A Bargain in Silver by Josie JaffreyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - 2 days
Pages - 356
Publisher - Self
Source - Review copy
Blurb from Goodreads
If the price of safety is slavery, would you bargain your life?
A Bargain in Silver is book one of Josie Jaffrey's Solis Invicti paranormal romance series, set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic London.
A deadly infection threatens to wipe out humanity. The only people who can stem its advance are the Silver, a vampiric race who offer a simple exchange: protection in return for blood and subservience. It's not a deal that Emmy's willing to make, but as her world burns around her she finds herself in the arms of the enemy and the line between oppressor and saviour begins to blur.
After an attack by the infected, Emmy is rescued by the handsome Drew who introduces her to the world of the Silver. Desperate to escape subjugation and confused by her attraction to him, she gathers what remains of her surrogate family and plans to make a break for freedom.
But despite her efforts to resist, she is drawn further into the intrigues of the mysterious Silver through the agency of their ruler, the Primus: Solomon. Emmy refuses to submit to the cold and detached Primus and an attempt on her life makes it clear that he is unable to protect her from the political machinations of his race.
As the connection between them deepens she must choose between her desire and her will to rebel, but can she trust his intentions when everyone is after her blood?
My Review
Emmy works in a bar, she is heading home from her shift when the outbreak happens. No one knows why and it hits quickly, spreading fast. The weepers almost get Emmy when she is rescued by Drew, her first insight into the Silver world. The Silver are vampires and have risen to save humanity, their food source, and now humans need to toe the line.
Emmy is a fiery character, she doesn't like being told what to do and resists Drew at every turn. Drew just wants her safe, takes her to a safe centre and meets Solomon, head of the Silver who also is interested in Emmy. What follows is Emmy's introduction to the new life, humans are pretty much, in her view, slaves although with compliance the vampires will help create as much "normality" as they can. Wee see Emmy struggle to heel, do as she is told whilst battling her attraction to Drew, being drawn to Solomon all the while of course staying safe and away from the weepers.
I think this is a fresh take on the whole vampires scene and I did enjoy it however there are a few things that make the old eyeball twitch. The whole "love" triangle got a wee bit teen angst for me, friendship is a huge thing and when threatened, especially for such a spikey character, I felt Emmy wouldn't have let that go. We see Emmy constantly in peril, she has an attitude, she is fierce, strong and challenging which makes a nice change but at points her actions can be very frustrating.
The book also opens in the new world, then goes back to how it all came about, for Emmy, I think that was almost a spoiler. When she goes back to how it all began to bring us to current events, we know where she is and her attitude to it all.
There is brutality, romance, sex, vampires of course, weepers (the infected) and blood bars what more can a vampire fan want? I hope in the following books we get a bit more insight into what the weepers are, how it originated, initial spread/contaminations. I hope she does an origins for the silvers also. All in all a good start to the series, 3.5 out of 5 for me this time, I will read more in the series!
