By Beth Fantaskey
For Fun
Pages 351
Recommended by Natalie
First sentence The first time I saw him, a heavy, gray fog clung to the cornfields, tails of mist slithering between the dying stalks.
Synopsis
Jessica's senior year is turned on it's head when a handsome foreign exchange student sweeps into her small town and claims she's a vampire princess and has been betrothed to him since birth.
What it has going for it
Well, first off, it was free to download from Amazon. That's good, right? My favorite thing about this one was the letters Lucius wrote to his uncle. They were highly amusing. I liked that there were absolutely none of the usual things we see in YA books. For example: absent parents, love at fist sight, skinny beautiful perfect heroines, and immediate acceptance of the paranormal. All in all, it was a fun fast read...once I got into it, cause it took awhile. Oh, and the best part? It is a series but it stands on it's own beautifully. No need to read any sequels if you don't want to.
What's lacking
All those good things? Well, it was sort of like reading a check list of things the author set out to defy. I appreciated them, but they were a bit obvious. I also found the ending a little rushed and unbelievable. Both main characters changed so dramatically through out the book, as well. With Jessica it felt like she was maturing and progressing, so, no complaints there, but with Lucius it just felt like he had a split personality.
Yea or Nay?
Oh, sure for a quick light read and a good laugh at the dry witticism of Lucius' letters.
I've seen this one pop up heaps on Amazon cos it's free but I was worried it would be the typical YA vampire junk. Three cheers for using the name lucious. I love that name.
ReplyDeleteI adore the name Lucius too. Probably has something to do with Underworld. ;)
DeleteOkay so you had me at 'none of the typical things in YA' and lost me slightly at the character changes. I'll still read it (because I have it) but I'm not expecting amazing things. Looking forward to the letters though, thanks for pointing them out!
ReplyDeleteThe Cait Files
Well, I hope you like it well enough. Enjoy the letters.
DeleteSounds like there's potential! I'm rather sick of vampires, but I'll check this out if it's a freebie. Nothing to lose, right? :)
ReplyDeleteCheers for the non-absentee parents. That drives me CRAZY in YA - I'm a parent, and we don't all suck. Seriously. LOL
Exactly. It's free so it's worth it. Plus it really wasn't that bad.
DeleteI actually had bought this one off Barnes and Noble for less than $3. I really liked it though, I laughed a good bit while reading, especially when reading the letters like you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the letters too. They had me laughing.
DeleteThis book has been on my bookshelf for a while and I must admit that it has been calling to me quite a lot lately. It sounds like a fun read so I'll probably pick it up sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteGreat review :)
I thought it was fun. It had its faults but I liked it.
DeleteYay for free books! I think I'm more likely to read something if I feel like I don't have to invest anything in it. :) I'm not really into the vampire-y books but it could be fun to see how she defies all the YA tropes.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm a little sick of vampire books too but I thought this one sounded fun and, hey, it was free. I tend to have a lot more patience for books I didn't pay for.
DeleteIt's good when a book that is part of a series has a complete enough ending that you don't feel compelled to read a sequel...
ReplyDeleteAgreed! And to be honest, I don't feel the need to read any more of this series.
DeleteThis is better for middle schoolers than Twilight, and I had to appreciate that the vampire lore was shaken up a bit. I have a lot of girls who are waiting eagerly for the sequel, and I will tell them about the free e version!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about that but, yeah, this one is probably better for MG kids.
DeleteI have had this for a long time! I will have to read it when I'm in a light mood. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes, read it when you're in a light mood.
DeleteGlad to hear you somewhat enjoyed this one! And I'm happy to hear you downloaded the free copy! I wanted to but alas I don't have an eReader! Thanks for tagging me in your post too :)
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you for telling me about it.
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