Review: Shades of Sepia (The Sleepless City #1 ) by Anne Barwell

Rating: 3.5🌈

I’ve read this series out of order and this probably has hurt the way in which I have viewed the first story, Shades of Sepia.

I’m already familiar with the couple and characters here. Also how the events of this story unfolded and were resolved. I read it basically to complete the series and grab up any new information or missing details before heading into the series finale.

I liked getting to know Ben Leyton, a New Zealand human drawn to Boggslake, Ohio because of an old photograph from his grandfather. He’s a wonderful, relatable character. Simon Hawthorne, vampire with a terrifying past, is a quiet presence here against the vibrancy that’s Ben.

I liked them but my main quibble here is the rushed relationship. There’s no foundation, no chemistry at the beginning. Yes a feel for a realistic dynamic comes later in the book, but at the beginning, it’s all soulmate, insta-love ‘oh, I love you’ type of relationship and I just think it comes across as flawed and flat.

Especially when viewed against the funny, partly antagonistic tone of the one that emerges from Electric Candle with Blair and Forge. That is one that’s slowly grown and, even with a soulmate bond, definitely not an instant love connection. As I said, series should be read in order.

I thought the second half of the story and plot was better constructed. But again, I had the advantage of reading books 2 and 3 . For me, I enjoyed it but got frustrated that the investigation into the murders was simply too slow to see what was going on around the main characters. And major plot points weren’t followed through on, another issue which bothered me.

For me , there’s a large amount of sex to the exclusion of character and relationship development. Instead of giving the reader information about what exactly happened to certain characters, what did the investigation reveal, and some more vampire bonding details, we get sex.

It’s not as satisfying as it sounds.

So while there are some good things about this book. The characters themselves are lovely, some really nice moments individually, the whole story doesn’t come across as strongly as the book that follow.

It’s still a rec for me. It a good lead in to a terrific series. Read them in the order they are written.

The Sleepless City:

✓ Shades of Sepia #1 by Elizabeth Noble

✓ Electric Candle #2 by Elizabeth Noble

✓ Family and Reflection #3 by Anne Barwell

◦ Shifting Chaos #4 by Anne Barwell

Sequel Series:

The Vampire Guard by Elizabeth Noble:

◦ Code Name: Jack Rabbit #1

◦ Quarry #2

◦ Endosymbiont #3

Buy Link:

Shades of Sepia (The Sleepless City Book 1)

Blurb:

To be soulmates they first have to survive.

A serial killer stalks the streets of Boggslake, Ohio. The victims are always found in pairs, one human and one vampire.

Simon Hawthorne has been a vampire for nearly a hundred years, and he has never seen anything like it. Neither have the other supernaturals he works with to keep the streets safe for both their kind and the humans.

One meeting with Simon finds Ben Leyton falling for a man he knows is keeping secrets, but he can’t ignore the growing attraction between them. A recent arrival in Boggslake, Ben finds it very different from his native New Zealand, but something about Simon makes Ben feel as though he’s found a new home.

After a close friend falls victim to the killer, Simon is torn between revealing his true nature to Ben, and walking away to avoid the reaction he fears. But with the body count rising and the murders becoming more frequent, either, or both of them, could be the killer’s next target.

Author’s note: This story was originally released in 2014 by another publisher. This edition has been revised and re-edited with the end result being a better, stronger story.

• Publisher: LaceDragon Publishing; 2nd edition (July 11, 2020)

• Publication date: July 11, 2020

• Print length: 240 pages