1880s, Alexandre Chevalier travels abroad on an archaeological adventure looking for a lost underground city. He finds a secret he never expected… Present day, Madison Greene has been brought up in care with her brother. She is shocked on her 17th birthday to be visited by a lawyer who tells her she has inherited a fortune and stately home. Madison and Ben move to Marchwood but find a dangerous secret in the cellar…
Hidden is the first book in the Marchwood trilogy (Taken and Hunted will be published shortly).
The book is written across two timelines, the 1880s and present day, from the third person perspectives of Alexandre and Madison. Society has set both as outcasts but now they eachhave a second chance. Alexandre’s indiscretion will be forgotten if he can make a glorious discovery on the dig. Meanwhile, Madison has been labelled a troublemaker and is desperate to stay with her little brother.
I was equally interested in the development of both lead characters but they don’t meet until over halfway through the substantial novel (over 400 pages). Both characters are impulsive so I was eager to see how they would interact!
I enjoyed the writing style which is easy to read. The descriptions brought the settings in both timelines to life, making it interesting to compare and contrast Alexandre and Madison’s experiences. The author has used and adapted traditional vampire legends to create a new twist on the genre.
Hidden is an enjoyable vampire novel with two strong lead characters.
From USA Today bestselling author Shalini Boland comes the addictive Vampires of Marchwood series. Perfect for fans of K.F. Breene, Sarah J. Maas and Tracy Wolff.
My name is Madison Greene. On my seventeenth birthday, I inherited an old mansion and wealth beyond my wildest dreams. I thought it was a joke, but as I step through the creaking door of the sprawling building, I realise my life in foster care is in the past. I’ve been chosen and my world has changed forever.
But I wasn’t told that Marchwood House hides a secret.
As I explore every inch of the crumbling property, I stumble upon a set of large, dusty boxes in the basement. When I pull back the lid and look down, I find myself staring at the most handsome face I’ve ever seen. High cheekbones, porcelain skin…
And when he wakes up and locks eyes with me, I realise my heart already belongs to him, even though my head is screaming at me to get as far away from Marchwood as possible. Because I know what he really is.
I never planned to fall in love – but it’s too late now. Alexandre has a dark and dangerous past. He needs me and I have to help him. But can a human really save a vampire?
Description for TAKEN:
Falling in love has never been so deadly…
From USA Today bestselling author Shalini Boland comes the addictive Vampires of Marchwood series. Perfect for fans of K.F. Breene, Sarah J. Maas and Tracy Wolff.
My name is Madison Greene and I was an ordinary teenager until I fell in love… with a vampire. Alexandre is tall, with a sexy French accent and mesmerizing eyes. He makes me feel protected, and he’s completely captured my heart.
At Marchwood House, our sprawling mansion nestled in the English countryside, we’re in our own perfect bubble together. But, in the blink of an eye, everything changes when an old enemy of Alexandre’s sets a trap and rips me away from my boyfriend’s arms.
The ancient demon takes me to his underground city, deep beneath the windswept desert. In the twisting tunnels and enormous vaulted caverns, there’s a bloodthirsty vampire around every corner. I’ve never been so terrified…
It seems like there’s no way out from this underground maze. My life is hanging by a thread, and every second I’m here is a step closer to death. I can’t just sit here and hope that Alexandre will rescue me.
Can I outsmart a city of vampires to escape from this hellish place? And will I ever see Alexandre again?
Description for HUNTED:
Falling in love has never been so complicated…
From USA Today bestselling author Shalini Boland comes the addictive Vampires of Marchwood series. Perfect for fans of K.F. Breene, Sarah J. Maas and Tracy Wolff.
My name is Madison Greene and my boyfriend is a vampire. And not just any vampire, one with brooding good looks and a smile that makes my heart skip a beat. As I curl up against Alexandre’s side, our hands entwined, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
Although our relationship hasn’t been easy. I’m human, so there were always going to be complications. But I thought we’d banished the demons from his previous life. I couldn’t have been more wrong…
Because there’s a new threat in the form of Nadia – a blue-eyed beauty who seems determined to do everything she can to break us apart. I trust Alexandre but I don’t trust her.
As I start digging into the truth to find out who Nadia really is, centuries-old secrets begin to unravel. And in order to set Alexandre free from the chains of his past, we must return to the ancient underground city of vampires to defeat Alexandre’s archnemesis once and for all.
Can I finally save Alexandre? Or will loving a vampire be the death of me?
Author Bio:
Shalini Boland is the USA-Today bestselling author of seventeen psychological thrillers. With over two million copies sold, her titles are published by Amazon Publishing, Audible, Bookouture, Second Sky and Grand Central Publishing.
Shalini lives by the sea in Dorset, England with her husband, two teens and their increasingly demanding dog, Queen Jess. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing (in between re-stocking the fridge and dealing with endless baskets of laundry).
She is also the author of two bestselling Sci Fi and Fantasy series as well as a WWII evacuee novel with a time-travel twist.
