1789. Saint-Domingue. Hispaniola. West Indies. 
Etienne de Blanchefort has seen incredible success as a colonial planter in the Northern Province of Saint-Domingue. Though uprooting his family from France a decade past was a gamble, life in the tropical West Indies has been good to him, his wife, and four children. With France embroiled in their great revolution across the Atlantic, he harbors little doubt he made the right decision for his family’s future.
Until, that is, the arrival of his fiend.
Etienne’s practical nature cannot reconcile what he knows to be true of his world with what he cannot ignore about the abominable creature haunting his family and the island.
Nor can he ignore his wife’s terrifying dreams that slowly steal her vitality.
Or Victorine’s burgeoning free spirit and wariness of their way of life.
Or Nanette’s curious, furtive behavior as she hides in trees.
Or Marius’ secret new friendship with one he cannot name.
Or Flosine’s unsettling drawings of a man from a time long before theirs.
Etienne’s fiend will not stay elusive for long. He has a request. A very particular, very important request, one that will change the lives of Etienne, his family, and his descendants forever.
I’ve been a vampire fan since the original Fright Night movie with Chris Sarandon. After the Twilight novels, vampire books flooded the market for a while, then receded, but I’m glad to see them making a comeback. Maybe not quite as big of a splash this time, but that’s alright with me. Since I’ve read all this author’s Crimson and Clover series, I was thrilled to learn she was starting a new series featuring vampires that fit within that same world.
Not having read a ton of historical fiction books, I appreciated the attention to detail and extensive research the author clearly performed for this book. As always, her imagery is rich with description. Although the first 25% of the book was a little slow for my taste, the pace moved along much quicker after that.
The Island looks to be the start of a riveting series and I look forward to meeting more of the vampires!
I received a digital ARC of this book from the author.
The setting and time period of this one has captured my interest. I looked it up on Amazon. Is it possible to read this without having read any of her other books? It looks like there is overlap between her series.
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This is the start of a new series, so you don’t need to read the others. It’s set in the same world, so there may be occasional mention of a character from Crimson and Clover, but the author gives a bit of explanation. Think you’d enjoy it, Mae!
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Good to know. Thanks!
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I’ve read a lot of vampire stories, but they all had contemporary settings. The historical aspect of this gives it a fresh feel for me. (And I know how odd that sounds when we’re talking about something not modern.)
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Don’t think it’s odd at all. Rice’s Interview With a Vampire didn’t start in a modern setting. I enjoyed the historical details added in this one (I’m really bad at history, so anything I can learn now is a bonus!).
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This sounds very interesting, Teri. The Swiss Family Robinson with vampires.
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It does sound a bit like that, Robbie, lol.
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Oooh – I was drawn in by the cover but this sounds awesome! I love historical fiction and I even like myself some vampires now and then 🙂
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Sounds like this is perfect for you, Becky!
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Hahaha Twilight was my first vampire story ever 😉
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Well – these don’t sparkle. I think my first vampire book was Interview With a Vampire – and Lestat definitely doesn’t sparkle.
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