“Without a doubt my favorite series ever!” – Amazon Reviewer
Who’s the fairest of them all?
Young women from every settlement in the land are being handpicked to enter The Pageant, a contest reminiscent of Miss Universe from the old days. Gwyneth West’s social-climbing mother wants her to compete, but Gwyn isn’t so sure…The Pageant is government-sponsored. If you’re lucky enough to be chosen, … government-sponsored. If you’re lucky enough to be chosen, participation is mandatory. Aggressive competition is allowed, even encouraged.
And then there’s the prize…
Dallas Black, otherwise known as The Dark Prince, will propose to the winner. Dallas is the son of King Black, who won the last world war and governs the new settlements.
The Royal Family is mysterious. Rumor has it they don’t sleep. Rumor has it they eschew the sun. Rumor has it they’re immortal.
When Gwyn is thrust into The Pageant, she fights to survive the competitive nature of the other contestants.
But even if she wins…can she survive a vampire fiancé?
more
I’m not usually a fan of vampire stuff, but I got this book through a promotion and decided to give it a try. I was actually hooked by chapter two! It is part of a series so the story wasn’t complete by the end, but it was still a satisfying character arc. Without giving spoilers, I found myself concerned for the characters. I’m hoping I can catch the next book on sale because I want to see what happens to Gwyn!
Predictable, but a good story nonetheless.
Teen book with a great twist on vampires.
It was okay. Can’t stand when the story just ends in the middle of the build up just so you can get the next installment.
I’n not normally a fan of vampire stories, but this book is an exception. The characters are well thought out and the story well written. Good parallels to current events as the assumptions the main characters have about each other is sometimes confirmed and sometimes proven wrong. Looking forward to reading the additional books.
Loved this book. Kept me entertained and engaged with the characters and was pretty fast paced.
I liked the characters
check out Leigh Walker talking about the pageant and the awakening!!
https://youtu.be/dF1SBEypUio
Love, love, love this book! My only regret is that the rest of the series is 3.99 on Kindle Unlimited. I gave four stars because it doesn’t finish the story line in one book. 4/5 stars. But love the plot and authors ideas and characters. Basically Beauty and the Beast.
I thought it was pretty good. I chose it because I enjoyed the selection series alot. It was really similar to it but I liked that there was a twist and the the royal family were vampires
I not only read this book, but the next two in the series. So while I obviously enjoyed them, my biggest pet peeve was lack of back story. Like how did America end up being taken over by the new royal family? Did they have knowledge of these people up “north?” There’s just a lot of missing information and a lack of character development. The plot line itself was entertaining enough to hook me in despite all this, so take that as you will.
I enjoyed reading this. I did finish all three books that told of Prince Dallas and Gwyneth’s journey to Happily ever after. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to experience the Royal Wedding from Gwyneth’s point of view. I was really looking forward to her big day.
I got this book free when it was on special but it was such a fun, entertaining, and dramatic read that I ended up buying and reading all the others in the series. I finished them all within a week.
I thought of it as a funny and pretty cool book now it’s not part of my top 10 but it’s in my top 20
Excellent story
If the author is very young beginner writer, I would be more forgiving. But this is a mish mash of other successful YA series.
I was very surprised when I read this book. I was expecting another generic, 2d vampire love story, but this was full of color and life, and it really draws you in. It is a bit like The Bachelor meets Vampire royalty, and the way that the royalty is addressed was very off, (Dallas Black is addressed Prince Black instead of The Crown Prince Dallas) but somehow the quality storytelling made these details rather insignificant. Enough that I bought the two sequels, which is something that I simply never ever do.
I really enjoyed this Selection-type story with a twist! I can’t wait to read the next one! Gwyneth has spunk and the drive to do whatever it takes to make sure her family is taken care of, but she’s also a down-to-earth character that makes stupid decisions sometimes. Of course, she’s also a teenager, so that comes with the territory 😉
Dallas is intriguing, but also a little naive about the state of the settlements he will rule one day. I want to know what he knows about the history of the war that put his family in power, about which he keeps telling Gwyneth she doesn’t know the whole story. The tension!!
I liked Eve’s character, but I want to know what made her change her mind so quickly. I’m hoping that gets explained in the next book!
Tamara is your typical mean girl with an agenda, who has to be kept around for the sake of drama, even though Dallas already knows what kind of person she is :/
I’m expecting King and Queen Black to make more of an appearance in book two, and I’m sure that will put another wrench into things!
If you like drama, romance, supernatural beings, and/or The Selection series, then you need to read this!!
This book painted vampires in all their glory – totally drinking human blood. However, the prince does make a connection with a human, and seems good despite his parentage.
Really similar to The Selection by Kiera Cass, but with vampires…