3.5/5 stars
So, first of all, Vein of Love was a good debut novel.
I really enjoyed the whole concept of the demons in this book. Some demons, like Tensley, need intimacy to get their energy -- or else they become more or less weak. Other "types" of demons, Lex, for example, need to feed on people's emotions in order to get their energy. That, to me, was really interesting. That concept was particularly fascinating when paired with the fact that demons don't have hearts but can grow one. However, growing a heart is basically a crime in their culture. So, on one hand, demons need intimacy to survive, but on the other hand, it's basically forbidden to fall in love -- a crime punishable by death for both people involved in the relationship -- because it means they grew a heart. So this was basically the ultimate friends-with-benefits situation, but in this case, you really CANNOT fall for the other. It was definitely a nice twist on the whole demons-don't-have-a-soul stereotype and it was a great way to add conflict to the story.
Story-wise, the beginning of Vein of Love was on the slower side. The pacing itself was really fast, but the beginning mostly consisted of Molly running away from Tensley and denying the century-old bargain between the two family.
Which, a) made the story feel a lot slower than it actually was,
and b) made it harder for me to get into it.
I would easily have rated this book a half-star more had a few more things happened in the first half of the book. However, the story did really pick up in the second half and the end is what truly sold me on this story.
Also, about the ending of the book. When you say romance novels, whether it's a historical romance, a contemporary romance, or in this case, a paranormal romance, it's basically a writing rule that someone is going the fuck up at some point, and it's going to create some drama. And I'd say 90% of the time, it's the guy. So it's no surprise if I say someone did fuck up in this book. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't the guy who fucked up for once, but the girl. It was honestly refreshing. Girls make mistakes too, y'all! We're far from perfect.
So, world-building. For the first book in a series, there definitely was some world-building, but the fangirl in me wished there had been more. This book is set in our world, so there's not much to add on that front because Manhattan is Manhattan whether it's full of demons or not. So that's that. BUT, it would have been interesting to learn a bit more about the demon culture; how it came to be, how it works, etc. We did get some information about those things -- mostly the growing-a-heart thing and the fact that there's a demon prince out there-- but it wasn't nearly enough for me to say that I fully understand the ways of the demons in this book. But that's something we might get in the second book, we'll see.
Also, I wasn't going to talk about this because I didn't know this when I was reading the book, but I've just noticed Vein of Love is labeled/tagged as "Dark Romance". As of this first book, I must admit I'm not seeing what was "dark" about this story. So, if that's why you wanted to read this book, I'm not sure this is the right book for you. BUT, this IS the first book in the Blackest Gold series, so, we never know, the next books might be darker. Or maybe it's me. Maybe something I don't consider "dark" is something someone else would consider "dark"... who knows.
Characters: 3/5 stars
I'll be quite honest here: I didn't like Molly. And I've been told that's a common feeling amongst readers of this book. So, there's definitely something about this character that didn't transfer well from the author to her readers because there's a definite disconnect with Molly. Personally, my main problem with her was her attitude. She WAS very indecisive, careless at times, and selfish to say the least. Which definitely makes for a character that's hard to like and/or relate to. I will say that although she's all those things, I respected the fact that when she did a very big mistake (towards the end of the book) she admitted she was wrong. That takes some balls. Just sayin'.
As for Tensley, I don't have much to say other than, well, I liked him. I wouldn't say I'm downright in love with him...yet... but I did care for him and cared for what happened to him. Let's be honest, the guy put up with a lot of shit -- mostly from Molly -- and didn't give up, so I like him for that. He's a good guy. Doesn't want to accept it, but he is. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of his character in the second book. I don't feel like I know him all that well, but hopefully, I will eventually.
Relationships (friendships/love interests): 3.5/5 stars
Molly and Tensley's relationship was very much like a cat and mouse game. Tensley chased after Molly but didn't want to, while Molly desperately tried to get away from Tensley but found herself also very attracted to him. A love/hate relationship, if you will.
However, this relationship wasn't your usual love/hate relationship. It was different. Instead of having two characters that hate each other at first and eventually falling in love, Molly and Tensley's relationship was very much a back-and-forth between "I like you" and "I hate you". And sometimes, that switch in their relationship was literally made within the same paragraph. So, one line they were almost cracking jokes together, the next, they were screaming and fighting. And then a few lines later, and they were liking each other again. Hot for each other a second, cold the next. It sounds like I'm completely exaggerating, and I wish I was, but stuff like this actually happened in the book... a few times.
So the problem with that is that it becomes very confusing/frustrating after a while. The main reason behind that frustration/confusion was either, I was trying to understand why they were fighting all of a sudden but couldn't come up with a reason or I knew the reason but didn't think it was an actual reason to be fighting over. Does that make sense? It's important to have conflict, it adds to the plot, no doubts about that, but it can also become a problem if:
a) it happens too often.
Or, b) the readers don't understand why it's there, to begin with.
And to be completely honest, they did sound like two kids fighting over trivial things in some instances. So, like I said, love/hate relationships are great but they have to be done well, and this one didn't work for me, unfortunately. BUT, I'm a 100% curious to see how their relationship will evolve and grow. The ending of the book seemed to be hinting at yet another shift in their relationship (this time it seemed like a good shift) and so I'm interested to see how that might turn out.
Writing: 3/5 stars
For a first novel, I would say R. Scarlett did a good job on this novel. I enjoyed her writing, but there were also a few things I had issues with.
For example, something that struck me when I was reading Vein of Love was the lack of descriptions in this novel. There were A LOT of dialogues, but almost no descriptions whatsoever.
While that writing style might work for someone else, it didn't work for me. In my opinion, this kind of writing really speeds up the pace of a book and makes it harder for the reader to not only get immersed into the story but also to fully connect with the characters.
I think this writing style is also part of the reason why some readers had so much trouble understanding Molly's character and the decisions she was making. We had so little insight into her decision-making -- or even into what she might be feeling, for that matter -- that we couldn't fully understand her reasoning. So, that's definitely something I hope will change in the next books, because I want to root for her, but I can't until I fully understand her.
Final thoughts:
So, this was R. Scarlett's debut novel and it a very promising start. Sure, there were a few things that needed some rework, but overall, I'd say I'm impressed with this book and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by her. I enjoyed it and I would recommend it!
In short,
Story: 3.5/5 stars – Good story, the pacing felt a bit slow at first, but the second half of the book was great.
Writing: 3/5 stars – Had some issues with the writing overall, but I also know this is a debut novel, so the issues I pointed at were only meant as constructive criticism.
Characters: 3/5 stars – I liked Tensley, I'm interested to see more of him. I'm not giving up on Molly just yet, but I did have a hard time liking her character in this book.
Sexiness: 2.5/5 stars – There weren't many sexy parts -- which I'm not complaining about, because sometimes, there can also be too much. If there's no point to a sexy scene, then why have it? With that being said, I wouldn't qualify the sexy moments that were in the book as mindblowing AKA I wouldn't qualify this book as particularly sexy.
Cover: 4.5/5 stars – I love this cover! I love that it's dark and mysterious. I love its simplicity. It's literally everything I like in a cover! It's also what drew me into this book in the first place. I saw the cover and immediately wanted to know what the book was about. So this cover is a success!
Overall: 3.5/5 stars – I liked it, it was a good first book. I'm looking forward to reading the next books.
Note: As usual, terribly sorry for yet another extra-long review. I have literally no control and can never write short reviews. I just have so much to say and can't stop until it's all out. Again, I'm sorry.
**ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.**
Overall rating: 3.5/5 Stars - Great beginning to this new series, I most definitely enjoyed it. This is also a great debut novel from R. Scarlett and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from her!
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/New Adult
Type: Book 1 of ?, The Blackest Gold series
POV: Third person - Molly Darling and Tensley Knight
Release date: August 16th, 2016
Cliffhanger: (view spoiler)
HEA: (view spoiler)
Storyline: 3.5/5 stars
So, first of all, Vein of Love was a good debut novel.
I really enjoyed the whole concept of the demons in this book. Some demons, like Tensley, need intimacy to get their energy -- or else they become more or less weak. Other "types" of demons, Lex, for example, need to feed on people's emotions in order to get their energy. That, to me, was really interesting. That concept was particularly fascinating when paired with the fact that demons don't have hearts but can grow one. However, growing a heart is basically a crime in their culture. So, on one hand, demons need intimacy to survive, but on the other hand, it's basically forbidden to fall in love -- a crime punishable by death for both people involved in the relationship -- because it means they grew a heart. So this was basically the ultimate friends-with-benefits situation, but in this case, you really CANNOT fall for the other. It was definitely a nice twist on the whole demons-don't-have-a-soul stereotype and it was a great way to add conflict to the story.
Story-wise, the beginning of Vein of Love was on the slower side. The pacing itself was really fast, but the beginning mostly consisted of Molly running away from Tensley and denying the century-old bargain between the two family.
Which, a) made the story feel a lot slower than it actually was,
and b) made it harder for me to get into it.
I would easily have rated this book a half-star more had a few more things happened in the first half of the book. However, the story did really pick up in the second half and the end is what truly sold me on this story.
Also, about the ending of the book. When you say romance novels, whether it's a historical romance, a contemporary romance, or in this case, a paranormal romance, it's basically a writing rule that someone is going the fuck up at some point, and it's going to create some drama. And I'd say 90% of the time, it's the guy. So it's no surprise if I say someone did fuck up in this book. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't the guy who fucked up for once, but the girl. It was honestly refreshing. Girls make mistakes too, y'all! We're far from perfect.
So, world-building. For the first book in a series, there definitely was some world-building, but the fangirl in me wished there had been more. This book is set in our world, so there's not much to add on that front because Manhattan is Manhattan whether it's full of demons or not. So that's that. BUT, it would have been interesting to learn a bit more about the demon culture; how it came to be, how it works, etc. We did get some information about those things -- mostly the growing-a-heart thing and the fact that there's a demon prince out there-- but it wasn't nearly enough for me to say that I fully understand the ways of the demons in this book. But that's something we might get in the second book, we'll see.
Also, I wasn't going to talk about this because I didn't know this when I was reading the book, but I've just noticed Vein of Love is labeled/tagged as "Dark Romance". As of this first book, I must admit I'm not seeing what was "dark" about this story. So, if that's why you wanted to read this book, I'm not sure this is the right book for you. BUT, this IS the first book in the Blackest Gold series, so, we never know, the next books might be darker. Or maybe it's me. Maybe something I don't consider "dark" is something someone else would consider "dark"... who knows.
Characters: 3/5 stars
I'll be quite honest here: I didn't like Molly. And I've been told that's a common feeling amongst readers of this book. So, there's definitely something about this character that didn't transfer well from the author to her readers because there's a definite disconnect with Molly. Personally, my main problem with her was her attitude. She WAS very indecisive, careless at times, and selfish to say the least. Which definitely makes for a character that's hard to like and/or relate to. I will say that although she's all those things, I respected the fact that when she did a very big mistake (towards the end of the book) she admitted she was wrong. That takes some balls. Just sayin'.
As for Tensley, I don't have much to say other than, well, I liked him. I wouldn't say I'm downright in love with him...yet... but I did care for him and cared for what happened to him. Let's be honest, the guy put up with a lot of shit -- mostly from Molly -- and didn't give up, so I like him for that. He's a good guy. Doesn't want to accept it, but he is. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of his character in the second book. I don't feel like I know him all that well, but hopefully, I will eventually.
Relationships (friendships/love interests): 3.5/5 stars
Molly and Tensley's relationship was very much like a cat and mouse game. Tensley chased after Molly but didn't want to, while Molly desperately tried to get away from Tensley but found herself also very attracted to him. A love/hate relationship, if you will.
However, this relationship wasn't your usual love/hate relationship. It was different. Instead of having two characters that hate each other at first and eventually falling in love, Molly and Tensley's relationship was very much a back-and-forth between "I like you" and "I hate you". And sometimes, that switch in their relationship was literally made within the same paragraph. So, one line they were almost cracking jokes together, the next, they were screaming and fighting. And then a few lines later, and they were liking each other again. Hot for each other a second, cold the next. It sounds like I'm completely exaggerating, and I wish I was, but stuff like this actually happened in the book... a few times.
So the problem with that is that it becomes very confusing/frustrating after a while. The main reason behind that frustration/confusion was either, I was trying to understand why they were fighting all of a sudden but couldn't come up with a reason or I knew the reason but didn't think it was an actual reason to be fighting over. Does that make sense? It's important to have conflict, it adds to the plot, no doubts about that, but it can also become a problem if:
a) it happens too often.
Or, b) the readers don't understand why it's there, to begin with.
And to be completely honest, they did sound like two kids fighting over trivial things in some instances. So, like I said, love/hate relationships are great but they have to be done well, and this one didn't work for me, unfortunately. BUT, I'm a 100% curious to see how their relationship will evolve and grow. The ending of the book seemed to be hinting at yet another shift in their relationship (this time it seemed like a good shift) and so I'm interested to see how that might turn out.
Writing: 3/5 stars
For a first novel, I would say R. Scarlett did a good job on this novel. I enjoyed her writing, but there were also a few things I had issues with.
For example, something that struck me when I was reading Vein of Love was the lack of descriptions in this novel. There were A LOT of dialogues, but almost no descriptions whatsoever.
While that writing style might work for someone else, it didn't work for me. In my opinion, this kind of writing really speeds up the pace of a book and makes it harder for the reader to not only get immersed into the story but also to fully connect with the characters.
I think this writing style is also part of the reason why some readers had so much trouble understanding Molly's character and the decisions she was making. We had so little insight into her decision-making -- or even into what she might be feeling, for that matter -- that we couldn't fully understand her reasoning. So, that's definitely something I hope will change in the next books, because I want to root for her, but I can't until I fully understand her.
Final thoughts:
So, this was R. Scarlett's debut novel and it a very promising start. Sure, there were a few things that needed some rework, but overall, I'd say I'm impressed with this book and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by her. I enjoyed it and I would recommend it!
In short,
Story: 3.5/5 stars – Good story, the pacing felt a bit slow at first, but the second half of the book was great.
Writing: 3/5 stars – Had some issues with the writing overall, but I also know this is a debut novel, so the issues I pointed at were only meant as constructive criticism.
Characters: 3/5 stars – I liked Tensley, I'm interested to see more of him. I'm not giving up on Molly just yet, but I did have a hard time liking her character in this book.
Sexiness: 2.5/5 stars – There weren't many sexy parts -- which I'm not complaining about, because sometimes, there can also be too much. If there's no point to a sexy scene, then why have it? With that being said, I wouldn't qualify the sexy moments that were in the book as mindblowing AKA I wouldn't qualify this book as particularly sexy.
Cover: 4.5/5 stars – I love this cover! I love that it's dark and mysterious. I love its simplicity. It's literally everything I like in a cover! It's also what drew me into this book in the first place. I saw the cover and immediately wanted to know what the book was about. So this cover is a success!
Overall: 3.5/5 stars – I liked it, it was a good first book. I'm looking forward to reading the next books.
Note: As usual, terribly sorry for yet another extra-long review. I have literally no control and can never write short reviews. I just have so much to say and can't stop until it's all out. Again, I'm sorry.
**ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.**
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Reading Progress
August 1, 2016
– Shelved
August 1, 2016
– Shelved as:
to-read
August 1, 2016
– Shelved as:
paranormal-romance
August 1, 2016
– Shelved as:
demons
August 23, 2016
–
Started Reading
August 25, 2016
–
58.46%
"See, unfortunately, here's the problem: she keeps saying he's the dangerous one, but she's the one who's been trying to kill him/hurt him since the very beginning. I don't understand why she hates him so much when he hasn't done anything to her and she's been the one hurting him. If anything, HE should hate HER..."
page
228
August 26, 2016
–
Finished Reading
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Christie«SHBBblogger»
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Aug 28, 2016 08:44PM
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Hahaha! I should be posting it in a few days, I just need to find the time to write it haha!
Thanks!!