I found this book as an ARC on BookSirens and was super excited to read it when it came up on my docket. I will definitely be following this author for more work—especially since this is only book 1!

Read: March 11 – March 15, 2024
*Self-published author

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural
Audience: Young Adult
Book contains: vampirism, blood drinking, murder, death, cave-in/flooding

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

[I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.]

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A Treasure Hunt with Vampires!

Lola is a treasure hunter with a secret. She arrives in Port Despardoux, determined to find the mysterious treasure of the Well of Souls, as it’s the only way for her to escape her former family, the crew of vampires that turned her and took her in. Unfortunately, one of them follows her. Can she keep up her charade with the locals and avoid the dangerous hunter?

I went into this book forgetting what it was about. I knew that there would be vampires, but I was pleasantly surprised by the pirate/buried treasure storyline. It’s unique—something I’ve never even considered before (but why not?). Vampires and pirates. Sure. As I kept reading, I found that it was a whole lot of fun.

This book is written in third person limited, though it only follows Lola’s journey. It’s also set in past tense, which takes out a bit of the intensity.

I read this as an eBook after downloading the epub file from BookSirens and was luckily able to listen along to it (online reading is hard on my eyes).

Our main character is Lola, a vampire, and while on her journey for buried treasure, she runs into a few humans, the first of which is Gael. She needs Gael because he and his family are the only ones who are allowed to dig for the treasure (since it’s on his property), but with Gael comes his friends. In town, there is also the new police captain Greyson, and a kindly café owner named Faye who takes Lola under her wing.

The relationships within this book are interesting, especially in the ways they change. It really shows their complexities. At first, Lola is only using Gael for the treasure, which she needs for the power it grants so she can be safe. Over time, he and his friends take a different place in her heart, and she doesn’t fight it. Faye also manages to worm her way into Lola’s heart, being a mother figure in a way that Lola’s never had before. Found Family is always a wonderful trope.

This book reads like other Young Adult books. The sentences were more varied but not overly complex, ad there were no words that caused me to pause in my reading and look up for definitions. The action was quick to show up, and there was always something happening—it didn’t include overly meticulous descriptions for the scenery. (That being said, there were still some beautiful locations described.)

Overall, the pacing was quite good. Since I was listening along, it went by quicker than if I’d been reading the old-fashioned way, but at no point did it feel rushed or that it dragged on. The world and characters were also fun to explore and learn more about, which was a plus. My only complaint was how much time we had to spend with Ethan and his cronies, though their involvement is what led to Walt, so oh well.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of young adult vampire fiction! It was a real treat, especially with the added fun of the treasure hunt and the murders that have the police sniffing around. I am so excited for book two!

Related Reviews:

*Port of Lost Souls Book 1: The Well of Souls by Cordelia Kelly*
*The Sibyl and the Thief by Cordelia Kelly*
*Dawned by Michelle Areaux*
*The Other Side of Daylight by Nicole Chartier*
*The Shadow Atlas Book 1: Initiate by Jenny Sandiford*