Shadow Kissed

Marked by Blood, Book 1

By: Rebecca L. Garcia

Narrated by: Krystal Hammond

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Some fates belong to the shadows….

Olivia knows everyone at the guild is on high alert, but no one will tell her why. She’s certain the death of her boyfriend is behind it, but the truth is far worse. Darkness has come to the mortal kingdom. When the guild protecting them is attacked by vampires, Olivia is swept away from the safety of her home when her mom and best friend are taken.

Before she can get away, she’s captured by a vampire, Sebastian, who insists he’s protecting her. But when she’s taken to the City of Nightmares, the most dangerous place in the vampire kingdom, she realizes she’s been made prisoner.

As she fights to survive in a world where mortals are nothing more than things to be fed on or traded, Olivia must use her wits and place her trust in the handsome, but deadly Sebastian, if she’s going to figure out a way to save her loved ones.

However, some of the world's most vicious vampires want her dead. Others want her for themselves.

When the truth comes out, Olivia realizes the ones she loves have been shielding her from a fate worse than death. Can she escape the clutches of her bloody destiny, or will she succumb to the shadows?

Shadow Kissed is a new adult fantasy romance, book one in the Marked by Blood Trilogy. Get your copy now and delve into this dark and delicious world of vampires and mortals.

©2022 Rebecca Garcia (P)2022 Rebecca Garcia

Definitely add this to your library!

Listened to the audio version - LOVED IT! If you get a chance to do the audio, do it! This is a modern real world fantasy, but for some reason I kept imagining it as a completely fictional world fantasy lol. I knew Seb and Olivia would be attracted to one another, but I have a feeling Draven is going to become the sad BFF in that love triangle as there’s no way Olivia is going to let him go and my heart is already breaking for his heart to get shattered. BUT I’m shipping Sevia hard 😂. I already hate the king and his brother and cannot WAIT for Olivia is F*** things up in the sequel!

Great storyline and narration

After reading books from Rebecca L. Garcia’s Embracing Darkness Collection and the Fate of Crowns series, I was excited to hear that she was starting a new series and jumped at the chance to be part of her ARC team. It was an even cooler surprise that the book came out a month early. Once I started reading Shadow Kissed, I was hooked on the story (but not as sold by the characters or the worldbuilding). 

The plot of Shadow Kissed is exciting and action-packed. I loved how Ms. Garcia kept me on my toes and guessing while reading. The pace is a bit hectic at times, but that wasn’t enough to affect my enjoyment of the book or the overall rating. It’s interesting to note how each of Ms. Garcia’s series seems to center around magic and one type of supernatural creature (fae for The Fate of Crowns, witches for Embracing Darkness, and now vampires for Marked by Blood). I’m not sure if that was intentional or not, but I did want to note it. With regards to the characters and romance, I wasn’t as sold by Olivia and Sebastian’s relationship as I was Elle and Viktor (Spellbound) or Victoria and Elijah’s (Heart of a Witch). If I had to guess why, it might have been due to the lack of spice and tension that I was expecting (if a book's audience suggestion switches from young adult to new adult, there is a reasonable expectation of some spice and tension). From the author’s note on Goodreads, the trilogy should get steamier as we go so maybe it was in preparation for those books? Despite this first installment being a letdown for me, I could also see how that could be a positive for those who don’t want a book filled with spice (do with that information what you will). 

The issue with the lack of connection to the primary romance and main characters did factor into my rating, but the primary reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as some of her other titles was the worldbuilding. It didn’t feel as fleshed out as the books in the Embracing Darkness collection, or those in the Fate of Crowns series. Shadow Kissed, unfortunately, felt very info-dumpy at times. Most of the descriptions were things that were told to readers, instead of readers being shown things through the character’s perspectives (which is the best type of worldbuilding, in my opinion). It was one of those cases where you love the idea of a book but the actual execution fell flat. As a result of the poor worldbuilding, I had some issues envisioning the setting of the action in my head (which did negatively affect my overall enjoyment of the read). 

Overall, Shadow Kissed was an entertaining read with some minor issues that prevented a full five stars. Narrator Krystal Hammond delivered a solid performance and brought the book to life with her narration. If you are a fan of tropes (i.e. “there’s only one bed”, the chosen one, forced proximity) and vampire romance, this is a great choice! If extensive worldbuilding is your thing, I might recommend checking out her Embracing Darkness collection instead of this book. Despite the slightly lower rating for this book, I will still be reading more of Rebecca’s books in the future (and likely checking out subsequent installments in this series). Thank you to the author for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review Shadow Kissed immensely.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Cursing, Mentions of Slavery, Suicide, Suicidal Ideation, Blood 

It was a great ride!

Typically I do not prefer super young MC because they tend to be annoyingly vapid in obvious situation. But she was displayed very realistically. There was a touch of immaturity, but it increases as she experiences more. I love how the author has the MC understand some aspects but not others due to her sheltered life/age/experience. The plot is not all on the relationship, there is politics and a game of chess which balances the story well. The characters emotional turmoil and reactions are very realistic even though its a fantasy world. I find myself being able to justify each character's actions without rolling my eyes.

I wish there was a bit more world building, especially on the geography, social structure, Gild, and kingdoms. Some situations were abrupt when it came to dropping information such as the princess visiting from another kingdom (not a spoiler). This opened A LOT of other questions. I wish I knew more about the background of the other characters as well as well as their descriptions (looks). Overall, I liked it a lot. The story was at a good pace and kept you interested. The performance was good but wished the male voice was a bit better maybe deeper, however, not a show stopper. I still ran for the second book!

Everything you never knew you needed in a story

Rebecca is an auto buy author for me and she did not disappoint! This is my favorite so far.

My love for reading was renewed back in the day with Twilight and this book is everything I needed 🖤🦇💋

Rebecca paints such a beautiful story the world building and connections of the characters. I liked the bond Olivia has with Erianna and how loyal Olivia was to her friends and people she cared about.
The flirty banter between Olivia and Sebastian was everything!

“You were the one meant to heal my heart, not break it”

“Even Demons can appear mortal, love”

I loved listening, I’ve read it already but revisiting this book by listening was so enjoyable, the narrator just made the story come alive!

Pulls you in

Loved it! Can’t wait to listen to the next in the series. The characters feel so alive.

Great romantasy!

This YA fantasy starts off with a heartbroken Olivia. Her boyfriend Astor has just died and she is on house arrest. Olivia is an extremely rare sorceress, and sorcerers are hunted by the Vampires from the neighboring kingdom Sanmorte.
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✔️Enemies to lovers
✔️Only one bed
✔️Vampires, Magic, and soul-sucking
✔️Found family
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This romantasy was excellent. The story had great world building but I definitely could have used more world building to get deeper into the book and understand better.
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The characters were wonderful. Olivia is an empath and also a sorceress that can’t use her powers. She goes through an exciting journey of self-discover that makes you fall in love with her as a character. I loved the ending and can’t wait until the next one.

New Adult Fantasy Romance

Shadow Kissed by Rebecca L. Garcia is a new adult fantasy romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Krystal Hammond. This is the first book in the Marked By Blood trilogy.

This is the second book of Rebecca's that I have read, and it definitely won't be my last. I was pulled in from the first chapter and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next.

The ending left me begging for more. I can't wait for the next book in the series Midnight Crown to be released on August 26, 2022.

Krystal did a great job on the narration. I really enjoyed that she used different tones/voices for each character. She really brought the story to life. I look forward to listening to more of her work in the future.

I would recommend this book if you like fantasy romances.

LOVED!

The audio book was a re read and I am still so obsessed with this book. I loved the narration so much it was so fitting.

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If your looking for a new vampire series, look no further.

I wasn’t ready for how good this book was.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a full on
vampire book and it was so good!

Everywhere you look, there is another amazing character. This is a dark world with a little different take on vampires. The world building was done really well. Come on, that slow burn is SO good. Olivia finding herself again after the events in the beginning was perfect.

I can not wait for more! Make sure if you need to check the trigger warnings.

-Found Family
-Fake Dating
-Slow Burn
-One Bed

Marked by Blood Series!

Shadow Kissed (Marked by Blood Book 1) is betrayal, dark settings, politics and secrets. With characters painted with a mysterious aura, unveiling their own words. Drenched with magic, a royal world building and addictive writing style.
I'm excited for book two to be available in audio in this captivating fantasy romance trilogy.

I read I read this book first and couldn't wait to listen it.


Krystal Hammond 's tone set the pace for this fantasy romance, as she transports your mind to a different realm. This is a fast paced story that is narrated with finesse. Her inflection is smooth and her expressionable intonation dies Olivia's justice.

Amazing

When I started listening I couldn't put it down.Rebecca Garcia is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to listen more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely listen this book.Can't wait for the next book