Original Sin

The Order of Vampires, Book 1

By: Lydia Michaels

Narrated by: Lucinda Gainey

Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

From best-selling author Lydia Michaels comes a dark and addictive vampire romance that will leave listeners hungry for more!  

Adam Hartzler has always been an honorable immortal, but the fine line between right and wrong blurs when he is called to his fated mate. If he does not find and claim her soon, he will lose his soul and humanity, transforming into a vile predator controlled by insatiable bloodlust. His salvation relies on her surrender. Will Adam find her or live a tortured eternity as a vampire? Time’s slipping away and so is Adam’s control.  

Passion and emotion collide in an explosive meeting of destined souls that begins with a ruthless betrayal when Adam unapologetically takes what is his.   

©2020 Lydia Michaels (P)2023 Lydia Michaels

Absolutely amazing!

Original Sin, the first book in the Order of the Vampires series, is a brilliant start to the series; it's well-written, well-plotted, and wholly engaging. The premise is original, and one of the more fascinating paranormal romance stories I've listened to in a long while. Lydia Michaels is a very talented storyteller with an incredible imagination; her world-building and character development are absolutely phenomenal. I'm thoroughly impressed!

Lucinda Gainey's narration is spot-on; she emulated the characters' personalities, emotions, and their connection, breathing life into the words. Even though the story was over fifteen hours, I enjoyed every minute of it, and I can't wait for the second book. I'm strongly recommending this audiobook! I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Vampire PNR

Truly unlike any vampire story I’ve read before. Really engaging story. Wonderful world building. And the narration is so good.

#TheFlock

Great Storyline!

I really liked this story. It has some interesting and different view points on vampires. Cain is my favorite character. The narrator does a great job telling the story. I look forward to listening to more stories from this author.
#TheFlock

A different type of vampire story

I liked it ok. This book started off very dark, gloomy and uninteresting to me at first but as I continued to listen and get to know the characters and their situation more, they began to grow on me. Vampires with a different lifestyle and way of looking at their existence was more difficult for me than it should have been. By the end of the story I was involved and cared about the characters. The narration was very good. I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Loved it!

Loved this! The vampire theme was one of my fave things about this! I couldn’t get enough!

I loved the pace and everything that was happening throughout the book!

Definitely worth the read and I definitely recommend this!

Amish vampires, yes you read right

Flock review. I can't deny this book was unique, I have never heard of Amish vampires before and certainly never thought of this combination before, I was very skeptical about it, I started the audiobook and it stared a bit slow, but it then it picks up and we get to know Annalise and Adam's story, definitely recommend it, the audiobook is narrated by Lucinda Gainey, she did a good job, the characters she portrayed them fine and close to what I expected.

Pleasantly Surprised

I have to admit, the patriarchy and sexism in this book were highly frustrating but I know now that it was a necessary part of the storyline and this is why...

Amish meets vampire. Who would have thought! What a unique spin on what is usually a typical vampire story. This is anything but typical.

The characters were relatable and the setting itself was its own character. The plot was excellent, the main vampire family was intriguing, and the conflict built up and up until it had me holding my breath in anticipation for what was coming next.

This is a truly unique story and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys vampire-focused genres but is tired of the same old story. A great read and I look forward to the next book in the series. So much more to come!

Audiobook Obsession Reviewer

WELL I TRIED.. BUT SADLY DNF

I bought this with an open mind and high hopes as I love a good vampire romance.. but sorry, I just didn’t want to sink my teeth into the unsexy, God-fearing gentle Amish menfolk. I’m sure it wasn’t the story.. which was unique and original (what I heard of it) but, for me, I just couldn’t connect with the bonnets and braces characters who were all too nice for my particular darker alpha badboy tastes.

Worth a credit? Unfortunately no not for me.

Narrator’s voice almost made me stop reading…

The story was good, very familiar in fact. The essence of Twilight and True Blood is very prominent. For some reason, I couldn’t stand the narrator’s voice. Very sleepy, deep and not in a good way. Not much variation in the character’s voices either.

Totally unique and sexy!

I was blown away by the world of this book -- vampiric beings who live an Amish lifestyle. It's so unique and intriguing. It is quite sexy, but toward the beginning there is dubious consent, which may be triggering to some readers. Usually I'm okay with it, but for some reason in this book it particularly stood out to me. However, it is called out, especially during the parts where I was like, "Whoa. That's... a lot", so I appreciate that. And the relationship becomes very consensual, which leads up to an incredibly epic ending!

Immortals

This book definitely puts a different spin on the world of vampires and immortals. The Amish community Adam belongs to is a group of immortals that happens to need blood to survive, they survive on the blood of animals and not humans. Then the calling happens to Adam and he’s off to search for his mate, he finds an English woman named Annalise. Annalise is strong willed and keeps Adam on his toes throughout this story, I love the banter between these two and watching their relationship develop. There are a few twists in this story, and very well placed. It kept the story engaging and wanting to listen for what could come next. Events that happen towards the end will have you wanting book 2, however this book does not have a cliffhanger. Lucinda is a very engaging narrator, and an excellent choice for this book! Great Job!!
🎧AudiobookObsessionReviewer

Super unique twist on a vampire story

I've read and enjoyed a few other books by Lydia Michaels, so when I saw that she had also written a vampire series I definitely wanted to read it without reading into the details too much. That being said, this story was super unique and intriguing. The idea of vampires hiding within Amish society to "hide" is kind of brilliant. I'm always a sucker for fated mates, but there were definitely points in the story where I really wanted Adam to just spit it out already and tell Anna what was up, because the book is a bit on the longer side. But also I was so invested in the story the whole listen, and the twists definitely have me starting book two asap. The narration was well done, there are a lot of characters at the start, but once you learn the voices it flows smoothly.

Amish Vampires

Story: 2 ⭐️
Steam: 3 🔥
Audio: 3 🎧

I think this book was just not for me. I did not go into this book expecting Amish vampires and it was not really a pleasant surprise. I didn’t really enjoy either of the main characters and the pacing of this book was so slow that by the time she learns he’s a vampire (kinda I guess) we were already 9.5 hours into the 18 hour audiobook and I was already over it.

If you’re looking for Amish vampires with smut then this is for you. I wish the blurb would have mentioned that it was Amish so I could have chosen not to read it.

Interesting story idea

This is a really interesting story and I liked the way they used to hide, brilliantly done. The descriptions of the adjustments are well thought through. Lucinda Gainey did a decent job with the characters but I found sometimes I had trouble knowing who was who just from the voices and got a little confused. Overall it's well worth the listen.

Original Sin

The story was a very unique twist on vampires. Especially when your used to the blood and gore and end up with vampires with morals and religion. I enjoyed most of the story line, but at a few points I was frustrated want him to just spit it out to her. I think the next books in the series could bring lots of changes and answers on why this one ended this way. The narration was fantastic and easy to listen to! Thanks Audiobook Obsession for the recommendation.

Very refreshing and new

The story is unique and much different from other vampire stories. This one shows us why a certain community is the way it is. Not just because they love God and their way of life but because it keeps everyone safe for the dark side of them.
They narrator does a great job bring each of the characters to life.
The author span a tale that is truly her whole.

#AudiobookObsessionReview

Wow

Loved this book. Didn’t want it to end. What’s next. Can’t wait for next book.

It's decent

This book had a lot of potential. The idea behind the story was amazing. It just wasn't really executed well. I would be willing to give it another chance later down the road though.

good story

I really enjoyed this story, the concept was unusual and the characters interesting. However I found it quite slow and the constant back and forth with Adam and Annalise was a bit much. But this didn't stop me reading it all so over all still enjoyable.

Enjoyed it

Original Sin was a unique love story and my first Lydia Michaels novel. This was an Amish vampire romance and was a completely different take on the vampire world. It was gripping and had me hooked from beginning to end. The author did a fantastic job with world building, the characters were well developed and you will be taken on an emotional roller coaster ride. Annalise and Adam’s story is one that you will never expect. IT was intense, intriguing and completely engrossing and I would highly recommend it.
The audible version was narrated by Lucinda Gainey. She did a great job with the characters, and was able to easily switch between the male and female voices. She brought life to the words of the story and I enjoyed listening to her narration.
#TheFlock