Similar Books: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa, The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

This was an interesting read for me. There were bits that I liked a lot, then some that didn't really impress me. Maybe I'm sick of vampires. Or dystopians. Or both. But I was a little disappointed with this one.

First things that I did like: the setting and worldbuilding. Honestly, that was my favorite part of the book. I liked the world that the "J.A. London" crafted here, with vampires pretty much ruling the world and humans trying to survive. I also liked that our heroine, Dawn, is the delegate that interacts with the vampires. The interactions between her and Valentine were actually my favorite parts of the story - Valentine was a really interesting character, and I loved that he wanted everyone to dress and act like it was still Victorian times.

In terms of other characters, I wasn't really invested in any of them. They weren't badly written, I just didn't connect with them. I didn't feel like I knew much about Victor, and Dawn was so quiet and level-headed that she didn't that many qualities that made her stand out. Her boyfriend Michael was really the only one that I felt had a clear character motivation, but he was just a supporting character.

The romance was pretty standard. There's no insta-love, though, so that's good. But they fall for each other at a pretty remarkable pace, anyway, especially considering she has a boyfriend. And I never really felt any sparks between them. I didn't feel anything. It all just played out in the book, and I wasn't all that interested in them getting together or not.

Now, the pacing of this book is sorta slow up until like page 200. I was getting bored with the book, ready to start skimming, but then it really picks up. I liked the last 100 or so pages a lot, and they almost made up for the slow beginning. Although I figured one of the big twists at the end, another one surprised me (in a good way). I think it set up really well for a sequel!

Just a warning, though: it's a serious cliffhanger. I mean, like, ending right in the middle of a scene. Now, it's not as bad of a cliffhanger as, say, Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel. But it's still pretty intense.

Overall, this was just an okay book for me. The end made it worth reading, but I'm not dying to read the next one. I think the topic just wasn't for me - I've never been a huge dystopian or vampire fan, so the mixing of the two didn't get me all excited. But people who enjoy either of those genres should like it more than I did!