american vampire, vol. 1

american vampire, volume 1
scott snyder, stephen king & rafael albuquerque
graphics/horror
vertigo
published 2011

This volume follows two stories: one written by Snyder and one written by King.  Snyder's story is set in 1920's LA, we follow Pearl, a young woman who is turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European Vampires who tortured and abused her.  This story is paired with King's story, a western about Skinner Sweet, the original American Vampire - a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before with rattlesnake fangs and powered by the sun.

I'm not a big fan of Stephen King, but love Snyder's work and a friend recommended that I try this one out.  As luck would have it the library had it just sitting there the other day so I picked it up and cracked it open.

I really enjoyed the story, especially Pearl's vengeance driven story line.  I wasn't as fond of the old west story (and not because that was King's part), but I'm just not a big fan of westerns although I did find it entertaining nonetheless.  I'm not sure that I liked the whole thing enough to continue to read through the series (is there more?), but I did enjoy this volume.

evernight

evernight
evernight #1
claudia gray
ya/vampires/romance
harper teen
published 2008

Bianca wants to escape.

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school when the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory.  Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas.  He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way.  Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful - even when it comes to caring about him.

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied.  Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

Fuck this book.

The ridiculous of the storytelling drove me insane.  I can't really review this without spoilers so just so you know SPOILERS AHEAD....

My first huge beef with this book is the prologue.  Bianca mentions her 'new friends'.  When we get to this scene in the book you realize she's known all but two of these people for maybe 3 minutes.  Wow, you make friends that fast?  The second thing?  In the prologue vampires are mentioned.  So there you go.  We now know this is a book about vampires (if you didn't already know).

What you're led to believe during the first almost half of the book is that something strange is going on and it has something to do with the school.  Lucas, Bianca's love interest (whom she falls in desperate love with IMMEDIATELY and is ridiculous about it ever after that) is suspicious of everyone and everything at the school and wants to protect Bianca, but she isn't sure there's anything to be protected from besides social outcast-ness despite the fact that she tried to run away from school the day of orientation.

Then, all of sudden, 40% into the book, Bianca BITES LUCAS WITH HER FANGS AND DRINKS HIS BLOOD.  WTF.  From then on we read about how she grew up knowing she was a vampire child and drank blood every morning with her breakfast and her father is 1,000 years old, blah, blah, blah.  Are you kidding me?  Again, WTF?!

Now it would be one thing if the story was told from Lucas's point of view and all of a sudden we're like, whoa the chick's a vampire!  Holy crap!  Because Lucas didn't know that.  But the story is Bianca's story.  We're in her head and she knows she's a vampire.  She knows her parents, her roommate, the headmistress, the teachers, she knows they're all vampires!  Therefore, we should know they're vampires.

And then this happens:

"A hundred dollars! That's only half what it cost!" I protested. And it was worth so much more than money. I'd worn it virtually every day for months, the visible symbol of the love I felt for Lucas. How could this man look at it so coldly?

Um, maybe because he's a pawnshop dealer, a stranger to you and you're an idiot?!

See, I already hate Bianca.  She's got no personality, not backbone, no spunk.  She's wishy washy and whiny.  She's completely oblivious to everything around her.  When the first meet, Lucas mentions his great-great grandfather went to Evernight 150 or some odd years ago and broke the stain glass window.  Now, we know (after we find out about vampires) that this is the first time Evernight has allowed humans into the school.  Therefore, something is not right about Lucas's story.  And she never puts it together.  Even though she remembers the story and even tells it to her parents and the only interesting character in the story, Balthazar.

I just can't stand her.  It gets worse and it makes me insane.  The book ends very incomplete.  There is no closure and it's obvious there is another book after (for the record, there's 5) but I don't even care.  I want to know nothing else about Bianca and Lucas.  I wish they would die and the story would move on to another character, but I doubt that will happen so I'll just leave now, thanks.

twilight

twilight
twilight saga #1
stephenie meyer
little, brown & co.
published 2006

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made.  When she meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen - a vampire - her life takes a thrilling and terrifying romantic turn.

This is comfort reading for me.  This is my 5th reading in as many years.  It's the most I've read a single book, especially in such a short amount of time.  Usually I can't reread a book until a decade or two has gone by.

And please spare me the vitriol.  I know it's not a Pulitzer Prize winning book.  I know the writing is amateurish and the plot goes against my more feminist views, but it is truly escapism when I read this book.  It reminds me of falling in love for the first time.  Those few weeks or months learning everything you can about that person.  The butterflies and the thrill of seeing them again when you haven't seen them in oh say, a couple of hours.

Then there's the setting.  The green, rainy gloom.  The cold, grey beach covered in colored glass pebbles.  You can say what you like about Meyer's writing, but she definitely can bring Forks to life.  And this setting is my kind of place!

I just love this book.  And I probably always will.

chibi vampire

chibi vampire, vol. 1

chibi vampire, vol. 2

chibi vampire, vol. 3
chibi vampire, vol. 4
chibi vampire, vol. 5
chibi vampire, vol. 6
chibi vampire, vol. 7
chibi vampire, vol. 8

yuna kagesaki

graphic/manga/supernatural/romance/comedy

tokyopop

published 2006 - 2008

Karin is a cute little girl who also happens to be a vampire...with a twist.  Once a month, she experiences intense bleeding from her nose - we're talking gushers!  In other words, she's a vamp with blood to spare, so rather than stealing blood from humans, she actually gives her blood to them.  If done right, this can be an extremely positive experience that benefits the 'victim' as much as the vamp.  The problem is that Karin never seems to do things right!

These are super cute and fun to read.  Karin is a klutz and pretty much hilarious.  I love Anju's creepiness and her dolls are definitely up there in the scary factor.  I didn't expect the interesting side stories going on while Karin is still trying to figure out how to seal with Kenta so those are an added bonus.

I'm looking forward to delving into the rest of the series!

midwinterblood

midwinterblood
marcus sedgwick
ya/horror/supernatural
roaring brook press
published 2013

In 2073 on the remote & secretive island of Blessed, where rumor has it that no one ages and no children are born, a visitor arrives.  He is greeted warmly, but something is wrong.  Something is hidden on the far side of the island.  Something that, as if in a dream, he cannot reach.

And so it is that under the light of the waxing and waning moon, seven stories unfold: the story of an archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact; of an airman who finds himself far from home; of a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking.  And the story of a love so primal and passionate it slips the bonds of time. 

This is the story of Midwinterblood.

I found this book through my library's recommendation email that I get every couple of weeks.  It sounded so interesting and different so I went and picked it up.  It's a very short read.  I ended up reading it in just under and hour and a half, yet it took me forever to read it because I kept getting distracted by other stuff!

The book is set up in a series of short stories that start in the year 2073 and move backwards in time.  They are always on Blessed Island.  The stories are intriguing and captivating, but for many I just wanted more, which I suppose is what the author wanted!  It's one of those stories that when it's all over you find yourself piecing together moments you didn't put together while you were reading.  Everything is happening in a strange backwards foreshadowing kind of way.  Something is revealed, but there is no explanation for it and when the next story starts it takes place 50-100 years prior to the events you just read.

At times it feels confusing, incomplete, but what is happening is so interesting you have to keep reading.  Even at this point I wish there was more to it instead of just these glimpses into slices of time, but it was a good read nonetheless.

dead ever after

dead ever after
sookie stackhouse #13
charlaine harris
supernatural/horror/romance
ace hardcover
published 2013

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart....

Sookie Stackhouse  finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

The last Sookie Stackhouse book.  *sigh*

Let me tell you first off that this review will have spoilers because I can't talk about this without talking about it.  We do start off with a rant here, not necessarily about the book, but about the whiny naysayers out there.

After I finished the book I looked at some reviews on GoodReads and Shelfari and I was surprised to see so many one star reviews.  I mean, it wasn't the best book in the series, but shit got tied up and that's good enough for me.  Charlaine Harris isn't writing the Great American Novel.  She's written a tacky romance series with bad sex scenes and for some reason it's incredibly appealing.  So shut up already.  One of the most common complaints was that Sookie didn't end up with Eric and wasn't turned.  I'm sorry, but if you want to read a book where the 'heroine' ends up a vampire and married to a vampire go read Twilight.  This is a different story.

It's completely ridiculous the entitlement that readers have.  You did not write this series.  You did not create this world or give birth onto pages these characters.  Sure, you invested money into the books and fell in love with characters, but come on.  You don't get to say what happens to anyone and you shouldn't whine when it doesn't go the way you wanted it to.  I get being disappointed, truly I do, but seriously, get over it.  If you don't like it there's this thing called 'fan fiction' - go write some.  But I suppose like most, if you can't write, critique.

Oh, and to those people who said that the whole Sam thing was way out of left field?  You're idiots.  Plain and simple.  Since the first book I knew that someday Sookie would end up with Sam.  Good god people, Harris has been building that one up for YEARS.  If you didn't see that coming I don't know what to tell you.

And all that above is the reason why so many gave the book one star reviews.  Because they were being children who didn't get what they wanted.

That being said, the book was different.  We were taken out of Sookie's head for the first time ever as she touched upon different characters.  It was disconcerting and I truly didn't feel like I was reading a Sookie book until I was back with her.  It wasn't bad, it was just different.

There was too much going on.  I understand that she wanted to bring back as many characters as she could to tie up loose ends and to cement Sookie's life in place, but the whole devil/Copley thing was completely unnecessary.  Didn't need it, didn't add anything to the story as a whole and ended up being pretty anticlimactic.  And instead of having that business in there maybe she could've given more attention to the Eric/Sookie debacle.  I mean, it has been this huge thing that's driven the entire series so maybe spend a little more than a couple chapters on the demise of the relationship.  It was all so rushed.  We're introduced to a major new character (Karin) and then just kind of, 'well, see ya, bye.'

Everything did work out in the end and maybe that's what pissed people off?  But like I said, this stuff is fluff.  It was entertaining, but I don't need to sit and ponder about it.  It did what it should have done and entertained me for a couple of hours.

I can't say I'm sad it's over.  After probably the 5th book I was just kind of, 'meh'.  I was reading just because it was something to read.  But I'm glad there's an ending and I don't have to read about Bill anymore.

deadlocked

deadlocked
sookie stackhouse series #12
charlaine harris
supernatural/romance
ace
published 2012

With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard — especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

Every time I read a Sookie Stackhouse book I'm entertained a bit, but then I start thinking that I should stop reading these books.  They're really not all that great.

But then Harris just knocks me out of the water.  Took my breath away for a few seconds there.  Even after I knew what was happening I still couldn't breathe, afraid that if I did something would go terribly wrong.  In a story I had no control over.  I know, it doesn't make sense, but I wasn't thinking sense at the time!  So good.

Deadlocked was a little depressing.  My favorite people were a little absent.  We were much more involved in the fae & were-world than vamps despite all the stuff that was going on.  However, my favorite bit came from the vampires:  '"We came to wish you a happy day," Eric said.  "And I suppose, as usual, Bill will want to express his undying love that surpasses my love, as he'll tell you - and Pam will want to say something sarcastic and nearly painful, while reminding you that she loves you, too."'

Pam is the only one who is my favorite on both the tv show and in the books.  I really think she needs her own series.  And with events the way they were left here I worry about what will happen in the future.  I have until May to wait it out.

half-blood

half-blood
covenant series #1
jennifer armentrout
ya/fiction/supernatural
spencer hill press
published 2011

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi—pure-bloods—have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals—well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:

Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.

Unfortunately, she’s crushing hard on the pure-blooded Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Sooooooo.....I got to page 18 and almost put it down for good.  I found myself constantly rechecking the front cover.  Was I reading a Vampire Academy book without knowing it?  It was really hard to stomach the blatant rip off this book was.  I thought I couldn't possibly be the only one who thought that the similarities between Armentrout's fictional world and Richelle Mead's were one too many.  On Goodreads the reviews were about the same.  Some even claiming this couldn't be legal, but there were a couple that claimed while the book bore stunning similarities at some point Armentrout branches off into her own world and it was actually really good.

There were very few good reviews for the book from people I suspect read the Vampire Academy series, but the few there encouraged me to read on so I did.

If I had never read the Vampire Academy series I probably would have loved this book, but the fact remains that I did and so I struggled with Half-Blood.  Alex is Rose.  Plain and simple.  You could insert each into the other's book and there would be no difference.  Both half-bloods ran away from their respective academies (where they were training to become some sort of assassin) and lived in the mortal world until the guardians catch up to them and bring them back to the school.  There they are judged to be hopeless, too far behind in their training so they will be sent off until one guardian volunteers to train them personally on their own time.  That guardian is also the person that Alex/Rose is in lust for and completely forbidden.  Aidan is Dimitri.  Plain and simple.  Even the Daimons/Strigoi are strangely alike.  They were always solitary hunters until recently they began hunting in groups!

And at some point she does begin to branch off into her own story.  Alex is special, unlike the other half-bloods (although, Rose too was special being shadow-kissed and unnaturally bonded to Lissa - which now that I think about it is VERY much the same as Seth & Alex) and she has a great purpose.  But before all this really needs to be dealt with she must do something she never thought she would have to do.

Armentrout can write a good book, but a book that is so steeply based in someone else's world it's hard to judge.  Half-bloods, pures, Daimons, Strigoi, mastering the elements, Aidan, Dimitri, Alex, Rose, Caleb, Mason.....there were just too many.  I probably won't read the rest of the series, though I won't say I definitely won't, but reading the synopsis for the next book in the series I still find it too much like the plot from another Vampire Academy book and that's just disappointing.