Title: Karolina Dalca, Dark Eyes

Author: M.R. Noble

Year of Publication: 2020

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 270

Summary: From Goodreads: Blindsided by an attack that destroys her home and blamed for murder, Karolina Dalca, a half-vampire, escapes, only to plunge into the magical societies from which she was sheltered.

Betrayed by those around her, she abandons her dreams of becoming an investigator and flees, trusting only herself. Her police internship would never prove more useful. Hoofing it through the wilderness, she makes it to her university dorm, disheveled but delightfully deflowered.

Enter a full vampire: one wielding dark magic and a ride out of Canada. A fugitive from the law, Karo complies with his demands to escape, unsure whether his requests are bewitched. She vows to clear her name and avenge her mother’s death, but Karo’s family secrets aren’t so easily left behind.

Review:  Thank you to The Write Reads for organizing and inviting me to participate in this blog tour. Thank you to the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Karolina Dalca, Karo, is a half-vampire, but she’s lived her life sheltered from the vampire side of her family and the magical societies associated with it. One day, the magical societies she’s been sheltered from her whole life come barging through her door, killing her mother, and sending her on the run with a mysterious dark vampire who she knows nothing about. What happens next is a whirlwind, action-packed adventure out of Canada, to Romania, and then Russia, where Karo tries to stay alive and piece together the world she’s been thrown into.

The first thing I want to talk about is all of the characters. I really liked Karo, even though I found her lack of impulse control annoying at times. I admired her determination and moral compass, and I thought she was a badass. I liked Andre, especially because he was a morally grey character. I enjoyed trying to figure out his motivations, and I hope to learn more about him in the second novel. I had mixed feelings about Ro because I thought he was a bit too controlling at times, but I did think he was a decent friend to Karo.

I liked that this book took place in so many different places. I’m Canadian, so I love it when a book takes place in Canada. I also enjoyed exploring Romania and Russia with the characters, especially because I haven’t read a lot of books that take place in either of those places.

I loved all of the action in this book. There are a lot of fight scenes as the characters try to escape the evil forces that killed Karo’s mother, and I thought that they were all awesome. I loved seeing Karo learn how to control her various magical powers and learn more about the various magical powers, creatures, and systems. I liked the idea of magic being based on the four elements and then having dark and light magic. I also enjoyed learning how the different types of magic can be used against different creatures and learning about the magic system in general.

I will say that a few moments in this book had me questioning what on earth I was reading, but I also struggled to put the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I thought the book’s ending was fantastic, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Rating: 4 Stars