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Vamps #1
Vamps
When the sun goes down, New York's true elite all head to one place: Bathory Academy, where the young ladies of the finest vampire families are trained in shapeshifting and luring their prey.
Bathory's reigning queen, Lilith Todd, is the daughter of a powerful vampire businessman, and she knows exactly what she wants from life. She wants to look beautiful for eternity and party till the sun comes up with her gorgeous boyfriend, Jules. And she doesn't want any New Blood upstarts standing in her way.
Enter Cally Monture, an unexpected threat from a trash zip code. When their first meeting leads to tragic results, Lilith is hungry for revenge.
Bathory's reigning queen, Lilith Todd, is the daughter of a powerful vampire businessman, and she knows exactly what she wants from life. She wants to look beautiful for eternity and party till the sun comes up with her gorgeous boyfriend, Jules. And she doesn't want any New Blood upstarts standing in her way.
Enter Cally Monture, an unexpected threat from a trash zip code. When their first meeting leads to tragic results, Lilith is hungry for revenge.
235 pages, Paperback
First published July 22, 2008
About the author
Nancy A. Collins
276 books622 followersNancy A. Collins (born 10 September 1959) is a United States horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has also written for comic books, including the Swamp Thing series, Jason Vs. Leatherface, Predator: Hell Come A Walkin and her own one-shot Dhampire: Stillborn.
Collins was born in McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she settled in Wilmington, North Carolina in the late 2000s.
Collins has written twenty novels since 1989, many of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey.
Collins has also written a number of highly acclaimed Southern Gothic short stories and novellas, most of which are set in Seven Devils, Arkansas, a highly fictionalized version of her hometown.
Most recently, she has focused her attention onto the Golgotham urban fantasy series,published by Penguin. Golgotham is the 'supernatural' ghetto of New York City, where creatures from myth and folklore--including witches,shapeshifters,leprechauns and centaurs--live and work in uneasy alliance with mankind.
Collins was born in McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she settled in Wilmington, North Carolina in the late 2000s.
Collins has written twenty novels since 1989, many of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey.
Collins has also written a number of highly acclaimed Southern Gothic short stories and novellas, most of which are set in Seven Devils, Arkansas, a highly fictionalized version of her hometown.
Most recently, she has focused her attention onto the Golgotham urban fantasy series,published by Penguin. Golgotham is the 'supernatural' ghetto of New York City, where creatures from myth and folklore--including witches,shapeshifters,leprechauns and centaurs--live and work in uneasy alliance with mankind.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
January 22, 2023
A long time ago, in a land far away... I was a teenager during the vampire craze. Vampires were EVERYWHERE. And I mean everywhere. Every book store pushed vampire books and you just couldn't escape them.
Vamps was one of those books I was eying down but I never got the chance to pick up. I was fortunate to find it on sale at a local book outlet store so I decided that now was the time! I would pick up this book and see if it held up to what my expectations were back in ye olde high school days.
Honestly, the book was what I would have ATE UP in high school but it didn't interest me as much now.
It was dramatic. It had gossip. It was essentially the soap opera/"reality" tv but in vampire YA form. While I had my issues with it as an adult reader, I was glued to it as it brought back that nostalgia from my high school days. I definitely didn't enjoy the whiny and mean lead character, but I also REALLY wanted to find out what was going to happen... It's like binging reality tv. You just HAVE to know.
So, will I be holding this book up as the best book of all time? No. Am I still going to try to find the rest of the books in this series and finish them to bring back the memories of my youth? HECK YES. It's messy, but I don't care. I came for an escape with this book not for some theme filled message essay writing fuel.
Two out of five stars.
Vamps was one of those books I was eying down but I never got the chance to pick up. I was fortunate to find it on sale at a local book outlet store so I decided that now was the time! I would pick up this book and see if it held up to what my expectations were back in ye olde high school days.
Honestly, the book was what I would have ATE UP in high school but it didn't interest me as much now.
It was dramatic. It had gossip. It was essentially the soap opera/"reality" tv but in vampire YA form. While I had my issues with it as an adult reader, I was glued to it as it brought back that nostalgia from my high school days. I definitely didn't enjoy the whiny and mean lead character, but I also REALLY wanted to find out what was going to happen... It's like binging reality tv. You just HAVE to know.
So, will I be holding this book up as the best book of all time? No. Am I still going to try to find the rest of the books in this series and finish them to bring back the memories of my youth? HECK YES. It's messy, but I don't care. I came for an escape with this book not for some theme filled message essay writing fuel.
Two out of five stars.
November 12, 2011
I decided to read this book because I was working at Borders at the time and she was on a book tour and came to our store. I was excited to meet the authors coming, along with Nancy Collins were Claudia Gray (Evernight) and Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses). I had recently read Twilight and was in the Vampire craze along with most of the population. This story was a comparison to Gossip girl except with vampires. I found myself rolling my eyes as I read. I was not impressed with this book. This author was doing what many began doing, writing books about vampires because of the new craze. I feel that she did not do this very successfully. After meeting the author I was even less impressed. The author was very rude and not at all grateful for the fans that were there. The other two authors were enthusiastic to talk with their fans and very kind and respectful. Their fans are what got them there. I had a very nice conversation with Claudia Gray. The author’s attitude killed any chance of me picking up future books of hers. If I meet an author and they are not nice I’m really unlikely to read their books. The author’s attitude and the lack of originality of her book made it not worth reading.
August 17, 2009
this was such a cool book! If you like melissa De la cruz then you will love vamp's. these vamp's can shift, fly and cast spell's.they drink their blood in style a/b neg laced with bourbon!!
February 28, 2015
As I said in my update, I enjoyed not thinking while I read. Some guilty little pleasure was satisfied reading it. The book was a bit cheesy and had some faults but it was not that bad yet, it was very predictable. It had no suspense even as it seemed that was what it tried to build. It reminded me of old soap operas.
July 7, 2017
Whelp...
I first read this book when I was thirteen or fourteen years old (I think) and I absolutely loved it. Mind you, that was back when Twilight was a hype and I loved everything vampire-related. Now, almost ten years later, I decided to read this book again, and I wish I hadn't.
I quit reading this at about 60% and I'm honestly surprised I managed to read that much without gouging my own eyes out. This book is.... bad. Though I think that's an understatement. In the 60% of the book that I've read, brand names were more important than plot. In addition to that, the characters were so badly worked out that it almost felt as if they were behaving out of character. Which wasn't even possible to say because a steady character had not been created for them.
Next point: the INSTALOVE. I've read quite a lot of YA fantasy books, and yes, Instalove happens in many of these books, though I dare tell you that none of those books are as bad as this one. In this book, one of the main characters looks at a random person sitting ona bench, and BAM, she immediately feels a connection with this person, whom she has never even laid eyes on before. Then, as it turns out: they're starcrossed lovers (because she's a vampire and he's a vampire hunter, dun dun DUUNNNNN). Then, the guy follows the girl around and finds her in a cemetery (like dude, creepy) and she decides to respond to that by kissing him. WAIT WHAT?
To say I didn't like this book is a gross understatement. I'm usually quite generous with my stars and I try to find positive factors in every book that I read. I don't think this book has any redeeming qualities. It's cliché to the extreme, there's a lot of instalove, high school girls that start a vendetta without having a good reason, the romance is bad, and up to the 60% I read, no things of true importance happen.
I'm sad that this book disappointed me so much, especially because I loved it as a teenager. I won't read the next few instalments of this series.
I first read this book when I was thirteen or fourteen years old (I think) and I absolutely loved it. Mind you, that was back when Twilight was a hype and I loved everything vampire-related. Now, almost ten years later, I decided to read this book again, and I wish I hadn't.
I quit reading this at about 60% and I'm honestly surprised I managed to read that much without gouging my own eyes out. This book is.... bad. Though I think that's an understatement. In the 60% of the book that I've read, brand names were more important than plot. In addition to that, the characters were so badly worked out that it almost felt as if they were behaving out of character. Which wasn't even possible to say because a steady character had not been created for them.
Next point: the INSTALOVE. I've read quite a lot of YA fantasy books, and yes, Instalove happens in many of these books, though I dare tell you that none of those books are as bad as this one. In this book, one of the main characters looks at a random person sitting ona bench, and BAM, she immediately feels a connection with this person, whom she has never even laid eyes on before. Then, as it turns out: they're starcrossed lovers (because she's a vampire and he's a vampire hunter, dun dun DUUNNNNN). Then, the guy follows the girl around and finds her in a cemetery (like dude, creepy) and she decides to respond to that by kissing him. WAIT WHAT?
To say I didn't like this book is a gross understatement. I'm usually quite generous with my stars and I try to find positive factors in every book that I read. I don't think this book has any redeeming qualities. It's cliché to the extreme, there's a lot of instalove, high school girls that start a vendetta without having a good reason, the romance is bad, and up to the 60% I read, no things of true importance happen.
I'm sad that this book disappointed me so much, especially because I loved it as a teenager. I won't read the next few instalments of this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2017
Soooo what now. This book was so all over the place I don't even know where to start. First the main character in the beginning of the book was Lilith, she was annoying and self centered and vain. She is obsessed with Jules even though he cheats in her. She is pretty much the leader of what I would think is the mean girls club. Skip a few chapters in and all of a sudden Calley is the MC, huh... she is posing as a vampire when in reality she is a witch, everyone believes she is a new blood, except Peter Van Helsing who is a vampire hunter and falls in love with her instantly....HUH??? He wants her to join his side but then doesn't because he doesn't want his father to hurt her.
So these vampires, are also shape shifters, they get older...much slower than humans but still, there are new bloods and old bloods and half bloods... very confusing. Very very confusing.
So these vampires, are also shape shifters, they get older...much slower than humans but still, there are new bloods and old bloods and half bloods... very confusing. Very very confusing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2019
this review can also be found at http://fortheloveofbooksreviews.blogs...
Lilith is the daughter of a very rich vampire, and as an Old Blood vampire herself, she attends Bathory Academy, a night school for young female vampires. Going out with her friends one night to find some humans for dinner, she gets into a fight with a New Blood, Cally. Vampire hunters descend upon them and kill one of Lilith's friends, leaving Lilith hating Cally and blaming her for the death.
Cally is upset when she learns that she must leave her New Blood school and attend the Old Blood Bathory Academy. After narrowly escaping vampire hunters, she must now deal with the wrath of Lilith at school. Furthermore, one vampire hunter seems particularly interested in her, and she thinks she might be developing feelings for him too.
I picked this up because I love vampires! And the idea of vampire feuds sounded really interesting to me. Unfortunately I found myself pretty disappointed.
First off, the characters weren't developed very well. They all seemed very shallow and I wish that the author had taken more time to make them seem more real. I outright hated Lilith, and I think I was supposed to care about Cally but I honestly didn't. I also think the romance between the vampire hunter and Cally was very unrealistic and happened way too fast.
There didn't seem to be any concrete plot to this book, so I kept reading wondering where this was going. Nothing seemed really connected to a greater story-line.
I did like the author's writing style, her choice of words was excellent in my opinion. I also thought there was an interesting twist near the end. Had the story been more solid and the characters more developed, this could have been a great book. Unfortunately it didn't really do it for me.
Lilith is the daughter of a very rich vampire, and as an Old Blood vampire herself, she attends Bathory Academy, a night school for young female vampires. Going out with her friends one night to find some humans for dinner, she gets into a fight with a New Blood, Cally. Vampire hunters descend upon them and kill one of Lilith's friends, leaving Lilith hating Cally and blaming her for the death.
Cally is upset when she learns that she must leave her New Blood school and attend the Old Blood Bathory Academy. After narrowly escaping vampire hunters, she must now deal with the wrath of Lilith at school. Furthermore, one vampire hunter seems particularly interested in her, and she thinks she might be developing feelings for him too.
I picked this up because I love vampires! And the idea of vampire feuds sounded really interesting to me. Unfortunately I found myself pretty disappointed.
First off, the characters weren't developed very well. They all seemed very shallow and I wish that the author had taken more time to make them seem more real. I outright hated Lilith, and I think I was supposed to care about Cally but I honestly didn't. I also think the romance between the vampire hunter and Cally was very unrealistic and happened way too fast.
There didn't seem to be any concrete plot to this book, so I kept reading wondering where this was going. Nothing seemed really connected to a greater story-line.
I did like the author's writing style, her choice of words was excellent in my opinion. I also thought there was an interesting twist near the end. Had the story been more solid and the characters more developed, this could have been a great book. Unfortunately it didn't really do it for me.
April 18, 2011
I'm not really sure how to review this book. I've got mixed feelings about it... It reminds me of Gossip Girl (for the high-classed, back-stabbing, I control the whole school type of girls and their general bitchiness) and it also kind of reminds me of Melissa de la Cruz's
Blue Bloods series
.
I had a bit of a hard time finishing this book, mainly because I found the characters to be shallow. There was this one scene where Lilith was more concerned (as in the world will now end type of concern) because her dad was going to cancel her credit card. I mean, sure that's a big problem if you're the typical shallow, materialistic and superficial type of girl (which I guess she does try to portray all through out the book) but come on!!!! Your BFF just got yanked and you're more concerned that you can't go shopping to maintain your "queen bee" status?! If I were your (dead) best-friend, I'll haunt your ass from here to kingdom come. Aside from that, she reminds me of the character of Georgina from Gossip Girl (remember her? the lunatic girl who sends S into panic in the 1st season), the girl who just wants to be on top regardless of who she has to "kill" and destroy in order to get there.
Sorry guys, but I just finished this book in hopes of finding something that I like. But if you're a die-hard fan of Gossip Girl and would read anything and everything vampire, then this book is for you.
I had a bit of a hard time finishing this book, mainly because I found the characters to be shallow. There was this one scene where Lilith was more concerned (as in the world will now end type of concern) because her dad was going to cancel her credit card. I mean, sure that's a big problem if you're the typical shallow, materialistic and superficial type of girl (which I guess she does try to portray all through out the book) but come on!!!! Your BFF just got yanked and you're more concerned that you can't go shopping to maintain your "queen bee" status?! If I were your (dead) best-friend, I'll haunt your ass from here to kingdom come. Aside from that, she reminds me of the character of Georgina from Gossip Girl (remember her? the lunatic girl who sends S into panic in the 1st season), the girl who just wants to be on top regardless of who she has to "kill" and destroy in order to get there.
Sorry guys, but I just finished this book in hopes of finding something that I like. But if you're a die-hard fan of Gossip Girl and would read anything and everything vampire, then this book is for you.
March 25, 2020
Leuk maar niet spannend genoeg
August 6, 2011
"Gossip Girls" cattiness ruins the first half--and some of the flat main characters-- of this novel. It is for more mature teens (mentions of drugs, sex, etc.) and has trashy cover art, but inside this blood-sucking tale beats the heart of Cally Monture, half-vamp, half-human, who has some witchy powers inherited from her grandmother, and is being hunted by the Van Hellsings, the vampires' main enemy.
Cally has a run-in with a young Van Hellsing named Peter, who's already falling for the half-vampire he's been ordered to hunt. Cally, Peter, vampire-with-a-heart Exo, half-blooded twins Bette and Bella are the real stars of this YA novel. Jules, Lilith and the other overly-entitled teenagers make me want to chuck the otherwise engaging novel at the wall.
I enjoyed the myth of adding vampire hunters, the Van Hellsings, to the story. Vampire finishing schools have been done before (see the "House of Night" novels by mother-and-daughter team P.C. and Kristen Cast and "Vampire Academy" novels by Richelle Mead), but this one takes a new twist on it.
I might read the second one just for more about Cally and Peter, but I could care less about Lilith and her empty-headed schemes of revenage.
Borrow, don't buy. For mature teens--and fans of "Gossip Girls".
Cally has a run-in with a young Van Hellsing named Peter, who's already falling for the half-vampire he's been ordered to hunt. Cally, Peter, vampire-with-a-heart Exo, half-blooded twins Bette and Bella are the real stars of this YA novel. Jules, Lilith and the other overly-entitled teenagers make me want to chuck the otherwise engaging novel at the wall.
I enjoyed the myth of adding vampire hunters, the Van Hellsings, to the story. Vampire finishing schools have been done before (see the "House of Night" novels by mother-and-daughter team P.C. and Kristen Cast and "Vampire Academy" novels by Richelle Mead), but this one takes a new twist on it.
I might read the second one just for more about Cally and Peter, but I could care less about Lilith and her empty-headed schemes of revenage.
Borrow, don't buy. For mature teens--and fans of "Gossip Girls".
January 3, 2010
This is a different book about vampires.
Centuries ago, somehow the vampire race got trapped in our world and must live with humans. With the help of a company called HemoGlobe, vampires buy blood without having to hunt for it. Thus giving them more time to live their lives peaceably with humans, and helping them keep their secret.
These vampires can shape shift into bats and another creature, usually a wolf. They are born, not made. But, adult vampires can bite humans and turn them into what they call "undead". The undead serve the vampire that made them until they die or are passed along to the next generation.
The story is about teen-aged vampires that attend a special vampire schools at night. Lilith is one of the main characters and an Old Blood. She meets, and instantly hates, Cally who is a New Blood, or so she thinks. Most believe her to be a Half Blood, half New and half Old, but she is actually a hybrid, half human and half vampire.
Lilith is a spoiled brat. She has an addiction to her reflection. It's like a drug to her, but it is against the law for vampires to own mirrors. I like Cally. She reminds me of Annie (as in Little Orphan Annie) for some reason.
Centuries ago, somehow the vampire race got trapped in our world and must live with humans. With the help of a company called HemoGlobe, vampires buy blood without having to hunt for it. Thus giving them more time to live their lives peaceably with humans, and helping them keep their secret.
These vampires can shape shift into bats and another creature, usually a wolf. They are born, not made. But, adult vampires can bite humans and turn them into what they call "undead". The undead serve the vampire that made them until they die or are passed along to the next generation.
The story is about teen-aged vampires that attend a special vampire schools at night. Lilith is one of the main characters and an Old Blood. She meets, and instantly hates, Cally who is a New Blood, or so she thinks. Most believe her to be a Half Blood, half New and half Old, but she is actually a hybrid, half human and half vampire.
Lilith is a spoiled brat. She has an addiction to her reflection. It's like a drug to her, but it is against the law for vampires to own mirrors. I like Cally. She reminds me of Annie (as in Little Orphan Annie) for some reason.
April 12, 2010
Lilith Todd is the queen of Barthory Academy, the school for only the richest Old-Blood vampire girls. Enter, Cally, who no one is really sure about. How did she get into the school. Where does her magic come from? One thing is for sure, Lilith does not want her around, and what Lilith wants, she usually gets.
I was all set not the like the book. All the designer name dropping is expected in chick lit but I was beginning to think that everyone in the book was going to be some sort of monster. Well, that is not the case and I ended up sort of enjoying it. I will definitely read the next one. I will say that this is for older teens. It contains drug, alcohol and sex references. It is also pretty violent in some places.
I was all set not the like the book. All the designer name dropping is expected in chick lit but I was beginning to think that everyone in the book was going to be some sort of monster. Well, that is not the case and I ended up sort of enjoying it. I will definitely read the next one. I will say that this is for older teens. It contains drug, alcohol and sex references. It is also pretty violent in some places.
February 2, 2011
was pretty predictable i new about a third of the way though how things where going to turn out. i was expecting better so im a bit disappointed.
Also it was very unoriginal compared to other vampire books i'v read kind of like a cross between house of night series and gossip girl but not written as well or as creatively. which made it boring to me.
i dont know if i'll be reading the next book in this series unless i dont have anything better at the time.
though saying that i suggest you should read it for yourselves cause i might have different tastes to you :)
but if you are after good vampire books try Morganville, vampire academy or blue bloods i highly recommended those to everyone.
Peace and have fun.
Also it was very unoriginal compared to other vampire books i'v read kind of like a cross between house of night series and gossip girl but not written as well or as creatively. which made it boring to me.
i dont know if i'll be reading the next book in this series unless i dont have anything better at the time.
though saying that i suggest you should read it for yourselves cause i might have different tastes to you :)
but if you are after good vampire books try Morganville, vampire academy or blue bloods i highly recommended those to everyone.
Peace and have fun.
December 11, 2011
The only reason I read this, was because my sister had bought it and I was out of books... I don't like the cover at all, it just looks so cheap. And compared to the thousands of other vampire books, it's not as well written. Yesterday I started books numero two, and because I didn't remember what happened in the first book, I gave it a quick look - and when I started in the next one, I noticed that the same 'funny' sentences are repeated like three times a book... That's the sort of thing I don't like. But I read it in Dutch, so it could be the translator, but I seriously doubt it. Anyway, I didn't stop reading yet - I read about one hundred pages by now - so it's not that bad. Not something you'll remember, however.
January 27, 2011
I love any kind of vampire book, so when I picked up this book, I thought I would really enjoy it. I have never been more wrong. The book just jumped into the story line, making it hard to understand what is actually going on in the book. Then, people starting to have feelings for each other just by looking at each other. Things happened too fast with no explanation and the book ended before things actually started to happen. So Vamps ended up being confusing, the story line underdeveloped, and the book a complete waste of time.
September 19, 2008
Problem with this novel and series is that its very reminiscent of De La Cruz's Blue Bloods and I am saddened by that cause it's Nancy A Collins and her work is fabulous! But I couldn't get Blue Bloods out of my mind.
March 29, 2015
I didn't really like this book. Don't get me wrong i ABSOLUTELY LOVE vampire novels, but this one just didn't interest me. I don't think the characters have enough depth and i found Lilith way too superficial and shallow. Not a good main character.
August 19, 2010
Hated it. The first half was about the stupid, superficial characters running around flirting, partying, and sleeping with other stupid, superficial characters. When the plot was finally introduced, it was a near-perfect imitation of Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz.
July 15, 2009
Wow. Super-trashy story of upper-crusty vampires in NYC. Nowhere near as fun as the Blue Bloods series.
December 18, 2016
alleen 4 sterren omdat ik in de mood ben, anders hadden het waarschijnlijk minder sterren geweest
January 21, 2021
So much to say, and dislike about this book. Maybe because I am no longer 16, but I cringed at how much the author chose to characterise Lilith. the name calling really made me question if these reactions are normal or simply the result of a pubescent teen. I hope this book doesn’t propagate the casualness of using the terms ‘slut’ ‘bitch’ and whore’.
Also, did not like that Peter Van Helsing fell in love within 3 pages. what is up with that? He locks eyes with Cally. She commands a rat to attack him and ends up saving him because that’s just plain gross?, and he feels like she’s such a good person because of that -_- somehow she feels remorseful for the rat thing, ends up being okay that peter is a big stalker and despite him being a van helsing, she wants to see him again. After basically zero conversation. Wow. And him! He wants to give up Vampire Hunting ,something he was trained from birth to do - after just locking eyes with a girl??! Oh my godddd. I can’t.
The author did one thing well though I’ll give her creativity points for the whole Vamps world and old and new blood stuff (even though the beginning and concept kinda resembles Blue Blood by Melissa De La Cruz....)
One thing she certainly didn’t do well in was to create any built up because people be falling out of love and in love in seconds. For no reason. Can I also talk about how there were so many points where I got confused at what was going on? Because Nancy fails to connect conversation dots and her writing style is so descriptive that instead of helping readers understand and feel any sort of likeness towards the characters, she does the opposite. I felt distant with all of the characters, their actions making zero sense to me. Jules staring at Cally’s ass ohh my god I hated that. Cally entering the book way too hot but ending up so...bland and teenager-ey. Lilith who supposedly holds a main role in this book but her every action is so...hard to stomach. How nobody really mourned Tanith’s death???! What! Aasdjasd argh, why.
I didn’t come to love any of the characters, and I only stayed on because I wanted to finish the book, (the thin ass boook and it took me quite a bit of will power to continue) and was hopeful that maybe something interesting will happen at the end of the book.
Nothing happened. I have the 2 others but I feel like I’d just be wasting my time to pick it up. Callie gets into a love triangle with Jules and Peter? Callie finds out who her father is. Lilith goes back and forth between being a heroine and the bad guy? Probably.
Would not recommend this series. read Blue Boods if you want some Vampire aristocracy.
Also, did not like that Peter Van Helsing fell in love within 3 pages. what is up with that? He locks eyes with Cally. She commands a rat to attack him and ends up saving him because that’s just plain gross?, and he feels like she’s such a good person because of that -_- somehow she feels remorseful for the rat thing, ends up being okay that peter is a big stalker and despite him being a van helsing, she wants to see him again. After basically zero conversation. Wow. And him! He wants to give up Vampire Hunting ,something he was trained from birth to do - after just locking eyes with a girl??! Oh my godddd. I can’t.
The author did one thing well though I’ll give her creativity points for the whole Vamps world and old and new blood stuff (even though the beginning and concept kinda resembles Blue Blood by Melissa De La Cruz....)
One thing she certainly didn’t do well in was to create any built up because people be falling out of love and in love in seconds. For no reason. Can I also talk about how there were so many points where I got confused at what was going on? Because Nancy fails to connect conversation dots and her writing style is so descriptive that instead of helping readers understand and feel any sort of likeness towards the characters, she does the opposite. I felt distant with all of the characters, their actions making zero sense to me. Jules staring at Cally’s ass ohh my god I hated that. Cally entering the book way too hot but ending up so...bland and teenager-ey. Lilith who supposedly holds a main role in this book but her every action is so...hard to stomach. How nobody really mourned Tanith’s death???! What! Aasdjasd argh, why.
I didn’t come to love any of the characters, and I only stayed on because I wanted to finish the book, (the thin ass boook and it took me quite a bit of will power to continue) and was hopeful that maybe something interesting will happen at the end of the book.
Nothing happened. I have the 2 others but I feel like I’d just be wasting my time to pick it up. Callie gets into a love triangle with Jules and Peter? Callie finds out who her father is. Lilith goes back and forth between being a heroine and the bad guy? Probably.
Would not recommend this series. read Blue Boods if you want some Vampire aristocracy.
June 6, 2022
I was not enjoying this book at first and by page 60 I was seriously considering letting it go. But when I got to page 62 and read the line "Although he looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, he exuded the kind of serious, mature vibe Cally usually associated with dudes in their twenties. Maybe he was just emo.", I changed my mind immediately and decided I had to keep reading because that was too funny.
After Cally was introduced, the book started to get more interesting to me and I was invested (mostly in her side of the story, but Lilith's side became more interesting too).
Although most of the time reading this book was spent wishing it would end faster, by the end of it I found myself curious to know more, and after reading the preview for the second book (Night Life) I briefly considered picking that one up too—and I probably would have if it weren't for the excessive creepiness of every adult man in this story. I appreciate that the vampires use it to their advantage to lure them in as prey, but every time it happens, I can't help but think "They're 16. They're only 16. What's going on?".
Will I read Night Life after this? Probably not. But I didn't end up disliking this book as much as I thought I would when I first started reading it.
After Cally was introduced, the book started to get more interesting to me and I was invested (mostly in her side of the story, but Lilith's side became more interesting too).
Although most of the time reading this book was spent wishing it would end faster, by the end of it I found myself curious to know more, and after reading the preview for the second book (Night Life) I briefly considered picking that one up too—and I probably would have if it weren't for the excessive creepiness of every adult man in this story. I appreciate that the vampires use it to their advantage to lure them in as prey, but every time it happens, I can't help but think "They're 16. They're only 16. What's going on?".
Will I read Night Life after this? Probably not. But I didn't end up disliking this book as much as I thought I would when I first started reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2020
To be clear, this book is never going to win a Pulitzer, no-one’s going to call this a literary masterwork— but for what it is, it’s a good book. Juicy teen drama, betrayal, love/lust, and a fascinating world of lore peeking out from beneath. The characters can come across as a little flat, but for a light, fun, or dumb read— this book accomplishes its goal. Laced with interesting world-building, and a few unexpected twists— I would recommend reading the rest of the series to see these somewhat shallow characters come to their full potential.
And ultimately, like what you like— this scratches the same itch as Twilight, or other vampire dramas— with a fast-burning conflict that takes out all the longing, and tells the characters “take what you want”. For that reason, I’d recommend it.
And ultimately, like what you like— this scratches the same itch as Twilight, or other vampire dramas— with a fast-burning conflict that takes out all the longing, and tells the characters “take what you want”. For that reason, I’d recommend it.
December 2, 2021
Ooit lang geleden heb ik deze serie gelezen en vond ik ze geweldig ondanks dat de serie niet compleet is en waarscheinlijk nooit wordt. Maar nu ik hem herlees vond ik hem eigenlijk tegen vallen... Erg kinderachtig en de wisselingen van perspectief waren niet goed aangegeven waardoor ik er soms pas later achter kwam dat het gewisseld was. Het verhaal leest wel lekker weg en heeft potentie maar misschien ben ik te oud geworden voor deze serie.
October 31, 2019
This novel turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would be. Expertly crafted, the tale follows a group of high-school vampires and a half-vamp who end up in school together, plus vampire hunters and feeding on the innocent.
March 31, 2020
... Wow. Well, I finished it and that's something. It was a fast, non-challenging read. Mostly because it offered nothing beyond pretty people, pretty clothing, and pretty tropes. Unfortunately, it was about as deep and layered as a puddle.
March 12, 2018
An okay read. I had a hard time getting into this book. I felt lost throughout most of it and felt like I had no clue what was happening in some parts.
April 13, 2018
I loved this series so much when I read it...
March 29, 2021
Clunky, unfinished, rushed writing and character development. Poor world building..
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