Lions and Tigers and Vampires, Oh My!

Expected Publication:  January 8th, 2013

Blud and Magick

By: Preston Norton

Cedar Fort, Inc.

ISBN-13: 9781462110889

Born from the ashes of the most fierce and powerful entity in all of Trivaesia, Darla was sent to grow up in the outside world with no knowledge of where she came from. When she finds herself wielding new power, she must decide which part of her will rule her heart—the evil from which she was born or the good by which she was raised.

Review

     Darla Summers is just the name of the most evil warlord ever in Trivaesian history spelled backwards - but she doesn't know that yet.  She just thinks that something mysterious happened in her past and that's why she lives with her Uncle Edmund.  But really Darla was born from the ashes of the most evil warlord in the history of a magical land that she is about to be thrown into headfirst, when his followers come searching for her as a way to resurrect him!  Now with the help of her reluctant misfit friends, Ash and Cirrus (one's a wizard, the other's a half-vampire) and her Uncle Ed, Darla must prove to herself and the world at large that she is her own person.  She may have sprung from the ashes, but Darla is NOT the reincarnation of evil!  She's just a teenage girl who wants to be happy.  But when she is captured can she be saved from a fate worse than death?  This was an interesting novel, one of the more intelligent creations of an original mythology that I've read recently.  First of all, it has names that I can remember and pronounce out loud!  A lot of high fantasy authors make it their mission for you to keep a notebook for their characters and plots, just so you can keep it all straight.  Not Preston Norton, who has an intricate mythology, but still considers the reader's peace of mind.  I really enjoyed Darla, although she was verging on a little too self-pitying and weak for a tolerable heroine.  But she made the cut off point.  I loved the dynamic between Ash and Cirrus, the unrelated brothers, who are both misfits in their own ways but are always there for each other.  The whole situation with the Sages and the god Alpha was very intriguing and made for a good mystery.  All in all, with the way it ended I will definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out (at least I'm pretty sure there will be one!).  I'd recommend it to those who'd like a different take on the supernatural world than the usual tripe.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

**I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is January 8th, 2013.*

Fan Girl With Fangs

Published:  September 11th, 2012

Fang Girl

By: Helen Keeble

HarperTeen

ISBN-13:  9780062082251

Things That Are Destroying Jane Greene’s Undead Social Life Before It Can Even Begin:

1) A twelve-year-old brother who’s convinced she’s a zombie.
2) Parents who are begging her to turn them into vampires.
3) The pet goldfish she accidentally turns instead.
4) Weird superpowers that let her rip the heads off of every other vampire she meets.(Sounds cool, but it doesn’t win you many friends.)
5) A pyschotic vampire creator who’s using her to carry out a plan for world domination.

And finally:
6) A seriously ripped vampire hunter who either wants to stake her or make out with her. Not sure which.

Being an undead, eternally pasty fifteen-year-old isn’t quite the sexy, brooding, angst-fest Jane always imagined....

Review

     Fifteen year old Xanthe Jane Greene may have been obsessed with all things vampire - that didn't mean she wanted to be one!  So imagine her surprise when she wakes up inside her coffin, with her very own set of fangs.  Of course it's nothing like the movies or books she's read.  Now Jane is dealing with her kind of creepy sire, Lily, some vampire hunters that are on her trail, and the fact that she's stronger than the average vampire.  Oh yeah, her parents and her steampunk obsessed little brother Zack are also begging her to change them over to be with her!   Unsure who to trust, Jane is only sure of one thing - being a fifteen year old vampire SUCKS.  Jane is just an average girl, and I liked that about her.  I was glad that she was intelligent and realized very quickly that the cons of being a vampire outweighed whatever pros there were.  Her parents and little brother Zack were absolutely hilarious!  I liked the confusion over who was the true villain, her sire Lily or super-ancient, child vampire Haakon and his minion, Ebon.  The twist on the vampire mythology we know and love was also humorous.  Vampires that are basically obsessive compulsive and can't leave things out of order?  Hilarious!  I especially loved when Jane goes after the hunters and they drop paperclips behind them so she'll have to stop and pick them up!  Other favorites was the vampire goldfish named Brains and the whole situation with Sarah, the transplant patient who had Jane's heart.  Overall, a fun book to read even for those completely sick of anything to do with vampires.  It was such a well-thought out parody that I couldn't help but like it, even with my propensity to avoid books with main characters from the U.K.  I usually can't handle Britishisms, which read like another language, but here the novel surpassed that personal quirk! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**