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Unnatural (Archangel Academy #1)

3.37 of 5 stars 3.37 · rating details · 585 ratings · 117 reviews

In the town of Eden in northwestern England stands the exclusive boarding school known as Archangel Academy. Ancient and imposing, it’s a place filled with secrets. Just like its students…

For Michael Howard, being plucked from his Nebraska hometown and sent thousands of miles away is as close as he’s ever come to a miracle. In Weeping Water, he felt trapped, alone. At Arch...more

Kindle Edition, 513 pages

Published (first published February 22nd 2011)

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Dec 30, 2011 Stephen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: books-read-in-2011, gay-reads, recommend-me-something-like-this

What I was hoping for in this book was a teen romance with a gay main character. A sort of Twilight for the same sex set. What I got was a major disappointment.

While Twilight has been roundly criticised for the inexpert quality of its writing, this book is much much worse. Where Twilight had characters that were three dimensional and likeable if at times annoying, the characters here are cardboard cutouts for the most part. Where Twilight's writing sometimes stumbled, here it was just plain con...more What I was hoping for in this book was a teen romance with a gay main character. A sort of Twilight for the same sex set. What I got was a major disappointment.

While Twilight has been roundly criticised for the inexpert quality of its writing, this book is much much worse. Where Twilight had characters that were three dimensional and likeable if at times annoying, the characters here are cardboard cutouts for the most part. Where Twilight's writing sometimes stumbled, here it was just plain confusing.

Twilight was told in first person from the point of view of a shy but self certain girl who explained how she was feeling. This book is none of that.

Here, it's told in third person omniscent with so much head hopping as to be incredibly confusing. Simple conventions (such as starting new paragraphs when changing speakers) are ignored to no great benefit and to much confusion. The author is reputed to be an award winning playwrite but he's not mastered the novel form at all. While it's readily apparent who's saying what on stage, in a book it must be made clear and here it was NOT.

I'm a veteren of seeking out gay content in a non-gay-friendly world. I once found and watched an early Greg Araki movie that was a VHS recording of a bootleg VHS recording and was ready, willing, and able to put aside the low technical qualities for a good story with a good message.

Here I wanted to see the love story play out so badly that I was willing to put up with some really bad writing, but all I got here was the low artistic quality with very little payoff.

And what's worse.... I think that the author thought he was being artistic. He deliberatly added obscurity. Just one example... There is a scene where the two protagonists have finally spent the night together and wake up together. Their diolugue about "wanna share a shower" is deliberatly intercut with narrative about a girl waking up outside and feeling the dew on her face.

All I really wanted was a chocolate chip cookie of a M/M teen vampire romance. What I got was under-developed, under-baked with far too few chocolate chip moments. No sweet gooey goodness just lumps of flour a bit of sugar, badly mixed and maybe a carob or two.

Another reviewer mentioned that we are briefly introduced to two characters in the protagonist's home town that suggest that his horrendous hometown life didn't have to be so lonely. Then his mom dies -- he reacts wierdly and we're off to England with the two sympathetic characters not mentioned again. One asks..."Why even bring them up all?"

I wish that the author would... develop his characters more. Pay attention to writing conventions so that his prose is more readable. Work on his storytelling and leave the artistic bits to more experienced writers.

I've read over 100 books this year and this was unfortunately one of the worst. Particularly in that the premise held so much promise. Lest this review be all negative let me say... the cover was nice
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Mar 12, 2011 Katie(babs) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unnatural caught my eye because it’s a M/M YA Paranormal that reminds me of Twilight. I know, it seems every paranormal YA that has vampires is like Twilight (at least to me), but I just can’t stop the comparison. Unnatural is close to Twilight as you can get, but features two teen boys, one vampire, one human who are meant to be with each other for all eternity for no real reason. I think it has to do with their googly eyes they have for one another and the electric shock that flows through the...more Unnatural caught my eye because it’s a M/M YA Paranormal that reminds me of Twilight. I know, it seems every paranormal YA that has vampires is like Twilight (at least to me), but I just can’t stop the comparison. Unnatural is close to Twilight as you can get, but features two teen boys, one vampire, one human who are meant to be with each other for all eternity for no real reason. I think it has to do with their googly eyes they have for one another and the electric shock that flows through their bodies because of it. Unfortunately the writing, editing and the worst case of head jumping I’ve ever read makes Unnatural a major fail. Only a few skilled authors can excel at head jumping between two characters in a scene, but when you have up to five characters head jumping to the point you have no clue who’s speaking or who’s point of view it is, that’s a major lack of skilled writing on both the author and the editor’s part. And when it’s pointed out that the author is an award-winning author, as well as a playwright with six works under him, you assume you’ll be reading an incredibly, written tale. Well, I was fooled big time because Unnatural is anything but incredible or well written.

Michael Griffo does give it a good try because again, he’s taking a chance in writing a gay young adult paranormal story, which I believe is very much needed because the GLBT YA market is very untapped, especially in paranormal.

Michael Howard lives with his very cold and distant grandparents, and his mentally disturbed mother in Weeping Water, Nebraska. Michael is a quiet and studious boy, who longs to leave the small town that smothers him since he’s not accepted. Michael hides a dark secret, or so he thinks his homosexuality is, since his fellow students and his grandfather are homophobic. When his mother kills herself, his missing father comes to take him back with him to England where he’ll attend a prestigious all boys’ private school called Archangel Academy. Michael couldn’t be happier and goes off with his father.

When Michael arrives at the academy, he still feels like an outcast because he’s an American. But his roommate Ciaran is friendly enough, although he spends most of his time studying. As Michael investigates his surroundings, he meets Ciaran’s half-brother Ronan. There’s more than a spark between Michael and Ronan that slowly builds into something deep within their souls between them. Ciaran cautions Michael that Ronan is not what he seems, but Michael can’t stop thinking about Ronan. He not only wants to be his friend, but possibly have something more with the mature Ronan, who he feels is the one he’s been waiting his whole life for. Ronan also wants Michael, but knows if he has Michael the way he wants him, he’ll destroy his soul for Ronan’s a vampire.

Michael’s father has no idea about his son’s sexuality and introduces him to a colleague’s daughter, the beautiful and seductive Brania O’ Keefe, who rubs Michael the wrong way. Brania and Ronan have history together since she’s also a very old and powerful vampire who has sinister plans that could destroy the students at Archangel Academy. Her reasons for wanting this are not really explained, but she’s psychotic, so that’s a good enough reason. Ronan must stop Brania from accomplishing this and bring Michael over to his world so they can be mated or married in vampire terms.

I really had high hopes for Unnatural, but as soon as I reached the first 50 pages, I knew something was very off. The writing is so very lacking and unimaginative. The characters have no real personalities and the underlying sexual tension and attraction between Michael and Ronan almost worked, but soon vanished all because of the lack of depth and falling back on stereotypical tropes we see time and again in paranormal young adult books of this nature.

And I can’t believe this was allowed, but the large amount of head jumping back and forth between more than four characters in one scene is a big no-no for a writer. I was so unbelievably confused and couldn’t get a grip on what was going on. Also the villains in this story are ridiculously silly with their threatening dialogue and mannerisms.

I will give Michael credit for writing nice love scenes between Michael and Ronan, where he doesn’t shy away from the sexual acts between these two. No fade-to-black lovemaking here. But when both boys act on their passion, it was too late for me to carry on since I found myself bored and annoyed.

Unnatural is yet another lacking paranormal young adult that should have shined, but instead was dead on arrival mainly because of the uninspired writing and sloppy editing. A big pass.(less)

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Jul 25, 2012 Zach rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gay-themes, fantasy

So I didn’t actually finish the book. I had to force myself to even get as far as I did (about 40% according to my Kindle).

And it really was a shame because I loved the start of the book and the summery looked interesting but it most same down to two main problems.

The first and largest of the problems (and the one that really made me just give up) was the point of view. It was always changing, and not just with each chapter or something but during chapters, from one paragraph to the next I could...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Kynnetic rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: boarding-schools, fiction, fantasy, supernatural, vampires, social-science, social-issues, glbt, secrecy-secrets, school, gay-teenagers, young-adult, gay-studies, romance, horror, mystery, dysfunctional-family, paranormal, slash, mm-romance, m-m, ghosts-spirits, predestination

I have to say that whilst I can see the similarities to the Twilight series within this book, it's far from Stephanie Meyers - in a good way.

First; the main characters are more rounded out and certainly not dull in any sense of the meaning. They have their issues - emotional and intellectual - that a lot of teenagers can empathize with and relate to on most levels, especially when it comes down to disapproving of actions by family members but loving them regardless.
I definitely must applaud the...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Shelly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A few spoilers below so read at your own risk:

I had hopes for this book but it disappointed on so many levels. Unlike some, the constant POV switches did not bother me in the slightest. I had other issues. A number of the characters whine and moan, even if only to themselves. Teen angst can be great in a plot and make for interesting characters. In this book, there is so much of the whiny, self-pitying that it got tiresome and old pretty quickly.

What made this all the more tedious was the twist...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Saritza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-paranormal-gay, young-adult, gay-young-adult

This book was not what I expected after reading a few reviews and am glad I read it despite the "gay Twilight" labels I kept seeing for it. If Twilight had been even a small percentage of this book, it would have been greatly improved so if, like me, you're not a fan of Twilight, you may just enjoy this book.

I read this book on a recommendation from a client when I asked for a good gay YA series for my teen son to read and was not disappointed. I want him to read about strong male leads whose se...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Darth Sparhawk rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another story about vampires in school. This one surprises the reader with a main character, who is gay, which can be seen both as a sign that people in the world are becoming more open-minded or as a clever plot to seduce the slash fangirls to buy the novel - in which case there is nothing wrong, because it is solidly written and with enough plot twists to keep the reader entertained.
The story is about Michael, your not so average kid, who is raised in the rural Nebraska. He is gay and, as you...more

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Oct 26, 2011 Elisa Ramblings added it · review of another edition

Unlike most of the books I received to review, I actually asked a copy of this one; why? Well since I wanted to understand a little all this talking about Twilight and Co and I didn’t want to read THAT series. Young adult and het romance together were a little too much for me, so when I heard about a gay vampire teenager series, I thought, good, this I can read. I was not at all discouraged by the not-so-positive reviews I read around mostly because my idea was that who was writing them was not...more Unlike most of the books I received to review, I actually asked a copy of this one; why? Well since I wanted to understand a little all this talking about Twilight and Co and I didn’t want to read THAT series. Young adult and het romance together were a little too much for me, so when I heard about a gay vampire teenager series, I thought, good, this I can read. I was not at all discouraged by the not-so-positive reviews I read around mostly because my idea was that who was writing them was not a teenager and you have not to forget this is a book that not only it’s classified by the same publisher as “young adult”, it was even released in a special line, K-Teen, that is targeting a young adult reader. So when I read comment like, everything seems too “youngish”, my reaction is “geez, have you or not read the book details? This is a Young Adult book! You should give positive point to the author to have been able to meet the target!”. Also since Michael Griffo is the pen-name of an author of a previous Gay Romance targeting a more adult reader, and having read that romance, I can tell you that he can be very, very adult-like if he wants.

Going back in track and talking about the story, even if the book is almost 500 pages long, it took me only 2 nights reading it since it flowed like water. The vampire theme is good, and with a twist that makes it original among so many trite similar novels, but all in all it was not even so predominant: I had the feeling the plot centered more around the romance between Michael and Ronan than not on the paranormal nature of Ronan. The novel had very much the feeling of a high-school romance and the issues that Michael and Ronan initially faced were more that of two young boys being in love and not being sure of each other feelings. Even the “evil” plot that is endangering their relationship seems more the plotting of jealous high-school mates than that of real dangerous villains.

True, to some readers all above could sound like the novel doesn’t have “deepness”, but again, I would like to highlight the real target of this book, i.e. teenagers; the average teenager wants enough complexity to be engaged but not too much to be “bothered”, the pace has to be fast and light. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the quality has to be low since the target is Young Adult, I’m saying that the “tricks” to attract a Young Adult are different. Me from my side enjoyed quite a lot that the fire between Michael and Ronan ignited easily and without much obstacles, I don’t particular enjoy when the drama of first love is diluted for long. And another point I enjoyed was that that same love was also “sexy” and physical; even if they are both teenagers, these are young men and as such they have strong sexual impulses; again don’t get me wrong, this is far from being an erotic romance, but at the same time, the two boys will be able to enjoy themselves and their young age.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0758253389/?...(less)

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Oct 12, 2011 Joe Young rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A lonesome boy with unnatural sexual tendencies is isolated in mid Nebraska, berated by his grandfather and peers at school. A fourteen old who doesn't fit in and isn't aggressive enough to defend himself and didn't have anyone else in this farm town to defend him either. He was born in London and lived there for three years until his mother divorced his English father and moved back in with her parents in Nebraska. Michael spent his entire life feeling out of place and not being able to fit in...more

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Sep 16, 2011 Amy Lignor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here we go…again. Another young adult series that is based on the world of the vampire with a love triangle worked into the plot for all readers to enjoy. What is different about this one, you ask? This…is actually a good story which offers all different kinds of mysteries, characters, and plots that will keep the reader engaged throughout the story.

The author has dared to be different by writing about a young man named Michael who lives in the nowhere town of Weeping Water. This is the type of...more Here we go…again. Another young adult series that is based on the world of the vampire with a love triangle worked into the plot for all readers to enjoy. What is different about this one, you ask? This…is actually a good story which offers all different kinds of mysteries, characters, and plots that will keep the reader engaged throughout the story.

The author has dared to be different by writing about a young man named Michael who lives in the nowhere town of Weeping Water. This is the type of place where the only excitement available is to watch the leaves change and the cars rust, and the only thing for Michael to think about is how the heck he’s going to get out of here. He lives with his grandparents and his mother - who is a woman with extreme mental issues who regrets what she’s done in the past. Michael’s father lives in London, England, yet he was pulled away from him by dear old Mom and brought to live in a town where he doesn’t have a friend in the world. Michael has an even bigger issue than the fact that his own family treats him like a bit of an outcast; he actually has a true desire to be in love. Yet the desire he has and the images of his perfect soul mate are that of a male, and he has no idea how to make his family understand that he is, in fact, gay.

The people at his school pick on him constantly, and he is completely ostracized because of his passionate nature and the need to be who he truly is instead of going along with the crowd. Almost at the beginning of the story, Michael’s mother is placed in a hospital and ends her life, and Michael’s British father appears on the scene to take him back to London.

Once there, Michael goes straight to the Archangel Academy where, thankfully, he is bright enough to be one of the very best students, and the other boys attending accept him for the person he is, and not the person even his father wants him to be. His roommate, Ciaran, is a nice boy who quickly becomes Michael’s friend. But, unfortunately for Ciaran who wants nothing more than to have a friend of his own and not feel so alone all the time, Michael falls in love with Ciaran’s brother, Ronan.

Ronan is Mr. Popular. Handsome, strong, with a secret that only some know about, Ronan feels himself falling just as hard for Michael and has no idea how to tell him the information that he needs to know…information that could save his life.

As the author introduces some amazingly well-written characters including a young vampire by the name of Nakano, whose jealousy over losing Ronan is matched only by the powerful thirst that makes him take out students at the Academy. Not only that, but a girl by the name of Brania - who is an old acquaintance of Ronan’s - steps into the scene. Brania is a woman of extreme power who has her own agenda where the Academy and Michael is concerned, and will stop at nothing to succeed in destroying the world around her.

As the battle lines are drawn and the romance turns completely intense and truly moving, the plot thickens with each page and each new character that appears. Being the first book in this series, it is a wonderful introduction and set-up to the battle that’s about to be fought. Yes, the vampire “chaos” is certainly a part of this new set of novels - but the concept is something that will appeal to many on a whole different level; a truly beautiful story that contains honest-to-goodness heart and soul…as well as fangs. Enjoy(less)

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Jul 18, 2011 Antonio rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok...let me start by saying first book I encounter at a public bookstore with an M/M relationship and I must say-I was excited.

Many reviews here criticize Michael's work, by saying is a cheap imitation of Twilight, you guys might be right, but it was a well develop book.

Yea, it has cliche things here and there, but overall a good read. What book if you stop and think has no cliche stuff and flawless plots. BREAKING DAWN!!! HOW DID A VAMPIRE HAD THE ABILITY TO MAKE A BABY?? HINT HINT!! THEY ARE...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

I am a sucker for boarding school novels. Still have not figured out why, so it is what it is. Unnatural immedately grabbed my attention because this setting.. then when I found out there was a possibility for a M/M YA romance, I just knew that I had to give it a try.

First off, I have to give Michael Griffo some credit. He is working with a creature that has been used to death. At this stage in my reading career, if I never have to put up another vampire book, I would probably be estatic. (Vampi...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Sherrie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review-books-assigned

I had high hopes for this book when I was assigned to review it for a librarian's magazine, considering that it blends two of my favorite genres- vampire books and young adult GLBT fiction. Sadly, it did not live up to expectations. A plot summary- Michael feels lost in his small Nebraska hometown, where he is the only gay teen around. Following his mother's suicide, his long absent father appears and offers to pay for Michael to go to an elite British boarding school called Archangel Academy. T...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Robyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gbltq, read-in-2011, vampires, ya-romance

When I first bought this book I really only skimmed the back, I didn't even notice that it hinted at a gay romance. Not that that would have stopped me from buying it or anything, but it might have stopped me from thinking, this better not be another Twilight like novel. Luckily, it wasn't. Not really anyways. Yes, you've got vampires. And yes, there's a bit of a love triangle... or square. Let's see. You've got the main character, Michael, who's sweet, innocent, and lost. Then you've got the lo...more When I first bought this book I really only skimmed the back, I didn't even notice that it hinted at a gay romance. Not that that would have stopped me from buying it or anything, but it might have stopped me from thinking, this better not be another Twilight like novel. Luckily, it wasn't. Not really anyways. Yes, you've got vampires. And yes, there's a bit of a love triangle... or square. Let's see. You've got the main character, Michael, who's sweet, innocent, and lost. Then you've got the love interest, Ronan, who's dark and mysterious, but who's honest and has a sweet side. Then in comes Nakano, Ronan's ex. Nakano is the antagonist, or one of them. I found him rather annoying and whiny. Nakano sees that Ronan's moving on and doesn't like this. He tries to get him back, but fails. Ronan makes it pretty clear that he likes Michael, so that's pretty much the end of that.

Then you've got Brania, who's name I'm still trying to figure out how to pronounce properly. (Bran-i-a? Bra-ni-a?) Michael's father has decided that he should marry her. (Yes, gay boy in the closet, how original). Brania starts chasing after Micheal, but soon realizes that he's not interested, and backs off pretty easily. Too easily. She's got some kind of secret going on, which sort of reveals it's self later on, but is still kind of confusing.

So, have you got all of this down? Because now it gets confusing. Ciaran and Ronan are half-brothers. Ronan is a hybrid-vampire. Ciaran is not. Ronan lives with their mother. Ciaran does not. Why? Well their mother has got some kind of issue with Ciaran, which, again, is sort of explained. Now add all of these half-explanations with the fact that the book goes back in forth with POVs and it all gets a little hard to follow. You can go from one paragraph with Micheal's thoughts, to the next with Ronan's thoughts, then back to Micheal. Then a few seconds later, you're reading about Brania, without much warning other than a new paragraph. Normally, multiple POVs don't bother me, but when you've got a POV for almost every character in the novel it gets annoying and a bit annoying.

I think Griffo really tried to write a good novel, with a good plot, and I give him points for trying. I really do. I just think he tried too hard to make too many things happen at once. Every character was having some mini (or major) drama, and a lot of it was happening all at once. (See, too many POVs). There were things happening and people dying that just didn't make sense to me. It seemed pointless.

I felt that the characters were well developed, and the romance between Micheal and Ronan was cute. But I'm really having problems getting past the writing style and the crazy plot. Don't get me wrong, I'll be reading the next book, I'm just not so sure I'll be buying it.

I've given Unnatural 2.5 stars, mostly for the fact that I liked the characters, and for the fact that a ya paranormal romance featuring a gay protagonist is a rare find. Again, points for trying, but it just didn't work. (less)

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Nov 24, 2012 Quoc rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, romance, paranormal, glbt

Unnatural is a love story with blood-sucking vampires at Archangel Academy.

1st impression: A story about angels was really not on the agenda as stated in the synopsis “Ronan is a vampire-part of a hybrid clan who are outcasts even among other vampires.” The book cover itself, is mysterious, alluring and is sure to be filled with much expense. Once I had read the novel, the position of each of the models on the front cover actually do represent the characters in the story. From left to right; R...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Kate Langtry rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I´ll make this short, because I usually don´t write negative reviews but sometimes I feel the need to express why I didn´t like a book. I really wanted to like this one, I really did. Well, I think it´s an okay read, but some things really bothered me and that´s why I only gave it two stars.

I´ll begin with what I liked: I really liked the writing style. Well, most of it. The descriptions of England were beautiful and it were these that kept me reading and reading. I also liked the new twist to...more I´ll make this short, because I usually don´t write negative reviews but sometimes I feel the need to express why I didn´t like a book. I really wanted to like this one, I really did. Well, I think it´s an okay read, but some things really bothered me and that´s why I only gave it two stars.

I´ll begin with what I liked: I really liked the writing style. Well, most of it. The descriptions of England were beautiful and it were these that kept me reading and reading. I also liked the new twist to the vampire genre. I won´t write too much about this because I don´t want to spoil anything, but this new kind of vampire was really interesting and a great idea. But why, oh why, did the author have to change the POV every three sentences? I don´t care what Imogene, Penry, Edwidge and all the people think. Stick with your main characters! Longer than for three sentences!

What I didn´t like was that most of the characters seemed to be quite shallow. First of, everyone is absolutely beautiful. Michael is, Ronan is, Brania is, Ronan´s mother is... I got it, they´re all stunning. And the relationships seem to be based on nothing else. All I ever got for an explanation why Ronan loved Michael was that he was so beautiful. That´s not enough for me and it soon started to be really annoying. It felt to me like they didn´t even have a personality. Make up some pretty teenagers, make them quote Wilde and, voila, depth? No... There were so many out of character moments here. I didn´t even count them.

I also didn´t like the stereotyping right in the beginning. Nobody at his old school liked Michael? Really? I know, it´s a rural town somewhere in Nebraska and Michael is the "strange kid", but I just can´t believe this. There´s always someone you can make friends with. It felt to me like Michael didn´t even want friends. He drowned in his misery and didn´t even try. And I can´t stand this attitude. What about this Tomas kid, who watched him in the shower? Did he walk up to him and ask him if he wanted to be friends? No. He was all like: "I´m only imagining he likes me. No one here likes me." Argh! Damn, if you can´t open up to people it´s no wonder you don´t have friends!

What also bugged me big time was that so many innocent characters died. A lot of those who died never really did anything bad or were even really important for the plot. It was sad, sure, but it seemed unnecessary. For me, it also didn´t add to the suspense. This book has nearly 500 pages but the only time I found the book suspenseful was about a hundred pages before it ended. Sadly, most of the book was pointless drivel and try-too-hard-to-be-cute-dialouge. I felt quite embarrassed for her, when Imogene started calling Penry her "little PP". I mean, WTF? A lot of the dialouge was awkward and not at all funny or romantic.

Romance. Here I go again. As I stated before, it was all about looks. If the author had started out with Ronan being attracted to Michael´s looks, okay. It actually worked for the first couple of pages. But then it just went downhill. I wanted to scream: "You don´t even know this guy!", whenever Michael said he loved Ronan. Ergh. The author failed to give depth to this relationship, really. He´s always telling the reader that these two are destined to be together but it feels like your avarage teenage romance to me. Just a crush that might pass in a few weeks.

Well, just my two pence. It was still an okay read but I won´t be reading the second book. If you´re just looking for LGBT Fantasy lit and are okay with bad dialouge, shallow characters and lacking suspense, this book is for you.

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Sep 21, 2011 Erica Chilson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paper, young-adult, digital, nook, 4-star, school-is-cool

I am well read when it comes to the Young Adult Paranormal Romance genre. I enjoyed having a Male main character, that is unusual to this genre. I like how the author switched between the characters in the book giving us a glimpse into their minds. Also Unnatural is a Male/Male romance which also is not the norm. The Author manages to convey tolerance and acceptance without coming off as "preachy". Overall the book held my interests for hours at a time. However two things bothered me about the b...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Sean Kennedy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I tried to approach this book from the perspective of how I would have felt, as a teenage boy, if I had discovered this at the right age. Would I have thrilled at the prospect of having the gay boy version of Twilight? Maybe on some level, but back then I would have expected a little more than what was offered here.

For as good as it is to have a paranormal gay teen romance, it relies so heavily on purple prose and terms of endearment (halfway through I was starting to wonder if the characters we...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Taylor Harrison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My initial reaction was, great, another crappy vampire romance tale. What made me think again? The homosexual aspect. I have encountered very few novels that incorporate this aspect, and I had to check it out, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Although there were occasions of cliche moments between Michael and Ronan, it was still sweet and stirred a tingling in my chest. The characters are very interesting, and have unique personalities. Griffo is not afraid to put his characters throug...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Byron rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m-read, paranormal, romance, ya-recommended

This book is going to be in my top 5 for this year!!!

The book starts off quiet poetic really. Then as we get to know the main character the story starts to unfold. It just flows through out the whole book. There was no parts that jumped from scene to scene leaving me feeling like I missed something.

All the major players are introduced fully and built into real people who I could relate to in someway or another. The protagonist's are all built so well.

The story is blindingly well written with j...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Yvonne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, library-book

This book kept me interested throughout its 500 or so pages. It features a young man, Michael, who lives in a small town & feels isolated and alone there. He's got a mother who seems indifferent & grandparents who are openly hostile at times. He's also coping with the fact that he believes he may be gay.

The first 100 or so pages deals with your typical in an atypical situation teenage angst. Due to a tragic situation, MIchael's father sweeps into town and announces that he will now be t...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Josh rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, ya-lit

I don't even know where to begin here. Oh, wait. Yes I do.

This. Is. SHITE.

I started reading the book for free at Barnes and Noble on the nook and was intrigued by the writing in the beginning. It was smart, it was fresh and it wasn't shallow. But, like the Titanic, some of the most impressive creations can make a slow descent into hellish misery. Unfortunately, I had to experience that misery at the cost of $8.

Within 50 pages things start to go south. It began with bits of odd dialog or an awkwa...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Bernicia Guercio rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unnatural is a young adult paranormal romance novel written by Michael Griffo. One of the things that struck me about this book, it wasn't the tradition love story between a man and a women this book a gay romance. Characters in Unnatural seem like real people (just with supernatural abilities), the characters were well thought out. The main character Michael Howard is a person who people can relate to, Michael struggles with himself being gay many people go through this. Also Michael lost his m...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Stephen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

I have to give Michael Griffo points for trying (though not hard enough) in attempting to put a new spin on a worn-out premise. Unfortunately, he fails miserably as all Unnatural manages to do is "out-stupid" Twilight in every way imaginable (not an easy task).

I might have been able to forgive the main character being a professional victim, someone completely incapable of standing up for himself, or accepting responsibility for his own life and true happiness.

Perhaps I could have overlooked the...more

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Apr 08, 2012 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-paranormal

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book can be described in two words: Water Vamps. What the H?

When i first started reading this book it started off in a good direction. I liked the writting style and could see the opening scene in the car with Michael, his grandfather and RJ. It was really well done but then it didd a complete 18O. The dialogue was like an ABC Family after school special complete with teen coming to grips with the fact that he is gay. Which could have been a good story arc if the words werent so corny.

Mich...more This book can be described in two words: Water Vamps. What the H?

When i first started reading this book it started off in a good direction. I liked the writting style and could see the opening scene in the car with Michael, his grandfather and RJ. It was really well done but then it didd a complete 18O. The dialogue was like an ABC Family after school special complete with teen coming to grips with the fact that he is gay. Which could have been a good story arc if the words werent so corny.

Michael moves to England with his estranged father after his mother committed suicide, why she did it i dont exactly know, i personally cant remember a reason being brought up besides she had a rough patch of depression. He starts at a new school, an all boys exclusive school where on his fforst day he runs into Ronan, in the rain of course, and becomes completly infatuated with him. But hold on theres more. Michaels room mate happens to be none other than Ronans half brother, who sort of sets them up to meet.
Now Michaels infatuation is completly mirrored by Ronans. It ends up that the two of them are destined to be together. Now the only problem with that is that Ronan is a hybrid vampire and the only way tehy can fully be together is for him to change Michael, but theres more to the transition than that. Michael has to drink from the sacred "well" in order to be a hybrid like Ronan. Hold on it gets better. The back story to Ronans kind is that a vampire,in the traditional sense, fell in love with a woman from Atlantis, It was forbidden of course but he changed her out of Love and that was the begining of their kind. They are a dying kind because one can only transform another out of love. True Love.
But the regular vampires are trying to stop the breed all together and keep them from turning loved ones. So Ronan trying to turm michael is not going over very well.
Theres deaths at the academy and changes into vampires and oh yeah there are contact lenses that the vamps where designed by non other thatn michaels dad that helps them cover their eyes and reflect light. But vampires can also walk during the day as long as they are Archangel ground. What does it all mean? I have no clue.
But in the end Ronan changed michael and after a few chapters of anger and resetment he decided that his life with ronan was worth the trouble and death in a way and completed the transformation at the well.
Ronans brother an dMichaels roommate was not so happy. After years of wanting to be part of the family but their mother never agreeing to it, becasue of something that was never mentioned that happened in the past,begged their enemy Nokano to change hima after his brother once again refused. He was not changed but decided to take things into his own hands by performing experiments on blood samples onhis own.
Once again i ask, what does it all mean?
So the book ends. It ends with Ronan and Michael happy, but since there is another book i assume happiness doesnt last long, and Cairan, ther brother being offered a job by the enemy.
while im not gonna rush out to get the second part of this any time soon, i do have to say the absurdity of this book made me want to see how it all ends and i will eventually try the next.(less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Brooke rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok, where do I start? Loved that this was a paranormal romance with gay LEAD characters. I have yet to see many others (but hello, Alec from Mortal Instruments. Love u!) sadly, I could have done without the whole paranormal thing. Water vamps? Atlantis? Corny. The first 120 or so pages were so intriguing and emotional, I was actually disappointed when the vampires appeared.
Too many unanswered questions: why is Ronan's mom such a whiny bitch? Why take it out on her other son?! Why is HE such a wh...more

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Mar 24, 2011 Patty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unnatural
By
Michael Griffo

This book is not just about vampires but some hybrid ones who have to drink from a magic pool to become a hybrid once they are bitten by a regular ordinary run of the mill vampire. Whew…add Michael…who is not quite sure of his sexuality and lives in some remote town in Nebraska somewhere with his mom and his grandparents and of course has daily issues with a school bully and the fact that he has no friends, is different and unsure of his sexuality.

Long story short…Mic...more

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May 04, 2013 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I will be honest. I loved this story. I didn't even realize it was a gay fiction until I saw it under "homosexuality" on a book store website. Sad, I know. I have a habit of being oblivious to that stuff when I enjoy a book.
I though the book was amazing. The characters intrigued me as did the whole 'hybrid vampire/I have fins and am a vanpire' thing. It was different in my opinion. Normally when I read vampire novels it is all about 'I'n big and bad. Don't come near me. I will kill you and suck...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Chapter by Chapter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So tons of people are comparing Unnatural to Twilight for reasons I don’t understand. Sure, I noticed a few similarities here and there, but you can find most of them in any YA Vampire romance. Just saying. I personally enjoyed the novel, when I first got the novel over the summer; I had really only picked it because of the pretty cover and because the plot sounded interesting. What I hadn’t expected was the gay romance part of the novel, it was very new to me and didn’t feel overdone and for th...more So tons of people are comparing Unnatural to Twilight for reasons I don’t understand. Sure, I noticed a few similarities here and there, but you can find most of them in any YA Vampire romance. Just saying. I personally enjoyed the novel, when I first got the novel over the summer; I had really only picked it because of the pretty cover and because the plot sounded interesting. What I hadn’t expected was the gay romance part of the novel, it was very new to me and didn’t feel overdone and for that I applaud author Michael Griffo (yay!).

Basically, for those of you who don’t know, Unnatural is about a teenage boy who discovers that he is homosexual and finds himself at a boarding school in England where he finds the love of his life who (surprise!!) just so happens to be a vampire hybrid. The novel actually did seem pretty unique, especially the vampire hybrid part of the novel which is something that I have never seen/read before. As well as all of the vampires seeming to want the main character Michael on their side for reasons that we don’t figure out until we are nearing the end.

However, I did have a few issues with the novel. The major one being the way the novel was written in the third person. Believe me I have no problems with writing in the third person; I actually enjoy it. The real problem with Unnatural was that during the third person, it was constantly switching point of views and that just got confusing! One minute I was listening to Michael and suddenly I’m thrust into Ronan’s POV and then into some other character and back to Michael.

Other than that the novel was actually very enjoyable, with a lot of romance between all of the characters and the supernatural portion of the novel as well as plenty of deaths I found it to be an entertaining mixture and I cannot wait to read the sequel and final novel. I would recommend this to anybody who has been wanting to read a new YA Vampire series or simply wanting to read a refreshing supernatural story. (less)

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Jul 15, 2011 Gavin Mitchell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Day One: 7/9/11

I went on an epic quest to the bookstore to find the last copy in stock today. I bought it, and when I got home I started reading it. A few Hours later and 6 chapters into it I have fallen in love!
I can relate to this book majorly, and the romantic first meet was AWESOME!

(Updating as I read the book)

7/15/2011
Ok, screw updating every day! I finished the book 2 days ago and all I can say is wow... and WHEN IS THE NEXT BOOK COMING OUT!!!! *Looks at his calendar* Oh would you look at...more

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YA LGBT Books: November Book of the Month - Unnatural by Michael Griffo	47	37	Nov 22, 2011 09:49am

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About Michael Griffo

Michael Griffo was born, raised, and has since relocated to New Jersey. He is an award-winning playwright and all of his plays have been produced throughout the country and in London. Two of his plays -- CLOUDY and 5G/10B -- have been published in Smith & Kraus's Best 10 Minute Plays for 2 Actors: 2005 and CLOUDY is licensed by Playscripts, Inc.

His first novel, BETWEEN BOYFRIENDS, was written...more

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Quotes from Unnatural

“They're just words, he told himself, they don't matter. But he knew that wasn't completely true. The words themselves were only part of the problem; the worst part was what the words conveyed. They told everyone that Michael was someone who should be singled out because he was...sick and repulsive. He had heard those words all his life, but each time was like the first, a jagged knife cutting through innocence. He simply didn't know how much longer he could take it.” — 4 people liked it

“He rubbed at the dirt furiously, making the circle disappear, and begged God to do the same thing to him. Just open up the ground and swallow him whole. Because if he couldn't go on living in His image, then he didn't want to go on living at all. But the ground didn't open and he wasn't swallowed up by the dirt, maybe because even unnatural things were created in God's image.” — 3 people liked it

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