Almost to Die For

Vampire Princess of St. Paul #1

by Tate Hallaway

On her sixteenth birthday, Anastasija Parker learns that her so-called deadbeat dad is actually a vampire king. And he wants Ana to assume her rightful position at his side, in spite of the fact that she has witch's blood running through her veins - from her mother's side.

Too bad witches and vampires are mortal enemies. And now Ana's parents are at each other's throats over her future. It's up to Ana to make a choice, but deciding your eternal destiny is a pretty big deal for a girl who just wants to get through high school.

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

241 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2010

About the author

A Scorpio with a Leo Rising, Tate Hallaway is an amateur astrologer and practicing Witch. Tate has been a fan of vampire fiction since she first read Poppy Z. Brite in high school. Her first short fiction acceptance was to a vampire ‘zine called Nocturnal Ecstasy Vampire Coven. Tate lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with three black cats.

This author also writes science fiction under the name Lyda Morehouse.

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost to Die For, first book of the Vampire Princess of St. Paul series, is a fast, entertaining and easy read.

Surprisingly, despite of all the...disturbing, eye-rolling YA cliches I found in the story, such as (1) A goth loner heroine who is considered a loser by her peers turns out to be, well, a vampire princess (actually she is half-witch and half vampire), (2) love triangle and (3) the heroine receiving attention from two of the hottest supernatural guys in town (one male-witch and one vampire knight, mind you) , I still found myself enjoying the story.

I guess the author Ms. Hallaway had done a good job keeping her tone humorous and delightful, her writing also helps to make this book a smooth, page-turning read, it really helps to keep Ms. Hallaway's story from being weighted down by all the cheesiness and cliches.

I'm also glad to see there are bonding and friendship among girls instead of the typical girl-on-girl hating. Plus the mother-daughter conflicts and the final plot twist are also handled finely. So, 3.75 stars.

[Rhianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I love in YA fiction!

Anastasija Parker wants what any normal teenaged witch does. To celebrate 'sweet sixteen' by passing her Initiation. Which might not be such a problem but for the fact she has no magic. Then there's the little matter of her father, a man she's never met. A man who happens to be vampire royalty, who wants Ana to join her vampire kin as their princess.

While her mom and dad fight for her love and loyalty, two very attractive options pop up on her romantic radar. Nikolai is a lead-singer and witch, while Elias is her sultry vampire guardian and neither will back down from protecting Ana.

As she learns more about the other side of her heritage and some dark secrets about the one she was raised with Ana will have to decide where her loyalties lie. It's a clashing of blood and magic in St. Paul and only Ana can appease the masses so she can get back to drama class.

I loved this book. Loved, loved, loved it! It isn't every day that I pick up a bit of young adult urban fantasy and just fall in love with it. Maybe not every reader out there will feel the same but let me tell you what made it work so well for me.

Ana is the first character I've read that made me go "OMG it's a 16-year-old me!" minus the paranormal elements. She's less than cool but not completely friendless. She doesn't make up for it like other heroines in this genre by being all aloof and not caring. Ana wants to be liked without being needy and whiny but she also doesn't bend over and let everyone treat her badly. When she's being harrassed by a classmate she doesn't drop witty one liners but she still comments back. While she obviously isn't completely comfortable with the changes going on in her life she wants to give her vampire dad a chance to explain things. Wanting to know more about who she is and not just taking her mother's word for it. There's a rebeliousness in that I really found relatable.

I also loved that instead of being set in one of the many popular locales popping up in urban fantasy these days this book is set in Minnesota. I enjoy a fresh and less glamorous (or cliched) setting once in a while and Hallaway clearly knows it well enough to make it interesting.

More than all of that though the actual magic in this series starter is excellent. I kept thinking how I wished I had thought of the concept. The originality and the symbiosis (if you want to call it that) between the witches and vampires is well thought and leaves lots of room for meatier plots in sequels. If you love witch fiction I highly recommend you pick this one up.

Overall I think this is a terrific start to a new series I will definitely be continuing to follow. Young adult readers who enjoy love triangles, vampires, witches and quirky characters will probably find this a very satisfying read.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not done with reading the book, working on that.
But so far, it's hanging on a thin thread.
I don't have a thing against Ana, but she seems annoying to me.
Since I've been reading adult books, getting back into these made me see how immature the POV and writing can be and it makes me kinda cringe. I was about to give up on the book but then her handsome father showed up, so I stuck with it.
The part I'm at is adding more meat to the story, but I don't like how they are handling things, like I said, it's immature.. I don't like Nik, he seems so random in his attitude. I definitely do not LIKE the mother.. she's so childish!
We'll see how I feel about it once I finish.

Edit--------

So I finally finished the book and it was as I would imagined.
The storyline and characters are so cheesy! Ana's mom needs to be check for multiple personalities..
Wish there was more growth instead of them becoming someone else entirely..

[cali · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars.

This book was basically a rip off of the first half of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side.

But with a half vampire instead.

It was sweet with basic language, definitely suited for a younger YA audience.

TBH I never felt the passion for her and her love interests, and we find out at the ending that her love triangle never is concluded!!!

It was very short, and needed more depth for me to like it.

The plot line was a bit too cliche, and usually I love that, but there was nothing at all that kept me on my toes.

If you need a quick paranormal romance read, check this out. It's not super dramatic with hot male leads, but it'll do the job just fine. It has the essentials: developed realm, well though out paranormal laws, and a (freaking) love triangle.

I probably wouldn't read this again. It was just too short-- I'd rather read Jessica's Guide. Sorry.

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

First in the Vampire Princess of St. Paul series

4 stars

On Anastasija Parker’s sixteenth birthday, she knows that it’ll be a day to remember and not for the best. Ana is a witch, but she’s never got a knack for a witch powers and is sure she’ll fail the Initiation ceremony. If her day couldn’t get any worse, a father she thought was deadbeat, turns out to be undead, but not just any undead. He’s a vampire king, which makes Ana a princess and totally confused about everything. As she struggles to decide which side she wants to fulfill two boys seem to vying for her heart. There’s Nikolai, a hot witch, rocker, and vampire hunter, and Elias, a vampire Commander. The Goodreads summary says Twilight meets the Princess Diaries. I can see that with the whole princess aspect of everything else in this book doesn’t resemble Twilight, not even the love triangle. I’m tired of these summarizing people coming up with these lame and false comparisons. I’ll step down from my soap box before I get to worked up and just start my review. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I picked up Almost Die to For. One thing I was certain about was that it was a short book and hopefully it wouldn’t take me long to read. My library put this book and its sequel in the adult romance section and I was just kind of like “What?” I had already known this was YA and didn’t see how it would be considered adult and I still don’t. There was no drinking, sex, suggestive language, cursing, and well usual “inappropriate” things. The writing was captivating for such a short read and I found Hallaway’s writing style easy to breeze through. I didn’t want to put the book down at times because the pacing was just so well done and the plot flowed.

Whimsical Writing Scale: 3.75

The main female character is Ana. I was reading Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side at the same time and I thought it was weird how their names were both Anastasia just different spellings. Hehe On to my thoughts. Ana is pretty relatable for a teenager. Aside from the fact that she’s a witch and a vampire I connected with her. I like when it’s to connect with the main character it makes the book much more enjoyable. Maybe that’s why I liked this book more than others. One thing that bothers me is the ending and how it worries about Ana’s future choices. I of course have no idea where these choices will lead but I have a feeling it won’t end drama free. Ana could hold her own ground.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 4.75

The main male characters are Nikolai and Elias. I had liked Nikolai a lot at first but then they had this one part and it made me as uneasy as Ana. Ana tried to run away but she ended up getting sucked back in by him. He sounds hot, but I just don’t trust him. I also feel like we didn’t get enough character depth when it came to him. Hopefully in Almost Final Curtain, I’ll see more. Elias was I guess supposed to be the bad boy. But these boys both seem like ‘bad boys’ to me. Which is my dream and I’m so jealous of her. How did she get so lucky and where do I sign up? Both of these boys need more development in the next installment and I expect that. Until I get more development these boys are at a tie because I don’t know them well enough to fully judge them and compare which is best for Ana.

Swoon Worthy Scale: Nikolai: 4 Elias: 4

The Villain- Ana’s mom? I think she’s supposed to be the villain. I mean she was a bump in the road and poses to be a problem, but she didn’t make me tremble in my socks as much as I’m sure the author intended. That whole spider web scene was pretty awesome though.

Villain Scale: 3.5

Ramses, Ana’s dad, seems like he’ll be there more for Ana in the future than her mom. This is my prediction. Bea and Taylor are Ana’s friends. Bea is annoying and seems fake. She turns to easily on people and that’s unsettling. Taylor is as flat as cardboard.

I think I just learned more about the cardboard than I did when reading descriptions of Taylor. She has promise though.

Character Scale: 4.25

This book’s biggest weakness is character depth, but since it’s a short book and I really enjoyed it I’m not going to rant about it like I normally would. This is supposed to be a fun book and I had fun reading it. I try not to take short books seriously because then it just wouldn’t be as fun. Plus I’ve been in a pretty good mood this week so maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much. This book has pretty much everything from vampires to witches to hunters to demons. I’m looking forward to the sequel and I expect more and hopefully more character depth. *Fingers crossed*

Plotastic Scale: 3.25

Cover Thoughts: I love the cover. It looks exactly like how I pictured Ana to look and it’s simple. There’s no overused flowing Prom Dress, but just a simple girl looking like a vampire. It’s perfect!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start out by saying I can understand why reviews for this book are high/low. I enjoyed this book. However, it is most definitely a YA novel, full of teenage angst, so if that's not your cuppa, best to avoid it. But, if you don't mind spending a few hours back in HS, with boy dramas, parental and BFF issues and a "what do I do now" teen love triangle with some witch/vamp drama to boot, then you should enjoy it as well. There is plenty of humor to keep it light. I give it 3.5★, but rounded up to 4★.

Almost to Die For introduces us to Anastasija Ramses Parker who is about to celebrate her 16th birthday, not with a big party with friends, but by going through a True Witch initiation. Only problem is, no one will listen to her when she tells them she cannot do any magic. She should be able to because it runs in her family, her mother being a powerful True Witch.

We meet her best friend since 2nd grade, Beatrice Theodora Braithwaite, who is also a strong witch. She'll be going through the initiation with Ana and some of the other young adults in their coven. Including Nikolai. Nikolai graduated HS the previous year, now attends college and is the lead singer in a band. Bea has a crush on him, which causes some hurt feelings when it turns out that Nik has a crush on Ana. He's aware of Bea's feelings for him, but has never had any interest in her.

Ana thought her biggest worry was getting through the initiation without embarrassing herself or her mom. That was until Alexandra Ramses, the "High Prince of the dark realms and protectorate of the territories of the New World", shows up. He tells her he's her father and warns her that she must not go through with the initiation. Seems her mother, a True Witch, and father, a vampire, married to form a "peace treaty of sorts" between their people. Her mother is furious at Ramses' intrusion, she's spent Ana's life trying to keep this part of her life a secret, now insisting all people like her father are evil demons from hell. Ana learns she's a dhampyr - 1/2 witch, 1/2 vampire. Each parent wants her to fully embrace "their" 1/2, but Ana's not so sure.

When she meets Elias Constantine, one of her father's knights of the dark realm, she starts thinking that vamps might not be evil after all. He is sworn to protect her at the cost of his life and keeps popping up to watch after her.

I liked Ana. She's trying to make up her own mind as to who she wants to be while being pulled by her parents to be fully witchy or vamped. She's always felt like a loser at school, having two differently colored eyes and being teased by the school bully doesn't help. Now, she finds herself in hot demand by two different major supernatural groups and two hot "boys".

The only (minor) complaints were (1) Ana accepted her vamp father and the existence of vamps pretty quickly. I kinda chalked it up to her having spent her entire life surrounded by friends and family that could perform powerful magic. I would imagine that would help learning that other magic exists in the world a bit easier to swallow. (2) Parts of the relationship issues have a slightly similar theme to that found throughout Evernight.

I look forward to reading more about Ana in Almost Final Curtain.

[Nafiza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly believe that the synopsis does the book a disservice by comparing it to Twilight. Indeed, there are some similarities but I think Ms. Hallaway has deviated from the whole vampire culture of glitter and glamour by presenting them in an interestingly…hmm, I wouldn’t say realistic but realer manner than other authors of the same genre do.

The book deals with issues that will be relatable to today’s teens, at least one issue that is more prevalent than others in some contexts: not being what your parents and your peers want you to be. In fact, “being unable to be what they want you to be.” Anastasija’s mother really, really wants her to be a witch. She wants it to the point that she willfully ignores the fact that Anastasija’s father being a vampire (and the king, at that) would probably change something in the genetics that allow the women in her family to handle magic and which logically enough leads to Anastasija being unable to do what is expected of her. There is a lot of pressure – kinda unhealthy, if you ask me. As if a monster mom is not enough, there’s her father – who has been absent for sixteen years and at this crucial moment, waltzes up and tries to lay claim on her – in fact, both parents fight over their child as though she is some prized Monet that both would kill to have.

And then there are the boys. Of course there are two of them. One of them is a vampire hunter and the other is a vampire. You can tell they won’t be sitting down to share their love woes with each other any time soon. But Ms. Hallaway twists the love triangle in a manner that will leave you feeling as confused as perhaps Ana. It’s not the usual A loves B but B is madly in love with C who loves B. Ana has feelings for both guys and I dare say that both are of the non-platonic variety. Both guys remain interesting －　Ｉ　want to know more about them. I liked how the relationship bit is quite clear if not simple. Pretty straight forward while retaining it’s chemistry. I won’t say more about it except that you have to read the book to find out what I’m saying.

The ending of the book does lay on the cheese a bit too thickly to my liking. It had held on to an almost breezy narrative until things got way too creepy, way too fast. How much will a parent do to keep their child? And if they go to those lengths, will they really give up just like that? The ending seemed a bit forced and contrived and it didn’t really persuade. However, the book in its entirety is entertaining and does leave you wanting more. As I implied before, it’s treatment of vampires as something other than undead Gods, all beautiful and all too tempting makes this series a very welcome addition to the genre.

[Marsha · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Almost to Die For" was an extremely painful read for me for so many reasons. First and foremost, the writing was awkward and did not flow well. Next, I really did not like or love any of the characters and lastly, I do not like love triangles.

Anastasija (Ana) Parker's sixteenth birthday has arrived and nothing seems to be going well for her. Her BFF stood her up at lunch, she gets into an altercation with a jock bully and when she arrives home, the father she never met shows up at her front door totally to the ire of her mother. Ana's mother is controlling and refuses to tell her anything about her father even after his untimely arrival.

This birthday is to be a momentous occasion because Ana is due to complete an initiation into her witches coven and take on her special gifts. Unfortunately, although she can sense magic, she cannot perform it. She has attempted to tell her mother time and time again but she does not listen. At the ceremony, vampires show up and that is when Ana discovers she is a Dhampyr, half witch and half vampire. Yet, that is not all. She also discovers that her father is a vampire King and she is a princess. To make matters worse, vampires and witches are sworn enemies; so, former friends seem to be disgusted by what she is.

I had so many problems with this story. No teenager I know would ever continually take the controlling, evasive nature of Ana's mother without rebeling sooner are later. To be honest, I just did not like her mother. Additionally, Ana whines from the very first page and just allows things to happen to her without taking the reigns. I need a much stronger herione in my books.

Then, there is the love triangle brewing between the Captain of the vampire guard, Ana and the vampire slayer trainee. It would be wonderful to meet a YA character who knows who she wants to be with for a change. This book was only 241 pages but I found myself praying for the end. Different strokes for different strokes. This book just wasn't for me!

[Paula Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

After being a huge fan of Tate's books "The Garnet Lacey Series" , I thought I would give her YA Book a try. Almost to Die for from the start seemed like your average supernatural book , but as it got on -it turned out to be quite enjoyable.
The Princess Diaries part comes in as it is Ana's 16th Birthday and she has known since she was a little girl that she had witch blood in her from her mother's side but little does she realise that on her father's side it is a totally different story.
Never knowing her father , she hasn't thought much of him but on her 16th Birthday he arrives with some news that shatters Ana's life that she has built up for herself. She is in fact a Vampire Princess. Ana is Half-Witch and Half-Vampire.
Things would have gone alot smoother for Ana if it wasn't a well-known fact that Witches and Vampires are enemies , now with each parent trying to decide her future - Ana is caught in a battle that the majority of us regular teens know -the one between parents "piggy in the middle", and if being the "piggy in the middle" wasn't difficult enough , her best friend Bea - a Witch is ignoring her , Nikolai - A Vampire Hunter wants to date her , she has tasted her first blood and now she's supposed to get engaged to Elias - her father's captain guard.
Life for Ana , just went from being a simple teenage freak to the most deadliest person in the world as everyone wants a piece of her. Can it get more complicated than this ?
Find out in Almost To Die For - Book #1 of The Vampire Princess series by Tate Hallaway.
This novel has all the aspects of a great teen supernatural fantasy read with a whole lot of reality chucked into the mix with High School , Relationships and Friendships .

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me give a brief review since it seems many haven't gotten around to this one yet. The main character in the story is Anastasija Parker and she is about to turn 16, she's also a witch. Not a Wiccan practitioner, but an actual witch who belongs to a coven. With her upcoming birthday she needs to pass a test in order to remain in her coven or forever be exiled. As she gets ready for her test, a man shows up on her doorstop claiming to be her father.. and he isn't a witch. As Anastasija fights to find her rightful place in the world, she is busy fighting off the different supernatural sides. Will she fail, or become something more than anyone thought she could?

Some of the things that bothered me about this book were some of the things that also designate it a YA book. There was a little too much teen angst for me, and an annoyingly large amount of boy/girl "issues".

What I did like, the world building. Some supernatural characters were portrayed a little differently than in other books and also Anastasija herself. She ended up being unique, and I'm interested to see where the author takes the story.

[Zemira Warner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not liked this book. I tried so hard to feel for the main character but sadly I couldn´t. And also the guys weren´t that swoon-worthy,what is very important for me. I gotta have some hot guys walking around to keep me amused.

[Andrea Heltsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good start to this series. I liked it for the most part, and am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book. Plus, sexy guys! Four glittery stars

[Raina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost to Die For is the story of Ana, a young witch who learns that she is half vampire. Stuck between two warring worlds, Ana tries to figure out who she is (vampie or witch) and what side she will stand with. Ana could be a lovable character with her inner dialogue of quirk and real sentiment....for example, when she explains the fact that her class schedule goes from physics to gym as bad karma. However, Ana is a wishy washy character. Put her in a room with someone and she will not only sympathize with them, but she will suddenly agree with them on every point (psycho mom casts a nasty spell on her turning her into a zombie... *shrug* Oh she gets why her mom would do something so terrible...HUH?!? I sure don't get it!) She tells us that she is shy and is often viewed by the other characters as thoughtful and smart when in fact, she's incredibly sarcastic, not afraid to say what she thinks, and doesn't appear to be all that thoughtful. It seems to me the author never really had a handle on who Ana was as a character and it is due to this that the story, told from her point of view, suffers greatly.

I enjoyed the parts where Ana was alone or dating, but the episodes with her mother were not as good. Her mother is a world class...not a nice person AT ALL. Then her father just shows up after a life time of never knowing him and she immediately starts calling him Dad?? Yeah. Sure. Not to mention, leather pants and a peasant shirt? It is possible to be any more cliche? And don't even get me started on her and Bea... her absolute best friend in the whole world whom she keeps reminding us that she doesn't really like all that much.

Her mother had some big secret that she wouldn’t share. Some big secret that could save Ana’s life, and I found it really hard to believe that a normal parent would do this. Occasionally, the her mother’s spoken dialogue sounded forced as well. Her mother’s spells were awkward and the fact that all the spells had to rhyme...they reminded me more of a mystical Dr. Seuss than a scary incantation.

The only character I could connect with (and I had a very strong connection with him) was Elisa. His story and character were completely compelling. I would LOVE to know more about him.

What I enjoyed about this novel was the premise. The vampires in this novel aren't your run of the mill vampires. I really liked that they were more tribal and spiritual which was a nice twist on the norm. Their mythology was extremely interesting. And the link between the witches and the vampires was also creative. Truly, it was the one thing that saved me from absolutely disliking this novel was the uniqueness of the world Hallaway created.

That said, the ending was completely forced, everything falling into place oh so neatly for Ana. Leave one man behind, after she conveniently saves the day, and rush off to see the other. Honestly, when I closed the book I just thought she was the world's flakiest person. I highly doubt I will read the sequel to this novel even though I am curious to get to know Elias more. I think it will only serve to frustrate me since I really can't bring myself to like/sympathize with Ana more.

Overall I think that Tate Hallaway did a good job of creating an interesting world for this story to take place in. I just wish she spent more time on character development.

As a final note: I really hate writing negative reviews like this. It makes me extremely grumpy.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anastasija Ramses Parker is turning 16 years old today, sweet sixteen and never been kissed should be the biggest of her problems but when her absentee father, Ramses shows up at the door, she finds that her problems are just starting. Instead of celebrating her birthday the traditional way; friends, dancing, boys etc... she's meeting the coven at their covenstead to be inducted into the coven as a True Witch, providing she passes her initiation. Ana has some doubts about that; her mother is a powerful witch and comes from a family of powerful witches but Ana hasn't been able to perform even the simplest of spells. Ramses picks the moment to knock on the door just as they are getting ready to leave for her initiation ceremony; what happens between her mother and Ramses isn't pretty. To Ana, it's quite unsettling and her mother continues to be just as secretive about her father's identity on the drive to the covenstead for her initiation and even more insistent for her to be initiated into the coven as quickly as possible.

During Ana's initiation which she failed, she meet's her absentee father's coven; vampires and she finds out she's not only a Dhampyr but a princess to boot. Ana also finds out, of course during her initiation as she's trying to call the element Air that Witches and Vampires are mortal enemies. As if failing the initiation wasn't bad enough she was called out in front of the entire coven.

All these years her mother withheld this information from her, leaving Ana feeling a failure; worried that something was `wrong' with her and that she'd somehow let her mother and her coven down. Recent events brought on by her 16th birthday just get more and more interesting though! Things are heating up with the hot Nikolai, a True Witch from her Coven and Elias, knight of the dark realm, part of her father's realm that is equally hot despite his penchant for blood. They are as different as night and day-pun intended!

Ana has choices and decisions to make and as her mother and father each try to sway her to their side she learns to start thinking for herself and surprised me with some of her decisions. Ana shows rebelliousness that I found refreshing, mostly because she wasn't disrespectful but just trying to educate herself in the best way she could; going directly to the source!

Ana's a great character she's a bit snarky but in a humorous self-depreciating way and although she isn't `popular' she has friends and the ones she does have are true and the new friends she makes like her because she's honest and easy to relate to.
I think we'll see a (forgive for the comparison) Team Nikolai and Team Elias club to start forming. I'm not sure where I stand yet. I think the plot leaves plenty of room for a series so I'll hold off until the next book!

Almost to Die for: A Vampire Princess was a fun, witty and genuine book that brings in a different twist to the genre and I'm all for that! The characters were interesting, likable and had depth. The magic and the lore were interesting and really captured my attention and imagination.
I'll definitely recommend this book to others and be on the look-out for the next in the series!

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted here.

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway was in my to-read list for a long time. I started reading it for awhile like 4 pages then stops. Why? Nothing. I mean, it's not because of the book. Just something personal. Anyway, so I started reading it again and boy, I can't keep my hands off it. At the first chapter of this book, I understood that Anastasija Parker or simply Ana, is a witch. She said so, but there's some kind of complication to it, she can't do magic. The series was named "Vampire Princess of St. Paul", so I immediately said that "ah, she's a half-witch and half-vampire". But still, I want some confirmation even though Goodreads said that her dad is a Vampire King.

I became excited when I read "Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again" those phrase or sentence or whatever has been used also in House Of Night Series by P.C. and Kristin Cast. And oh, Ana is also called a "Dhampyr", sounds familiar, right? Yes, that's the term for our beloved Rose Hathaway of Vampire Academy. I said to myself, "wow, its like my favorites rolled into one series."

The story revolves around whether Ana would choose to be a full fledged vampire or a True Witch. She talked to her dad, the vampire king and Elias, the Praetorian Guard so she somewhat have some insight or knowledge about vampire (she actually didn't believe a vampire exist until her dad came knocking on their doorstep). But she also hang out with Nikolai Kirov, a member of her coven (this coven is not a vampire coven, its a group of witches). Nik is a vampire hunter. Or trained to be one by his dad. And well, Nik said that vampires are all bad and evil (as usual).

"I still can't believe I basically licked his face. What was I thinking?"
"You weren't. The blood is irresistible, especially blood of an enemy won in a fight."

But what Ana wants is normal life. Or as much normal as she could get if she'll be a True Witch. But learning her true heritage and dark, mysterious secrets makes her world confused.

I liked this book. Though at some extent it's kind of slow paced. But hey, I honestly liked this one and would be reading the next book soon. And oh, yes! Of course there's a love triangle going on. I liked the way Ana described the two guys in her head, how she differentiated the two and how her reaction to these two gorgeous guys. So I'll be reading the whole series soon!

[Tina (Fantastic Book Review) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hallaway's ALMOST TO DIE FOR brings readers a fresh and exciting take on feuds between witches & vamps along with humorous dialogue and brooding characters.

Ana had me laughing from the start with her insecure thoughts about being the black sheep at school. She's shy but at the same time to be inside her head you wouldn't know it. If she said most of the things she thought, I believe people would stop ostracizing her. She's known as a freak with her looks and unbeknownst to her best friend (who’s also a witch), Ana can't pull off a spell. To make matters worse, it's her sixteenth birthday and she's worried about her initiation in the Inner Circle where she has to perform a spell. Well, it doesn't look good for Ana. And to top it off, her long absentee father appears asking her to join his side - Vampire side. What’s a girl to do? Ana has a tough choice to make that involves a long standing feud between witches and vampires. I enjoyed following alongside her as she tried to figure things out.

I know I wouldn't mind being in Ana’s shoes. She has to deal with both sides of her heritage. I know I can't knock the quirks that come along with being the center of attention. Did I mention love triangle? Need I say more? When I first read the synopsis of this book, Ana's dual heritage caught my attention then the mention of two guys vying her attention just revved up my interest even more. Whoa. Ana has her hands full now. This book was so entertaining and hilarious. I ended up finishing this book in just a few hours. Once I started, I could not put it down. Love, Danger, Magic, and Power -this book packs a nice punch in the supernatural genre.

I enjoyed this installment tremendously. I can't wait to get my hands on the next installment in this exciting new series. If you’re a fan of vampires and witches and you’re looking for some humor and great dialogue to tickle your funny bones - go grab this book.

[Bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars from me.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got my hands on this book. I love a good paranormal, and so I decided to give it a shot.

I hate to say that Ana's voice narrating the story took a few (fifty or so) pages to get used to. I understand writing first person POV like an inner monologue, but some of it was a little too immature for my taste. However, once I could look past that, I actually found her to be quite likable and immediately started getting into the book.

The other characters were well fleshed out and fun to interact with in the story. The bad guy was a douche, as expected. The best friends stayed friends, though there was definitely some tension in the story - as there is in real life with some friends some times. I have to say that I was a little surprised with Nik's reaction to vampires, especially after he seemed bitter at first to know he had to follow in his father's footsteps. So, when he went all anti-vampire, I was a little baffled. I loved Elias and can say nothing wrong about him - though, like Ana, my feelings for him conflict with Nik's... as I heart them both equally.

I'll have to say that the climax was a little anti-climatic for me. I thought it was good, but the author spent so much time building up the story to that point, it seemed very rushed and short... almost like an afterthought. I like more action in my climax - more airtime. However, this is the first book in a series, so maybe this book is just building to even more awesomeness in the next? I sure hope so!

[Maryam Fidai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so this book definitely would not earn my total gratitude and gushes about how awesome it was and how I never wanted it to end and yada yada.

To be honest though, I finished it in one sitting just because the character of Nikolai kept me going. The mother seemed totally bipolar, Ana seemed way too childish and dependant and she seemed like she could not make any rational decisions whatsoever!

Elisha or whatever was creepy, stalkerish and pissed me off when he just kissed Ana out of the blue when he knew she was with Nik. But what made it worse you ask? Well, it would probably be the fact that Ana here was COMPLETELY OKAY WITH IT! Like it's normal to kiss two guys in the same day shamelessly.

Bea and Taylor's character could be described as ..... just THERE. Although I didn't mind Taylor all that much. Honestly, the idea of the storyline was interesting but it could have been a whole lot better in the writing department.

And THAT ENDING!! I was just all WHAT THE BUUUCCKK JUST HAPPENED? Was that supposed to be 'the epic' war? How the hell does that happen with Elias or whatever his name was? And then she just goes to the party with Nik like everything was perfectly fine? No just NO!

To say the least, this book did not please me as much and I would not count it as one of those adventurous roller coaster rides that pull me into action and make me wish I was the lead girl.
Also, I almost assuredly would not recommend this 'novel' to anyone with good taste in books or otherwise.

[Yiota · Rating 2 out of 5]

For starters i need some time to laugh at the first sentence of the summary. "Princess Diaries"....yeah like no way. It has the idea of "simple girl turn to princess" but that's all. Not the magic of Princess Diaries. It was more interesting than Twilight though.

While the book starts pretty much good and okay, with the time it becoming confusing and with no real purpose. It has vampires to be all strong and mighty, but one human with no real talent sneak up on them more than once. The writer can't seem to decide what she wants for her character. She is in and out in her old and new life all the time. And i can accept that but not that fast. It was going so fast, that you didn't even have time to release how the new environment was.

The story really had potential. It was clever and i liked the idea, but it was not written nicely. It made me bored from the very first pages, and it make predictable when it could have some really good twists. And as at the start i liked the main character, at the end i came to hate her since she was once again one of the those characters who just like to play with boys but at the same time are playing it naive and all.

Can't say i enjoy it. It was just a read, and in some years i will probably don't even remember that i've read that book.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is a solid read, but I found myself neither getting really excited about the story but not really disliking it also.

The strongest character is Anastasija (Ana). She is an outcaste in school and has few friends. We learn in the story that her mother is a witch and her father a vampire. She is their child through a marriage that was supposed to ensure peace between the species, but hasn’t. I disliked the parents characters throughout the book, especially the mother, whose attempt to control her daughter through casting a spell on her left me a very negative impact on me. I did enjoy the two male love interests which were at opposite ends of the story, of course. But an event at the end of the book did set up an interesting scenario for the next novel. There were a couple of these “twists” but they really didn’t really add anything solid to story.

[James Rulison · Rating 2 out of 5]

First I do not write many reviews I should warn you right there. I gave Vampire Princess 2 stars I would give it a 2.5 if that was an option. The story line and what the author is telling as a story is good it is unique and not something you can easily point to another series and go 'ha same books.' What I didn't like the book was the unrealistic responses the characters give to very real situations. You do not see a person or being die, then get caught up in a pretty big battle that you take part in only to go running off to make an appearance at a party. I am sorry there is this thing called stress and they would have felt just a little.

The character responses reminded me how Anime or Manga characters respond so if that is your cup of tea pick it up but it wasn't worth the $10 bucks I spent for sure.

[Precious · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the whole review here.

When I picked up Almost to Die For, I expected a collision of two worlds: the vampire world and the witch world. But I didn’t expect these two worlds to exist in such a chaotic and intriguing mesh of magical bonds. The story world that Hallaway crafted was mesmerizingly charged with tension and hatred. The vampire mythology was magnificently tied with the witch mythology. Two well-known races of the supernatural world had their history as one filled with a deep hunger for power and for supremacy.

Almost to Die For is the collision of vampire and witch mythology, a highly entertaining story with chockfull of humor, surprise, romance and a funny heroine.

[Gus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was okay. I'm putting 2 stars because it was interesting, but nothing new. I'll probably read the next one, but I'm not super excited for it or anything. It was very typical YA...a dorky girl realizes she's a vampire princess and has two guys to choose from. The writing is quick and cute and I read the book very fast. I probably wouldn't recommend it to adults, but very good for teens.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Ana is a witch who surprise! is also half vampire but she doesn't know it until she turns 16. This is a battle of sides that want to claim her as their own. The ending has a few surprises that added some twist and excitement. I really liked Elias and hope all goes well for him. And there is Nickolai that I am not sure what to think about, but I am sure the author has him there to stir up trouble until the end. Recommend these to all young adult lovers.

[Emily WilowRaven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost to Die For: A Vampire Princess of St. Paul Novel by Tate Hallaway (2010)

[Mav · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t realize until I started this book that I’ve been looking for something like this for a while: a book that took a cliché story and characters and dealt with them in an intelligent and insightful manner. Almost to Die For is about a teenage girl who finds out she is a Vampire princess on the night of her witch initiation ceremony. Unfortunately, neither her parents nor the two species get along. The story is about her trying to make an informed and fair decision about which world she wants to belong to – because both sides are biased and unwilling to hear the other side’s version, after years of oppression, conflict, and resentment, and frankly, some people are more than willing to force Ana then allow her a choice.

One of my big complaints about YA books lately is that despite the prevalence of first person POV, the reader still never really gets a good idea of the female MC’s personality, or thought patterns. Rarely do these heroines come across as well rounded, and frankly, some of them perpetuate a lot of internalized misogyny. I loved that Almost to Die For deftly avoids these traps well within the first few chapters. Within a few chapters, I started daydreaming about making writers read and study this book.

Ana - there's a lot of know
The story opens up the day of Ana’s witch initiation ceremony. Through watching Ana deal with the in and outs of high school, we get a pretty good, well rounded insight into Ana. She’s a character who’s self-aware and insightful enough to know when she’s putting on a mask. One of the first scenes is Ana getting harassed by a long time bully for being a freak, at a moment when she’s alone in the cafeteria even though she didn’t expect to be. She bites back with sarcasm, but in her head, she recognizes this is a front, and that she’s still really nervous about facing this guy alone.

We quickly learn why she’s considered a freak – her eyes, her gothy clothes, her witch best friend who makes a point of playing up their witch image. She’s shy, and generally a person who observes and then mulls over her thoughts before saying anything. She’s a little insecure, with legitimate reasons for wanting and feeling little she doesn’t belong, both in high school and in the witch world. She has few friends, and sometimes doesn’t always like her best friend – because she doesn’t always agree with Bea and her flippant manner. Yay for not resorting to lazy writing/characterization, stereotyping, and misogyny!

Ana is a person who studies (we see her study in her spare time!), and does well in most subjects, not because she’s just that naturally smart, but because she’s also interested in the subjects, and in thinking about them critically. I loved that despite her shyness, she likes theatre and acting, and that the arts and humanities are associated with witches – her family has what amounts as an arts and crafts room. This last detail is also important in her personality make up – Ana secretly also enjoys match and science, and I say secretly because she knows her mom would think those aren’t witchy traits. This balanced interests in all types and fields of knowledge actually goes right along with her personality, and even latter, becomes incorporated into the themes and plot of the book!

To summarize, within the first quarter of the book, we get a good idea of: Ana’s thought patterns, her manners and modes of speech, the many ways she keeps her guard up, how she self-censors her worries and insecurities, how she perceives herself, how she thinks others perceive her based on her long time observations of their reactions to her, what she likes and enjoys doing, how she thinks, how she thinks of others, etc. These aspects of her personality will come up over and over again, coloring her relationships with people, and her daily interactions, as they should be in a first person narrative.

Parents and PoC
I also liked that there were people of colored in the story, one of whom makes a rather significant contribution later in the story. I loved the depiction of her relationship with her mother – it’s rather nice to see a teen girl in YA yearn for mom’s approval, rather than dad’s. I loved that their relationship grows and changes as both mother and daughter try to deal with Ana’s dilemma. Ana and her father didn’t get as much page time or development, but what is shown depicts a relationship that is more casual, more at ease, more free. The contrast is striking, and plays nicely with the themes and plotline of the book.

World building
As far as world building goes, I had a lot of fun piecing together the witch world, learning about the vampire world as Ana does, and having to make adjustments in my assumptions about the witches as Ana does. It’s clear the author has put a lot of thought into the exact nature of the history and conflict between the two sides, and Ana, and her unwillingness to let other people tell her what to think, was a great vehicle for exploring that relationship. At the same time, this book didn’t revealed everything – there are continual hints even at the end that Ana still has a lot more history and information she has to pry from either side.

The Love Triangle
Let’s talk about the love triangle.
I’m not adverse to love triangles in YA, or even in general. I just feel that most love triangles are bad written, badly handled, badly introduced, badly integrated into the plot. As far as I’m concerned, love triangles only really work – as a way of building drama – is if there’s more at stake in the choice then the chooser’s heart. For me, this generally means that each guy represents very different choices, very different lives, very different dynamics, very different consequences. And of course, since it’s a romantic relationship, both sides of the triangle have to be well written and believeable – a rather tall order.

So I’m pleasantly surprised to say I’m okay with this love triangle. It serves (several) additional purposes to the story – mostly because each guy represent a different world and path. Choose either one would have a massive impact on the story politically. Normally, I’m either Team Girl and/or don’t care for either guy. I’m still Team Ana, but I definitely have a preference, both because I really do like one guy as a character and as a love interest better, and because I don’t like the other as a character or a love interest.

Let’s start with the one I don’t like.

Nikolai
On the surface level, he’s a cliché character: witch-hot-hot singer of indie metal band-guy best friend has liked for a long time – oh, and he’s also a vampire-hunter from a long line of eastern European roaming vampire hunters. You can probably guess what the conflicts are. I did like that Nik makes it clear he’s always liked her, for reasons that have to do with her personality (there’s a reason why I spent so much time on Ana’s personality in this review). Their relationship is contrasted w/ the other guy’s in that Ana has known him for longer, he makes clear why he likes her, they both are interested in each other, and yet, their relationship moves pretty quickly.

Except I don’t like Nik. There are signs of Nik’s casual misogyny in the way he talks about his female fans and admirers, in the way he makes a move on Ana when they’re alone.

Or maybe it’s just that I think he’s a psychotic, violent, indoctrinated, unreasonable hypocritical nutcase. He’s got pressure from the family to be a hunter, to make a kill so he can be considered one. He’s been indoctrinated into the belief that vampires are all bad, killing blood thirsty machines, and trained to react on instinct. I give a lot of credit to the author for writing him in such a way that we can understand his many conflicts, emphasize with him, and understand why Ana is giving him a chance. I wouldn’t though– to me, he’s too instinct driven.

See vampire? Vampire. Kill. Kill Kill.
Rather then: Vampire. Protect Ana/ get Ana out of harm’s way. Disable vampire and kill if able.

Which brings me to the one I actually like:

Elias
Elias is also a bit of a cliché – a vampire sent out to protect and watch over the Princess. He’s the lady’s knight, the one who is always respectful, the one you suspect feels something more but won’t act on his feelings unless the lady gives the okay. Even though he’s her protector, I always got the sense that he respects her and her decisions, and her need to know more. But that all subtext.

Their scenes are markedly different from Nik’s in that neither side has openly expressed any romantic interest, neither have known each other for long, and yet, there’s an ease, a closeness in their scenes together. Ana’s always nervous around Nik. She’s always comfortable and at ease with Nik – she never feels threaten by him, even though he’s supposed to be bloodthirsty vampire. These aren’t things Ana is aware of either – her scenes with him are full of conversation, dialogue in which she gets information from him, conversations where he challenges her assumptions. (Nik and Ana talk too, but I feel as if most of their conversations are really about Nik, him working through his conflicts, his concerns, his prejudices, and Ana trying and failing to get him to truly question his assumptions. )

Yes, there’s a large age difference, but again, an issue of respect. The dynamic between Elias and Ana is very different from the dynamic between Nikolai and Ana. The former helps Ana to come into her own, the latter turns her into a emotional and psychological crutch, a soundboard for himself it feels like.

In short, Almost to Die For is a feminist-friendly paranormal YA highly recommended to readers who like vampires, paranormal YA, parents taking an active role in YA stories, understandable charcters, good characterization, and good use of first-person POV.

[Haley · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I have ever read.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, quick read, very light. Read in ~24 hrs lol

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the story was great and so were the characters! The main plot of the story was a little slow for me but it was still very good to read...just try to get past the first two chapters, or maybe three. That's when it gets really good. The story isn't anything gory or bloody like some vampire novels, it's just one very sweet tale.

The story starts out with Ana eating lunch alone on her 16th birthday, complaining why Bea and her other friend Taylor aren't there. All her life, Ana has been the target of every Witch joke at her school because of her looks: i.e. mixed-matched eye colors, pale skin, and dark long hair. Though she looks the part of a witch, she still can't do any magic except little titty-bitty spells. Then her usual bullies, Matt Thompson and his posse comes along to terrorize her. Some dialog later, she tries to get rid of him by faking a hex spell, which works on scaring them away. The bell rang and a few classes later, so she goes off to meet up with Bea and Taylor (she's not a witch). Then rumors went around school that Ana's hex was real because all day, Matt has had nothing but bad luck. That sorta gives Ana some hope that she can do magic, but unsure if it really was her. Matt comes rushing over to them, all pissed off. Bea and Ana, tries to run but were trapped by his goons. More dialog later, Bea "zaps" him (which by the way is a real hex). His friends are too scared to stay around; so they scram, later so does Matt.
After school, Bea and Ana go to prepare for the Coven Initiation (something that will change her into a True Witch). Bea later gives Ana a handmade magic necklace. That's when you get to see her softer side, totally sweet to see. Their bond grows stronger, but Ana is still freaked that she still can't do magic, even with what happened with Matt. So she is arrives home to practice some magic. She does and nothing happens when she tries to do an Air spell. At dinner before the Initiation, as her mom and her were about to eat, her dad appears at the door. He was wounded and couldn't stand up right, so he grabbed onto Ana for support and left blood on her (at first because he was a vampire, he can't get in, but with his blood dripping on the floor of the house, he got in. Which really pissed off her mom). At first Ana was confused at who was the man standing at her front door claiming that he was her dad and warning her to NOT go to the Initiation. Her mom saw and went all mega-witch on his ass, she casts a spell and launched him out. With her mom totally pissed and freaked that he was there, sort of gives Ana an answer that it was indeed her dad. Her mom just ignores Ana's questions, and when Ana does try to get it out of her, she just bursts into tears. When Bea arrived (her mom didn't pass her Initiation, so she's banned from the coven and can't be there to see Bea pass. Pretty effed I know, huh?) and saw the bloody imprint her dad left on her. Bea freaks and tells her to wash it off fast, then plays it off like it was nothing.
Later at the Initiation, she meets up with everyone, Nikolai and witch prodigy Shannon. Bea has this big crush on Nikolai and all night was trying to get his attention only focused on her, but Nik was obviously into Ana, CUTE! Before the ceremony, Bea's aunt, Diane (ms. High Priestess) gave Ana some encouraging advice (I thought was nice, but Bea had to ruin it when her jealousy showed because it wasn't about her for the freaking moment). As the ceremony continued and Ana couldn't do any magic, the witches were ambushed by Elias (btw he's nude, COMPLETELY!)and his gang. Her mom cried out that "they" have come for Ana and will take her away from her, she screamed that they give her another chance. Elias left with they witches shooing him away like a bug. Ana then goes to Bea's dad (mr. High Priest) for answers since her mom won't give any. He says that it was her dad's people but with her confused look, mr high priest got pissed at her mom for not telling her anything. Then "mommy" caused a scene demanding that they allow another chance for Ana. mr. High priest then tells her that she is half vampire (dhampyr). (At that moment when Ana said "Vampires were real?" then you could tell that everyone in the coven were holding onto secrets, not just dear old mommy. Since everyone later all knows stuff about Vampires because they were educated on the fact, even Bea knew when she saw the blood on Ana's arm and freaked.)Well now the whole coven is pissed to find out that she's half-enemy, even Bea is horrified to find this out. Her mom leaves in tears and Ana runs into the woods and is again greeted by Elias. He tells his name and who he is, etc., etc. on all the "hello" stuff and leaves when her mom comes up. She yells at Ana for talking to a vampire when she knew nothing about them. (My fave part was when Ana yells back "Oh yeah? And whose fault is that?" I was all, "Ha! Take that mama-bitch!")
Well Ana leaves her mom after a big fight and asks if Nikolai could give her a ride home. They talk about how they're similar in many ways, how he likes her for being different, and Nik gave her a present (a CD of his band). He then asks if she wanted to go out bowling with him as he dropped her off and she agrees. Daddy then visits her and tells her that he is "High Prince of the Dark Realms and Protectorate of the Territories of the New World" They pretty much had a conversation every dad and daughter would. A very sweet conversation if you exclude the blood talk.
Next morning, mom then said that she is to have another initiation and says she can't be out late anymore because of the "demons" that are out there. Ana gives into her mom's demands, but lies to see her after school. At school, Bea learns of Ana's date with Nik and walks away pissed. At PE, Ana was playing floor hockey and knocked one into Matt's nose. It started to bleed and the next thing, Ana was licking it off of his face. Luckily, or not so luckily, everyone thought that she was kissing him (so did Matt), so she runs off mortified and is then greeted by Elias (clothed). He takes her to the under-city of "Hell" and tells her all the facts of why witches and vampires are mortal enemies. He says that vampires are asleep during day so she's going to have to wait awhile. "Hours" later, she writes a note saying she can't and meets up with Nik. He takes her back to his apartment and they have a moment together and kiss. Now on her bowling date, they were having a great time until Elias showed up. All hell broke lose between Nikolai and Elias, but Elias left with grace to Ana, but a warning to Nik to not to hurt Ana. Scared by Nik's actions, she asks to go somewhere else. The two of them then go off to the lake. Long, but sweet dialog later, they make up and kiss. He asks her on another date, a VIP party where his band is playing.
Back at home, she finds her dad waiting for her like a worried parent. He takes her to "Hell" and tells her that her debut is now. That her first hunt is the "initiation" for her to being a full vampire, just like the witches. Elias meets both of them at the gate and explains to her what it really is and moments before she is to walk into the "party" he kisses her, but passionately. Scared that she wont have any control over herself, she runs home.
At home, Ana sees that her mom is still awake. Mom wants to talk to her about what's really going on. Dialog later, Ana confesses that she had tasted blood that day and mama went bonkers, knocks Ana unconscious and lays a powerful spell over her. The next morning, at school, Ana can feel the spell over her but can't do anything about it. The day at school went on and Bea, finally being a good friend, says that she'll remove it with Ana's blood bond. She does and they're all fine and dandy now. On her way home, Ana sees that her mom sensed that the spell was gone and wanted to find her fast. She manages to loose her, and waits out at a cafe. Ana figures out that her magic can only be activated through blood, and as she tries out her hypothesis, two vampire goons (who're working for the queen) grab her. They tell her that her mom is the Witch Queen, so now she's princess of both the Witches and Vampires. Elias shows up and saves her, as they were driving away, Mom shows up in the middle of the street and she brought everyone there. Dialog, dialog, Daddy shows up with his vampire gang and a huge fight begins. Elias and his two friends try to protect Ana as she tries to think of a way to stop it all (her idea, call 911). Then her blood magic pops in and tells Elias that she needs his blood. He freely gives it and she suddenly feels her magic, then causes ice on the floor to freeze everyone to a stand-still. Everyone does stop and because of her immense power, everyone bows to her. Mom and Dad call it a cease-fire, Ana and mom are on cool terms, and now Elias and Ana are engaged, because of the "freely given" blood, Ana and Elias are in a Blood Bond and are engaged. No Way out. Mom says that she's going to find a way out of the engagement, Dad is sort of happy that there's hope to finding peace between the two races, and Ana runs off to Nik's party. The book ends with Ana confused on who she likes and where she wants to be, but for now she's just happy to be her. Very sweet ending, a little with revenge on Matt, but still good.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ana Parker has a memorable sixteenth birthday - and not in a good way. She is worried about the ceremony that is supposed to confirm her as a True Witch but it requires magic and, despite what her mother tells her, she can't do magic. She learns that her father is a vampire king that her mother has never mentioned and won't answer questions about. Both of her parents want her to choose their side in the war that was supposed to be ended when her parents married and had a child.

Ana doesn't know what to do. She meets Elias who is a member of the vampire king's guard who swears to protect her and who gives her some information about the witch-vampire fight. She also gets closer to Nikolai who is a member of the coven and who she has known for a while. She is interested in him but felt he was out of her league and, besides, her best friend also had a crush on him. Nikolai has been training all his life to become a vampire slayer which is sort of a problem because Ana is half-vampire.

I enjoyed the St. Paul setting and seeing some familiar locations included in this story. This was an entertaining urban fantasy story. I liked Ana and sympathized with the tough decisions she had to make about her future. Personally, I'm on the side of the vampires since all of the violence and coercion came from Ana's mother who, it turns out, is queen of the witches.

This is the first book in a trilogy. I can't wait to read the rest.