Samantha Watkins

PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Title: Samantha Watkins
Author:  Aurélie Venem
Publication date: 2/23/16
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: Yes
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Amazon blurb:
Young librarian Samantha Watkins has always been perfectly content with her humdrum existence. Never easily fitting in with anyone anywhere, she feels most at ease in silence, among stacks of books. Sam believes in leaving fantasy and drama to the characters in her beloved novels. But one night when she leaves work late, she finds herself center stage in a tale of vengeance and terror. Samantha is rescued from a gang of vampires by Phoenix, a mysterious and otherworldly man. 

Suddenly her paranormal adventures take a far more extraordinary turn than any story she’s ever read. Phoenix, her savior, is actually a vampire as well, tasked with stopping his peers from killing. With no possibility of returning to her former life, Sam becomes his assistant. Together they investigate a series of mysterious disappearances and attempt to save the human race from a horrible fate. Battling vampires thrills and empowers Sam, but where does she stand with supernatural Phoenix? Could Phoenix, through their work together, become a different man?

My Review
Samantha Watkins is a tough one to review. On one hand, it has a super-interesting premise, something I haven’t seen in urban fantasy before (and trust me, I’ve seen just about everything). But on the other hand, the characters were hard to relate to. It’s not that I didn’t like them...I just didn’t get to know them well enough—and that’s kind of a problem in a book that’s over 400 pages long. Phoenix/Aydan in particular was a mystery to me. Sure, there were tiny clues here and there hinting at his attachment to Samantha (who stayed almost willfully oblivious to the feelings of everyone around her), but overall, I didn’t develop any sense of what was going on in his head.

However, I did enjoy seeing Samantha’s transformation from mild-mannered librarian to fully-functional badass. Could’ve done without her total Twilight-y meltdown when Phoenix threatened to fire her (for her own good, of course), but all in all, Samantha was pretty cool.

I feel like if I’d been able to read this in the original French, it would’ve been FANTASTIC. As it stands, I liked it OK and will probably read the next in the series. And at the end of the day, isn’t that the best possible recommendation I could give?

Full disclosure: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
     
Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
As a paranormal romance, it’s within spitting distance of straining the bonds of believability, but it’s well-written enough to avoid contributing to the stigma.

Other reading suggestions
For a series about a heroine who grows into her powers and gradually becomes more kick-ass s the stories progress, try Isabel Jordan’s Harper Hall Investigations series.

Note: Review original posted on Knockin’ Books.

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