The Shopgirl's Prophecy (Beasts of Vegas Book 1)

By Anna Abner

The Blurb: Ali Rusenko has dangerous secrets she keeps close to her heart. In search of the truth of her past on the glittery Las Vegas Strip, Ali discovers vampires aren’t the most hospitable creatures. If it weren’t for sexy vampire hunter Connor Beckett and his sidekick Roz Carrera, she’d be dinner.

Connor and Roz rescue Ali, but they just can’t shake the vampires trailing her. Unfortunately, Connor knows exactly how the creatures feel. The beautiful stray sets his blood to boiling. But if Connor's going to have a real chance to defeat the horde leader, Oleksander the Destroyer, he can’t allow Ali to leave the country without discovering the one secret she refuses to reveal.

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I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

I know it's a little early for a vampire romance, but this is the first book in a series where one of the main characters is a witch. She gets her story told in book two, but I was just too intrigued to skip over this one. I'm so glad I didn't.

The story starts with a bang, literally. We jump right in with both feet as our hero, Connor and his witch sidekick, Roz, are on a mission to kill the most powerful vampire in the world, Oleksander the Destroyer. He and other vampires have been imprisoned in Nevada for decades but a prophecy has put Connor in motion. Things go sour and Connor's attempt to stop the prophecy puts him exactly where he needs to be to fulfill it. Oleksander and his second, Volk, are set free and now have one mission; find Anya from Nadvirna and take over the world.

Our heroine, Ali, is introduced soon after as her bus is attacked by vampires. She is in Nevada trying to get information about her family. She grew up with her cold and abusive father who kept her sheltered and told her she was born in the Ukraine before they moved to London. He has recently died and secrets about her past and who her family really are start to unravel. She's traveled to the states to make sense of it all and lands right in the middle of a war.

In this story, the world isn't very different than our own except that supernaturals exist and are known about, although they tend to keep to themselves. When all hell breaks loose, no one seems to care or will risk everything to fight for the human race, except Connor. And once he meets Ali, he is determined to keep her safe and make sure certain prophecies never come to fruition.

This is a great read...full of action, intrigue, and plot-twists. The writing is excellent and the character development is nicely paced. We're not given everything all at once. Instead, gradually learn about Connor and Ali as they get to know each other.

I absolutely love Connor. He's protective, compassionate, courageous and will risk his own life to save the world and the people he cares about. He's an amazing and loyal friend and his love is pure and resolute.

Ali is a bit of an enigma and her personality isn't the most endearing at first. But this makes total and complete sense. She doesn't even know who she is. She's been lied to her entire life (hiding a secret she doesn't understand) and she never signed up to be the center of a vampire prophecy. Little by little we watch her grow and strengthen and her genuine affection for Connor allows us to see her true heart and convictions.

I really enjoyed this story and appreciated how the layers of the plot were peeled back slow and steadily, keeping the reader interested but not overwhelmed. The story was unique, the action was fierce, and the romance was heartfelt.

Great job Ms. Abner! We were left with quite a cliff-hanger and I'm so excited to start the second book and see what happens next.

What did you think?