...But maybe maybe that's a Teya-rrible idea.
By J. A. London
I had high hopes for this one, - I mean just look at that cover - unfortunately, I was very wrong. (I feel like there is a lesson here)
So here’s the story: It’s after the Vampire/Human war, and there is some semblance of peace; the humans supply the vampires with blood bags and in return, the vampires don’t attack and slaughter them all. Enter our main character, Dawn (notice the clever pun in the title, boys and girls?) her parents were the human ambassadors to the vampire lord Valentine, and when they died the responsibility fell to Dawn. Why you would entrust a 17 year old with the responsibility of keeping vampires from massacring all of humanity -or at least North America- I have no idea. Anyway, tensions rise between the humans and the vampires, but also between Dawn and her boyfriend, as she (predictably) falls for a dark and mysterious stranger.
Can you tell how I feel about this yet?
I really wanted to like this, but the best adjective I can think of to describe it is ‘average’. It could have been a decent book, but for me there were three main issues: (yay lists!)
1) It was oddly paced. The build up to the main action was quite long and drawn out with a lot of back-story, while the actual climax was ridiculously short. To be honest, the final battle/confrontation was a letdown; my first reaction was ‘oh, is that it?’ There was so much tension and anticipation piled up to a final showdown that seemed to barely take up one chapter.
2) The love triangle. Ugh, I’m not a huge fan of the classic love triangle (childhood friend vs dark, mysterious, brooding, new love interest) because I find it’s really overdone and clichéd. In this, the love triangle is predictable, and because it is so obvious it loses its value as a plot device.
3) This one is saved for last because it’s the one that is the biggest issue for me; you could take Dawn out of the story completely and it wouldn’t make that much of a difference. Had this book been purely romance it would have been fine, but it doesn’t work because of the political plot line which is a major component of the story. Despite being the official human delegate to the vampire overlord she really doesn’t negotiate anything or make a difference. Her one moment of breaking diplomatic protocol to stand up to this vampire is incredibly short lived and then everything goes back to the way it was. In the final showdown she stands on the sides and watches as someone else does all the fighting. Without her, almost everything except the romance would have happened the same way.
One thing that I did like however, was the world-building. J.A London is actually a pseudonym, and the book is written by Rachel Hawthorne, who has written many teen novels and her son Alex London, who has a degree in Historical Studies. Now I’m assuming that the detail in the historical back-story and the mythology around the vampires is at least in part because of the historical background, but either way, I thought it was really well done.
I would like to point out one last thing though; a lot of people love this book. It really didn’t do it for me, but I think it’s the kind of book where you either love it or you hate it. It has a lot of really good reviews and a lot of really bad reviews. I’m not saying this to discount my or anyone else’s opinion on this book, but I think it should be noted that it is a *type* of book. You may like it you may not, but at least you know which boat I’m in.
3) This one is saved for last because it’s the one that is the biggest issue for me; you could take Dawn out of the story completely and it wouldn’t make that much of a difference. Had this book been purely romance it would have been fine, but it doesn’t work because of the political plot line which is a major component of the story. Despite being the official human delegate to the vampire overlord she really doesn’t negotiate anything or make a difference. Her one moment of breaking diplomatic protocol to stand up to this vampire is incredibly short lived and then everything goes back to the way it was. In the final showdown she stands on the sides and watches as someone else does all the fighting. Without her, almost everything except the romance would have happened the same way.
One thing that I did like however, was the world-building. J.A London is actually a pseudonym, and the book is written by Rachel Hawthorne, who has written many teen novels and her son Alex London, who has a degree in Historical Studies. Now I’m assuming that the detail in the historical back-story and the mythology around the vampires is at least in part because of the historical background, but either way, I thought it was really well done.
I would like to point out one last thing though; a lot of people love this book. It really didn’t do it for me, but I think it’s the kind of book where you either love it or you hate it. It has a lot of really good reviews and a lot of really bad reviews. I’m not saying this to discount my or anyone else’s opinion on this book, but I think it should be noted that it is a *type* of book. You may like it you may not, but at least you know which boat I’m in.
Feisty Chick-O-Meter: 3/10
Age rating: 15+
Rating: 3/10
Book or audiobook: Book
Stand alone or series: Series
Length: 342 pages
Obsession level: Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhh
*****
(I'm leaving the covers of books 2 & 3 here because i think they're pretty)
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