Shadow Walker (Bay City Coven #1)
Published February 6th 2020, Kindle Edition 339 pages
Silas - For nearly seven hundred years, I’ve protected my coven, fighting against every foe that plagued us. I never imagined that an ancient evil would resurface, or that it would attack what means more to me than anything; my mate. Now my closest friends and I are tasked with spreading warning to other vampires in covens across the country, and recruiting as many as we can to fight alongside us. I’m responsible for the very existence of our kind, and the safety and well-being of my human fated love.
Maddox - So there I was, minding my own damn business at work when I came face to face with evil incarnate. The thing runs me down and tries to eat me, and that’s not even the weirdest part of my night! In twelve hours, my eyes are opened to a world I didn’t even know existed; a world of Fate, forever, darkness, and danger, and I’m stuck right in the middle of it all. The strangest part? There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
**This M/M romance features my take on vampires and other paranormal beings. They share many (but not all) attributes of vampires found in other fictional works. This world is different from those found in my other paranormal series, and the vampires’ properties differ as well. This low angst book contains insta-love between fated mates, dark elements, steamy scenes and a dash of humor. The story is complete with no cliffhanger, but it does lead into the second book of the series.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Finally a paranormal book with an actual story!That is sadly something that doesn’t happen very often lol but here it does and Jayda Marx outdid herself, if I may say so. At first I was torn between giving that book 4 or 5 stars but in the end the details she put into building her world won me over, so… here it is :P
Even though the blurb says it has dark elements it is by no means a dark story! I didn’t know wherever I should even begin that book when I read that “dark” word but I’m glad I did because it’s in fact a sweet, funny and exciting story. In case you are searching for your plain old shifter/vampire book where they find one another, can’t keep their hands off each other and have sex at seemingly every page, you are definitely wrong here. They do find each other, yes and they are hot for each other, yes BUT (!) it’s not only about sex, sex, sex – which I’m SO glad for, thank you very much! There is romance and wooing and a lot of jealousy :D
Another part I’m grateful for are the secondary characters. Whilst there are a few during the story they don’t take the spot off the main characters and pop up just at the right time here and there.
Now the important part: the main characters! I loved the fact that whilst Maddox was a feisty little fire cracker he was very sweet with his mate and always respectful. The reason why I don’t like those “feisty” characters normally is because they often end up being VERY disrespectful to their other half. And sorry but I don’t understand why you fall in love with someone who bitches at you at every turn, is mean and can’t give you the same appreciation you are supposed to be giving him? Thank god Maddox is different... And Silas? Oh he was such a sweetheart! He didn’t understand anything about the modern world but he gave it his all just to make his mate happy which sometimes ended up in a very funny situation – it was so sweet :)
Together with their two friends they start their journey to recruit more vampires in order to fight against their mutual enemy … or maybe not?
I can’t wait to read the second book and find out what will happen now. Also I’m curious wherever we will get a book for the yet unmated secondary characters? Because I agree with Silas that the mates of two certain vampires would be two VERY lucky fellows :P
Rating: really liked it
✮4 Stars✮
Rating: really liked it
I have very mixed feelings about this one.
I went in knowing this was instalove but imo even for instalove the romance happened wayyy too quickly. It was likely the jealousy thing that was a bit OTT for me, but I guess if they love each other 5eva, it does make sense for them to flip out that much.
Since they became all lovey-dovey so quickly, the atmosphere was light and fluffy, so this might be what you're looking for if you want to see an elder vampire get all mushy over a millennial
or if you want to read two paragraphs of penis descriptions.
I honestly leaned towards giving
Shadow Walker only one star. I didn't like how everyone (apart from Kevin, but no one cares about Kevin), was gushing over the MC and how funny he was etc. But the ending changed my mind.
The plot in the last 20% or so...
Yes, I'm talking about actual plot, not "plot" plot.
The cliffhanger was well done and I need to read the next book NOW (just kidding, take all the time you need, Jayda Marx and don't let us pressure you!).
tl;dr: fluffy instalove romance with mushy vampire, (not very) funny human and decent plot at the end. And penis descriptions. Can't forget those.
Rating: really liked it
DNF @46% I have to say I only got that far because it was so bad it was unintentionally funny. I don't understand the other ratings but to each their own. The writing reminded me of the bad fanfiction of lore.
Rating: really liked it
There are spoilers.
Jayda Marx really fucked up with this one.
It already was tacky sounding at the beginning, with all of the first person POV descriptions of Silas’s powers, but then we get to the romance part. It wasn’t too bad, except it very quickly got annoying, and cheesy, as Silas kept calling Maddox “precious”.
Silas, himself, was just not believable. I couldn’t connect with him. The way he talked, the way he carried himself, everything. I really felt like Marx was trying too hard with him.
I didn’t get how Maddox could have a chunk of his leg taken out, yet he is sitting there having a perfectly normal conversation with Silas. There was no indication that he was in pain. That was so unbelievable to me. And for Silas, supposedly, being so enamored with his mate, he certainly didn’t notice that a chunk of flesh was taken out of his leg and he was bleeding out. He was just noticing how beautiful he was and how he wanted to talk to him and he had time to read his memories. Wow, really?
It also was really hard for me to imagine that these vampires were hundreds of years old, yet were absolutely clueless when it came to the world in which they currently lived. They didn’t know about movies, they didn’t know about dating, they didn’t know anything. That was really difficult for me to believe.
And what was up with the eyebrow waggling and all the winking? How cheesy and lame is that? Does anyone even wink in real life? I’ve never thought that was hot.
Then we get to the really fucked up part. Silas, who makes himself out to be all lovey-dovey, and head over heels for Maddox, turns out to be a manwhore. First of all, I am really, really tired of manwhores. Second of all, it just did not connect with the persona that Jayda Marx was trying to give us of Silas. He was supposed to be this incredibly gentle, tender and sweet vampire. Yet, he has this incredibly long list of conquests. And I really got mad at him not understanding how Maddox could be so aggravated by his long list of conquests. Because Silas himself admitted that he could not bear to think of Maddox with anyone else. I mean he fucking nearly lost his shit when he heard about a simple little seventh grade hand job that Maddox had with another boy.
Then we have this absolutely ridiculous scene in the other coven they visited. First of all, Silas does not think at all to warn his mate that he had sexual relations with nine, did you get that? — NINE — Vampires in that house. No, he doesn’t think it’s important at all. Yet he is still allowed to get all growly about a fucking hand job Maddox had in SEVENTH GRADE. For Maddox, having sex is something special. Silas is constantly saying how special it is between them, yet he can’t even have the courtesy of telling Maddox about this. And, when one of the vampires (John is his name) has the gall to kiss Silas on the mouth, Silas does nothing but simply smile and shake his hand, and he thinks it’s so precious that Maddox is flipping the fuck out about someone laying their lips on his own. And Maddox, when he finds out that they used to fuck, is angry and heartbroken, and still, Silas doesn’t get it. Because he just sees John as a friend. None of the other vampires see the severity of this. Nobody thinks that what John did by kissing Silas was wrong. Because John “didn’t know”. Oh boo-hoo. But if the roles were reversed and someone had dared to do that to Maddox, Silas would have gone all vampire psycho on them. And it would’ve been justified.🙄
Oh, and Maddox thinks he’s an ass?! He says he over reacted and judged Silas too harshly. I’d be judging pretty harshly too if my supposed “mate” let another man kiss him smack dab on the mouth and did nothing about it. That’s so fucking inconsiderate that I can’t even fathom how this could be Maddox’s fault.
Silas doesn’t even acknowledge that he handled the situation poorly, meaning, he doesn’t say, “Yes, I should have pushed him away. If I’d seen a man kiss you I would have flipped out.” Nope. So fucked.
And then, Maddox wants to give two vampires, that he became friends, with a hug, but before he does, he informs Silas what he’s doing so Silas doesn’t get “growly”. Are. You. Serious? He didn’t give a fuck about John kissing him, yet you’re worried about Silas getting jealous over a HUG?!
Then this vampire, John, quickly leaves the room later in the book, because another vampire is staring “wantonly” at him. Really? That gives the impression of vampires being slutly, not just “having sex for fun, but feeling nothing” (this is the description Marx gives us of how sex is between vampires).
The next coven they visit, after the one above, the elder vampire kisses Maddox’s knuckles and flirts with him. Cue dramatic music: Psycho vampire Silas comes out. He puts a knife to the elder’s cheek and tells him “remove your lips or I will remove them for you.” I’m rolling my eyes. It was so cheesy and not to mention hypocritical.
Before this even happened, I was already uncomfortable with where this story was going. I didn’t like Silas, he felt forced, I hated his manwhore status, and the whole things with Thomas and Eleanor being married and in love with other people, then finding their mates when they became vampires...was weird. I couldn’t get on board with that. Especially since Thomas nearly jumped Maddox when Eleanor kissed him on the cheek. And Maddox is GAY! Yet when she talks about her human husband and how she’ll always “cherish the time they had together” he’s all calm and understanding. Way fucking strange. And I did not connect AT ALL to it.
Then we have Marx trying to explain away all the sex Silas had with other vampires, that he was incapable of feeling love and it meant nothing. If that’s the case then why the fuck did he flip out when thinking of Maddox being with someone? I couldn’t get on board with Marx’s explanations. I’m human, so I was unable to grasp what she was trying to say.
This book left such a bad taste in my mouth.
I hope Marx reads this so she can see how royally she fucked up with this book. Yeah, that’s harsh, but that’s how pissed I was when I was reading this.
And tell me this; if sex outside of your mate means absolutely nothing to vampires, why the fuck would this vampire kiss Silas when seeing him in person? A kiss is pretty damn personal, and it’s not required to fuck. So that right there communicates a deeper meaning to sex.
Okay. I think my rant is done.
Rating: really liked it
[I didn’t understand why the leader of the Oaktown Coven wanted to team up with the ghouls to wipe out humans. How were they going to feed if there were no humans? I guess they were goi
Rating: really liked it
A wonderful book that had me turning the pages and wondering what is going to happen next. Wished there was the second book available in the series but willing to wait to find out what will happen next! Add this book to your reading list!
Rating: really liked it
Wow!The story just sucked me in! Maddox is a spitfire and Solar is a fun mix of alpha hotness and fierce vampire warrior... I look forward to the rest of the story....
Rating: really liked it
So very fantastic! Maddox gives the vampires so much sass, but also teaches them fun new things. I am ready for book 2!
Rating: really liked it
4.25 stars
Very different from her other Vampire series.
Rating: really liked it
Bay book 1I absolutely loved the book. The sassiness was on point and a highlight. I laughed so hard. Can’t wait for the next installment.
Rating: really liked it
I started this way back and had to restart to refresh my memory. Loved it so much. I Probably stopped reading due to the holidays. Jayda is a go-to author of mine. Love her.
Rating: really liked it
ReviewGood book. I look forward to the rest of the series. Sweet romance with humor thrown in the mix. Sweet and sassy.
Rating: really liked it
Awesome! The author built a great world with ties to events in history and well rounded characters. It was dark and dangerous but also hot and often times funny. Plus it had a twist I did not see coming. Great read, can't wait for book 2!!
Rating: really liked it
Let me start of with saying that in general I like the story. It was well written and more than just very odd timing where the reader is often thinking whether they have skipped a few pages because all of a sudden it doesn't make any sense. If you like some serious insta-love and cheese then this book is worth reading.
However... I had some major issues with this book. It was very cheesy. Like the kinda cheese Hallmark might take some pointers from. It was way to polite and very contradicting to the character trademarks not to mention that I found it very disturbing that Maddox was not entitled to his feelings of jealousy after being confronted with his current Vampire lovers ex without being made to feel ashamed and the lesser being for feeling that way. Just because Vampires don't have sex without emotional connection, he automatically has to be considerate towards Silas' feeling. News flash! he is a human thus sex is generally a big deal and has a lot of emotional (even though we try not to sometime) baggage. Why not have it be that the Vampire needs to keep that in mind and be considerate about Maddox' feelings. Just saying.
I couldn't get invested in the characters because it was very one sided compromises and everything went from 0 - 100 in no time at all.
