ix37lexi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Definitely entertaining but the writing seemed a bit juvenile at points and predictable. I will continue reading the series because it has kept me intrigued and reading despite those points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Blood, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Car accident
honeybunchesofoats06's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, and Gore
frankenkath's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Violence
ashleyvharris's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A fun, romantic vampire story that feels inspired by some of the 2000’s most popular YA series, most obviously, Twilight.
The derivativeness of book 1 is crystal clear, but Wolff never tries to hide that or pretend otherwise. She embraces the role that Twilight has played in her writing by briefly mentioning the book and acknowledges its existence in the world she’s created. Although, I think the execution of this scene isn’t quite smooth enough, I recognize Wolf’s intention.
I enjoyed the characters in Book 1 a lot. Most of them felt well-defined and dynamic. Jaxon Vega clearly a stand out as the tortured anti-hero, the final and additional chapters from his perspective were wonderful and added extra dimension to his character and those particular scenes.
Understanding this is Book 1 of a 4-book series, I couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with the ambiguity of some details. Wolff doesn’t dive into many specifics of how the supernaturals operate within the world she’s building which leaves a lot of gray area for readers. Other details, like , are described but never explained.
Spoiler
Amka’s note for Flint in the library or Lia and Jackson’s altercation in the gazeboOverall, the plot isn’t the strongest, but Wolf’s characters make up for much of it with witty dialogue and believable interactions. The real star here, much like in Twilight, is the love story. Grace and Jaxon have chemistry and tension for miles and it’s easy to root for them. I’m looking forward to what plot twists throw their course off track and how they find their way back to one another.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Grief, Violence, Blood, Cursing, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Gore
Minor: Genocide, Child abuse, Physical abuse, War, Murder, and Car accident
criticalbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Car accident, and Murder
forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Read this on a whim for October because I wanted something with a bit of horror/supernatural in it. This was like an alternate timeline Twilight but Twilight was better. I liked the inclusion of different supernatural beings, but I wish their differences and attitudes were more fleshed out. It feels like I only learned about vampires with no real emphasis on the others. Even the vampire stuff was uninteresting until the end when they were talking about hormones in animal blood versus human blood and how that affects sensitivity to sunlight. That was super interesting. More lore please.
I also have a gripe with several other aspects of this book. I know it's YA and geared towards teens, but there are ways to make stories like this marketable to your target audience without talking about Harry Styles and Dr. Pepper and emoji pants. Those very specific details added nothing. I already knew how young the MC was from the beginning and from other aspects of the narrative. I also disliked the over-usage of text talk, the word "like" and "very" and "really." It ruined the atmosphere the author was building in several scenes and would also lead to unnecessary detail or narration from the MC that added nothing to her character or the story. All it did was make me, as the reader, angry.
Additionally, I want to talk about the development of the relationship because it feels very internet psychology (I'm a therapist) and not necessarily in a positive way. The insta-love/lust/connection at the beginning was forged through curiosity, boundary violations, and some sense of shared trauma over a single moment undercut with lust. I found this to be unique but still not my personal type of story I would rush over to read if it was pitched as having some "deeper" connection between the MC and the love interest. I did appreciate the openness of a few of the conversation, but again, it felt like I was hearing the author speaking (probably from her own therapy experience) instead of the character. I also wonder who, exactly, Grace is? The book opens with her grief and trying to keep herself together. Somewhere along the way, that just...disappears. The source of her grief is never mentioned again until the last 70 or so pages when the author drops in a few very out-of-the-blue plot twists that had little to no lead up (i.e. I cannot trace back through the book and pinpoint subtle hints or clues) and destroyed the narrative quality she'd been creating. Genuinely have no clue where one in particular came from and the MC's reaction to it left a lot to be desired.
Despite all of this, I did have a relatively enjoyable time. I tried not to take it too seriously and over-analyze everything, but the bad parts really stood out as bad parts. I would point out the same things in any book, regardless of targeted age group. I'll probably read the rest of the series because it was easy and not super complicated on my very tired brain. I did enjoy some of the character interactions and I think aspects of it are genuinely interesting. When. I do wonder how the future relationship will go because it feels like the author has affirmed a lot of insecurities from both characters that would normally be drawn out over the course of the series. We shall have to see.
I also have a gripe with several other aspects of this book. I know it's YA and geared towards teens, but there are ways to make stories like this marketable to your target audience without talking about Harry Styles and Dr. Pepper and emoji pants. Those very specific details added nothing. I already knew how young the MC was from the beginning and from other aspects of the narrative. I also disliked the over-usage of text talk, the word "like" and "very" and "really." It ruined the atmosphere the author was building in several scenes and would also lead to unnecessary detail or narration from the MC that added nothing to her character or the story. All it did was make me, as the reader, angry.
Additionally, I want to talk about the development of the relationship because it feels very internet psychology (I'm a therapist) and not necessarily in a positive way. The insta-love/lust/connection at the beginning was forged through curiosity, boundary violations, and some sense of shared trauma over a single moment undercut with lust. I found this to be unique but still not my personal type of story I would rush over to read if it was pitched as having some "deeper" connection between the MC and the love interest. I did appreciate the openness of a few of the conversation, but again, it felt like I was hearing the author speaking (probably from her own therapy experience) instead of the character. I also wonder who, exactly, Grace is? The book opens with her grief and trying to keep herself together. Somewhere along the way, that just...disappears. The source of her grief is never mentioned again until the last 70 or so pages when the author drops in a few very out-of-the-blue plot twists that had little to no lead up (i.e. I cannot trace back through the book and pinpoint subtle hints or clues) and destroyed the narrative quality she'd been creating. Genuinely have no clue where one in particular came from and the MC's reaction to it left a lot to be desired.
Despite all of this, I did have a relatively enjoyable time. I tried not to take it too seriously and over-analyze everything, but the bad parts really stood out as bad parts. I would point out the same things in any book, regardless of targeted age group. I'll probably read the rest of the series because it was easy and not super complicated on my very tired brain. I did enjoy some of the character interactions and I think aspects of it are genuinely interesting. When
Spoiler
Jaxon brought her a copy of Twilight, I started cackling like an idiot. I loved the self-awareness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
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