Synopsis:
When your father is a literal monster, the last place you want to go is home. Unfortunately, I wasn’t given much of a choice. Following a five-year exile, I’m back in my childhood bedroom. Only, this time, there are silver bars on all the windows and vault locks on the doors.
In lieu of a homecoming party, my father is hosting a barbaric tournament to determine who will win my hand in marriage. And really, who wouldn’t want to spend the rest of their limitless days with a blood-thirsty vampire fresh from a cage match? This is what dreams are made of, ladies!
Things go from bad to train wreck when my only ally gets herself kidnapped and I’m left with one of my would-be boyfriends after someone loses their head — I wish I was kidding — in my bedroom. I have to save my friend, watch my back, and keep my heart from chasing after my temporary partner in crime, all without landing in the crosshairs of whatever monster is terrorising the Eastern Court.
Review:
When this popped up on Audible plus I thought it would be a great read for Halloween – I mean it literally says ‘Hallow’s Eve’ in the title. While the book is about vampires, it’s not Halloween themed like I hoped. But this disappointment is my own fault as I didn’t really read the synopsis first, which is a common occurrence for me with Audible plus audiobooks.
The premise of Once Upon a Hallow’s Eve was promising. I love ‘trials’ in fantasy books, but these didn’t quite live up to expectations. I know there was a mystery going on at the same time, but they felt like a secondary feature that got a little forgotten about. These trials were an opportunity to add some action to what funnily enough, was a pretty mundane read. Don’t get me wrong, I love a cosy mystery, but when you describe it as a ‘blood-thirsty vampire catch match’ in the synopsis, you expect more.
The chemistry between Lacey and Matthias was lovely though. I love flirtatious banter and Amanda Ronconi, our narrator, is great at voicing that. I’ve listened to quite a lot of audiobooks she’s narrated now and she’s one of the best.
I probably would have enjoyed this book first if it recommended I read the previous series. From what I can tell, Lacey (the main character) was a side character but apparently it gives more context to what happens in this book. Maybe I’ll check them out as I didn’t hate this book, it was a pretty decent listen. However, they would cost a credit each. I have seen you can get box sets of multiple books so it’s a possibility. Plus, I love a magical cosy mystery.
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