Crave

The Clann #1

by Melissa Darnell

Savannah Colbert has never known why she's so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It's as if he's a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she's destined to fail.

For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back different, and suddenly he can't stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences.

Genres: Vampires, Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Witches

416 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2011

About the author

Melissa Darnell is the author of a growing list of adult, New Adult and Young Ault fiction and nonfiction books. Born in California, she grew up in Texas and has also called the following states home since then: Utah, West Virginia, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Iowa and South Dakota. She currently lives in Nebraska with her husband Tim and two sons, Hunter and Alexander, where she enjoys watching Game of Thrones, Defiance, Newsroom, Real Time with Bill Maher, VICE, Being Human, and True Blood, and of course writing her latest book.

For information about her other books, playlists for each of her books, and more, please visit Melissa's websites at www.MelissaDarnell.com and www.TheClannSeries.com.

Reviews

[Judith (Judith'sChoiceReads) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Goodreads Summary

Savannah Colbert has never known why she's so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It's as if he's a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she's destined to fail.
For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back…different, and suddenly he can't stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences….

My Thoughts

Right, so I got to page 13 of this one. 13, and I spent money on this!! I stood there, in the drug store and was deliberating between Inheritance, Phantom (the new L.J. Vampire Diaries book not by L.J.) and this little darling of a monstrosity, Crave.




Why, oh why, did I go with this?!? I should have turned to Goodreads before ever purchasing this, but then again I did not know what books would be there. In my defence though, I do not regret deciding not to pay $30 for Inheritance because after the disaster that was, Brisingr, I'd rather read spoilers off the internet than waste money again.

But back to this, this little turd bucket. I will attempt to summarize what I gathered from the 12 and 1/2 pages read because reading any farther could possibly kill me. Possibly.

Savannah is Southern.(Isn't that such a typical little Southern-esque name? I can hardly stop the gag.) The fun doesn't end there, folks, she also lives with her crazy Gran.



I quote: "Finished already?" she asked before slurping her tea. The sound grated over my nerves.

"Um, yeah." I set the bowl and spoon in the sink, keeping my back turned so she couldn't see the blush burning my cheeks. I was a horrible liar. One look at my face and she'd know I'd just thrown out the breakfast she'd made me.

"And your tea?"

Oops. I'd forgotten my daily tea, a blend that Nanna made just for me from the herbs she spent months growing in our backyard. "Sorry, Nanna, there's no time. I still have to fix my hair."

"You can do both." She held out my mug, her cheeks bunched into a bright smile that didn't do much to disguise the snap in her eyes.

What. The. Smurfflepop?!? Someone tries to get me to drink tea I do not want, especially an old lady with 'snap in her eyes,' and I haven't ran away screaming yet? Not only is the dialogue terribly clichéd but the character of Savannah is just dull. Like oats left in the open for 20 minutes dull, like molasses dripping off a wall dull. And I paid money for this?!



If there is one thing Crave has inspired me to do, then it is to get myself an ebay account. Maybe I can pawn this off somehow...And another thing, why on earth is the series even called, The Clann?? What, the extra 'n' is supposed to make it so evil? PSSSSSHHHHH, give me a royal break and possibly, my money back.

[Abbi Glines]

I can't figure out why the ratings aren't better on this book. I loved it! And I am picky about vampire books. This was unique and creative and addictive! I can't wait for the next one… there is a next one right? There HAS to be a next one!!!!

[Wendy Darling · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me save you some time: this book is a paranormal romance. There is precisely one chapter--the very last one--devoted to any sort of magic lasting more than a few paragraphs. ALL of the magic, however, involves the tragic separation of these star-crossed lovers in some way. There is nothing else going on here except for a romance between two characters who are harmless but so blandly unremarkable that they are actually perfectly suited for each other. Every conversation, every secondary character, and every plot line revolves around Tristan and Savannah.

A paranormal romance that focuses more on the relationship than anything else could be okay if the romance were actually interesting, but after reading countless passages devoted to their interactions as managers of the school drill team--yes, both of them, he even gets thrown off the football team so that we get more scenes with them together--my eyes started to cross. Seriously, it even got the point where I was idly hoping for a prom scene, just so something would happen--and I normally hate prom scenes.

That this "forbidden romance" story is actually a series is mind-boggling. I finished this one because it was my bathtub reading, but I was hard-pressed not to drown my impatience--and more besides--before the story mercifully ended.

[Michele at A Belle's Tales · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Savannah Colbert was in the fourth grade, her best friends and the boy she loved suddenly began avoiding her like the plague. Now, in high school, Savannah is still being shunned and bullied by the kids of the Clann. Savannah has heard the rumors that the members of the powerful Clann know how to use magic, but that doesn’t explain why they treat her like a freak. She’s just a regular girl…isn’t she?

Well, she thought she was, until a sudden illness brought on some pretty drastic, and definitely noticeable, changes. Now guys that never gave her a second look can’t seem to look away. Savannah discovers some pretty potent secrets about herself and her family. Secrets that were kept from her in order for her to have a normal life. Well, life is anything but normal now.

Tristan Coleman is the “Prince of Jacksonville High School”, and Savannah has been fighting her feelings for him ever since the day of their fake wedding in fourth grade. She is hyper aware of Tristan’s presence and has to struggle to keep her mind off of him. Unbeknownst to her, Tristan fights that same battle. Banned from having anything to do with Savannah and never understanding the reason why, Tristan has to work hard to control his abilities and follow the rules of his parents and The Clann. Not to mention, trying desperately, but to no avail, NOT to fall in love with Savannah.

Wow! I love the world Melissa Darnell has created in Crave. I am thrilled that she made the female antagonist the vampire and her paramour the witch. That alone was a breath of fresh air! I LOVE how the author switches from Savannah’s point of view to Tristan’s throughout the story. I enjoyed hearing his thoughts and knowing how he felt about Savannah, before Savannah did.

Savannah is an easy heroine to love. To watch her go from being bullied to learning how to take care of herself is inspiring. Not only does she have to deal with family problems (understatement), and high school bullies, but she has to figure out how to handle her physical changes as well as coping with the new knowledge of what she is becoming or may become.

Tristan is going to be one of those fictional characters we all fall for. Handsome, strong, southern boy, willing and ready to fight for the girl he loves.

Crave will have your heart racing, and at times breaking. The romance between the two main characters is palpable and endearing:

“I understood then why humans have noses. So we can find each other to kiss in the dark.”

I look forward to reading more of Melissa Darnell’s outstanding writing, and I can hardly wait for Covet, the second installment of The Clann series.

I received a copy of this book for review from Netgalley.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviewed at http://bookstobrightenyourmood.blogsp...

Crave,is a book with a gorgeous cover and an intriguing premise that unfortunatelly didn't work for me at all...I mean as soon as I started reading this book,I was beyond certain I had a winner in my hands,only for that impression to rapidly change...

The prologue was amazing!It gave you certain glimpses into the main characters thoughts and a prelude of what was to come.To say that I was beyond excited and intrigued by such a prologue would be an understatment.The first chapters were also pretty much ok...We get to learn about the world building,about vampires,witches,The Clann and the vampire council and pretty much everything that plays a crucial role in this story.So,I was glued to my pages,eager to see what happens next.The problem with Crave though,was that nothing,absolutely nothing happens next,well,apart from that tiny incident mentioned in the prologue...

As I continued reading Crave,I waited for something to happen,anxious to see how all those changes in Savannah's life will affect the story,only to be majorly disappointed...Cause all that happens in Crave,is Savannah dating a random guy for a few chapters,Savannah becoming a Charmers manager (I won't even elaborate what Charmers are,there's absolutely no need,as there was no need for their practices to be so much mentioned in the book) and Savannah dating Tristan,our male protagonist.Nothing else!For 300 pages we have so many detailed glimpses in Savannah's routine that I honestly struggled to finish this book.Mostly,what kept me going was a hope that something,anything would happen.Maybe not now, but on the next 50 pages surely...And that thinking made me actually finish a book I would in no other way finish.

Savannah and Tristan were ok,a little flat for my taste but ok.I couldn't understand though neither Savannah's obsession with dancing,an activity that before becoming a dhampir was painful to her and then after becoming one and being all coordinated and flexible(vampire genes you see),dancing becomes her life...Nor Tristan's behavior towards Savannah.I mean he liked her,for many years he obeyed to his parents' wish and didn't speak to her despite being in love with her,and then all of a sudden he can't stop thinking of her and not only that,but while he isn't able to act on his feelings towards her,he has no problem whatsoever to do whatever he can for no guy to approach her either.After that,I just couldn't bring myself to like him.No matter how sweet he may acted later,no,nothing.
The rest of the characters were plainly invisible to me.Savannah's mother was way too immature and selfcentered (what person really stops loving someone just because the whole world is against you???????And you knew it from the beggining??????You had to have a child before you were tired of everything????).Anne,one of Savannah's best friend was a bit noticeable but other than that,the story was focused only on the main couple.
Oh,and one last thing!Who would have thought that all vampire genes do to you,is get you a cup up in your bra size,a gaze that dazes every male you set your eyes on and flexibility.Really????That famous bloodlust was almost nonexistent!

For me,the story was too one-dimensional to really invest in it,thus making Crave a bit of a tiring read.I guess though that as a book it will have a certain appeal to anyone looking for a love story set in a paranormal universe,with the paranormal element though playing a small part.Mostly,Crave is the love story between two teenagers who can't be together because of their paranormal nature.

[Jessie (Ageless Pages Reviews) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!

2.5 out of 5

With one of the few prologues that has excited me rather than dismayed me, Crave was an. . . experience from start to finish. This supernatural young adult novel is a very hard beast for me to categorize within my usual systems. One one hand, there were so many cliches and unnecessary elements that felt like filler, but on the other hand I had fun reading the novel and was intrigued by the lore/mythology of this supernatural world. Melissa Darnell's Crave has had several ratings from me in the day of reading and two days of analyzing I've had with it. From a 3, rationalized to a 2, again rationalized to a 2.5 out of 5 as the fairest I can do for this novel with my extreme mixed emotions. Savannah and Tristan's stories from the first in the Clann series made me intensely want to smack them both, separate them, laugh at them. . . and ultimately want to read its sequel, Covet, as soon as I can get my grabby, contradictory hands on it in 2012. The only thing I can say is that it's like a bad movie: so bad it's good and you can't help but enjoy the often ridiculous, but hard-to-stop ride.

As said earlier Crave is all about two teens: Savannah Colbert, the "social outcast" of her high school and "golden boy" Tristan Coleman. The reader gets in both characters heads quite intimately with the switching, dual POV chapters from each. While I liked the switches between the views of Sav and Tristan, they came much too frequently in the flow of the novel and often without seeming to really need to change to the other's mind. With such a slow plot, with little to nothing happening (seriously the most exciting "event" in the first two hundred and fifty pages is some creepy guys and one guy grabbing Savannah's wrist) the shifts just exacerbated the problems already present. What kept me most interested was the lore and mythology of the Clann, it's secretive ways and just why the two kids were separated at such a young age.

Savannah was an okay protagonist, I suppose. I enjoyed her after a while, but she definitely didn't jump off the page in a burst of life and vivacity or anything, for me as a reader. She was a nicely rounded-out character, one who actually (amazingly, astoundingly) had a group of female friends with brains. I especially loved her friend Anne: protective, sarcastic and smart she was instantly relate-able to me in a way Savannah just wasn't. But, as more and more is revealed about Sav as the novel progressed, I warmed to her. Slight spoiler: especially when Sav was revealed as a half-witch, half vampire/succubus with powers! Tristan was more of a hit with me, though he too was far from ideal. I liked his struggles with his family and their expectations for him and his life -I feel that is something a lot of kids go through and Tristan's issues came across as genuine. He was a charming and even kind kid, apparently a rarity in this town/school. His overtures with Anne showed a lot about his personality and he helped me to warm to his girlfriend. I did laugh that his dream was to play in the NFL, but hey, he's a teenage boy. I did think idolized Savannah a bit much, as well. He constantly narrated, commented on, was angered by how saintlike and giving and perfect she was. We get it - we got it two chapters ago - move on, dude..

One thing I hated about both Tris and Sav: their relationship is practically Twilight but with witches and a part-succubus. Their teenage relationship is chock full of insta!love (no, being best friends in 4th grade does not negate years of independent growth/change/apparent hatred for each other with no communication - Sav and Tris do NOT know each other after reuniting, at least, not enough to be so "deeply" in love), "protectiveness" on part of Tristan that is borderline controlling and stalking, and of course, Tristan's blood is Sav's perfect cocktail (what, does he smell of lavender and freesia, maybe?) - so much so she is always aware whenever he is near. While happily Savannah does have dating experience other than her soulmate, I just had to knock a star off for this ridiculous relationship. It's laughable and like I said, been done before, many, many times. There's also no explanation just why it is Tristan, out of all the Clann, appeals just so much to Miss Savannah. If it's power, Tristan stated both his sister and father were stronger and more dedicated than he was with the magic, so it seems like unnecessary addition. I also wished for more from the vampire side of the novel: from Sav's dad to ominous Council, they seemed to swoop in randomly and then be ignored as part of the novel for quite a while.

I also soon realized just why the prologue was alluring, danger-filled and exciting: it's because the rest of the novel isn't. At all. This is a 400+ page novel with a plot consisting for the first 300 entirely of an old Friends trick: will they or won't they, can they, should they date? Seriously. It's all build-up and "oh no, I'm not allowed to date her!" "I can't be with him, it's against the rules!" when all along everyone - the characters, the reader, the author - all know it's a long-gone, foregone conclusion that they will. Ms. Darnell just dragged this unnecessary dating-or-not-dating drama out for far too long and other concerns that should have been pressing and important (the bloodlust, the council) are relegated to the back until the last 100 pages. For the first half, clueless me sat there wondering, "where's the action? When are the vampires, The Clann, anyone at all! going to do something/anything besides threaten and lurk offscreen?" This is a slow read, and if I hadn't been particuarly zealous the day I read it, I would probably still be struggling through the four hundred page length of the tome. There's no impetus to read besides finishing the novel, because there's no climactic build-up or suspense. Even the end of the novel lacks suspense or real excitement. Maybe Miss Darnell can fix these issues with the second, but I know I will be reading it regardless

[Joy (joyous reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a single serving of everything on the YA menu. You’ve got witches, vampires, and star crossed loves, combined with the clichéd cliques of high school. It’s a buffet…with a side order of cheese – a lot of cheese.

I liked the better part of the beginning of the book – and when I say the better part, we’re talking the first three pages or so. I thought the first page that gave me a glimpse of Savannah’s and Tristan’s natural reactions toward each other were a good preamble to this story. And when I turned the page to the Prologue, I was already salivating for more.

Sadly, this book started out pretty strong but let up with its intensity in the middle. You’d think that the story would take off even more after Savannah found out she was a half-vampire, half-witch. But it didn’t. It got even slower, if that was even possible. There were so many parts of this story that probably should’ve been left out of the finished product, perhaps those parts where Savannah kept agonizing about the Brat Twins or when she decided to be the manager of the Charmers(resisting the eye roll here) or when Tristan became a quasi-manager himself (say, what?!). Tristan was supposed to be a studly football player but opted to follow around a dance team as an escort/manager. I’m sorry, but now you just sound like a wimp to me. I probably skimmed through most of the parts where they were either preparing for a game or at a game. They were pointless.

*head desk*

There are a lot of things that bothered me with this book. Bullying is very rampant. The character doesn’t do anything about the ‘accidental’ pushing, shoving, and verbal abuse she got from the members of the Clann. I just can’t like a book that justified these acts okay. And the character did just that, by thinking that if she ignored them, they’d go away. I’m sorry…just no.

Crave is very unoriginal from this genre’s standpoint. But that’s really okay – only if it was executed very well. As it was, I thought that when Savannah was finally told she was a half-vampire, half-witch, her reaction was a little blah. She accepted her parents’ decisions quite easily with very little questions.

When she finally went through the change, I waited for the bloodlust and got none. What kind of vampire (half or not) does not thirst for blood? Instead, you’ll read about Savannah prancing around school being chased by hormonal boys who suddenly noticed she grew a full cup size over a week’s time. I understand she’s part witch too, but come on! There’s got to be a part of her that yearns for blood, no? The whole Tristan-Savannah romance thing was painful to watch. It was a cheese-fest of epic proportions.

Over all, Crave is a cookie-cutter YA paranormal read. No plot twists await for you here.

On another note, I think I’m a minority on this one, so please - my opinion about this book is just that…MY OPINION.

Arc provided by Net Galley and Harlequin for an honest review.

[Devon Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romeo and Juliet had it easy compared to these two...

Savannah and Tristan are descendents from a line of witches called The Clann. When the two were just twelve years old, they had a pretend wedding; the end result: Savannah's family got kicked out of The Clann and Savannah shunned by all their children. Once high school began, Savannah was all but used to their taunts and misbehavior, but the attraction for Tristan still ran deep. When Savannah gets really sick her freshman year, her single mother finally tells her the truth. Her father was not only a vampire, but an incubus, meaning Savannah can draw energy from both blood or a kiss, which is why The Clann freaked out when she kissed Tristan, their leader's son.

Now Savannah's drowning in rules. Stay away from the members of The Clann, whose blood she'll crave most. Never use magic - don't even think about trying to learn on your own. Oh, and yeah, you can never dance again, or play sports, or trully participate in anything because vampires excel beyond humans abilities with everything they do and you'll only draw attention to their species. Do any of these things and you'll instigate a war between the species. No pressure there...Oh, and members of The Clann and a few vampire watchers are everywhere spying on you just waiting for you to screw this up...but no pressure!

Miserable, Savannah moves forward with her life the best she can, fighting hard to find some enjoyment. The vampires ruined her chances to join the Charmers, the school's drill team, but they wouldn't stop her from becoming one of their managers so long as she promised not to be a backup dancer. But Savannah's slowly becoming her father and his incubus abilities are seeping through. She accidentally gaze-dazes a few boys and sends them into psycho-stalker mode, drawing the attention of Tristan, who still secretly longs for Savannah too. He secretly uses his magic to set them right and decides enough is enough - he'll do whatever it takes to be with her, even if her kiss will slowly drain his life away.

With the way Crave ended, I have a feeling I'm gonna be a little mad at Covet, cause I see the huge freakin' bump in the road for Tristan and Savannah's relationship. And I was really enjoying their secret rendevous. But now that it's out, everyone will be at the brink of war and the two will be ripped apart. But at least I'll still have their dream connection to swoon over. Sigh...



ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enticing mix of forbidden love, magic, betrayal, and heartache, this romance will leave your craving more. Melissa Darnell's beautifully told love story mixed with a rich vampire and witch mythology creates on of this year's most spellbinding paranormal romances.

Sav is a unique character I liked getting to know. She's feisty, level headed and fun. She also has an inner strength I admired about her. She's someone who at one time she had a lot of friends, and has since become some what of a loner, all because of something that happened during her childhood. One day "the clann" kids, along with her childhood crush were no longer welcome to play with Sav, let alone talk to her anymore, and she's never really understood why. "The Clann" are kids who come from a powerful line of witches, and they not only rule the school, but their parents run the town. They also have a long standing dislike for vampires.

I liked that this story is set in high school, because not only is Sav trying to blend into her surrounding, but she also has to deal with high school drama, the feelings she still has for her childhood crush and taking crap from her one time childhood friends. The entire storyline moved along quickly, but it went even faster once things change drastically for Sav, who develops some weird symptoms that in the process change her, quite a bit. Not only does she learn she has some pretty impressive powers, but she finds out her father is a powerful vampire, her mother is a witch and she's a Dhamphir. A mix of both a vampire and a witch is not only unheard of, it's dangerous, especially since she's a one of a kind. Now both the Clann and the Vampires fear her and want her dead, and her childhood crush wants back into her life.

My favorite aspect of the story is the romance. The love that the feelings Sav and Tristan have for each other started back when they were young kids who used to play together, and it's remained the same even though they've spent years not being able to talk to each other. I love that their romance started years before the story starts and it's one that only grows stronger as Sav and Tristan are now back in each other's lives. I really enjoyed watching how they rekindled their feelings, while at the same time deal with the threat that comes from their forbidden romance. My favorite part of their love story resolves around a tree and a box of valentine hearts, which I won't say any more so I don't give anything away. That whole story in itself had me sigh.

Crave is such a refreshing, intoxicating paranormal read. The mix of paranormal lore and the rich mythology Melissa created to bring her story to life made it hard for me to put this story down. The story line itself is fast paced, engaging, and includes some surprising twists that were both predictable ones I didn't see coming. It's a story with a well written forbidden love story I enjoyed getting lost in and in-depth characters I enjoyed meeting. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

[Emilee the Hipster Kitty Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

EDIT:
Looking back I can't help but think I was a little to hard on this book. It really wasn' t as bad as I make it out to be.



2.5. Review to come.



Review has arrived.


So I was just sittin' on my coach, listening to Rabbit Heart, when an amazing idea came to me; I would write a review instead of twiddling my thumbs, bored out of my mind! So here I am several minutes later, typing.


Ain't life funny?


Now on to what everyone is waiting for... my review!

A few days ago, as I was surfing through this site, on the prowl for sarcastic reviews naturally, I saw this. My first thought was "HOLY SNICKERDOODLES that is pretty!" and my second thought was "Vampires and witches... hmmmm... this could be either AWESOME in all caps, or it could be boring as heck."

Unfortunaly, it was the second.

Let's start with the positive.


Well the cover is Beautiful. I happen to love that shade of red, and the white dress is stunning against it. The whole thing sorta reminds me of a Valentine, except you know, there is the word Crave and some lady's name instead "Be Mine" or I <3 You" and all that sentimental crap.


I also liked the dad. Even when the girl (her name currently escapes me) was all angry at him, I couldn't help think he was somewhat misunderstood. After all, it wasn't like he was completely AWOL, he did show up several times a year, and tried to have bonding moments with her. It wasn't his fault vamps are cold by nature.



OH, and while I'm on the subject of icyness, I loved when she became an ice princess. Though I am confused why she had to become cold to stand up for herself. Why can't she be nice, AND tough?


And finally I love the name Tristan. The author lady won a browny point for naming one of her MCs that.



And...

Aaaaannnnnnnnddddddd......

That's it for the good.


On to the Negative.



The main chic... Savannah THAT'S her name, I knew I would remember it if I thought about it! Anyway, she was just... boring.



In fact, that's a good description for this book.


Boring.


All of it was boring. I ended up skiming because most of it was just her trying out for the dance team, going out with some goody-two-shoes boy when she was in love with Tristan, the magic-man. It was just... dull. I mean it could have been a non-paranormal book for all the vampy-ness going on. I was expecting blood-sucking and people with insane powers.


And what do I get?


High School dating 101.


I ended up forcing myself to finish, for the sake of the cover (and the fact that one of the characters was named Tristan, however lackluster said character may be).


Honestly, not that much sticks out for me. Maybe other people like, even love, it and I'm happy for them. But it just didn't do it for me.


Oh, well. I suppose I shall just go back to twiddling my thumbs.

[Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I promise you that when you pick up Crave you will not be able to put it down. The opening alone will have you glued to the pages. The world that Darnell has created is nothing like I've read before and it was so refreshing to read something totally different than what I had expected it to be. I knew that it had to somehow do with Vampires, but trust me when I say that it was so much more than that. It's a very unique story and super entertaining.

Crave is full of secrets, magic, and lots of forbidden rules that Tristen and Savannah just love to break. It's fast paced and put together really well. Not once was I lost or confused about anything. Melissa Darnell has a great imagination and a way with words. It was not hard at all to picture the characters, events, and emotions that were described in the book.

Tristen will climb so far under your skin and into your heart that you will be begging for more Tristen at the end of the book. Savannah is so lucky! I wanted to somehow climb in the book and get rid of her and take Tristen for myself. He was strong, kind, dependable, tender and oh so sexy. Here is a small sneak peek into Tristen's mind.

SPOILER FREE*** This is actually part of the opening for Crave.

Tristan

Even in the middle of a noisy mass of students, one girl's laugh grabbed my attention.

I couldn't figure out how she did it. The hallway was loud, with at least a hundred students all talking and yelling in a space only a few yards wide and a hundred yards long. But every time Savannah Colbert laughed, the husky sound somehow managed to reach out and twist up everything inside me.

I and all the rest of the descendants of the Clann had been forbidden to have anything to do with Savannah. Supposedly she was a dangerous influence or something. Whatever she was, she was definitely on the Clann's list of social outcasts. And Mom made sure I knew it, too, constantly pounding it into my head for the past five years to "stay away from that Colbert girl."

And yet I couldn't stop myself from turning to look at her now.

I loved everything about Crave. But the romance between Tristen and Savannah was what I loved most. The only issue I had was that there were times where I felt the story got a little to kiddie for me. I also would have liked Savannah and Tristen to be a bit older. There is a part in the story where they go through something serious and I felt it was just a little much for their age. But this did not, for one second, ruin the story for me.

I give Crave 4 out of 5 Stars!

[brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like Crave. I got almost 50 pages through then stopped reading but then I came back nearly a week later and decided to give it a second chance. I'm glad I did! I actually found it to be quite enjoyable.

At first I didn't like Savannah as a character at first but throughout the book I started liking her more. I like how she starts sticking up for herself when she gets bullied. Apart from being bullied she also had to deal with family problems and her sudden "changes" - like when she would gaze into a boys eyes he'd become obsessed with her. I also liked Tristan as a character. He may be "Mr Popular" but he wasn't arrogant or anything bad; he was sweet. If I had to pick a character that I didn't like it would be Anne. I didn't like her father either until we find out at the end that he was just trying to protect her and he was being controlled by the vampire council

I liked the romance between Tristan and Savannah. It wasn't too sudden and it took over half the book for them to actually get together. At first the whole "social outcast girl in love with the popular boy and he likes her too" thing put me off but I think it really worked with Crave. The fact that their being together is forbidden made the story more interesting too.

Overall, Crave was a good book. It was fast paced so there weren't any huge boring bits.

[~Tina~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Savannah and Tristan were best friends in the forth grade till one day Tristan's family told him that he and the rest of "The Clann" descendants are to stay away from the Colbert girl.
Savannah didn't understand why her childhood friends just up and poofed on her when they were younger, but it's been hard on her these high school days since they look at her like a freak and pretty much just bully her around.
Savannah gets sick with the flu one week and everything changes, she finds out that she's a rare dhampir, half vampire, half witch and that's the reason The Clann kids has to stay away since what they say about them are true. The can do magic and apparently warlocks and witches are forbidden to be with a vampire.
It's a good thing Tristan and Savannah aren't friends anymore after all.
Right....?

This is the kind of book that I usually love. Vampires, magic, a childhood crush turned into forbidden love. Yup, totally sap material...or so I thought.
The writing is good, but it's not evenly paced. It's rushed in some spots while slow moving in others, but that's not what really bothered me about this book. I liked Savanna. I liked Tristan. But I couldn't connect with them as a couple. Most likely it was due to the fact that they didn't even interact (as in face to face conversation) till almost 200 pgs into the story, in less you count the dreams, which I don't. Sure they felt each others presence and they were very vocal about there infatuation in the ramblings of their thoughts, but they didn't actually come together till half the book was said and done, and that made it very frustrating to read. I also didn't fully understand why all of a sudden Tristan wanted to be with Savannah in the beginning, it was almost like he was fighting an internal battle with himself throughout most of the story and I just didn't get it since they haven't talked in seven years? Don't get me wrong, I thought it was really cute when Tristan would be all jealous and go all protect'o mode but, there was just so many unnecessary obstacles in the way.
When push comes to shove and they finally do get together?
It just felt to late to buy it and I found myself not caring anymore.

Bottom line, Crave has a good concept and even likable characters but the delivery of the relationship was way off and kinda ruined the entire experience for me.

(Arc provided by Netgalley)

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you’re getting to the last twenty or so pages in a book and are getting bummed because you know it’s about to end – THAT’s when you know you’ve found a winner. Finding out that said book is part of a series – awesome! For me, CRAVE was that winning/awesome book. Just take a look at my statuses while reading:

Pg.29: “♥Cover-Love♥”

Pg.167: “Makes me wish my lunch break was a full hour.”

Pg.343: “Oh sleep, why do you need me like I need you??? I want to keep reading this!”

Pg. 360: “Add Tristan to your top Book-Boyfriends. ♥”

Pg. 375: “Just found out this morning there will be a sequel – Awesome!”



The ‘American Beauty’-like cover baits you, but the story is what keeps you reading.

Savannah and Tristan’s story is reminiscent of Romeo & Juliet. With parents that forbid them to associate with one another, the author gives the reader both Savannah and Tristan’s POV’s, letting us discover the feelings they have towards each other are genuine and undeniable.

Author Melissa Darnell has created characters that are not only like-able, but stay with you well past the pages. Never mind that they’re witches and vampires, these are teens you would find in any high school setting and I’m sure you can think of someone in your class that fits the roles Darnell described.

Writing this review, I’ve had a difficult time coming up with words that would be worthy the five out of five stars I give it. I didn’t even bother with a description of the story line because I don’t think I could have done a better job than the summary put out by Harlequin’s marketing team.

I am EAGERLY awaiting the release of COVET expected in 2012. I just hope its early 2012!

[chev! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you stay away from the person you love for long?
This book has a powerful message on love, as two teenagers who are forced to stay apart from each other managed the obstacles together. I cannot wait to read the next book!

5/5 (swoon-worthy, with a dark side)

Recommended for: anyone who loves vampire romances~

usually write reviews on goodreads, feel free to dm me:)
I am revamping my blog: see it here > https://sites.google.com/view/chevrev...


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[Svenja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Buch hat mich ein wenig überrascht. Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass mir das Buch so gut gefallen wird.

Ich habe allerdings auch schon lange keine Twilight-Romeo&Julia-Geschichte mehr gelesen und fand das mal wieder recht unterhaltsam.

Schön fand ich auch, dass das Mädel mal zur "bösen" Art gehört.

[Anatea Oroz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf.

This is probably the best book I have read this year. It is truly amazing! I liked everything, I don't have a tiniest complaint about the book.
The book has a great storyline, amazing characters and Melissa Darnell is an awesome author. She used the perfect amount of dialogs and description, and the book was never boring. You just had to read more, it's not possible to put the book down.

This is a story about a girl named Savannah, but she isn't just a regular girl. She is a dhampir. Her father is a vampire and her mother is a human with the ability of doing magic. In the book, she becomes familiar with her own magic abilities, but she is not allowed to learn how to use them because her mother and grandmother were kicked out of The Clann. Also, she gets to know what the bloodlust is and some other vampire abilities, like how she can eye gaze males and turn them into aggressive stalkers.
There is also this boy, Tristan Coleman, the future Clann leader, who she isn't allowed to hang out with. But who can be more interesting than the one that is out of her reach, and add to it that he isn't affected by her eyes, things have to get complicated.

I love the thing that we could follow the story from both views, from Savannah's and Tristan's. They're both strong characters. I loved Tristan because he's funny, he's a little bit cocky, and he cares about Savannah, even though he's not supposed to. He shows his feelings just enough to don't make him mushy.
I also like Savannah a lot because she is a strong character. She is very brave and she is willing to sacrifice her for others, but she is also consistent to her beliefs.

One more thing I really liked in this book is Savannah' relationship with her parents. In most books parents have a bad relationship with their kids, they don't care about them, but not in this book. They care about her, they're trying to protect her and also don't neglect her.

I don't usually read the books with such young characters. Savannah was only 15 at the beginning of the book, but they actually grow old here. At the end of the book, she is almost 17.

To sum it up, great book, I would recommend it to everyone who likes vampires & witch books. And I can't wait for Covet to come out.

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[Alex Bennett]

Every once in a while you find a book that you not only can’t put down, but one that you don’t want to set aside even for a moment. For me, Crave is one of those books. I started it, and immediately knew that this book was going to be special. I was thinking about this book even when I wasn’t reading it. It’s just really awesome, you know?

Vampires and witches—two enemy species who have decided to stop warring and live separately. But when Savannah learns the truth about her heritage—and how it has ties to both the vampires and The Clann, her entire world turns upside down. I loved reading about Savannah’s transformation, and her finding all the information on The Clann and the vampire races. And how perfect was the love interest—Tristan. At first they try hard to stay away, but they both realize that won’t be a possibility. I can’t wait to find out more about The Clann and the vampires in the next Clann novel.

Melissa Darnell’s writing was highly contagious. She has a way of pulling readers into the story and taking them wherever she wants the story to go. I found myself not even second guessing most of the things that went on in this novel, because I just believed that they were true because of the great writing. I do wish some of the dialog was more realistic to the way most teens talk, but I never found the dialog to take away from the story all that much. I really enjoyed how the story switched perspectives from Savannah to Tristan periodically, and never found it to be confusing.

Savannah was an admirable main character, giving and kind, and always putting others first. I did find her to be a little too sweet at times, but hopefully she will grow even more throughout the series. Tristan was swoon-worthy and an all around great guy. I wish we could have seen more sides to him, but there is always the future for that. The secondary characters were lacking some dimension, but I did enjoy reading about them.

A spellbinding, compelling, and completely enjoyable debut, Crave had me flipping pages until there were none left to flip. I really think most readers will enjoy this story, especially if you are a fan of paranormal romances between star-crossed lovers.

[starryeyedjen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alas, a book with not one but two paranormal elements I just can’t seem to get enough of. I’ll admit it. I was hooked on this book. There’s just something about witches and vampires that does that to me, no matter how much I fight it. But when a book is well-written and has great main AND secondary characters to boot, well, why fight it? And the best part? It’s set in TEXAS!!!

Savannah and Tristan’s stories, though told from alternating points of view, seem destined to remain intertwined, no matter how much they or their families try to stop it. Savannah is the scourge of the earth as far as The Clann is concerned, and Sav’s family is happy to remain ostracized if it means keeping Savannah safe from The Clann and others who would seek to harm her. But nothing is ever that simple.

Savannah is going through some serious changes, and people are starting to react differently to her. Boys suddenly seem entranced when in her presence, Tristan included. But Tristan’s feelings stem from something else. However, he made a promise to The Clann and his family, so he keeps his distance. And, naturally, soccer-playing hottie Greg swoops in and sweeps Savannah off her feet.

Tristan is the hawt boy we’re supposed to lust after, and he doesn’t disappoint. But I like that his character had some depth to him, as well. And although Savannah is naïve and pretty much resigns herself to being everyone’s doormat, she still surprised me by dating Greg. She gave him a shot, even though her heart really belonged to Tristan. How very un-Bella of her to take a chance at happiness with a normal, nice guy instead of waiting for Tristan to return her feelings. But promises be damned! What kind of story would this be if the star-crossed lovers didn’t stoke the embers of their burning love and risk both their lives in the process?

Awesome story? Check. Fabulous characters? Check. Forbidden romance? Check. Yep…this book has the makings for a great series, and it will leave you CRAVE-ing more. See what I did there? :D

I received a copy of this book for review from Netgalley.

[Lina (From the Verge) · Rating 1 out of 5]

OOOOOHHHH It's so bad I am still trying to get rid of the images it created in my head. Yuck!! I have this tendency to read books as if there is no tomorrow. I devour them, enjoy them and find them impossible to pull down. But this one, after sitting down for 6 hours to read it, I had to leave the last 10 pages unread... for a week! yes, me, the book-eater! It was painfully bad. So bad I want my 6 lost hours back... oh, well, I just found the courage to skim through these last few pages because I need to return it to the library -thankfully, I didn't spend money on it-.

It is the story of this high school girl Savannah, who is half witch and vampire, and Tristan a member of the Clann, a very powerful group of witches... and we have dance competitions, Texas (y'all... pleaaasseee), NFL trials and cheerleaders and aaarhhhh it's too painful.

It has a playlist at the end of the book with the songs the authors thinks are cool for each chapter. I believe Trent Reznor (NiN) will not be happy to share space with Enrique Iglesias. Hell, I sometimes have music mismatches but I respect God Trent above all and Enrique is not cool, not cool at all. The music list is a fair glimpse of how unconnected this book is. The only good thing about this book is the advertisement at the back for Julie Kagawa's The Iron Fey series, also from Harlequin Teen!

I now need a good book detox (I'm grateful to be simultaneously reading other stuff).

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW...What a love story!!
Crave introduces us to a world of paranormal where certain "species" do not get along and how something that is old and outdated affects two young people trying to find their way in the world. It is told with alternating POVs and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Savannah's and Tristan's thoughts. It gave me a true sense of who each person was and what exactly each one was feeling and dealing with on each side of the battlefield.
Crave by Melissa Darnell reminds me of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. A forbidden romance, in which families and many other outside factors declaring that the couple are not allowed to be together, weave a tale so intriguing and exhilarating that you can't put the book down. I was so captivated by this story and fell completely in love with it too! I am standing on the sidelines rooting for Savannah and Tristan and hoping that their forbidden fairy tale does not end like Romeo and Juliet's.
Definitely worth the read and can't wait for the next installment!!

[Midge ☠ ★ 99% poison ★ ☠ · Rating 1 out of 5]

fack off with the half-vampire thing like i just

[hayden]

Holy crap. I just realized that's a girl on the cover.

[Erin V · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much loved this book. It was slow at first but then it got really good. This is the type of different paranormal romance that I am glad I finally found.

[Majanka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crave is one of those books that left me with mixed feelings and the constant urge to hit my keyboard with my head. The latter is not advised by the way, not because it could hurt your head, but mostly because your keyboard will probably not appreciate it. And if there’s one person/thing you don’t want to mess with, then it’s your keyboard. Especially not if you want to play WoW later on, write a review or even write some assignments for university. The reason why I have mixed feelings about this book is because I liked two things about it: 1) the synopsis and 2) the cover. Let’s admit it once and for all, covers are important, even if we all claim that they’re not and that we’re intellectual beings who are not persuaded by superficial things like cover art. I know that sometimes the greatest stories are hidden behind the ugliest covers imaginable, but still I get excited when I see a gorgeous cover. However, the opposite is true equally as many times as well, and sometimes you can find one of the most boring and unoriginal stories behind the most gorgeous cover imaginable. Don’t believe me? Try out Crave.

I have to add that Crave isn’t that bad. If you haven’t read a ton of YA fantasy/vampire fiction books already, then you might actually enjoy it. On the other hand, if you’re as familiar with the genre as I am, then you’ll be astonished by the amount of clichés author Melissa Darnell manages to put into one book. Let’s talk about the main character, Savannah first. Savannah holds a lot of resemblences to our dearly hated and well-known Bella Swan. Not appearance-wise, but personality-wise. I always go on and on about how Bella Swan could be replaced by a cow or another animal and the story wouldn’t even change, because she has the personality of a cardboard figure and is just about as interesting as watching reruns of Dawson’s Creek for the seventh time. Savannah Colbert, main character of Crave, is a Bella Swan in disguise. Although she pretends to be halfway interesting by being a vampire (big deal…), in all honesty she isn’t. She hasn’t got a single personality trait that makes her special or unique or even remotely interesting. Why she has friends to begin with is a giant mystery to me. She has no spine, no backbone, no real hobbies besides going to school, nothing at all that makes her anything more than a standard cardboard figure. I couldn’t help it, but I didn’t like her at all. That’s not to say that I didn’t try. But the endless descriptions of how ridiculous she supposedly looks (carrot-orange curly hair that she can’t do anything with, pale skin) obviously served as a replacement for any actual personality traits she might have had. Quite frankly, I couldn’t care less if Savannah was a gorgeous blonde with a flawless tanned skin or a redhead with zits, pimples and glasses the size of Timbuktoe. I care about who people are, not what they look like.

However, that’s not where the author’s obvious preferences for superficial qualities ends. She goes through great lengths to describe Savannah’s crush, Tristan as being the prince of Jacksonville, the typical hot sportstar every girl swoons over. Yes…Let’s disregard the fact that he’s also the biggest jerk walking around school, a total pushover who does everything his parents tell him to do, has absolutely no leadership qualities whatsoever and has the emotional level of a baby. Seriously, Tristan, you have to grow a pair. Excuse me for stating it so bluntly, but that’s basically the only way I can describe it. Tristan is apparently once of those people who’s still stuck in kindergarten even though he’s in highschool. He supposedly has feelings for Savannah and has had these for a while now, but because the Clann told him to stay away from her, he happily obliges. Yeh…That would really make me swoon all over him. Not. Apparently for Savannah it’s no biggie though. Although this is the guy who she was best friends with until fourth grade and who turned his back on her from one day on the other without even giving an explenation, she continues to fantasize about him and convince the readers every once in a while of how hot he actually is. Yes, well I’m unconvinced. He could be looking like Ian Somerhalder (my favorite actor at the moment) and I still wouldn’t go for him, because he has the personality of a zebra. Really. One day he’s black and all ‘must follow clan rules’, the other day he’s white and all ‘I love Savannah nanananana’.

But hey, it’s not over yet. Suddenly Savannah meets a guy named Greg who is supposedly the best boyfriend material anyone could wish for. He’s the kind of guy your mother would approve instantly – not an easy task to accomplish. Not only is Greg polite, kind, generous and caring, he’s also good-looking, intelligent and has a nice sense of humor. Brilliant, right? By now every person in their right mind would have jumped on the Greg bandwagon in a heartbeat. Not Savannah though. No, because Greg doesn’t threat her like crap, doesn’t ignore her whenever he feels like it, and isn’t one big push-over. He’s just not Tristan, she occassionally muses. Ofcourse he’s not. He’s about one million times better than Tristan, but Savannah fails to see that. By now, I felt like throwing my entire laptop at that girl and knocking some sense into her.

Hold your horses. The fun isn’t over yet. Remember how I told you that Savannah is supposedly a vampire? Well in fact, she’s a half-vampire, a dhampire if you want. And she’s also a half-witch. In any other book that would mean insane superpowers, the ability to save the world from the apocalypse or the destiny to fulfill some ancient prophecy. Hahaha, but not in Crave! We were wrong all along, ladies and gentlemen, because the number one superpower you get by being a half-vampire/half-witch hybrid? You grow boobs overnight! Yes, you can go from a size A to a size C in just one night! Isn’t that bloody amazing? And you know what happens when these boobs just miraculously appear? You get male attention, all of the sudden. Yes. Tons and tons of horny teenage boys come knocking on your door because HEY you got boobs now! Isn’t that amazing? It’s like the coolest superpower ever! Spiderman and his spider senses can go screw themselves, here’s Superboob to protect the world from harm…and to turn all teenage boys into horny sex slaves!

Yes, I used a lot of sarcasm in the previous paragraph, but you have to admit how stupid it sounds. If the only thing I initially got from being a hybrid was to grow two boobsizes overnight, I would be anything but amused. It gets worse though. Savannah can now enchant boys just by looking at them and turn them into drooling stalkerzombies. Although the concept seems hilarious it’s more enervating than anything else.

And what about Tristan and Savannah’s love affair, you ask? What can I say about it except that it’s the most unrealistic unbelievable crap since Twilight. Savannah never even questions why Tristan didn’t talk to her for well over seven years, it’s left unexplained why the sportstar shows interest in the freak girl all of the sudden (why not three years sooner, for example?) and Tristan never grows the backbone needed to be an actual asset to this relationship. They’re such a mismatch that they’re worse than Luce and Daniel from the Fallen series, Bella and Edward from Twilight and Elena and Stefan from The Vampire Diaries together. There is nothing that could explain why they’re drawn to eachother, no mutual interests whatsoever, except this strange, unexplainable love they cannot deny. Been there, done that, it never works out well, not even in fiction. I would love it if a psychiatrist could get his hands on Tristan and Savannah and finally knock some sense into them.

As you probably realized by now, Crave is just one cliché on top of the other until it forms a giant mountain of clichés that even the best writing skill in the world couldn’t undo. The book isn’t totally bad though. Melissa Darnell has an interesting and enjoyable writing style, and I’d like to see her write something else but using the same style. If she managed to step away from the clichés and write about a believable, interesting romance then she really has potential. The pace was fast through-out the entire novel, but sometimes it dropped significantly and seemed to drag on a bit. However that’s to be expected from the first book in a series so I didn’t really mind it that much. Overall the premise of this book was intriguing, and it could have been a real success-story had the characters been less like cardboard figures, had their romance been more believable and if the book had a more promising plotline overall. It started out promising enough but near the end when nothing major or apocalyptic-like had happened, I sort of felt dissapointed. If you write an entire book with as only goal to bring two characters together and you don’t even manage to do that right, then you’re obviously doing something wrong. I always enjoy it when something else is going on in the background, like some epic battle with the entire world at stake or something along those lines, but here there was…well, nothing.

I expected a lot more from Crave and in all honesty it delivered very little. The only characters worth mentioning where Anne (now she has some personality!) and Greg. Please make these two the main characters of the next book in the series, and I might believe in The Clann series again. For now, I do believe in Melissa Darnell’s writing skills and that she could write a magnificent piece of fiction one day, but only if she steps away from clichés and works a lot on adding actual personality traits to her characters. For now, I’m not sure if I would recommend this book to anyone. However, a lot of people on Goodreads rated it highly, so it must have something that works for some people. You’re free to give it a shot, but don’t come knocking on my door with an angry mob if you don’t like it or if you ruin your keyboard by smashing your head into it while reading this book. I do believe the author has a lot of potential, and I wish her good luck with her future works. This book just wasn’t for me.

[Karen Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weird book to review. Vampires, witches and the stereotypical doomed relationship between two teens from different families.
The opening - describing the relationship between Savannah and Tristan - sets up an interesting idea. Then we focus on the Clann, their dominance in town and their bullying of Savannah. It takes a while to work out why, but when she’s off school ill for a week we start to realise there’s more to her than we’re first shown.
The story doesn’t really give us as much as I’d have liked. For a paranormal romance it was definitely the romance that took precedent in this part. However, there are glimpses of some interesting characters and ideas.

[Rose R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a different type of Vampire story. Different world different....everything. and I liked it. Deserves a lot better, and more. Loved it.

[Cyna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can pretty easily sum up my feelings on this book:



I can't even summon up the will to be irritated with this book, just perplexed and disappointed. Have we just completely given up on the idea of show-don't-tell as a publishing prerequisite? Have we? Because honestly, the writing on display in Crave just puts me at a loss. It's bad. Baaaaaad. Not quite Once in a Full Moon bad, but it came dangerously close, and oh God, I just cannot do that anymore. I seriously considered making this a DNF, and I never do that, because hey, bad books are half the fun. But oh man, Crave...Crave was just too much.

Crave is about Savannah Colbert, a fifteen-year-old girl who learns not long after the book begins that she is half-vampire, half-witch. This is apparently a BIG DEAL, because vampires and witches have been warring like forever, yo, and have only recently fallen into a fragile peace. Savannah's birth threatens this peace because both races' Ruling Councils fear that she could be seduced over to the enemy's side, which would apparently be a Thing. So Savannah is only allowed to exist under very strict conditions, the most important of which being "keep it under wraps" and "do not fraternize with the witches".

You could probably guess what was going to happen next even if it weren't in the summary.

Yes, Savannah manages to fall in love with Tristan, a witch, or "member of "the Clann"", if you want to get cheesily vague. Not just any witch, either, but the Future Leader. You see, for some reason it was totes ok for Savannah and the Clann kids to be BFFs back in grade school, but then Savannah and Tristan had cock it by having a pretend wedding. The Clann parents lost their shit and ordered their children to socially ostracize her, so now they're in high school, and the Clann spawn are rich and powerful popular kids who humiliate their former friend mercilessly. However, both Savannah and Tristan nurse secret crushes, and thus the great majority of Crave is devoted to the slow but inevitable progression towards yet another Romeo and Juliet Romance.

I'll admit, there are bits and pieces in here that work, or at least would work if they were developed more. I did a forehead slap when we were introduced to the characters Savannah deemed "the Brat Twins", two Clann girls who used to be her friends. They are now, of course, the beautiful school bitches (a trope I absolutely adore *gritting teeth*), picking on Savannah for no real reason. But Savannah surprised me by actually standing up to them, calling them out, and asking why they're so mean when the three of them used to be friends. And the girls surprised me by actually getting a little bit sad and nostalgic for the old days, and I thought, "Hey, this could be a really great subplot and subversion"...until the scene ended, and the relationship was never brought up again. The "Brat Twins" go back to being the kind of non-presences I hesitate to even call "cliches". They appear once or twice to insult Savannah, and otherwise have no bearing whatsoever on the rest of the plot.

Likewise, I appreciate that at the very least there's more at stake here for Tristan and Savannah than just their parents' or society's disapproval. By the end of the book, the vampire Council has more than proven itself willing to take Savannah out of she continues on with the relationship, so...there is that.

I also kind of liked the way the book approached Savannah's mother and father's relationship - it's portrayed as a youthful fling, something of an act of rebellion, passionate, but brief, and something Savannah's mother has been able to get past. It's rare that you see any kind of romance with a vampire played out with an even vaguely realistic perception of the transient nature of love and relationships.

On the downside, there's...the rest of the book. Savannah as a character is a fairly realistic portrayal of an immature, self-absorbed fifteen-year-old, I suppose. Shes also pretty consistently annoying, and likely will be to anyone who is not the same sort of teenager...

Read more at You're Killing.Us.

[Jen (In the Closet With a Bibliophile) · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Crave by Melissa Darnell, darkness hides around every corner, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to come swooping in, capturing everything it has ever wanted. A relationship forbidden, Savannah and Tristan were childhood friends until one day they suddenly weren't and neither really knew why. Savannah has never understood the turn of events that took her best friend from her in the fourth grade, but years later at the age of sixteen, she still misses him.

Tristan has no idea why his parents, the leaders of The Clann, have forbade him to associate with Savannah, but he feels this pull to her, no matter what they say or do. But, will it be worth it for Tristan to give in to the pull and do what he has been told he must never do.

Crave is a story that I wanted to like, but in the end, I just couldn't get into it. I've discovered that when reading, if I look down at the percentage read at the bottom of my Kindle and I think "that's it, that's all I've read?" than the book I'm reading is just not something I'm enjoying. Crave was one of those books.

The writing, while not horrible was bland and forgettable. Crave felt more like a book I have already read a couple times before and for some reason I just couldn't find my groove amongst the words and characters. Savannah as a character had so much potential. The book begins with her waking up sick and getting progressively worse. I was really really interested in this whole aspect of the story. Why is she sick? What's going on with her? Is she really going to die? In the end, it wasn't as surprising or interesting as I'd hoped for. She turned out to be half vampire--which really doesn't give anything away as this all happens in the first couple chapters--and I suppose that the back story to her becoming the half incubus (succubus?) that she is, feels drawn out and stretched and a little weak kneed.

I would say that my biggest complaint with Crave is the dual narrative point of view. As narrators, Savannah and Tristan are extremely interchangeable and I wouldn't have known who was speaking if it hadn't been for the name at the top of their sections. A dual narrative is always hard to nail because the individual voices must be so unique that character titles, while presented, aren't really necessary. Savannah and Tristan were basically the same person. They even used the exact same nicknames for people which really didn't work because they hadn't been on speaking terms for eight years or something like that and the nicknames were not something I'd imagine a boy saying, ever.

I actually finished this book about two weeks ago, but I keep trying to think of what pushed me to finish it when I was kind of bored throughout. I think I've finally pinned it on the prologue. Now, I really don't see the need for most prologues, but in this instance it made me keep reading because I wanted to know how the story went from her being a normal and clueless human to being surrounded by people debating to kill her. I think if the book had been written better, the prologue would have been completely unnecessary. In the end, I just didn't mesh well with Crave and its characters.

[Khushboo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Light spoilers ahead. No big reveals, but I will be talking about a few plot issues.

I don't get why Savannah's family was oh-so-important. According to Savannah's mother, if she and Savannah's father had stayed together, a world war would've broken out. More logical explanation would've been that the Clann and the Council would've killed them to prevent a war. And no matter how you like to put it, Savannah's mother broke up with her husband because she had gotten bored of him.
Though this adds drama to the story, and is often the case with books in which the lead character has a magical background, I don't really see wisdom in hiding about her identity from Savannah. And what is it with delaying her puberty? They all knew it would happen sooner or later, so why were they hoping it would never happen and she would always stay normal. The book has a poor plot and Savannah's family comes off as a bunch of idiots.
There are strange watchers at schools who don't need to blink, have superspeed, and only savannah can see them and they are only interested in her, and the only thing she thinks is that they are clann members, a.k.a virtually human witches. the thought that they can be from her peternal side never even crosses her mind. talk about idiocy!
[While there were all these problems, I liked this book because the emotions felt real, I could actually feel it. The reactions weren't too shallow, nor overly dramatic, just the right amount that felt natural. I really enjoyed reading it for that.] At first. It seemed to dull out soon. And so many things about the story were cliche, and the ideas so used, I could practically pick some of the lines and place them in the books they were taken from. The book seemed to stretch too long, and later on, I had to skip parts of it to stay focused and interested in reading the story at all.