The Year of Disappearances (Ethical Vampire, #2)

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The Year of Disappearances (Ethical Vampire #2)

by Susan Hubbard (Goodreads Author)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 850 ratings · 111 reviews

It was the year of disappearances. The honeybees were the first to go.

Ariella Montero is no stranger to the dark side of life. Half human, half vampire, she spent her first thirteen years in exile from both societies. When her best friend was murdered, Ari ran away to begin a new life in Florida. But, one by one, the people and things she cares most about keep disappearing...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published May 6th 2008 by Simon & Schuster

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Apr 02, 2013 Victoria rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-in-a-series, fantasy-science-fiction, vampires

Well, parts of this book were interesting, but it isn't an improvement over the first book in the series, The Society of S. What is with the rash of vampire novels that carry the writers' own belief systems thinly veiled in the plot? First Twilight and now this... It feels more like reading "fun" propaganda than an actual novel. Is the intended audience (young adults) supposed to be so overwhelmed by the "coolness" of vampires that readers are supposed to blindly swallow all of the other message...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I initially had mixed feelings about The Year of Disappearances after finishing the story until I discovered that this is a sequel novel to The Society of S. Having never read the original, I was still able to follow the "meandering" plot through to its conclusion without an understanding of preexisting events, but my curiosity about Ari's unusual family dynamics was never fully satisfied. The ending was somewhat of a disappointment with key issues resolved in an Epilogue rather than by narrativ...more I initially had mixed feelings about The Year of Disappearances after finishing the story until I discovered that this is a sequel novel to The Society of S. Having never read the original, I was still able to follow the "meandering" plot through to its conclusion without an understanding of preexisting events, but my curiosity about Ari's unusual family dynamics was never fully satisfied. The ending was somewhat of a disappointment with key issues resolved in an Epilogue rather than by narrative, which made for a slapdash conclusion to what was otherwise a uniquely engaging story.

Ari's perspective is that of a highly intelligent teenager whose primary education was taught by her father Raphael, presumably a brilliant scientist. Often, her voice sounds more like an adult than a young teen, and her viewpoints are much more mature, if a bit naïve due to a lack of socialization with popular culture.

The troublesome logic of the premise that a secret society of vampires lives in plain sight and interacts with humans breaks down upon closer examination: vampires cast no shadow and don't sweat; they are highly evolved beings who can read minds, hypnotize people, possess accelerated healing capabilities, and the ability to make themselves invisible. However, within the context of the Young Adult novel, the unlikely existence of the vampire society is a credible suspension of disbelief and well-written with likeable characters that draw the reader into Ari's mysterious world.

The novel begins with a Prologue detailing a dream sequence about a fire that nearly killed Ari and her father that I later realized was a memory from an event that occurred in the first novel. Having no experience with the first story, I assumed the dream had some significance to the plot, but read as a whole, the Prologue serves no purpose other than to reacquaint readers with the original story.

Arianna Montero is a 14-year-old vampire living in Homosassa Springs, Florida, with her mother (aka Mãe, the Jamaican word for "mother" which Ari calls her) and her mother's friend Dashay, a lively Jamaican woman with a talent for removing "sasas" or demons from people's souls. Her father Raphael is absent for most of the story, apparently on a research trip in Ireland, and communicates sporadically through letters to his wife and daughter until a troubling letter from Ari brings him home near the last quarter of the story.

The phenomenon of honeybees disappearing around the world due to human interference with nature is a paradigm for the plot with its subtext of vampire-human relations. When Ari's friend Mysti turns up missing, her mother decides Ari should enroll in college to escape police scrutiny. Quickly cleared of suspicion, Ari begins dating and meeting new friends at college, learning more about the difference between human and vampire culture through her experiences. When her friend Autumn visits her on campus and winds up murdered, Ari is once again the victim of unwelcome public spotlight. While no serious threat of exposure to the vampire society is ever suggested, Ari feels alienated by fellow classmates as her American Politics class prepared for a field trip in Savannah, GA. On the trip she meets Nicholas Cameron, a senator and key-note speaker for a fringe political party at a convention her class is attending. There is some indication of a future romance between Ari and this thirtysomething senator, which is somewhat creepy considering Ari is 14 years old! Mainly, this is where the plot finally begins to sew up as Ari runs into her father's nemesis who "confesses" the dastardly world-domination plot dreamt up by a sect of vampires responsible for the missing and murdered teens.

The ending felt rushed, and did not predispose me to read the next novel in this series, though I found Ari's voice engaging and enjoyed the unique take on vampire "logic" in this world. The "Disneyland" innocence of this novel may be less appealing to older readers after Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" sensation, which shares similar themes.
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Nov 07, 2010 Gladys Gonzales Atwell added it

"This book is sincerely in a league of it's own. It's not a love story, it's not violent and it's not a gore filled blood and bite kind of book! It's the coming of age book for a half mortal half vampire trying to find a place in modern society. VAMPIRES are still secret. There are in fact three different sects of vampires. Where does ARI fit in these societies? Where does she fit in this world?? She is still trying to find out...

She is a freak to mortals... AND a freak to VAMPIRES. She was born...more

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Jun 26, 2010 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Life seems to be getting back to normal for Ariella Montero—or at least as normal as it can be for a fourteen-year-old half human, half vampire. But trouble has a way of following Ari wherever she goes. Living at home with her mother Mãe, Ari relaxes into a routine of helping rebuild their home, going into town, and occasionally hanging out with her new friends. Everything is fine until one of her friends disappears. Suspicion points at Ari, whose friend Kathleen had been murdered. To escape thi...more

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Mar 05, 2010 Mishel Zabala rated it 3 of 5 stars

First off let me say that this isn't your average vampire story. Come to think of it, I actually forgot that I was reading a story containing vampires most of the time. But don't that discourage you. This was an entertaining and thrilling read. Vampires are intermingled in human society, hidden in plain sight both in daylight (with gobs of sunblock) and by night. And most can live entirely off human blood by drinking and taking supplements.

Ariella 'Ari' Montero is a fourteen-year-old half-breed...more First off let me say that this isn't your average vampire story. Come to think of it, I actually forgot that I was reading a story containing vampires most of the time. But don't that discourage you. This was an entertaining and thrilling read. Vampires are intermingled in human society, hidden in plain sight both in daylight (with gobs of sunblock) and by night. And most can live entirely off human blood by drinking and taking supplements.

Ariella 'Ari' Montero is a fourteen-year-old half-breed vampire that is wonderfully complex and interesting to read about. Growing up with her scientist father and absorbing so much knowledge from his teachings has truly made Ari a well-spoken and critical thinker. It was hard for me to keep in mind her age when she just seems so much older. Living in Homossassa Springs, Florida with her mother, Ari is still trying to find her place in both the human and vampire world.

She can hypnotize people, become invisible, and read minds but still struggles to establish long lasting relationships with people because everywhere she goes, people seem to end up dead. After the murder of her best friend not too long ago, Ari is looking to start over. After befriending two girls in town, Autumn and Mysty, things seem to be looking up for Ari, until one goes missing. In order to take some of the scrutiny off of Ari, she decides attend a small liberal arts college in Georgia. (Yes she's a little young, but she's very advanced for her age) Thus, starts the beginning of a very interesting ride through a unique world.

Sorry to end the summary so abruptly but after Ari goes off to college the story gets, well... complex. Political campaigns, environmentalism issues, drug-use, Ari's coming-of-age story and inner-demons are all thrown into a mix that was a little too much for me. There is just so much information going on in this book that I was overwhelmed at times. Not to say that I don't find Ari completely charming as a character. She's actually a lot different than most vampires that are written about and it is refreshing to see. And while the issues brought up in this book were thought-provoking and interesting I just felt it was too jam-packed.

One thing that I found personally like able was the astronomy tidbits thrown into the book. I just came out of my second semester of astronomy and was just giddy with excitement because I knew exactly what it was about. Susan Hubbard obviously did a lot of research on all of the topics she wrote about. I admire her for that. I just hope there will be a third installment because I had some unanswered questions towards the end.

I do recommend you give this book a try if you've read The Society of S because it's so nice to see how Ari ended up. If you haven't, I still say maybe borrow a copy and see if it tickles your fancy. I'm definitely not sorry I read this because the story is really unique.(less)

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Aug 01, 2011 Michelle (In Libris Veritas) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, vampires

I just want to think a friend of mine for letting me borrow this book, because I don’t think I’d have been able to read it otherwise…I could never find it. Anyway to the review.

I adore this series, and it’s mainly because it’s so different then the other young adult vampire novels. I mean it’s almost completely different. There is no stupid immature love triangle, there is no childish whining, and there is no set bad guy. The main character, Ari, is wonderful. She’s a true thinker and very smart...more I just want to think a friend of mine for letting me borrow this book, because I don’t think I’d have been able to read it otherwise…I could never find it. Anyway to the review.

I adore this series, and it’s mainly because it’s so different then the other young adult vampire novels. I mean it’s almost completely different. There is no stupid immature love triangle, there is no childish whining, and there is no set bad guy. The main character, Ari, is wonderful. She’s a true thinker and very smart, and she’s not out to save the world single-handily. She and the other characters are wonderful and there is a fair amount of character development over the course of the book. You can tell a fair amount of research goes into this series and Hubbard practically paints a world in a classical kind of way. It’s refreshing to see something that’s actually plausible and well thought out, not to mention the author has the ability to truly write. Being the second in the series it has the same feel as the first and even though it took me a good amount of time to find this book it wasn’t hard at all to get back into it. I’ll admit the plot is odd because it doesn’t flow like so many other books out there of this nature, and at times it can seem “plot-less” but despite that it was still intriguing and there was enough going on that I wanted to see how it turned out. I also enjoy having a “bad-guy” that’s hard to figure out and isn’t extremely frustrating.

I really wish that more people knew about this series and that it would get more attention. It’s beautifully written and it’s a refreshing change to all the “boy-problem” books. (There are boy problems, but it’s not like the rest where it takes the absolute for-front to her life and it’s quite a different problem). Overall these are mature books, not in the R rated sense but in the sense that it has a mature attitude. I definitely recommend this book and it’s predecessor The Society of S.(less)

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Sep 08, 2010 Charlie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: top-rated, vamps, paranormal, october-halloween, teen-ya

This is a story of origins. It is a story of values, environmental concerns, beliefs, politics, pharmaceuticals, and fitting in to a society. It addresses important issues about what it's like to be marginalized. Although some themes are heavier than others, it is inspiring to read a vampire story with concrete weight. I read this book over a rainy Sunday afternoon and finished it in the wee hours of the night. I simply didn't want to put it down. It was an easy read, but with issues that made m...more

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Dec 29, 2009 LeeAnn rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 08, 2008 Kristie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Wonderful imagery and prose, overall. Great characters revisited from the first book, though I would have liked more of Ari's father.

The book didn't feel finished--felt like it was awaiting the sequel to arrive, kind of like Tolkien's Two Towers. Don't know if the Shub's already working on the follow-up, but I hope so because this one didn't leave me feeling sated in terms of the questions it provoked.

A good read regardless. And the Shub rocks.

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Feb 27, 2010 Jacqie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This quiet little book has the ability to transport the reader to the wilderness of Florida. The author talks a bit about the characters' synesthesia, and the sights, sounds, and smells of setting are stars of the book.
Ariella, the main character, is a very old fourteen years old. I had a bit of trouble buying into her character, but the author's take on vampires is a very different one. I'm not even sure vampirism per se even needed to be part of the book- it's more about being the outsider lo...more

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Jun 08, 2010 Marina Antunes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having picked this up with no knowledge of either the author or the fact that this was a series, I was a bit concerned once I'd started and discovered that it's not simply part of a series but book two.

Subtitled "An Ethical Vampire Novel," vampires are not at the centre of this story which follows Ari, a very mature 14 year old as she deals with friendship, relationships and not fitting in. It's also a bit a mystery and it's this secondary plot of disappearances that brings in some of the vampir...more

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Jun 15, 2008 Grace rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy-sci-fi-speculative

I loved most of both The Year of Disappearances and The Society of S but felt that both built up my anticipation for things to be revealed or resolved at the end and then didn't fulfill my expectations at all--the ending here felt very sudden and unfinished, I really hope it was leading up to a third book with a satisfying conclusion

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Jul 23, 2012 Earl Dizon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

The Year of Disappearances by Susan Hubbard. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the book even though I did enjoy the first in the series- “The Society of S”. The main character was kind of frustrating in the sense that she didn’t seem to act as a normal person would (even though she is half-vampire) by asking questions all at once to try and understand all the mysterious things happening around her. But it was an effective way to provide only the necessary bits of information to move the...more

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Jan 02, 2009 Kristin rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the second of the Society of S books, which I picked up again after being disappointed with Twilight. It doesn't get as many stars as its predecessor, mostly because Hubbard didn't maintain the slow, lazy-day pace of the first book that so drew me to it. I still love the heroine, Ariella Montero, and I still love all the other characters, but this story seemed almost TOO short. In fact, it was as if Hubbard was already planning the next installment in the sequel. With the first book, thi...more

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Jul 23, 2010 M rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found that "The Society of S" (the first book in this series) didn't quite measure up to its promise, but so far I am enjoying this second installment quite a bit. After reading all of Charlaine Harris's pulpy Sookie Stackhouse novels, Hubbard's book is a welcome reprieve. Her tone is quiet and languid; you really feel like this Southern writer has her tone down. The main character, Ari, has grown on me, and perhaps on Hubbard, since her characterization is much better this time around. I beli...more

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Feb 27, 2010 Kelsy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was more exciting than the first book. I loved the twist and turns Hubbard took me on throughout the whole novel. This is definitely the most unique take on vampirism I've ever heard or read. Often, this genre is full of darkness and supernatural. In this coming of age story, light is as much a strength as the darkness they are forced to face. Hubbard has been able to include a touch of everything in THE YEAR OF DISAPPEARANCES including mystery and romance while exploring an equal mix of th...more

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Jul 25, 2010 Vanessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed reading the continuing story of Ariella Montero, but this one was even more anticlimactic than the first one. I don't know if it was just all set-up for the next one, but the pacing seemed off. The book veers from very little happening to all of a sudden too much happening and no resolution. Also, I've got to say that Hubbard's vampires are, for the most part, as tepid as Meyer's Cullen family (although Hubbard is a far better writer and thankfully peppers her stories with poetry and p...more

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Feb 09, 2010 PindanPrincess rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ariella second adventure - she knows what she is, goes to college and all her friends start disappearing, her dad goes missing is found and re-unites with her mum. End of story....oh yeah...she gets a boyfriend for a while but that fizzes out. Yes yes other things happen along the way - but I found most to be disjointed, unrelated and unfinished. The quiet suspense of the first book is replaced by plots and subplots that are never fully explained or revealed. Very wishy washy. Ari quotes towards...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Genevieve rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fangs-and-fantasy

Definitely a faster read than the first (and the last one has been even faster.) Like I said while I was reading it, the tone while still full of mature philosophical and ethical self questioning definitely took on more of a hint of teenage angst as the main character, Ariella, leaves behind home schooling and enters college where she truly begins to experience the social interactions of (mortal) people within her own age range. This is obviously the next step in Ari's chapter; it flows effortle...more

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Jan 30, 2010 Bluesky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A faster paced sequel to The Society of S - a lot more is happening in Ariella's world as she comes to terms with discovering she is half vampire. I would liked to have rated this 4 stars but the ending fell far short of the the questions raised throughout the book . Also there was a heavy political overtone which did not sit well with the rest of the book imo. Not enough of a cliff hanger for a sequel to be following, and not enough closure for it to be the conclusion. Overall, a reasonably gri...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Amblingbooks.com marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, thriller-suspense

In the sequel to her acclaimed debut novel, The Society of S, Susan Hubbard continues the adventures of Ariella Montero, who, in the midst of the ongoing presidential campaign, discovers that a leading contender for America's top political office just happens to be a vampire surrounded by the demons of lying, cheating, and murder.

Listen to The Year of Disappearances on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.

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Nov 15, 2010 Jennifer (Fictitious Musings) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ari Montero is a strong teenage girl who happens to be a vampire. She wants nothing more than to fit in and enjoy life. She meets Mysty and Autumn soon after moving to Florida. A strange man is watching her and she doesn't know why. Suddenly her friends, like her father, turn up missing. And this isn't the first time someone near Ari has disappeared. As the small town falls apart, Ari heads off to college to get away from the suspicious looks and guilty stares. Trouble finds Ari no matter where...more

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Aug 02, 2010 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, 2010, favourite, fiction

I read The Society of S , the first book in this series of "ethical vampire novels", last year and it instantly became one of my favourite reads all year. I especially recommend it for people who aren't keen on romantic vampire tales, or horror ones either - though fans of paranormal romance and horror are just as likely to enjoy this. Hubbard has taken a slightly different path from all the other vampire writers I've read to date, and has created one of my favourite fictional worlds.

There's alw...more I read The Society of S , the first book in this series of "ethical vampire novels", last year and it instantly became one of my favourite reads all year. I especially recommend it for people who aren't keen on romantic vampire tales, or horror ones either - though fans of paranormal romance and horror are just as likely to enjoy this. Hubbard has taken a slightly different path from all the other vampire writers I've read to date, and has created one of my favourite fictional worlds.

There's always the problem, when reviewing the next book in a series, of how to talk about it without completely spoiling the first/previous books. Especially with this one, which picks up where the last one ended. But I will do my best to avoid spoilers.

Ari is a half-breed in a world where vampires live alongside humans, secretly and discreetly. Most survive on a tonic so that they don't need to feed off people; in fact, the entire vampire society is very modern and scientific. Ari, who narrates, is only fourteen - both her parents, Sara and Raphael, are vampires, but her mother was mortal when she had Ari - and Ari was home schooled by her scholarly, old-fashioned father; as a result, Ari's education is more classical than her peers, and also more advanced, though she's never heard of Elvis and doesn't know a lot of things about modern society.

Now living with her mother and her mother's friend Dashay in Florida, Ari is just as lonely as before but quietly interested in making friends. She awkwardly befriends two rather stupid girls in the town of Saratoga Springs, Autumn and Mysty and, rather reluctantly, Autumn's brother Jesse, but when Mysty goes missing Ari finds herself to be just as much a suspect as Jesse. Yet Mysty isn't the first person to disappear - as well as other people, bees and birds have also been disappearing. It is the year of disappearances, and Ari is considered a suspect by some and a target by others.

Because Ari is only fourteen - though she often seems much older - many people consider this series to be Young Adult. It's not. In fact, it annoys me that any novel with a teen-aged protagonist is automatically assumed to be YA. You will not find Hubbard's book in the YA section. Not Fantasy either. It's fiction, like Christopher Moore is fiction. By all means, teens can read these books, but they're not the target audience.

It's also worthwhile to point out that this isn't a genre novel, and doesn't come with the tropes familiar to genre novels, especially vampire ones. It's refreshing, in that respect, though I enjoy the others too. What you get is a carefully and realistically created world in which vampires exist, vampires who can go out in the sun (but with lots of sunscreen because they burn easily), eat normal food and can have families - they just choose not to, for ethical reasons. Many also choose not to drink from humans, again for ethical reasons. In fact, they are greatly concerned with living ethically.

This theme is what makes Ari, as the protagonist, a clever construct: she's still growing, still feeling her way through the vampire-human world, still discovering her ability to hypnotise people, read their thoughts etc as well as the reasons why she shouldn't. There are other groups of vampires in this world, who look down on humans, but Ari is not part of that group.

The novels also weave in degradation of the planet, deforestation and other environmental concerns - in fact, it's intrinsic to the plot. While it doesn't have the clean, focused plot of the first book, I found that the deceptively scattered-looking plot of The Year of Disappearances, woven in amongst Ari's continuing coming-of-age and maturation, was gripping. Hubbard writes with a very steady, evenly-paced momentum, like a gently flowing river that has few rapids or sharp corners but offers plenty to do and see while moving inexorably onwards. I love the way Hubbard writes. It's simple and straightforward, but not simplistic or boring.

Ari is a mixture of childlike naiveté and mature wisdom - she doesn't think like a "typical" teenager and she doesn't talk like one either, but she feels just right to me. I find her refreshing, familiar and understandable. It's true of most books, I think, that if you don't bond in some way with the characters then the book itself tends to fall flat (maybe "high brow" literature and the classics are different, but we are less forgiving of contemporary stories). If you don't connect with Ari or anyone else, you probably won't think much of the story and the way it's written, either. For me, I can sit down and read it in a day if I have one to spare, and be totally caught up in Ari's world. There's plenty here for me to chew on.(less)

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Jun 16, 2011 Ta§chima Cullen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

The Year of Disappearances was a true sequel to the first book, containing most of the elements I loved and captivated me of The Society of S, but at the same time giving me more to hold on to.

This novel was much like the first novel. It didn't improve much in things like plot, but I saw character development. The novel is like, at first sight it doesn't have much to give, but as you keep reading you will notice you can't take your eyes off the page.

Don't misunderstand me, there IS a some sort...more

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Oct 03, 2010 Julie H. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampire-fiction

If possible, The Year of Disappearances was an even faster read than the first intallment in the Ethical Vampire series. And like that first novel, The Society of S, this one, too, is structured in the same way--consisting of a prologue, three sections (here they are In My Mother's House, In Loco Parentis, and Blue Moon Rising), followed by an epilogue.

Hubbard is a master of pace and sentence variation--as well as description, particularly when she gets the students off on a field trip into the...more If possible, The Year of Disappearances was an even faster read than the first intallment in the Ethical Vampire series. And like that first novel, The Society of S, this one, too, is structured in the same way--consisting of a prologue, three sections (here they are In My Mother's House, In Loco Parentis, and Blue Moon Rising), followed by an epilogue.

Hubbard is a master of pace and sentence variation--as well as description, particularly when she gets the students off on a field trip into the Okefenokee Swamp. In The Year of Disappearances we resume with the post-hurricane healing and rebuilding of Ari and her world. Unfortunately, as the title suggests, all is very much not well in Ari Montero's world. In fact, this is true at all scales--be it the household, town, pockets of trouble across the state of Florida, and even on a global scale due to climate change and other factors. As but one example, Mae's behive dies--part of a global phenomenon known as colony collapse. In addition, Mae's dear friend Dashay becomes estranged from both her family back in Jamaica and her lover Bennett. Ari encounters the Blind Man, an individual seen by her father years ago on Glastonbury Tor just before his own world was ripped apart. Yet another young acquaintance goes missing, and the entire town of Homasassa Springs, FL, believes Ari is at fault. FBI agent Cecil Burton is back on the scene, necessitating Raphael's remaining at a distance as he faked his own death in the previous novel. To get Ari out of town and away from potential physical harm as a result of the widespread rumors, and so as to resume her interrupted education, the decision is made that she should enter college. Ari matriculates at Hillhouse, the small alternative liberal arts college her mother attended in nearby Georgia. Trouble follows Ari to school in the form of another disappeared acquaintance, the rapid popularity among the campus population of a drug called V, and several additional betrayals.

Beyond all the drama, what makes this book so much meatier than its predecessor is that it provides greater detail into the different vampire sects and how they intersect with the mortal sociopolitical world. The "ethics" piece pervades the story at levels both deep and surficial,and readers gain more access to the workings (and dysfunctions) of the paranormal realm. Through it all, Ari grows and learns--as a person, a scholar, a friend, daughter, and other. Plenty of foreshadowing appears and lots of potential groundwork laid, and I am keen to see where Hubbard takes us next in The Season of Risks. (less)

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Aug 09, 2009 Lizzi Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-library

Finally, intellectual vampire fiction! The writing style captured me from the first page: clean, vivid writing that moves from scene to scene flawlessly, while making you want to linger and savor. Here we have vampires with such a wealth of knowledge they make the Twilight vampires look like small children. There is not the angsty action and romance of Twilight; it has a slower pace with memorable atmosphere and building suspense. It's the Jane Eyre of vampire fiction, and I loved it, up until t...more

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Sep 26, 2008 Audrey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

I can't decide how I want to rate these books. I had the same problem with the first novel in the series. Part of it is because I feel so detached from the main character. I get the fact that she's obviously highly gifted -- I mean, she goes to college at age 14. But that still doesn't make up for the obvious disconnect that exists between the character and the reader that I felt -- even disregarding the fact that she's been raised by a family that shows little emotion, etc. There were multiple...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by JodiG. for TeensReadToo.com

There is a secret society. They live in plain view. They seem very much like you and me. But, if you look very closely, you may notice that the person you're speaking to doesn't have a shadow.

There are vampires living amongst us. They are highly evolved; not at all like the vampires you've grown up with. They work and play in the daylight, they are friendly and educated, and a growing number of them have never tasted human blood and have no need for it.

Ar...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Robin Strain rated it 2 of 5 stars

Saw this book in the library and the brief description looked interesting.
Once I started the book, I realized that reading the first book of the series may have satisfied a lot of my confusion about her family life, vampires in the general population, etc.

Either way, the book was well written but I didn't care for it too much. Was predictable and the ending left a lot to desire.

Wouldn't recommend this book at all.

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Aug 18, 2012 Selenis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sequela do Society of S. Apesar de ter tido sentimentos contraditórios durante a leitura do primeiro, quis ler a continuação. E gostei. O ambiente continua algo sombrio, mas a história bem construída.

Continuing the first one "Society of S". Despite mixed feelings about the previous one, I decided to read this one and didn't regret it :) A bit dark, but with an interesting story

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About Susan Hubbard

Susan Hubbard, born in upstate New York, is the author of two collections of short fiction, both winners of national prizes, and four novels. The Society of S was published in May 2007 by Simon & Schuster, and The Year of Disappearances, a sequel, was released in May 2008. The U.S. paperback edition of The Year of Disappearances was published in 2009.
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The Season of Risks (Ethical Vampire #3)

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“I felt as if the world I lived in was only a facade - that beneath its skin, a darker world raged and rampaged. I'd glimpsed that world before, but I'd never known how vast and malignant it might be.” — 2 people liked it

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The Year of Disappearances (Ethical Vampire #2)

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