Review: Hearts At Stake

Author: Alyxandra Harvey
Pages: 256
Source: Library

Hearts at Stake is the first book of the Drake Chronicles which I only heard about after I saw Kristi at The Story Siren's reviews for the series. There are two point of views; Lucy and Solange (love Solange's name).

Solange is a future vampire who is threatened by a prophecy that says she will be the next vampire Queen. Enter Lady Natasha who wants to be the Queen herself and won't let anything stop her from accomplishing her goal. What's even worse is that Solange is the first female vampire born in centuries which makes her pheromones irresistible to men. Solange is in constant danger and is guarded by her family and friends heavily, but will that be enough to keep herself safe? 

Lucy is Solange's best friend. She's human but has known Solange ever since she was born. She worries for her friend and would do anything to protect her. She's a strong, likable girl that frequently breaks people's noses.

I think the idea of this book is interesting. I was usually wondering what would happen next, but I didn't connect very much with the characters. Solange is so typical and nice, but in my mind she's still a bit of mystery. She was unconscious for most of the story, but I wish I knew more about her. Lucy, we do know more about, but I just didn't connect with her either. Maybe it's just me?

I did love Kieran though. It was a bit predictable how his storyline turned out, but it was cute all the same. And he's my favourite character already.

One reason I had a hard time getting hooked into the book was because of the explanation. The Helios-Ra, Hounds and Hosts, etc. were all explained in one paragraph, so later on I needed to read the paragraph repeatedly to understand the action.

The concept of vampires here is original and interesting. There's a lot of world-building going on so maybe that's why I didn't connect with the characters much, though that will probably improve later on. 

Overall, this is an easy to read, vampire read with a bit of blood. It's recommended for younger readers.

Three stars,

***

-P.E.