booksabrewin's review
2.0
I was given this book by the author in e-book format in exchange for an honest review.
When I first got into the book, I was a little confused on some aspects. It moved incredibly fast and before I knew it, Stella was finding out that Conner was a vampire and that she was starting to develop feelings for him and Will, another fantasy creature that most people would be well aware of. I found myself stumbling a little over the quick pace and some of the small aspects didn’t jive well with me. I found myself more and more often pondering to myself, “but… she/he could do [insert idea] instead? Why are they making it so difficult?” or “Her/His explanation for their actions doesn’t make sense. They could have done [this, that, or another].”
As stated in a few other reviews I have read, “It reads very similar to Twilight meets Vampire Diaries”. The vampire race in this book was the most prevalent example of this Twilight/Vampire Diaries lovechild. The vampires are cold to the touch, turn to ash when staked (more Buffy-esk than Twilight or Vampire Diaries surprisingly), can be killed by the bite of a wereanimal, and are turned by dying with vampire blood in their system. With there being so many vampire styles out there, I would have liked to see something a little different but really… how many different ways can you go with vampires? Pretty much everything has already been done so I do not fault the author for using the more well know attributes of vampires today.
Despite my hang-ups on some of the plot hiccups and the specifics of the vampire race being done already, the book still seemed to capture my interest relatively easily. I did not like that Stella was constantly crying, constantly in danger, and constantly needing to be rescued. At some points I did roll my eyes and wish Stella would fight back at least a little instead of needing Will or Conner to come to her rescue all the time.
When choosing a side in the book I totally chose Conner though. Everyone seemed to beat up on poor Stella like she was no more than a punching bag… except for Conner. You have to side with a guy who doesn’t physically harm his woman, right? Conner was truly the all around hero of the story (although Will came riding in on his white horse a time or two as well). He was really the person that kept me reading. By the end even I wanted to smack Stella a little. I admire Conner’s restraint. Bravo, Conner!
In summary, did I like the book? It was okay. Did I hate the book with the fire of a thousand suns? No. There are fine points to the book and there are points that are a bit lacking. It would be a good recommendation for someone looking for a book that was reminiscent of Twilight.
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bookish_babe's review
4.0
My Review: I was surprised with how much I really enjoyed this book! The overall story depicts the life of a young college student who recently lost her mother and brother to what the police have deemed to be an animal attack. The main character Stella gets thrown into the world of all things paranormal when she meets a boy Conner who happens to be a vampire, and another boy Will who happens to be a werewolf. She ends up being torn between the two and has to decide who she wants to be with. Throw in an overbearing father who also happens to be paranormal and a series of unfortunate events and you get Stella's crazy life. She has a lot of ups and downs and quit a few near death experiences. This book was hard to put down! There were parts that were a bit off for me and the language was different since it is more European English and not American English which you notice in the 's' as opposed to 'z' in words like recognize and in references to school when Stella says things likes 'I need to go to University today' or 'I attend University' instead of saying college but it didn't bother me or take away from my ability to enjoy the book. Overall I liked it. I could have used some more story development and the chapter endings were sometimes strange but I'm looking forward to seeing what Jess Watkins puts out next. The ending definitely sets us up for a second book.
My Ratings: I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really really liked it and while I could have used more story development the story in general had good bones that captivated me as a reader.
My Ratings: I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really really liked it and while I could have used more story development the story in general had good bones that captivated me as a reader.
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