Publisher:
Date of publication: December 23rd 2021
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Thriller
Series: The Vanator Vampire Hunter Series
The Voinico’s Daughter—Book 1
Purchase Links: Amazon
Goodreads Synopsis:
Watch out, vampires! There’s a new girl in town!
Nicoleta has never taken a life before, but she will have to make her first kill soon. Typical of girls her age, her concerns are boys and college. But when she takes a trip to Romania with several of her classmates to celebrate graduating from high school, Nicoleta is going to discover who she really is. When Nicoleta learns that she is adopted and that her biological parents live in Romania, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Finding out that her birthright is hunting and killing vampires, Nicoleta has to decide if she will remain in Romania and fulfill her destiny or if she will return to America and try to forget about the nightmare of a world that she has been thrown into.
Adding to Nicoleta’s problems, a notorious vampire named Varujan has been waiting for Nicoleta’s arrival. Her parents are called voinicos because they survived being bitten by a vampire. By birth, a voinico’s child becomes a vampire hunter, also known as a vanator. Varujan has known that the voinico’s daughter would eventually return to Romania, and he is looking forward to meeting her and killing her. With his vampire mistress, Antanasia, Varujan seems unstoppable.
Is Nicoleta ready to face Varujan and Antanasia? The other vanators have been training to kill vampires since they were children. Will Nicoleta be able to catch up with her training and be ready for the battle that is inevitably coming? Can she keep herself and her friends safe, or will they become the vampires’ victims before their trip is over? Whatever happens, one thing is for sure. Nicoleta’s life is never going to be the same again!
First Line:
As she walked along the abandoned pathway, Nicoleta had an overwhelming feeling that she belonged here, that the road she was traversing on somehow linked her to her destiny.
the voinico’s daughter by sallie cochren and elsie marie cochren
I was intrigued by the blurb of The Voinico’s Daughter when I read it. See, I had just finished reading a book that covered the history of Romania, and here is a book about vampires set in Romania. So, I knew once I read the blurb that I needed to read this book.
The Voinico’s Daughter is a medium-paced book. It is also a long book (about 500 or so pages). So, coupled with the pacing and a couple of other issues, it took me a few days to read.
I thought that the main storyline (Nicoleta, her heritage, and the vampires) were fascinating. But, I kept having issues keeping my attention focused on the story. The characters weren’t as fleshed out as I thought they could be, and honestly, I wouldn’t say I liked Nicoleta. Also, I thought the writing was choppy and stilted in some areas.
As I mentioned above, I wouldn’t say I liked Nicoleta. She was immature, impulsive, and couldn’t make up her mind at points during the book. She was written as an actual teenager, which I appreciate (having a teenage daughter myself). But it took away from the story. If the author had toned it down some, I wouldn’t have cared, but it was too much for me during specific points in the book.
I did appreciate the author included a glossary of Romanian words/phrases at the beginning of the book. It did make it easier to understand the terms that were being used.
The storyline with Nicoleta, her adoptive parents, and her birth parents were sad. I understood why her birth parents gave her up for adoption. I could also understand why her adoptive parents were so against her going to Romania.
The vampires were truly evil beings. I enjoyed how the author portrayed them, and I appreciated that they went through stages to becoming a full-fledged vampire. They interested me, and I wanted to know more about their backgrounds.
I was also fascinated by the vanators and the voinicos. They were created when someone bitten by a vampire resisted the urge to drink blood for three days. Then they are turned into voinicos. A vanator is the child of a voinicos, and they have powers that exceed the voinicos. It was so fascinating to me, and I couldn’t get enough of the training that they went through.
The end of The Voinico’s Daughter was interesting. None of the main storylines were resolved, but instead, the author hinted at a book 2.
I would recommend The Voinico’s Daughter to anyone over the age of 16. There is violence and mild language.