From goodreads: The legend of the most powerful coven of vampires began in a very unconventional way. Fifteen hundred years ago, a holy man living in Rome was viciously turned inhuman by a blood thirsty vampire. Lucius’ purity was ripped from him and he was left to struggle with his lamentable misfortune, although unknown to him or the evil powers that turned him, fate played a great hand in Lucius’ new found reality.
We all have a purpose in this world and Lucius’ was significant, yet he fought against his fate, against his hunger for human blood, and against the predator that now festered within him.
The fates stepped in again and offered him a skillful advocate. They sent him Sulla, a two thousand-year old mystical vampire, who had foreseen Lucius’ purpose in a vision and was determined to help him accept his fate as a gift, not a curse. With her help, Lucius recognized his task, and it wasn’t to be a predator but a guardian. He was to change the ways in which vampire’s treated humans. His intuitive mind and holy beliefs pushed him to create a new form of vampire that wouldn’t compromise compassion for lust. He set out and succeeded in creating a powerful new coven of highly gifted vampires he named Elite. The Elite were conceived to follow his beliefs and fight for a new purpose, yet with great misfortune Lucius reached his final death before his vision was completed. The Elite continued to follow his laws, but foolishly believed their purpose died with him, and accomplished little in fulfilling his destiny.
Now, fifteen hundred years later, his great-granddaughter, Natalia, struggles to keep the balance between her vast gifts, her understanding of her inherited purpose, the return of a highly skilled warrior she’s always desired, the consuming distraction of her sexual awakening, and a fascinating connection to a gifted human which can destroy everything.
I had been dying to read The Haze by Janine Olsson but I was urged to wait until re-edits were done. The wait felt like torture as I’d been hearing other bloggers talk about it. Finally a few days ago I had the opportunity to dive in and get lost in this mystical story!
This isn’t your average vampire book and you’ll find that you get sucked into the story from the first page. It’s unique in the sense that there are so many different angles to the story. While it is about romance, it does tackle family issues, loyalty/betrayal and the suspense is almost unbearable. There was also the love triangle that I absolutely loved!
I loved ALL the characters in this book!! I even loved the ones I hated!
Natalia is the heroine every book should have because she’s outspoken, feisty, on a quest for her purpose and above all, she wants to do the right thing by her people and humanity. I absolutely loved the relationship she has with her brother Maddox and the way they look out for each other by listening to each other’s thoughts. Obviously that has its pros and cons. But I didn’t just love the relationship she has with her brother but it’s everyone she’s close to that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Finn is the Warrior Vampire that has been in love with Natalia for the longest time and you can’t help but love him with all his sexiness! He has secrets which made me doubt if he was all good or not but as the story unfolds you realize he IS good and is simply looking out for Natalia. But there is another side to Finn, the vulnerable side, the side that is afraid to get hurt by Natalia if his affections aren’t returned. To complicate matters, there is True, beautiful True that was spared from being turned into a vampire. Fate had a different plan for him and it wasn’t becoming a vampire but instead, a Were. Who knew a Lion could be sexy!?! There is an automatic attraction between True and Natalia and it’s not until their paths cross later that we realize how strong that attraction is.
I wanted to see more of the love triangle; Finn wasn’t challenged enough and I don’t think we really got a chance to know True. With that being said, Finn and Natalia got together way to quick with very little push and pull. I wanted the tension to be so thick with want that I should’ve felt compelled to throw my kindle across the room. That was the only concern I had, the rest was pure reading magic.
Janine’s writing is fluid and the imagery she created throughout this story is absolutely fantastic. Every character is rich and filled with a mystical quality. This is the kind of book that will whisk you away to place where anything is possible, it stretches the imagination and if you can suspend your disbelief, you will absolutely enjoy this ride.
My final two cents: Take a chance on this book because you will be pleasantly surprised. 
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