Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies, #1)

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Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1)

by Rhiannon Frater (Goodreads Author)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 656 ratings · 146 reviews

Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry...

... in a new, horrific, unimaginable way...

Sating her great hunger, she discovers that she is now a vampire, the bloodthirsty creature of legend. She has no choice but to flee from her old life and travels across Texas. Her new hunger spu...more

Paperback, 226 pages

Published November 24th 2008 by Createspace (first published November 4th 2008)

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May 31, 2012 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Made the Badass Hidden Gem II list..

http://badassbookreviews.com/badass-h...

The Good

The story

You have Amaliya and Amaliya was turned into a vampire by her professor. The professor decides that he wants to really screw with Amal (in more ways than one) and just lets her loose onto the human population. The professor, Amal's Maker (he's actually called "The Summoner"), gives Amal no instruction, no limitations, and literally stalks her to see what type of damage Amal causes while learning the va...more

26 likes · like · see review

May 02, 2012 Giselle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, horror, paranormal

FREE on Kindle until May 6th! http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-When-She...
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What would you do if you woke up buried in the ground? Well Amaliya first took a shower (duh!), then what comes next involves blood. Lots and lots of blood.

Left on her own to find out what she is, and how to survive it, Amaliya has a pretty rough beginning into her new vampiric life. However, she soon proves to be a pretty bad-ass heroine by, well... improvising. She's a fighter through and through. Instead of whining about...more FREE on Kindle until May 6th! http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-When-She...
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What would you do if you woke up buried in the ground? Well Amaliya first took a shower (duh!), then what comes next involves blood. Lots and lots of blood.

Left on her own to find out what she is, and how to survive it, Amaliya has a pretty rough beginning into her new vampiric life. However, she soon proves to be a pretty bad-ass heroine by, well... improvising. She's a fighter through and through. Instead of whining about her horrible situation, she goes out there and figures it out. Embracing it, even. Which I found especially awesome. It's not without a kill or two… or three, but eventually, she finds another of her kind. This is where Cian comes along.

Cian is centuries old, and the master of Austin. He doesn't know what he's getting into when he decides to take Amaliya under his wing. Let me just tell you, it gets hot. Very hot! That is, until Samantha - Cian's human fiancé - and his servant Roberto comes along. Things get very cold, fast. Neither wants Amaliya around, so as you can guess, you can also expect plenty of back-stabbing and betrayals. As usual, good or bad, all the characters are incredibly well written and perfectly flawed. Even the side characters play a major role in the story. I can't fail to mention Sergio and Grandma which, with their humor and charm, became instant favorites.

"It's the irony of being a vampire. Being immortal and being terrified of death."

Gritty and dark, the vampire lore in Pretty When She Dies sticks to the original blood drinking, day sleeping vampires; they're dangerous and violent. I loved the overall world building, in particular, the addition of necromancy (which means we also have some zombies!) that shakes it up a little giving us an extra twisted plot and epic fight scenes. This necromancer - they call him The Summoner - can not only call on, and control, an army of undead, he's also a wickedly malicious and extremely old vampire. This makes him highly powerful as a villain. Believe me, he won't fail to intimidate you. How about this: To lessen his boredom, he creates vampires to set free, stalk, then kill. That's not barbaric at all... This book is definitely not without its fair share of action.

I continue to be blown away by Rhiannon's crack-infused pages; keeping me glued to her words. Combining classic vampire lore, horror, and romance - she has given us another astonishingly compelling read.

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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17 likes · like · see review

Sep 10, 2012 Kat rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires, series, horror, texas, 2012-read, updated

Hands up who's heard me say I don't enjoy vampire novels? And I honestly think it was this whole 'nice vampire' trend that went down a few years ago - I like my paranormal creatures to be scary, hardcore and gory, not all puppies and flowers and skipping through fields. Therefore I'm always a bit wary of vampire books, but I knew that Rhiannon Frater I was in pretty safe hands....and I definitely wasn't wrong.

Pretty When She Dies is a 'proper' vampire novel - there's death, destruction, ghouls,...more

9 likes · like · see review

May 15, 2011 Lina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampire-lit, teen-fiction-horror, erotica

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ARGAHHHHHH!
NOTHING IRRITATES ME MORE THAN WHEN A BOOK STARTS OFF REALLY INTERESTINGLY AND THEN GOES TO SHIT!

Pretty When She Dies started off as an engaging, fun, bloody, true vampire story. The main character of Amaliya gets turned into a vampire by her sexy professor Mr. Sumner [yeah, they have great names in this book]. She wakes up buried in the ground and is forced to big out of her own grave. That part was awesome, especially since I just finished watching the season of Buffy in which that...more ARGAHHHHHH!
NOTHING IRRITATES ME MORE THAN WHEN A BOOK STARTS OFF REALLY INTERESTINGLY AND THEN GOES TO SHIT!

Pretty When She Dies started off as an engaging, fun, bloody, true vampire story. The main character of Amaliya gets turned into a vampire by her sexy professor Mr. Sumner [yeah, they have great names in this book]. She wakes up buried in the ground and is forced to big out of her own grave. That part was awesome, especially since I just finished watching the season of Buffy in which that happens. In the first one hundred pages, you might think this book is awesome. Violence, sex, blood, all the good stuff. There are grammatical mistakes, but it is a self-published book so that comes with the territory. The story itself drags you in and you want to know what is going to happen.

That is until the romance plot tumor begins to show itself.

As soon as Amaliya meets this older vampire named Cian, who is the Master of Austin there is an attraction. Cian gives Amaliya some of his blood and they start a sexual relationship. Problem is, Cian's engages to a human girl named Samantha. The whole affair pisses me off because there is no non-physical reason for Cian to be attracted to Amaliya, but he starts falling for her. He starts going on about how his relationship with Samantha was an illusion and that she made him a better human, but Amaliya makes him a better vampire. Bullshit like that. He says that he has to be a better vampire in order to protect his area.

Including himself and Amaliya, only two mother-huggin' vampires live in the damn area. It's bullshit in order to make the relationship seem angsty, Not to mention, they try to make Sam the bad guy, when she is the one who goes out risks her life in order to save Cian's life. After they all risk their lives to save him, Cian has sex with Amaliya while everyone's waiting in the car. Sam then tells him the engagement is off and Cian says "I understand." Ugh....I just hated it. Not to mention they declare their love for each other after three damn days. -massive eye roll-

Plus, Amaliya gets a random ass power that she masters in two seconds, so I was eye rolling every single time she used it. It was just a book that started off strong, but crashed and burned.

I spend 1.99 on this book and I regret even that.
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Jun 24, 2010 Shelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, own, finished-in-2010

My first Rhiannon Frater book, but certainly not my last. I rather enjoyed her style of writing and am looking forward to reading her zombie trilogy.

Pretty When She Dies... not exactly a title that left me super curious about the book, but that cover sure did. In case you haven't been watching, I'm somewhat of a sucker for a good vampire story; especially if said story has vampires that aren't emo and vegetarian. No worries on that front in this novel. These vampires know what they need to survi...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 08, 2012 AH rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-freebies, own-not-read, arcs-other, sos-bookshelf-bingo, needs-review, read-oct-2012, urban-fantasy, vamps, necromancer

Kindle free download 5/2/12. Review to come...

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 01, 2009 Steph rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All pre-Twilight vamp book lovers!

Shelves: 2009, 2009-favorites, featured-favorites, series-ongoing, series-i-love, author-favorite, author-웃, series-book1

I started this book with the idea I'd just taking a peek to see how it starts off, had every intention of waiting to read it fully after I completed the other three I'm already reading. However, the story grabbed me from page one and never let go! I was bummed when it was over. I was happy to see Ms. Frater mention a 2nd book, "Pretty When She Kills" coming out in the future, so there will be more Amaliya and Cian to come. :)

Things I loved about this book:
* What vamp book lover out there coul...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Laura *Little Read Riding Hood* rated it 5 of 5 stars

A fantastic back to basics vampire story! No day-walking, animal blood drinking, whiny pining to be mortal babies!

What was there not to like ... ok LOVE about this book? It was a refreshing return to traditional vampire lore; sunlight kills, no eating animals, have to be invited inside someone's home ... It was great!

There are two clear halves to the book, the first half where Amaliya is trying to figure out what happened to her, and adjust to her new "life", and the second half, where she meets...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: free-ebook, kindle-free-read, kindle-lendable-books, read-in-2013, pleasure-reading

Dark and violent but in a good way as this is more like the vampires of legend as they should be, more realistically brutal and at the same time retaining their cunning intelligence to keep them from being discovered and exterminated by the humans whose blood they survive on.

This was a good start and interested to see how the second book follows Cian and Liya's story.

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Mar 29, 2012 Roxanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Amaliya had a feeling that her morals were slipping fast and that she wasn't thinking clearly. But at the same time, it felt good to not really care. If she was going to have to feed, then she shouldn't have to feel bad, right?

Pretty When She Dies is the first book in a Trilogy and as first books go this was pretty good. With most first books there is usually alot of information that drags the story down. However in this book Amaliya is a newly turned vampire who's been told to fend for herself...more Amaliya had a feeling that her morals were slipping fast and that she wasn't thinking clearly. But at the same time, it felt good to not really care. If she was going to have to feed, then she shouldn't have to feel bad, right?

Pretty When She Dies is the first book in a Trilogy and as first books go this was pretty good. With most first books there is usually alot of information that drags the story down. However in this book Amaliya is a newly turned vampire who's been told to fend for herself by the vampire who turned her, so the readers get to learn everything along with Amaliya. The story starts off with Amaliya clawing her way out of her grave, something that gave me chills down my spine. She's disorientated and has trouble remembering anything of her former life. Once she gets her bearings she manages to make it to her old dorm room and clean off the dirt then sets out to find herself a warm dinner. While she's in the throws of blood lust she sucks dry a room full of people in the middle of an orgy, all while her maker watches on with sick appreciation. After Amaliya starts coming back to herself she realizes whats shes done and gets the hell away from there. Having no other choice but to flee she decides that finding another her kind that is willing to help her is her only safe option left.

“Perhaps you should go home now. It is very late.”
“You're trying to get rid of me,” Samantha said in an accusing tone. Roberto whirled on her, and said in a fierce voice, “This is not about you!” Samantha drew back, startled.
“Yes. Yes, it is! I'm his fiancée, asshole!”

I really liked the heroine of this book. At first she seems like a bit of a pushover but once she gets away from her old life she really starts to take control and refuses to take crap from anyone. As soon as she hits Austin TX she goes on the hunt from a local vampire to help her but soon finds out that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. Pun not intended. While out hunting one night Cian (pronounced Key-Inn) runs into Amaliya, so what's a vampire to do when someone invades his territory? Go all cave man, bash her in the back of the head and sling her over your shoulder apparently. I loved Cian he was the perfect balance of kind and caring man VS sexy and smouldering vampire. There's only one thing wrong...he's engaged to be married to the cute, perky Samantha. A character that annoyed me SO much, she had a tendency to stamp her foot and whine whenever she didn't get her way. However it made for some delicious and forbidden tension between Amaliya and Cian.

“I'll teach you the basics of our abilities tomorrow and then you must leave.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
“Because if you don't go,” he hesitated. “If you don't go tomorrow, I may never let you go.”

This book ended well, something that I'm so thankful for. It was a closed ending with the hint of problems to come. I look forward to book 2 and hope to god Samantha isn't in the story all that much. (less)

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May 15, 2012 Ashley (The Bibliophile's Corner) rated it 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book for two reasons: 1) the cover and 2) I have heard nothing but wonderful things about Rhiannon Frater’s books. I can now say after reading this book that the cover and the story are perfect for each other in terms of them both being alluring and badass. And I can also say that I need to go by every single one of Rhiannon’s books now.

Let me first make a disclaimer to all of those people who love YA vampire novels. This is NOT a YA novel. This is finally a novel for 20-something...more I bought this book for two reasons: 1) the cover and 2) I have heard nothing but wonderful things about Rhiannon Frater’s books. I can now say after reading this book that the cover and the story are perfect for each other in terms of them both being alluring and badass. And I can also say that I need to go by every single one of Rhiannon’s books now.

Let me first make a disclaimer to all of those people who love YA vampire novels. This is NOT a YA novel. This is finally a novel for 20-something year old’s who want they little bit of extra adult content. This book is dark, passionate, sexy, and everything that a vampire novel should be.

Amaliya is a character that I found I could easily sympathize with. She comes from a pretty terrible family who never expected much out of her and who always thought she would be a screw up. So when she is turned into a vampire and is forced to run, she doesn’t really find it that different from the life she had been living to begin with. Throughout the novel, I loved seeing her get stronger. She starts off having no identity and not really sure where she belongs. But by the end, she is incredibly sure of herself and knows that she has somewhere she belongs.

Cian, the vampire that Amaliya finds in Austin, is the Master of Austin. He is responsible for the well being of the city. At first, I didn’t like this guy. I wanted to punch him. I can’t stand when vampire try to mimic a human life. Thankfully, when Amaliya comes into his life, this perfect facade slowly starts to unravel, much to the chagrin of Robert, his human servant and Samantha, his human fiancee.

Robert is a jackass and Samantha is a jealous bitch. I’m sorry for being so blunt. But I really disliked these characters, not because they were poorly written. But because they were fabulously written to be those characters you want to dislike. I understand that Robert has been loyal to Cian for a hundred years and that is just watching out for him, but it gives him no right to be an ass. I understand that Samantha is threatened by Amaliya’s lure and temptation that she has on Cian. But seriously, her stupid romantic notion that she can tame a centuries old vamp into being the perfect human husband….dumb.

The Summoner was a character that was just pure evil. Normally I can find some sort of redeeming quality in the villains, but not in hi. And that was perfectly fine with me. I was terrified and hated this man the whole time I was reading this book. His creepy necromancer skills plus immortality equals scary-as-hell-villain.

Grandma Innoncente and Sergio were my favorite characters aside from Amaliya and Cian. I don’t want to give away too much away about them and their roles in this book, but they are not to be underestimated. Especially, Grandma.

I also don’t want to give away too much of the plot twists and folds, but everything is really excited and moves easily from one chapter to the next. And Amaliya was such a great protagonist. I really liked that this book is not first person like most books I read. Again, I love YA, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to jump to different characters and really get a good look at all of the angles.

This book was really wonderful. The action was intense and the vamp sex scenes were crazy! But in a good way. I just seriously cannot get over how thankful I am that this book is geared to us 20-something year olds. I still love YA vamp novels, but it’s good to have a book like to go to when you’re tired of the teen angst.(less)

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Jan 06, 2012 Felicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, kindlepurchase2011

Bought for Myself
Overall Rating 4.25
Character Rating 4.50
Story Rating 4.00

NOTE: I was having a discussion the other day that I was getting kind of tired of Vampires. This book though kind of built up my love for them again. I think it was because the Vampires acted like Vampires: Killed, Drank, and had to avoid the sun. YEAH!

Book Note: The blurb only gives a very small description about what this book has to offer. It is not only Amaliya's journey once being turned but Cian's journey to being th...more

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Nov 18, 2011 Kara rated it 3 of 5 stars

I did enjoy the actual story, for the most part at least, although some things did bother me like everything working out so fine and dandy for everyone ( including the ex who got her heart ripped out). But the one thing that stopped me from giving this book a 4/4.5 was the actual publication of it. Very weird I know, but you have no idea how much the amateur publication pissed me off. The text was big (which always looks unprofessional) but then there were some paragraphs or even a few words in...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had a hard time with the first 20-30 pages of this book. The premise is pretty good, but the descriptions the author set up made me feel a little nervous. Main character is edgy. Why is she edgy? Well, because she has tattoos, pierced nipples and she listens to Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy? Really? He hasn't been edgy since about 1992. I mean, he shills for cell phone companies now. Anyhow, there's no way I'm going to buy that a rocker chick in college after 2010 is cashing in her edgy voucher because...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Aleksandra rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: cant-wait-to-read-it, cover-lovin, disappointed, expected-more-than-it-was, family-problems, fast-paced, friend-s-boyfriend, good-start-and-then-bleh, half-sth, ink-is-my-kink, insta-love, irritating-hero-heroine, kinda-funny, magic-magic-users-special-powers, medium, oh-god-love-triangle, paranormal-romance, sexy-smexy, too-short, vampires

It went from 5 stars to 2 very fast. The beginning was amazing, it sucked me up right away! With a little bit of gore, a true villian and a good guy discovering his tru self. But of course then...
1. it became to fast-paced
2. sudden insta-love from hero side
3. cheating
4. amazing super-powers
...

it was too much. it could be made incredibly well but it was rushed and sloppy.

A shame.

QUOTES:

“You have a boyfriend and didn't tell me.” “I didn't think you'd be okay with me having sex,” she answered. “Oh,...more

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May 12, 2012 ashlee rated it 1 of 5 stars

I got 71% done with this book before I couldnt take it anymore. Its actually pretty upsetting because everyone is so in love with rhiannon fraters books but i just cannot get into them. im not a fan of her writing. there were a few parts in this book that i found interesting but mostly it just seemed pointless.

amaliya. this bitch. i COULD NOT STAND her. oh my. she was so annoying. and such a fricken baby. get over yourself honey. i dont even know what else to say about her.

really i dont even h...more

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Aug 13, 2012 JenniferJ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: zzz2012, kindle

Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry...

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I actually only have a copy because it was a freebie for a short while on Amazon and was recommended by a fellow book blogger who raves about Rhiannon Frater books!

Well Rhiannon Frater has a new fan! I was immediately drawn in with her descriptiveness coupled with the alarming situation Amal finds herself...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

“Three and a half stars: A dark, gritty and thrilling vampire book!

She wakes in the cold dark earth....pushing and crawling her way to freedom. The girl stands covered in dirt and mud, wrenching it out of her lungs. Shakily, she takes in her surroundings. She was buried alive, but why? Who is she? She can't even remember her own name? Terrified, she heads to the lights below and slowly finds her way back to her dorm room. Her fuzzy memory is beginning to recall bits and pieces of her former life...more

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Jun 27, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

By far my favorite book by Frater. Slam dunk.

Nice original twists to an otherwise saturated and overplayed genre. It is so refreshing to have this genre ripped back away from the YA barforama, done to death, romeo and juliet forbidden love angst.

Hardcore and very enjoyable. If you are a dude and are leary of female authors due to the YA lovefests so typcial of many female authors today, fear not Rhiannon Frater's work ... especially on this particular book.

The only weak point to this book that...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Pam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks-read-in-2012, paranormal-read-in-2012, read-in-2012

I received this book from the author for an honest review. Amaliya wakes up in the ground and fights her way to the surface. She is disoriented and heads back to her dorm. There she takes a shower and tries to remember for sure who she is and what is going on. As her memory starts to slowly return she throws some clothes on, grabs what money she has and leaves. She finds herself at an hidden party and realizes what she is she is a vampire. The man who made her one and killed her shows up and mak...more I received this book from the author for an honest review. Amaliya wakes up in the ground and fights her way to the surface. She is disoriented and heads back to her dorm. There she takes a shower and tries to remember for sure who she is and what is going on. As her memory starts to slowly return she throws some clothes on, grabs what money she has and leaves. She finds herself at an hidden party and realizes what she is she is a vampire. The man who made her one and killed her shows up and makes sure no one escapes her as she feeds. Soon after that he tells her she is on her own and he doesn't offer to tell her anything about her vampire abilities or what not to do. Now she is on the move trying to figure things out for herself, hide from the law, all along not knowing she is being chased by an evil person.

Amaliya is a phenomenal character. She is tough, likes to be different from those around ( good thing huh her being a vampire now), but above all else she wants to live well as much as she can live. Cian is the vampire she comes across when hunting for someone to help her control herself and what to expect. Up to this point she has just tried to do her best. Cian brings her home with him to the distress of his human fiance Samantha and his servant Roberto. Samantha is a someone who see Cian as Edward from Twilight. She doesn't get that vampires aren't nice and sparkly. Cian learns from Amaliya who turned her into a vampire and tells her that her maker is actually The Summoner. The same vampire who made him and is one of the most evil vampires there is. She is also told he has special powers and that he plays games with new vampires turning them and then tossing them out to see how long they will make it before he kills them. Amaliya isn't your typical vampire either. Also we have Amaliya's grandmother. I love this grandmother she is such a tough old woman you can not help but to love her. She doesn't care what she says as long as she gets her way. Her way usually being trying to help her granddaughter.

I really loved this book. The feel of it is very dark and sucks you right into it. The vampires in this book are amazing they fight, love, and try to live their own lives in their own territories. The plot is great and I love the writing style of Rhiannon Frater. She really knows how to keep you on the edge of your toes. This isn't no light weight vampire book if that is what you are looking for this is a harder grown up version. The fight scenes are very intense and bloody. The love scenes are intense and bloody as lol. I found myself feeling sorry for Amaliya a lot of times even when she was killing people you could tell she didn't want to. You get to see what kind of life she had growing up and think how did she turn out as good as she is. Think Jerry Springer and you have how her life used to be. It has some witty remarks you can't help but laugh at at times. Every time Samantha comes into a scene I just get ready cause I know it will be good. I know I am rambling but if I could I would put this book in peoples hands and tell them to read this book. The whole time they were reading i would also be going have you got to such and such part. Yeah it's the kind of book you want to blurt out things cause you can't wait for people to read it. So if you want a grown up vampire book or just looking for a change grab this so I can bug you to see if you have got to a certain part.
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Oct 31, 2010 Shelley aka Gizmo's Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ms Frater was extremely helpful in locating this book for me. I purchased it for $1.99 on smashwords.com and can read it again whenver I like! Thank you again for your help!

This book is a welcome addition to the world of Ann Rice (when she was writing about vampires) and the original vampire writers of this genre. If you like a world full of darkness, brutality, sex, and a twisted evil villian; you will enjoy this story alot.

This is the story of Amaliya, a college student from East Texas, who a...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Sunny rated it 4 of 5 stars

The story starts off with our heroine Amaliya when she wakes up in a fresh grave. Scared, confused, and very hungry she fights her way out of the grave. Once she digs her way out she realizes that she doesn't really even remember her own name. She see things that look familiar to her and she goes to that place. She finds her dorm room on her college campus, so she showers and goes to look for food. What kind she is not certain of at the moment. Along goes our story and she figures out that she w...more

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May 23, 2012 Amy The Book Diaries rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: on-my-kindle

www.the-book-diaries.blogspot.com

What an unexpected good story. When I first began reading this I was a little worried it would fall short, but I really liked it. This was one of the darker vampire stories I have read. More killing and blood than romance which was a change, but a good change for me. Amaliya was a college student with a bad home life trying to discover herself. When one of her attractive college professors invites her to have coffee she has no idea that he was a very old vampire...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Katie Tuccelli rated it 4 of 5 stars

The story starts off with a bang! We meet the main character, Amaliya, as she frantically claws her way out of a shallow grave in the middle of a forest. She is covered in blood, weak with hunger and confusion, and no longer alive. How's that for an attention-grabbing opening scene?

Amaliya -pierced, tattooed, and rebellious- was a pretty kick-ass character. You just can't help but admire her tenacity. She was pretty freaked out when she realized that she had been re-created into a vampire, but...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Ali (GingerRead) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fangs, kick-ass-girls

First off...FYI...ebook at Amazon.com is only $0.99!

I DEVOURED this book, I could not put it down! Which, is why it got the fourth star. Technically it is probably only a 3 star book but I so easily sunk my teeth (hee hee) into it that I had to up the rating a little. It's got it's editing issues, but I was able to look past that...mostly.

Amaliya, for me, is a young-modern-inked up-sexed up-slightly trashy-female Vampire Lestat. She doesn't really know who she is, where she belongs, who loves he...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Ariyana Spencer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I grew up on a steady supply of vampire movies, books, tv shows, comics. I can't explain it, but blood suckers fascinated me, especially in my teen years when I gobbled up Dracula and Anne Rice's vampire tales with gusto, but once I reached adulthood, my love of the genre faded just a tad. So it's absolutely wonderful to find a book that reminds me of why vampires were so fun to begin with! Oh, dark, gory vampires, how I've missed you. Rhiannon Frater's vampire novel both takes me back to some o...more

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Jul 27, 2012 R.G. Richards rated it 5 of 5 stars

We had a thunder storm that killed power last night. That gave me the opportunity to sit in a quiet corner and read. I loved this book. I had put off reading vampire books because most were just out there with the love crap that involved three folks, usually a girl and two guys who mooned over one another.(obviously it's a great formula) As I began this story I didn't find that and got caught up in a survival story. I absolutely love the beginning, it isn't for teens. I prefer my vampires blood...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I was so surprised that I actually liked this book. To be honest the only reason i got this book was the amazing price on my kindle, it was only £0.77! I thought that it would just be a book about a blood thirsty vampire, and of course there was on but it went so much deeper.

The book starts with a girl called Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry… … in a new, horrific, unimaginable way… Sating her gr...more I was so surprised that I actually liked this book. To be honest the only reason i got this book was the amazing price on my kindle, it was only £0.77! I thought that it would just be a book about a blood thirsty vampire, and of course there was on but it went so much deeper.

The book starts with a girl called Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry… … in a new, horrific, unimaginable way… Sating her great hunger, she discovers that she is now a vampire, the bloodthirsty creature of legend. She has no choice but to flee from her old life and travels across Texas. Her new hunger spurs her to leave a wake of death and blood behind her as she struggles with her new nature. All the while, her creator is watching. He is ancient, he is powerful, and what’s worse is that he’s a necromancer. He has the power to force the dead to do his bidding. Amaliya realizes she is but a pawn in a twisted game, and her only hope for survival is to seek out one of her own kind. Once Amaliya finds cian, a very old vampire that was created by the same vampire as herself, she begins to learn about what she is. She learns about her creator and the evil he inflicts on the vampires he creates.She also finds herself falling for cian inbetween the madness of being a new vampire and the threat of there creator.
There is so much more to this book than meets the eye. The cover does not reflect what it is about at all. There was even room in this whirlwind of blood and loose for there to be a romance. Although not the average romance i read about, i found it oddly fascinating. Amaliya is now one of my favourite leading ladies in the books i have been reading lately. I frankly am sick to deaf of innocent teenage girls. Amaliya is your average cool rocker chick that lives a real life with real problems and i find it refreshing. She also LIKES being a vampire and finds she has a purpose to her life that she did not have before. I much prefer this than to read about a vampire that has been changed and is just depressed, not fun to read.
I did not however like cian all that much. There is nothing specifically wrong with him, just a feeling i get. I did not connect with him as much as i did Amaliya.
And Amaliya's grandma gave me endless laughs! I honesty wish my nanna were more like her. she was so care free and determined all at the same time. She had a clear idea of what was right and wrong and i just generally loved her!

The only thing stopping me from giving this book a 5* review is my distaste for Cian.(less)

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Oct 05, 2012 Kimba (Caffeinated Book Reviewer) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Pretty When She Dies is a deliciously dark urban fantasy that quickly draws you in. Filled with vampires, necromancers, romance and kick-ass characters Frater took me on one heck of a ride. As a book addict, there is the high I constantly chase, that only an awesome, epic book can give me. Pretty When She Dies gave me that fix.

When we first meet protagonist Amaliya she finds herself buried in a shallow grave on her college campus. At first she cannot remember who she is, but stumbles her way bac...more Pretty When She Dies is a deliciously dark urban fantasy that quickly draws you in. Filled with vampires, necromancers, romance and kick-ass characters Frater took me on one heck of a ride. As a book addict, there is the high I constantly chase, that only an awesome, epic book can give me. Pretty When She Dies gave me that fix.

When we first meet protagonist Amaliya she finds herself buried in a shallow grave on her college campus. At first she cannot remember who she is, but stumbles her way back to campus and her dorm room. She gets sick and showers, but soon realizes she is very hungry. Making her way out to the parking lot, she hears music and smells food. Things get very bloody, very fast. When she awakens in the morning, her college professor is there and confirms her worse fears; he has made her a vampire. Naked and covered in blood he gives her his jacket, declaring that is the only help she will get from him. Amaliya quickly realizes she needs to flee. The tale that unfolds is action packed, funny, terrifying and filled with endearing characters.

The characters Frater has created are friggin awesome. Amaliya is sweet and bad-ass all at the same time. I quickly connected with her. She is a natural blonde, but dyes her hair jet black, sports tattoos and piercings. She loves rock and roll, and is studying to be a psychologist. Her creator is one freaky ancient vampire who completely gave me the chills! He is bored and turned Amaliya for his own amusement. He stalks her, to watch how she handles the change. *shivers* Cain is a centuries old vampire also created by the same creator and he controls Austin, Texas. He is smart, oh so smexy and about to marry a human named Samantha. He lives in an apartment building he owns with his servant Roberto who cracked me up one minute and annoyed me the next. His fiancée Samantha is innocent, pure and completely annoying! Both Roberto and Samantha want Amaliya gone. This creates some interesting situations and double crosses. Amaliya’s grandmother was an absolute hoot and at times she and the other vampire hunters stole the show. I loved their shenanigans and her fearlessness.

The world building is fantastic. Frater brought this dark, gritty vampire world to life. There are no sparkly vampires here. While vampires act and behave like the vampires of old; sleeping during the day and living without reflection, Frater brought a new twist that blew my mind. I loved the history she provided regarding the Creator and Cain. The romance that develops is dripping with sexual tension and the dance was delicious, raw and hot. The relationship slowly developed into more and I enjoyed watching it unfold. The creator , known by some as “The Summoner” can raise and control the dead. He is not at all happy with his new toy and when he discovers her strengths he sets out to control her. Frater created action packed scenes and gave such detail that I had a HD Movie with surround sound playing in my head. The tale wraps up nicely without the dreaded cliffhanger. Frater has breathed life back into vampires for me, and I cannot wait to read more.

Fans of dark, gritty urban fantasy with kick-ass protagonist need to purchase Pretty When She Dies immediately. *just saying, can you tell I absolutely loved this book!* Frater skillfully brought the vampires of old lore to present day Texas and it will literally blow your mind. Pretty When She Kills is the next book in the trilogy and I will be bringing you the review later this month.
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer (less)

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Apr 05, 2012 Claudia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I purchased this as an ebook a few weeks ago but it was put on hold while I finished up other books I was currently reading. Needless to say I caved and decided to read the first chapter just to see how the book would start off. I pretty much ended setting aside the other books I had been reading and this book took over my spare time.

I really liked watching Amaliya’s character grow & I liked the use of different character perspectives throughout the story. It made you feel more in tune with...more

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About Rhiannon Frater

Rhiannon Frater was born and raised a Texan. Though she has lived in various towns all over the state, she finally settled in Austin, Texas where she met her husband and worked as a governmental consultant.
During her travels for her job, she was inspired to write the story of two women fleeing into the Texas Hill Country in an attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse. Originally published as a se...more

More about Rhiannon Frater...

Books by Rhiannon Frater

Fighting to Survive (As The World Dies, #2)

As the World Dies: Untold Tales Volume 1

The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel

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Quotes from Pretty When She Dies

“What do you privately consult about?”
Haunted houses, exorcisms, that sort of thing,” he answered.
Wow. You're like-”
Don't say it.”
-Giles from Buffy.”
He rolled his eyes. “If I had a quarter for every time someone said
that.” — 8 people liked it

“She parked near the fence and took a deep breath. Curious, she did it
again, feeling her lungs expand, then contract. She sat in silence,
letting her body decide what to do next. Her lungs stayed still, but she
didn't feel as though she was suffocating.
“Yep, dead,” she whispered.” — 6 people liked it

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