Kenneth
is a Shadow Ward who chases after lost souls who haven’t died properly and
tries to help them find peace. His latest assignment leads him to Sophie, a
vampire who doesn’t suck blood, but still has quite a high mortality rate where
her victims are concerned. Sophie needs Kenneth to keep her alive, and as he’s
so adorably soft hearted, he can’t really say no, especially once he realises
she’s just as much a victim as he is (the fact he thinks she’s gorgeous
probably also helps).
First Bite was such a lovely surprise, I was very excited to find out that BookByYou had published a new vampire romance. I hoped I would enjoy this one as much as First Bite, but I was wrong. I enjoyed it even more.
I’ve read a lot of books. I was reading the
original Book of Dragons and The Enchanted Castle (both longer than
the personalised ones) at the age of six. I was reading the classics by the
time I was nine, and my favourite book is Emma
by Jane Austen (also available from BookByYou). But I have never been as emotionally involved in a book as I was when I read Black Lace.
Christine Schulze's novel was just heartrending. Luckily, I was
ill that day, which meant I didn’t have to put the book down until I’d finished
it. Often, when I really love a book, I read it really slowly so it doesn’t end
too quickly. With Black Lace, I had
to keep reading, because I was so desperate for Sophie and Kenneth to be happy.
Then there was the plot twist. Plot twists
don’t often surprise me. I see them coming very early on, though books are still full of surprises for me, due to an unfortunate talent for missing the obvious. Black Lace has a plot twist, and it's exactly the kind of twist I
usually pick up on. But I didn’t. I was too deeply involved in the story to
remember things and see patterns. I just saw a gorgeous, lovely man called
Kenneth. There wasn’t a plot twist because only stories have plots. This was
real.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about being the
vampire. I’ve never really fantasised about not being human before, or not for a
long time. I did once go to a fancy dress party dressed as a sheep, but I was only about four.
But I loved being a vampire. I identified
with the loneliness and the unhappiness and need to be loved. I know all about
doing things that are perceived as unkindness by others, even though I never
meant it that way. I have physical attributes that restrict what I’m able to
do. I’ve experienced loving Kenneth, but I know I can never really have him
because I’m not the kind of girl who can make him happy.
Kenneth is obviously gorgeous. At first,
his attitude to death seems quite casual, but it’s not long before you get to
see how kind, sweet and loving he can be. Even the descriptions of Kenneth
wearing black lace are sexy, though probably not in the way you’re imagining!
I paired my friend Jade up with Gareth again,
but their characters are only in one scene together. They aren’t in the book very much at
all, and Jade is actually a bit scary (In this book, it's probably better to name the heroine's friend after someone who's not going to take it personally), but they’re both great characters. If
BookByYou ever writes a companion novel that tells Jade and Gareth’s story, I
will be even more excited than I usually am when BookByYou publishes a new
book. Especially if Christine Schulze writes it.
There aren’t any non-personalised
characters with names, but Sophie does mention her old friend Kitty quite a
lot, so I wouldn’t choose that name for personalisation.
As for the ending, I'm not going into details. You'll have to read the book to find out how it ends. But it's the only possible ending as far as I'm concerned.
