The Colour of Death by Elizabeth Davies @bethsbooks @rararesources

Posted September 25, 2019 by midnightreview in Reviews / 0 Comments

Synopsis:

“Mad, bad and dangerous to know.”

Olivia Parr doesn’t believe her ability to see auras is a gift. It hasn’t exactly done her any favours. Quite the opposite, in fact. Having become something of a loner, she tries to avoid people and the glow surrounding them, preferring to view life through the lens of a camera, where she can’t see those tell-tale colours.

But when a rare visit to a theatre ends in death and bloodshed, Olivia’s life is about to become considerably more complicated.

During the mayhem, one man stands out, and not just because he seems oblivious to the terrible carnage. The reason? He has no aura.

But everyone has an aura, right?

Everyone.

Except for the dead.

Not only is she fascinated and intrigued by this strange, compelling man, in the aftermath of the tragedy she gains a protector; a man whose aura is deep, dark red – the colour of blood.

My Thoughts

The prologue introduces us to Rochdale. It’s fairly obvious he is a vampire. I took an instant dislike to him, which surprised me as I had assumed from the cover, I was reading a paranormal romance. I was not, well not in the traditional sense.

The start of this book has a real gothic quality to it and reminded me of the feel of Dracula. After the prologue though we are back to modern times and the writing takes on a different feel.

The Characters

We our introduced to our other two other main characters Olivia and Crow within the first chapter. I warmed instantly to Olivia and Crow, they are both battling personal demons, their growing friendship felt very real. They are both well rounded and given this is the first in a series there has certainly been a lot left to explore.

These three characters are thrown together during an intense event. I really liked the way we are introduced to them; you learn a lot about a person through how they react in a chaotic situation.

Finally – they don’t sparkle

Proper vampires! It’s been an age since I read a book with a ‘traditional’ vampire. We are talking only coming out at night, human minion, no reflection, a fear of crosses, garlic, silver the whole nine yards of old school lore. To complete the lineup, enthrallment, which is were the sexual scenes come in. You could argue they were non consensual so if that isn’t your thing then you may wish to skip this.

I really enjoyed the old school lore and this gave the book an edge to other paranormal books I have read recently. My initials reactions to the prologue feeling like Dracula are referenced later on. Hats off to Elizabeth for choosing this route.

Final Thoughts

This was an interesting read. I fully expected a human/vampire romance and was thrown slightly when it became clear that wasn’t the case. It was a refreshing break from the paranormal books I have read recently.

You could argue there was a romance budding between Olivia and Crow, however it may be more to do with seeking solace in the only other person that can understand what they’ve been through. Only time will tell. I’m looking forward to picking up the next book and seeing where this story goes.

My thanks to Rachel for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

If this sounds like your kind of book you can purchase it following the links below – not affiliated.

Purchase Links

US – https://www.amazon.com/Colour-Death-paranormal-vampire-suspense-ebook/dp/B07WN8HZRZ/

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Colour-Death-paranormal-vampire-suspense-ebook/dp/B07WN8HZRZ/