Review: Birth of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Realm Book 1) by Gayla Twist
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2014
Haley Scott is a down on her luck teenager. Her mother is literally crazy, and she has bounced between foster care and her mother’s care for most of her seventeen years. She is currently living with her occasionally abusive, borderline alcoholic half uncle Kevin (her mother’s half brother). Haley isn’t popular, has no friends and she tends to keep to herself and coast along without being noticed.Dorian Vanderlind, the vampire, is spending the Christmas with his aunt and cousins at the family castle. Intrigued by his cousin Jesse’s infatuation with a mortal girl, and teenage mortals altogether, Dorian attends a party with his cousin. It’s at this party that he meets Haley.Although there is no romamtic connection between the two, Dorian finds himself fasinated with Haley. She seems smarter and more mature than her peers, and she has interesting theories about vampires and immortal life.When Haley abruptly leaves the party, Dorian feels the need to follow her. As a result, he is there immediately after Haley crashes her car. In a moment of weekness on Dorian’s part, he decides to turn Haley instead of letting her die. But becoming a maker isn’t all that it’s made out to be for Dorian. He finds himself with a typical teenager on his hands, and although he finds Haley fascinating, they don’t have that ‘bond’ that they are supposed share. He marvels at her ability of being able to control her bloodlust. He also finds himself faced with a decision – pull Haley in to line, or stake her.Birth of the Vampire is the first of Gayla Twist’s novels that I have read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I connected easily with the characters and found the story quite entertaining. Haley was quite humorous at times, both with the way she spoke and the way she thought. Dorian was an ‘old soul’ – mature and wise. Bet hey! He’s a vampire! He’s been around for a while!The story is told in alternating points of view. Mostly Haley and Dorian’s. While I’m not a great fan of alternating POVs, I did feel that this story needed it. Haley and Dorian are so different, I needed to be placed in both their heads to understand them better. However, towards the end of the book, as Haley and Dorian we around each other more, I found that the POV changes were retelling the same thing, just from the other’s eyes.If you are looking for a good paranormal read that will keep you entertained with the story, then I recommend reading Birth of the Vampire by Gayla Twist. I look forward to seeing where Haley and Dorian’s journey takes them in the future.