Pale Girl Paranormal Romance/Vampires
Independently Published
July 26, 2021
180
Love, acceptance, college, and… vampires?
Sophie used to think she was beautiful, a literal incarnation of Snow White. That was before the bullying began— and never really stopped. Eager to escape the relentless taunts of the city, Sophie decides to attend college in a tiny mountain town, only to find out she can’t escape the most bitter voice—the one inside her head.
Sophie has never seen another soul who looks anything like her, (not outside of a Halloween horror movie or costume shop, anyway). Rushing across a crowded campus with her pale face hidden, her path collides (literally!) with Jesse Smith, and in that moment everything she ever thought she knew is called into question. Instant connection. Instant recognition. A sense of belonging she’d never felt before. Staring back at her was a face as otherworldly and milky-white as her own. It is possible that Jessie holds the answers to Sophie’s lifelong questions, but he is burdened with secrets of his own. When she learns the truth about him, will she flee?
Or will she stay and learn that love is bigger than any label, and finally learn to love herself?
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Sophie Usman lived in Pennsylvania with her adopted parents and as a child she thought of herself as Snow White a beautiful princess because Sophie had snow white skin. She thought she was special until she attended school and faced constant bullying. The only thing that gave her peace was her cello and it was her cello playing that got her scholarships to college. Fortunately for Sophie her family always supported her, loved her and saw nothing about her that was different, she was loved and that was what saved her.
Sophie won scholarships for her cello playing but decided to pick a small college in the mountains hoping that with fewer people she would finally be able to find friends, but it didn’t matter that the college was smaller and there were fewer students the bullying continued and making friends was not in the cards for her. Running to her dorm one night she ran into Jesse Smith and when she looked into his face, she saw someone like her, his face was white, at long last she found someone who could become a friend.
As Sophie and Jesse became close and spent time together, he made it clear that he was not the right person for her and she deserved better so it was better if they stayed apart. Tired of trying to fit in she finally decided to leave and return home even though she knew it would disappoint her parents. Sneaking out early in the morning she found herself blocked by Jesse who realized that being away from Sophie was not what he wanted and it didn’t take long for him to convince her to stay. Sophie not only found a friend she had a boyfriend, something she never considered was a possibility for her.
Jesse knows why his skin is white and finally reveals to Sophie what he is, but is she the same or is there something else she is unaware of, is she really human and it became a priority to discover what she could about her biological parents. Sophie had to face her parents and ask questions that would hurt them but she had to know who and what her biological parents were and what she is.
Sophie and Jesse have a lot of hurdles to get over if they hope to have a future together but they have every intention of coming out as winners. They have to come to terms with what they are, they have to come to terms with facing the bullies in the world and not letting them win. A beautiful story of healing, overcoming hate and finding love. The characters were wonderful and it was a story of adoption and being different and realizing that you can have love of the heart if not the blood.
I look forward to a future where differences don’t matter, what you look like, who you love, a future where you are judged by the kind of person you are inside not outside.
