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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Review: Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry
Pub. Date: December 2009
Publisher: Walker & Company
Format: Paperback, 256pp

On Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family.Luckily she has her own secret weapon—her human best friend Lucy—who is willing to defend Solange’s right to a normal life, whether she’s being smothered by her well-intentioned brothers or abducted by a power-hungry queen. Two unlikely alliances are formed in a race to save Solange’s eternal life—Lucy and Solange’s brother Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran Black—in a dual romance that is guaranteed to jump start any romance-lover’s heart.Even fans of the genre who’ve seen it all will find a fresh read with kick-butt characters and family dynamics that ring true for all brothers and sisters—vampire or otherwise.

Hearts at Stake is full of exciting characters with romance, wicked humor, and non-stop action packed into a spellbinding world of danger at every turn.

When I first read the synopsis for Hearts at Stake, I couldn’t wait to read it and I’m so thrilled that it lived up to my expectations and then some. This book is one of those page turners that had me captivated with the world that Harvey created. I love the mythology of the different species of vampires that Harvey introduced in Hearts of Stake. No matter how creepy I found some of them to be, it just made this book more exciting because you never knew who was lurking around the corner to get a piece of the Drakes whether it be by drug induced pheromones to court Solange or bounty hunters set on destroying them.

There are so many exciting characters in this book that have become some of my favorites. Solange is the only girl with a house full of 7 older and overprotective brothers. Nicholas, Logan, and Quinn are my favorite brothers. I found myself crushing on Nicholas, he’s gorgeous and always somewhere brooding. Logan is the pretty boy full of charm and was constantly cracking me up. Quinn is fearsome and laughs in the face of danger. Lucy, Solange’s best friend is just crazy awesome. She’s just as protective of her best friend as the brothers. Lucy speaks her mind and she’s had her fair share of being around Solange’s annoying brothers. Nicholas and Lucy’s flirtatious encounters made me love these two characters even more. Lucy constantly had me laughing out loud when it came to anything Nicholas. Solange, the vampire princess has her own drama to deal with especially when rumors of power plays threaten the Drakes’ existence and on top of that she has to fight off the outrageous things her suitors are doing to get her attention. How can you blame her when there’s blood and gore involved? Solange and Lucy are two great heroines and I’m so glad they lived up to my expectations.

With unexpected turn of events at the end of this book, I can’t wait to see what Blood Feud - the next installment in The Drake Chronicles has in store for us. The synopsis says it will be Logan’s story and since he’s my second favorite brother, I can’t wait to read it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

33 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review...I'm adding it to my wish list right after I post this comment. I love books with siblings, especially a lot of older brothers (I guess I've always wanted more bros than sisters...even though I have one of each)

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  2. This does sound interesting, especially since I have a cousin who is the baby sister of seven older brothers. So I might be able to identify with what poor Solange is going through with them.
    Margay

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  3. Great review. I have been looking forward to reading this.

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  4. I can't even imagine having that many older brothers. I doubt I would have ever been able to date lol. Sounds like an interesting story!

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  5. Having that many older brothers would be hellish.

    Sounds like a good one. Thanks for the review.

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  6. So glad you like this one! I have it on my shelf.

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  7. Fantastic review! This one looks excellent.

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  8. Great review!! I want to read this one now!

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  9. Thanks for the review! I just got this one in last week, and I'm excited to read it. It sounds pretty different from a lot of vampire novels I've read.

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  10. Awesome review! I seriously want to read this book NOW. Sounds super good.

    -Kay

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  11. I'm really looking forward to read this one! Even more now :D
    Thanks for the review!

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  12. Great review.I can't wait to read it.

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  13. Great review! I would die to read this book, but it's not published in my country yet!

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  14. This is a great review. I wanna read this book so badly. And love th cover to Blood Feud. I love a good series!! :]

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  15. I added this to my ever increasing list of books to read a few days ago, and now I think I have to move it up closer to the top!

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  16. great review, been wanting to read this for awhile now!

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  17. Great review! This book sounds like something I would enjoy...plus I love the cover :)

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  18. Gah, I would die if I had seven brothers! I have one, and that is enough thank you. ;3

    Any-who great review!

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  19. I'm very interested in this book, I enjoy books with big families.

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  20. Sounds like a fantastic series, but can you imagine 7 brothers( although come to think of it my dad had 6 and then 4 sisters

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  21. Hmmmm. Sounds interesting. I'll have to check this one out!

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  22. Awesome review! Thank you.
    I'm excited to read this one! =)

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  23. Great review. Need to add this to my reading list.

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  24. Thanx for the review. It really helped to decide if i wanted to buy the book.

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  25. I REALLY want to read this!!

    Maria E. Delgado
    mariadelgado32302@yahoo.com

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  26. The whole seven brothers thing has me totally sold on this book. It sounds like a really fun read.

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  27. 7 Brothers maybe 7 books in series? I have had this book on my Wish List ever since it released and probably it will stay there until the series is written and will buy all the books at once. Thanks for the review, it solidified my desire to read this authors books and now just have to get my self to a bookstore either online or for real.

    jackie b central texas

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  28. Your review was enlightening. Now that I've read it I'm looking forward to reading it.
    wandanamgreb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  29. I've wanted to read this book since I saw the author's name--how she spelled it that is. Also wicked humor is always welcome!

    Lexie
    Lexie.Cenni@gmail.com

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  30. Great review. This is the first I have heard of this book, but would definitely like to read it.

    lag110@mchsi.com

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  31. This book sounds pretty good. I've seen it around a lot and I think I need to read it now.

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  32. Great review!! I liked the way you told just enough about the book to make me want to read it, but not too much to spoil it for me.

    nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

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  33. WHAT PAGE DID SALONGE GO MISSING?? and anyone know where i can find a beg- to end summary of the book?

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