Review: The Black Lily by Juliette Cross

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone - Vampire Blood #1
Release - March 27, 2017
Genre - Historical Paranormal Romance
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat - 3 out of 5
Length - 302 pages

Every day, the threat the Varis family poses to the humans they rule over grows stronger. Every minute that Arabelle spends doing chores for vain, entitled aristocrats, her resolve to overthrow the vampire monarchy increases. She is the leader of the underground resistance, The Black Lily. And she’s waited long enough.

Now is the perfect time to ignite the rebellion. The plan? Attend the vampire prince’s blood ball. And kill him.

Dagger in hand, Arabelle is caught off guard by the immediate spark she shares with Prince Marius. It doesn’t help that he’s listening to her and seems so kind and understanding.

Arabelle is sworn to kill Marius at all costs, but what if Prince Charming is more than he appears to be? But the big question? Now that he knows the truth, can she do what she must to save her people?

Find The Black Lily here:
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MY REVIEW

I love retellings and when I saw that THE BLACK LILY was based off of Cinderella, I jumped at the chance to read it... and quickly realized it wasn't what I expected.

There was a prince. There was a peasant girl. There was even a ball. And that's where the similarities end. First of all, the prince was a vampire and it got real when Arabelle went to stab Prince Marius in the heart. Of course she missed. However, they both threw doubt on everything they had ever known. That near-fatal blow was the catalyst to an irresistible connection that sparked between and the start of one rocky road.

Arabelle was the leader of The Black Lily, an underground resistance group against the tyranny of the aristocracy, most notably the vampire nobility. Rogue vampires were killing off her people adn she intended to put a stop to it. She hated all vampires, with just cause, but Marius made her realize that they weren't all bad, as he himself embodied the characteristics of honor, integrity, goodness, fairness and mercy. The fact that he was absolutely gorgeous was obviously a bonus. Their attraction, as taboo as it was (think Angel and Buffy), fairly sizzled through the pages and their thoughts and feelings for one another were not only undeniable but also beautiful to watch unfold.

There was plenty of action, blood and gore, deception, betrayal, redemption, hope and love. My only real disappointment with this story was Arabelle's excuse for remaining human. It didn't make any sense to me. It's clear that vampires are superior in physical strength. Why wouldn't you want that strength as you're going up against other vampires??? I can only hope that this issue is rectified quickly in the next book, a book I intend to read.