Afterlife review

Afterlife
by Claudia Gray
HarperTeen
March 2011

First line: "Sunrise is coming," Balthazar said.


Vampire-in-training Bianca is dead, but still around as a mostly non-corporeal wraith. Her star-crossed lover Lucas has unwillingly been turned into a vampire. How much of a romance can this be with two leads who are both dead, only one of whom has a body??

Bianca and Lucas both still have that very restrained, mature approach to life - possibly because they're both only children, raised in circumstances where they don't interact much with other people their own age. (In Bianca's case, her parents and family friends are not just decades older, but in some cases, centuries older.) At several points in the story, it felt as if Bianca and Lucas were college seniors, not high school seniors. Their loyal vampire friends hunky Balthazar and quirky, about-a-thousand-years-behind-the-times Ranulf as well as human Vic all get the opportunity to assist Bianca and Lucas as they fight their way back to Evernight boarding school and attempt to figure out if there's any cure for their predicament.

We get a lot more of Evernight Academy's headmistress Mrs. Bethany's backstory in this novel, and the mystery of how and why the wraiths are connected to humans being admitted to the secretive formerly all-vampire academy is revealed. Did I miss something? Whatever became of Balthazar's sister, the threatening and insane vampire Charity?

Gray shocks readers yet again, with another surprising twist at the end of this book. While dramatic endings should be expected by now, it's honestly, a turn that readers will not see coming. It wasn't the ending I was hoping for. I want to say more, but I don't want to spoil it, either. The ending wasn't satisfying, but it didn't want me to make me throw the book across the room either. Much like Romeo and Juliet, it seems that Bianca and Lucas are not destined to make a life together after all.

Compare to:
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side - Beth Fantaskey
Marked - P.C. + Kristin Cast
Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz



I borrowed this book from the library.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side review

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

by Beth Fantaskey

Harcourt

February 2009

First line: "The first time I saw him, a heavy, gray fog clung to the cornfields, tails of mists slithering between the dying stalks."

Seventeen year old high school student Jessica is shocked to learn that she's actually adopted, and is descended from vampires.  The sardonic, haughty and hilarious vampire, Lucius Vladescu really makes this book stand-out.  Because of their noble bloodlines and a tremendous financial inheritance, Lucius and Jessica have been promised in marriage (unbeknownst to Jessica) since birth.  Since Jessica's been raised as an all-American girl, naturally she finds the idea of an arranged marriage very distasteful.  To try and change her mind, Lucius registers as an exchange student at her school and takes up residence in her parent's barn.  As the story unfolds we begin to see another side of Lucius.  Frequently beaten by his harsh uncle during his Dickensian childhood, he begins to relax a bit and enjoy what he sees as a decadent suburban lifestyle.  I found the idea that Jessica's adopted parents would keep her entire adoption a secret for all these years very difficult to credit, and was a little surprised to see her parents continually trying to push the two teens together.

In Fantaskey's world, female vampires only develop their full powers after being bitten by a male.  Male vampires develop their powers (and limitations) naturally as they age.  Something about this inequality of the sexes bothered me.  Not a very feminist take, I guess.  Another thing which worried me was the callous disregard Lucius has for Jessica's name.  He constantly calls her "Anastasia," the name her birth parents would have chosen for her, which seemed a bit pompous, overbearing and creepy to me.  Then again, that sort of behavior does seem par for the course for most male vampires. 

Jessica finally decides to embrace her destiny and goes to Romania where she meets a few of the key players of the vampire world before finally allowing Lucius to bite her.  You can practically hear the music swell, fade to black, and "they lived happily ever after."  It was anticlimactic, to say the least.  Still, this was a light, fun read, and when he isn't being infuriating, the Lucius character adds a lot of humor to the story.

Compare to:
You Are So Undead to Me - Stacey Jay
Crave - Melissa Darnell
Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel

Evernight - Claudia Gray

I borrowed this book from the library.

Marked review

Marked
by P.C. and Kristin Cast
St. Martin's Griffin
May 2007

Imagine if you were a vampyre... and unlike urban legend, becoming a vampyre isn't transmitted by a bite, it's a natural process that happens to a small percentage of teenagers as they transition to adulthood. The House of Night is a finishing school to help fledgling vampyres negotiate the change they are undergoing.

After the distinctive tattoo-like markings common to vampyres appear, 16 year old Zoey Redbird is ostracized by everyone in her straight-laced family except for her Native American grandmother. Zoey is whisked away from her mediocre human high school in order to deal with the unusually strong gift of magic powers granted to her by the vampyre goddess, Nyx. Almost immediately, she's invited to join the Dark Daughters, an exclusive sorority, and befriends her roommate Stevie Rae as well as a few select outcasts, including her gay friend Damien. Together, they form a new nexus of influence at the school, upsetting the delicate balance of politics and machinations that develop amongst the vampyre cliques there. 

The school sounds more like a cross between a summer camp and a high end boarding school. Students enjoy lessons in Equestrian studies, drama, economics and modern English classics with smart, challenging, vampyre teachers who treat their young charges with the independence and respect usually only accorded to successful college students. (They're even allowed to drink alcohol.) In the college campus-like environment, there's plenty of opportunities for students to hook up as well, which scandalizes Zoey.

I was unsure what to make of Zoey's Native American heritage. Some of it seemed to be accurate and specific to the place (Oklahoma) but it seemed like the magic system was a mish-mosh of traditions from paganism, Greco-Roman myths, Harry Potter, and Twilight. Spelling vampire with a "y" irritated me. Plenty of pop culture references make the book feel just a bit dated. Zoey has the makings of a Mary Sue, with her perfect looks, super powers and bevy of male characters who fall for her, but readers who enjoy vampire books or boarding school books may enjoy this one. 

Compare to:

Evernight - Claudia Gray

Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel

Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

I borrowed this book from the library.

Night Road review

Night Road

by A.M. Jenkins

HarperTeen

May 2008

First line: "Cole did have a map in his backpack. He'd studied it in the parking garage. Only now that he was already on the subway did it occur to him that it might be outdated."

Three "hemovores" (don't call them vampires!) go on a road trip to teach the newest member of their ranks, young redneck Gordon, the finer points of how to survive. Johnny, the leader of the hemovores, runs a safe house for blood-drinkers in Manhattan and insists that Cole, who is quite a loner, take on the project of helping Gordon. Cole is accompanied by the light-hearted Sandor. Cole is tightly controlled, but events unfold to help him come to terms with his own unfortunate mistakes from when he was newly made. Sandor is light-hearted and jolly, and is accidentally responsible for having created Gordon after a mugging. Gordon is having enormous difficulty accepting and dealing with matters, longing to reconnect with his family and girlfriend, and has a lot of trouble seeing past his small-town hickish ways. 

The vampires - excuse me, hemovores, must avoid sunlight and must drink human blood. Typically, they are able to hypnotize their victims, and quickly draw a small amount of blood, enabling them to feed without killing. When being taught how to pick suitable targets, Cole and Sandor despair of ever making a proper hemovore of Gordon. Gordon insists on gravitating to cute girls, even when more likely targets are available and taking unnecessary risks. My favorite scene is when Sandor begs Cole to get Gordon a dog - to cheer him up, to make it easier to start small talk with humans (aka omnis), and of course, if he gets desperate, he can always eat the dog! There's a very dark and twisted humor at work here. While I love a good series, Night Road is a stand-alone book, with a highly satisfying ending, but the door could easily be open for a sequel. The writing is tight, with well-thought out characters, pacing and plot. I enjoyed it enormously.

Compare to:

Thirsty - M.T. Anderson

The Reformed Vampire Support Group - Catherine Jinks

Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel

Evernight - Claudia Gray

I borrowed this book from the public library.

Blue Bloods: Revelations review

Revelations: A Blue Bloods Novel
by Melissa de la Cruz
Hyperion 
October 2008

First line: "On an early and bitterly cold morning in late March, Schyler Van Alen let herself inside the glass doors of the Duchesne School, feeling relieved as she walked into the soaring barrel-ceiling entryway dominated by an imposing John Singer Sargent portrait of the school's founders." 

Another fast-paced, fun installment in the Blue Bloods series, where wealthy New York teens, part of a secret cabal of reincarnated vampires, struggle for answers as they transition into their vampire heritage. Who is the Silver Blood murderer? That's the big question. Evil Silver Bloods prey on other vampires and the students at Duchesne are particularly vulnerable. After the sudden loss of her grandmother, Schuyler Van Alen is forced to move in with the Force family, all the while carrying on a secret affair with Jack Force, much to his twin sister Mimi's dismay. Mimi is planning on marrying her brother (her reincarnated soul mate) and then using her hypnotic powers to mind-trick people into thinking that she was always his wife.

In the meantime, Schuyler's best friend from childhood, Oliver, is head-over-heels for her and his blood bond pretty much makes him her heartbroken slave. I am rooting for Oliver, poor guy. It also turns out that Texas newcomer Bliss is the daughter of Lucifer himself and while sleepwalking has committed many crimes! Interesting stuff.

The Venator investigation continues, quietly naming Schuyler, Bliss, Mimi and Dylan as suspects and the investigation moves to Rio de Janeiro, eventually pulling Schuyler and Oliver from New York to Brazil.

Melissa de la Cruz's take on vampiric reincarnation is unique, but the vampires' incestuous relationships, their easy money (invested carefully over the long term) and their adventurous globe-trotting, in many ways, this series feels like Anne Rice, Jr.

Compare to:

Crave - Melissa Darnell
Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel
House of Night series - P.C. + Kristin Cast

Vampire Academy series - Richelle Mead

I borrowed this book from the library.

Masquerade review

Masquerade: A Blue Bloods Novel

by Melissa de la Cruz

Hyperion

May 2007

First line: "The pigeons had taken over St. Mark's Square."

Masquerade is the second volume in the Blue Bloods series. This one veers a bit (only a bit, mind you) from the formula of the first. There's slightly less brand-name dropping and conspicuous consumption in this one, and a little more international intrigue in Italy as teen vampires-in-training hobnob with the wealthy New York elite.

Schuyler is searching for her missing grandfather, a patriarch amongst the ancient vampires, but in the meantime she requires a human blood donor. She leans on her best friend Oliver, who (of course) is secretly in love with her. Mimi Force, daughter of the powerful New York businessman Charles Force, is busy planning the party of the century. Mimi is eagerly looking forward to "bonding" with her twin brother Jack... and he is secretly feeling really not so sure about the whole thing. There's plenty of confusion about who's related to who - all the vampires are essentially reincarnated avatars of saints, angels or gods and inter-related in various ways. Jack and Schuyler are being established as a couple to root for, yet they are technically first cousins. Mimi and Jack have been a couple for many lifetimes, and no one is more frustrated than Mimi about the inappropriateness of wanting to marry her twin brother. There is a side plot about Bliss Llewellyn being duped by Kingsley, an undercover agent, but she still pines for missing Dylan. Who are the real villains? Who are the Silver Bloods? The cliffhanger ending leaves everything still up in the air.

Compare to:

Crave - Melissa Darnell
Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel
House of Night series - P.C. + Kristin Cast

Vampire Academy series - Richelle Mead

I borrowed this book from the library.

Blue Bloods review

Blue Bloods

by Melissa de la Cruz

Hyperion

March 2007

First line: "The Bank was a decrepit stone building at the tail end of Houston Street, on the last divide between the gritty East Village and the wilds of the Lower East Side."

This series features absurdly wealthy teens in upper-class Manhattan, whose vampiric heritage is passed down from generation to generation. These vampires do sport fangs and occasionally drink blood, they are "immortal" in the sense that they are frequently incarnated, but other than that they don't share very many vampiric foibles such as problems with sunlight, crosses or garlic. Celebrity name-dropping and name-brand conciousness figures heavily here, as the students of exclusive prep school Duchesne: outsider Schuyler Van Alen, her best friend Oliver Hazard-Perry, love interest Dylan Ward, popular twins Jack and Mimi Force and Texan newcomer Bliss Llewellyn, gradually come to realize their true natures. The teen years are when new vampires are at their most fragile, and some uber-vamps known as "Silver Bloods" are hunting them.

Things gets a bit confusing at the end, with the revelation that the teens have been reincarnated over many centuries, with significant ties to the Mayflower, the Roanoke Colony and Ancient Egypt. Some of the vampires are descended from arcangels, and many of them are in incestuous relationships. Jack and Mimi apparently were an item in past lives, something Mimi would very much like to resume. Jack is interested in Schuyler, who might or might not be his former wife, his mother and simultaneously his aunt. See? Confusing. Lots of suspense... is Charles Force, the twins father, a villain, or just a grouchy patrician? Is teen dreamboat Dylan human or vampire? Is Dylan innocent or is he the one responsible for Blue Blood murders, or is he just a pawn? The series reads a lot like Gossip Girls, which makes sense, as the author is also responsible for the popular Au Pairs series. This is a light, fluffy, quick read, promising a series worth returning to.

Compare to:

Crave - Melissa Darnell
Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel
House of Night series - P.C. + Kristin Cast

Vampire Academy series - Richelle Mead

I borrowed this book from the library.

Blood Promise review

Blood Promise

by Richelle Mead

Razorbill

August 2009

"I was being followed."

We're finally at a point in this series where the author doesn't feel the need to fill us in on everything that has happened before. All of the exposition is taken care of in a neat, quick prologue. If you haven't read Vampire Academy, Frostbite and Shadow Kiss, go back and take a look at those first.

The action in this book moves away from the school setting, when Rose abandons her best friend Lissa in order to track down her former lover Dimitri, who has been turned into a Strigoi. Rose and Dimitri promised each other that if they ever were to fall in battle, and turned into evil Strigoi, that they wouldn't stop until they'd put the other to rest, and Rose intends to make good on her promise. Having no idea where to begin her search, she decides to track down his family in Russia, hoping that maybe he would have returned there. Sure enough, she does find them, a strong family of women who eagerly accept her into their ranks. Spending time with Dimitri's sisters forces her to re-evaluate her harsh opinion of life outside of her professional duties. In them, she is able to witness warm family relationships for the first time. She also finds that Lissa's spirit ability isn't as rare as she thought, and meets a few more spirit users, including another bonded pair, who have discovered a completely different range of abilities.

Rose also runs into Sydney, a human "Alchemist" part of a secret order who helps hide vampires from the rest of human society by destroying Strigoi bodies. The sudden inclusion of a whole new class of slayers stretched my suspension of disbelief. Rose is told that Alchemists are something that all dhampirs are told about once they graduate school and since she's a drop-out, that's why she hadn't heard of them. I thought it would have been a lot more believable if Alchemists were incredibly rare, or perhaps limited only to certain parts of Russia.

After Rose joins forces with a group of dhampir vigilantes, she finally does track down Dimitri and is disturbed by how much like his old self he still seems. She hesitates a fraction too long, and ends up susceptible to his bite which leaves her completely addled. She then spends several weeks as his prisoner, as he tries to convince her to join by his side as a fully "awakened" Strigoi. For Rose, this is a real look at what life as a blood whore might look like. Seductive, enjoyable... but ultimately, quite empty. Luckily, she is able to come to her senses in time, and aided by some of the ghosts that she is occasionally able to call upon she finds the strength to try and stake Dimitri. Shortly after, she discovers that there may be a way to use Lissa's spirit ability to reverse the change to Strigoi, but unfortunately it will be too late for Dimitri... or is it?

I will be interested to see how Rose will use her new hard-won knowledge of Strigoi physiology in the upcoming books of the series. I'm also hopeful (though, I wouldn't hold my breath) that Lissa will finally start to show some battle prowess herself, wielding magic to destroy her enemies in future installments of this series.

Compare to:

Crave - Melissa Darnell
Blue Bloods series - Melissa de la Cruz
Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel
House of Night series - P.C. + Kristin Cast

I borrowed this book from the library.

Shadow Kiss review

Shadow Kiss
by Richelle Mead
Razorbill
November 2008

First line: "His fingertips slid along my back, applying hardly any pressure, yet sending shockwaves over my flesh."

Ordinarily, I wouldn't recommend skipping books in a series. Especially by the third book, there may be too much background info to catch up on. However, Shadow Kiss has enough exposition in it, the author seems determined to bring everyone up to speed and rope in new readers with this later addition, if necessary. I think readers will enjoy the first two books of the Vampire Academy series, but if you are looking for some resolution to the romantic conflict and a dramatic cliffhanger ending, readers will do fine to go directly to this book without reading the others first. In this installment, we return to St. Vladimir's, an exclusive private school for young vampires. Physically weak, Moroi have elemental magic. Half-human, half-vampire dhampirs train to be their bodyguards. Immortal, evil Strigoi are recognizable by their pale skin and red-rimmed eyes.

The class tensions inherent in vampire society are finally beginning to bust apart at the seams. Once again, dhampir Rose is torn between love and duty as she struggles to keep her growing feelings for her tutor Dimitri under wraps as she protects her Moroi friend Lissa from Strigoi attacks. Rose has already earned two molnija marks (the Russian word for lightning) on the back of her neck for killing Strigoi. This book includes a huge battle scene, which earns her a molnija star tattoo meaning she's killed too many Strigoi to count.

The end of Shadow Kiss brings plenty of tension and excitement. As graduation nears, Rose has begun seeing ghosts. She also finally ends up making love with Dimitri but almost immediately loses him to a Strigoi attack brought on by some foolish underclassmen, intent on hazing new members of their secret club. Christian, Lissa's boyfriend, uses his fire magic successfully in the attack, and many of the highborn Moroi are forced to re-evaluate their own 'helplessness' and the necessity of ascetic lives for their dhampir bodyguards. Rose's friend Lissa has been cavorting about, oblivious to the near-slavery that Rose has been facing as her protector, and finally gets a long-overdue wake-up call about how selfish she's been when Rose ultimately abandons Lissa to drop out of school, mere days before graduation, to hunt down and confront the now-Strigoi Dimitri.

Compare to:
Crave - Melissa Darnell
Blue Bloods series - Melissa de la Cruz
Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel
House of Night series - P.C. + Kristin Cast

I borrowed this book from the library.

Frostbite review

Frostbite
by Richelle Mead

Razorbill
April 2008

First line: "I didn't think my day could get any worse until my best friend told me she might be going crazy. Again."

I enjoyed this second installment in the Vampire Academy series. Once again, we return to St. Vladimir's, an exclusive private school for young vampires. Physically weak, Moroi have elemental magic. Half-human, half-vampire dhampirs train to be their bodyguards. Immortal, evil Strigoi are recognizable by their pale skin and red-rimmed eyes. Dangerous attacks by an unusually well-organized group of Strigoi (who are normally lone hunters) have the Moroi vampire nobles in a panic. The students are forced to hole up in a glamorous ski resort over winter break. Tough girl dhampir Rose must sort through her feelings for her forbidden mentor Dimitri, and safe good-boy Mason. Not to mention her unresolved feelings towards her mother, a ruthlessly efficient bodyguard who abandoned Rose to further her own career. Rose's best friend Lissa and her boyfriend Christian are getting more serious, much to Rose's dismay. Rose's one-way psychic link leads to some awkward moments when she can see into her friend's thoughts, including intimate moments with Christian.

The first chapter is exposition-city, designed to help readers who've skipped the first in the series. The theme of female-dhampir-as-sluts is again briefly touched upon, but not fully explored. Tired of living under duress, some of the Moroi finally decide they'd like to figure out how to use their elemental magic in battle. What I find hugely curious is the subservience of most of the dhampir. I'd love to see a full-out dhampir rebellion. Just because they're the genetic equivalent of mules is no reason why they have to settle for second best at every turn! Those annoying Moroi deserve to be knocked off their high horses.

In the end, Mason sacrifices himself, believing to the last that Rose loves him. Dimitri turns down an intriguing offer of guardianship with an unconventional Moroi woman (Christian's aunt Tasha) I think it would have been so interesting if he had taken the offer. But then again, I'm a sucker for hard choices and unrequited love stories.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Vampire Academy review

Vampire Academy
by Richelle Mead
Razorbill
August 2007

First line: "I felt her fear before I heard her screams."

In the first book of this series, Lissa Dragomir and Rose Hathaway return to St. Vladimir's Academy after a two-year absence. I love the way this book drops you into the middle of the story.

The Vampire Academy series features several different subtypes of vampires. Vampirism is passed on genetically. Moroi tend to be slender and somewhat fragile. They can survive in sunlight, although it does make them very weak. They have to drink human blood every couple of days in order to keep up their strength, but they don't kill in order to do so. Each Moroi has an elemental affinity and is able to wield magic. Dhampirs, on the other hand, are half-human, half-vampire. Dhampirs have unusual strength, but they can only bear children by Moroi, and their offspring will always be dhampir. Most male dhampirs swear fealty to a particular Moroi and protect them as bodyguards. Many female dhampirs take on work as "blood whores" trading sexual services, and donating blood to Moroi for the high that it gives them. Dhampirs are treated by their Moroi counterparts as trusted servants as best, and second class citizens at worst. Finally, the Strigoi are former Moroi who have gone to the dark side. They are immortal, enjoy killing humans, harassing Moroi, and are recognizable by their pale skin and red-rimmed eyes.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Moroi princess Lissa actually has the very rare elemental ability of "Spirit" allowing her to share a one-way psychic link with her best friend Rose, the dhampir that Lissa hopes will be assigned as her bodyguard when she graduates. Lissa's affinity for Spirit gives her the power to heal and use compulsion, but also subjects her to deep depressions. Sarcastic, funny, dhampir Rose's loyalties are torn between her needy friend Lissa and hunky Dimitri, her fight instructor. Rose is also covering up the fact that she's experiencing mild withdrawals from the high she got when provided blood (a deeply shameful activity) to her friend Lissa while they were on the run. In the meantime, Lissa is stealing her arch-rival Mia's boyfriend Andrew for the social prestige, even though she'd rather be with moody Christian. When Lissa is kidnapped by powerful Moroi politician Victor (who hopes to cash in on her healing abilities) Rose must use her psychic ability to save Lissa.

Mead's trinity of vampire races, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and her inventive return to the Romanian and Russian roots of vampire lore gives us a fresh take on the genre. Rose is a strong character who is struggling to balance duty and friendship. Part high-school intrigue, part kick-ass adventure, I'm enjoying this whole series.


I borrowed this book from the library.

Crave review

Crave
by Melissa Darnell
HarlequinTeen
October 2011

First line: The last day I was fully human started out like any other April Monday in East Texas.

Savannah Colbert is a total outcast in her small Texas town. Her grandmother is a stereotypical "iron fist in a velvet glove" Southern lady, and her mother is mentally and emotionally checked out as she focuses on her work at home business. Savannah's town seems full of secrets. Rumor has it that the influential and wealthy members of town are all part of a "Clann" with magical abilities: including her longtime childhood crush, Tristan.

I was a bit confused by the emotional highs and lows of the main character: she hates her dance classes, because she's so clumsy, even as she longs to impress her distant and aloof divorced father. But then, she loves dance, because it's her passion and the only thing she feels like she's good at. That part kind of didn't flow for me.

Savannah struggles with her mysterious physical symptoms and fears about what will happen as she struggles to integrate her vampire and magical heritage. Naturally, her new powers bring perfect physical coordination (which she must hide, lest she be discovered) and irresistible charm for most human males. In the meantime, Tristan works on mastering his magical powers, and his worries of letting his family down with his forbidden romance.

This book clocks in at a lengthy 416 pages, but despite the relatively slow moving plot, it still moved quickly for me, because of the intense relationship between Savannah and Tristan. I'll put this in the hands of paranormal romance fans who are sick of triangles.

Compare to:
Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz
The Mephisto Covenant - Trinity Fagan
Misfit - Jon Skovan

Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Demons of the Ocean review

Demons of the Ocean
by Justin Somper
Little, Brown, Young Readers
January 2005

First Line:

This book is so ridiculously easy for me to book talk. Typically, I tell kids "It's about pirates... who are also the undead! It's about vampires... who sail the high seas! It's about... VAMPIRATES!!!" Aaaaand, sold! Who can resist a pitch like that?

In this thrilling action adventure, twins Connor and Grace are devastated when their father dies and leaves them penniless. They quickly make their escape from an orphanage and sail away from the lighthouse island they grew up on. A sea storm later, Connor ends up on a pirate ship, while Grace ends up battling for her life on a vampire ship. Connor soon takes up sword-fighting lessons, which come in handy during several battles. Grace, on the other hand, must use her wits to puzzle out the mystery of what exactly is going on aboard the macabre vessel where she's being held captive. The story is told in alternating chapters, which I absolutely love. This is the first in the Vampirates series. If you like this one, follow it up with Tide of Terror, Blood Captain, Black Heart, Empire of Night and Immortal War.

Compare to these other series: 

Crystal Doors - Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
The Akenhaten Adventure - P.B. Kerr
The Alchemyst - Scott Michael
The Emerald Atlas - John Stephens

I borrowed this book from the library.

Waiting for Team Human

This sounds like it will amazingly funny. Let's admit it. We're all growing a little weary of vampires. The time is right for a book such as this, no?

Team Human
by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
HarperTeen

July 2012

When a vampire shows up at Mel’s high school, it’s up to Mel to keep her best friend from falling in love with him. Add a mysterious disappearance, a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and poignant.

Waiting on Stolen Nights

Dare I hope? Can it be? I've been waiting and looking forward to this one for so long... and the publishing date has been moved forward and backwards so many times. I can't wait to read this one.

Stolen Nights
by Rebecca Maizel
St. Martin's Griffin

June 2012

Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human - and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss. With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead...

Stephenie Meyer portrait

What celebrity would you like to meet? Quick! Draw them using a simple Paint program - no erasing allowed. This was a tough one for me... I feel so lucky to have met a lot of famous people. Who to pick?

I racked my brain, and finally thought of someone.

I had a hard time thinking of how to make Stephenie Meyer look like Stephenie Meyer, and finally decided I'd have to show her thinking about one of her books. Okay, so how do I make Edward look like Edward? He's got to be lily-white, with fangs and crazy hair, looking sad, and sparkling. I think I pretty much nailed it.

Waiting on Balthazar

Can't wait to read Balthazar. Sorry to say, this series kind of petered out for me by the end, but I really liked this character, so I'm eager to give it another try.

Balthazar
by Claudia Gray
HarperTeen

March 2012

Haunted by memories from his first days as a vampire, Balthazar has spent hundreds of years alone—without allies, without love. When he emerges from his isolation to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, Balthazar has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Having learned of Skye’s powers and the remarkable effect her blood has on vampires, he plans to use her for his own evil purposes. As they stand together to fight the evil vampire, Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by Skye... just as Redgrave realizes that he can destroy Balthazar once and for all by taking her for his own. 

Breaking Dawn review

Breaking Dawn
by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
August 2008

Meyer wraps everything up very neatly in the fourth and final installment of the very popular Twilight series. It's obvious that Bella represents a kind of wish-fulfillment for her, as by the end of the book she gets everything she wants without having any consequences at all. Neither Bella nor her love interest, vampire Edward Cullen, seem terribly well-rounded. Bella half-heartedly goes through with the wedding that Edward insists upon, and during their honeymoon in a remote tropical island, finds that she's miraculously become pregnant with Edward's child.

Bella is the perfect martyr, willing to sacrifice any and all of her needs for others. Edward is a prat, still pouting that he can't read her mind, and therefore notoriously dumb about communicating in a healthy way with his fiance. Bella enlists the aid of barren Rose in order to protect her during her abnormally fast supernatural pregnancy. Not having much time to consider things, and as a child of a bitter divorce, it's clear Bella's never thought much about baby names, she quickly settles on "Renesmee" as the name for her daughter. Everyone shortens this to "Nessie" much to her chagrin. Werewolf Jacob wastes no time imprinting on Nessie, something which I saw as a very odd compromise to get him a love interest deeply connected to Bella in some way. Nessie clearly suffers from SORAS (Soap-Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) as her half-vampire heritage causes her to nearly instantly age into an adorable pre-schooler.

A showdown with the vampire lords ensures the Cullens future safety, as they make their case for their "vegetarian" existance, and the existance of their half-vampire child. Bella flexes her own superpowers, adapting to her vampire existence with ease and near-perfect control, not the ravening bloodlust that she'd feared. Bella's utter disdain for her "clumsy" human years reminded me very much of Lestat in Anne Rice's The Tale of the Body Thief.

These characters are so arresting, and the world that Meyer creates so believable, it's frustrating to see them take a turn that one wouldn't have wished... I was rooting for a better ending for Jacob of course, and wishing that Bella would grow a spine! Still, for all the quibbles I had with plot of the book, it was still extremely entertaining and a quick read despite it's hefty page-count.

On the whole, this is an very enjoyable series, and one that I'd recommend even if it wasn't a super-hot bestseller.


I purchased this book.

Afterlife review

Afterlife
by Claudia Gray
HarperTeen
March 2011

I have to say, I was fairly skeptical about this finale to the Evernight series. Bianca is dead, but still around as a mostly non-corporeal wraith. Her star-crossed lover Lucas has unwillingly been turned into a vampire. How much of a romance can this be with two leads who are both dead, only one of whom has a body??

Bianca and Lucas both still have that very restrained, mature approach to life - possibly because they're both only children, raised in circumstances where they don't interact much with other people their own age. (In Bianca's case, her parents and family friends are not just decades older, but in some cases, centuries older.) At several points in the story, it felt as if Bianca and Lucas were college seniors, not high school seniors. Their loyal vampire friends hunky Balthazar and quirky, about-a-thousand-years-behind-the-times Ranulf as well as human Vic all get the opportunity to assist Bianca and Lucas as they fight their way back to Evernight boarding school and attempt to figure out if there's any cure for their predicament.

We get a lot more of Evernight Academy's headmistress Mrs. Bethany's backstory in this novel, and the mystery of how and why the wraiths are connected to humans being admitted to the secretive formerly all-vampire academy is revealed. Did I miss something? Whatever became of Balthazar's sister, the threatening and insane vampire Charity?

Gray shocks readers yet again, with another surprising and unbelievable twist at the end of this book. While dramatic endings should be expected by now, it's honestly, a turn that readers will not see coming. I want to say more, but I don't want to spoil it, either. The ending wasn't satisfying, but it didn't want me to make me throw the book across the room either. It was ho-hum. It wasn't the ending I was hoping for, but I am intrigued by Balthazar, the planned spin-off novel of this series, which seems to promise a more exciting and less syrupy-sweet storyline.


I borrowed this book from the library.

Hourglass review

Hourglass
by Claudia Gray
HarperCollins
March 2010

Young lovers Bianca Olivier and Lucas Ross have run away from Evernight Academy and are living on the run as part of a Black Cross cell in New York. Readers who haven't read the first installments in the series are strongly advised to go back and read Evernight and Stargazer first. This story picks up right where Stargazer left off. Even though Bianca and Lucas are teenagers, their relationship takes on the quality of college students living together. Lucas' mother Kate, never maternal at best, really doesn't appear to bat an eyelash at their relationship, she's simply suspicious of any outsiders. During their getaway from Evernight, Bianca's human roommate Raquel, now aware that most of the students at the school are vampires, chooses to run with them. As Bianca struggles to hide her nascent vampirism, Raquel starts to develop feelings for Dana, one of the Black Cross hunters. There's kind of a dystopian feel to this book, as Bianca and Lucas are on the run, and living in rat-trap motels or abandoned subway stations. Lucas allows Bianca to drink some of his blood, but she is forced to supplement her diet by drinking the blood of pigeons, and the suspicious number of pigeon corpses in proximity to their headquarters tips off Black Cross members that something is amiss.

Thinking that she's been kidnapped by Black Cross, the crew at Evernight makes plans to try to rescue Bianca, Balthazar ends up being captured by the group, creating more problems for Lucas and Bianca whose loyalties are definitely split. And of course, Balthazar's crazy sister Charity is floating around as well, providing a constant sense of menace and threat.

I was stunned by the end of this book. Gray has taken the story in another direction that I definitely did not expect. I was certainly nursing my own theories about Bianca's heritage -- maybe she was a purely human infant stolen by vampire parents who wanted to play house? Maybe she could avoid being turned vampire? Or perhaps her vampiric conversion is inevitable? At the last possible moment, Gray surprises readers once again, with another twist of the plot.


I borrowed this book from the library.