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lobo1tomia's review against another edition
3.0
Catherine Jinks az ifjúsági regényeket és a vámpírirodalmat elegyíti tehát egy mixbe, aminek vannak sikeres és kevésbé sikeres elemei. Adott egy teljesen más és glamorizálatlan vámpírvilág meg egy tini vámpír, aki 50 éve pubertás és pont úgy is viselkedik, mint akkor. Bár lássuk be, nem is volt alkalma Ninának szocializálódnia és érzelmileg felnőnie, ott lenn a pincében, meg a keddenkénti csoportfoglalkozásokon. Az összes vámpír gyerekként viselkedik, elég egyoldalúak, a külsejük egyben jellemzi is őket. Ráadásul gond, hogy a főszereplőt se igazán lehet megkedvelni: elvégre ha ő alapból utálja magát meg kb. mindenkit a környezetében, akkor az olvasó nehezen fogja később megkedvelni, még a változásai ellenére is. Legalábbis én így jártam.
Jó alapötlet, vannak benne kiváló megvalósítások, egy erős középső rész, de aztán a vége nagyon el van húzva és már nagyon szerettem volna, ha megoldódik a helyzet. Mindenesetre egy biztos: Nina és csapata olyan vámpírok akiktől tényleg nincs értelme félni: ártalmatlan tehetetlen banda.
Részletesen: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2010/05/21/catherine_jinks_nina_es_az_anonim_vampirok_klubja/
Jó alapötlet, vannak benne kiváló megvalósítások, egy erős középső rész, de aztán a vége nagyon el van húzva és már nagyon szerettem volna, ha megoldódik a helyzet. Mindenesetre egy biztos: Nina és csapata olyan vámpírok akiktől tényleg nincs értelme félni: ártalmatlan tehetetlen banda.
Részletesen: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2010/05/21/catherine_jinks_nina_es_az_anonim_vampirok_klubja/
rach's review against another edition
4.0
Yes, this is "another" vampire book. And yes, a werewolf does make an appearance. But this book is so far from any other I have read in the genre that they almost don't relate. Nina and her group of sort-of friends are vampires, but not in the traditional sense. Yes, they drink blood. Yes, they are awake only at night. Yes, they can be killed by stakes, fire, and sunlight. But that's pretty much where the similarities end. These vampires live seemingly miserable lives, in a weakened, sick state. They tire easily, bleed easily, and are prone to throwing up at any minor instigation. Add to that the standard limited-mobility, the need to live in secret, and never growing old, and this is not exactly the vampiric life of your fantasy or anyone else's. And because their lives are not sugar-coated, they seem much more realistic to our own world. They could live just down the street, and we would never know, because it's not like they go around biting people. They pretty much just mind their own business and want to be left alone.
The story of this book is not unique to vampires, though. Nina, the forever-15-year-old, does not become the fantastically strong vampire Zadiya Bloodstone of her imagination, but she does come to realize she is stronger and braver than she ever thought she could be. She sees that life as a vampire is not worthless, that your life is what YOU make of it, and if you choose to be happy, you can be. She stands up for what she believes is right, and in the end, gets the guy. Dave is another great, endearing character. Though Nina doesn't realize it, you can tell throughout the book that he is protective of her, and when he finally realizes she doesn't hate vampires, he is quick to tell her how he feels. They are rather perfect for each other, in fact - both surprisingly brave, shockingly fragile, and loyal to those they love and believe in. Despite the fact that she will be forever 15, and he forever 20-something, I foresee a great, or at least entertaining, future for them.
The rest of the characters, from Nina's mom, Estelle, to Sanford to Neffly, are all entertaining and quite well developed. While I can't say they are all likable, they are at least believable and interesting. Reuben is an interesting addition to the cast because he is so different from all of the others: he is emotional and unpredictable and strong and vital. For a while, I think Dave was afraid Nina would fall in love with Reuben (hello, Twilight), but I can't really see that happening ever. Nina find Reuben interesting because he is so much more vital than a vampire, but I think she's pragmatic enough to know that an actual romance between their would never work.
All in all, I found this book fairly entertaining, especially listening to it as I did. The Australian accent of the reader did get a little out of control at times, but I think overall it gave the story more of a sense of place than I would have gotten just reading it. I'm glad to see there is a sequel coming soon, and I look forward to seeing if the group "let" Nina publish her autobiography. :)
The story of this book is not unique to vampires, though. Nina, the forever-15-year-old, does not become the fantastically strong vampire Zadiya Bloodstone of her imagination, but she does come to realize she is stronger and braver than she ever thought she could be. She sees that life as a vampire is not worthless, that your life is what YOU make of it, and if you choose to be happy, you can be. She stands up for what she believes is right, and in the end, gets the guy. Dave is another great, endearing character. Though Nina doesn't realize it, you can tell throughout the book that he is protective of her, and when he finally realizes she doesn't hate vampires, he is quick to tell her how he feels. They are rather perfect for each other, in fact - both surprisingly brave, shockingly fragile, and loyal to those they love and believe in. Despite the fact that she will be forever 15, and he forever 20-something, I foresee a great, or at least entertaining, future for them.
The rest of the characters, from Nina's mom, Estelle, to Sanford to Neffly, are all entertaining and quite well developed. While I can't say they are all likable, they are at least believable and interesting. Reuben is an interesting addition to the cast because he is so different from all of the others: he is emotional and unpredictable and strong and vital. For a while, I think Dave was afraid Nina would fall in love with Reuben (hello, Twilight), but I can't really see that happening ever. Nina find Reuben interesting because he is so much more vital than a vampire, but I think she's pragmatic enough to know that an actual romance between their would never work.
All in all, I found this book fairly entertaining, especially listening to it as I did. The Australian accent of the reader did get a little out of control at times, but I think overall it gave the story more of a sense of place than I would have gotten just reading it. I'm glad to see there is a sequel coming soon, and I look forward to seeing if the group "let" Nina publish her autobiography. :)
nicolebookish's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! As the title suggests its a different take on vampires as they are more human like & are dealing with resisting the urge to “fang” a human.
Our protagonist Nina has been a vampire for decades and has been part of the support group for years. They are a social club & help each other out. The action starts when one of their most troubled members goes missing. The action gets going & takes lots of turns.
A truly great books for vampire, fantasy, and mystery fans.
Our protagonist Nina has been a vampire for decades and has been part of the support group for years. They are a social club & help each other out. The action starts when one of their most troubled members goes missing. The action gets going & takes lots of turns.
A truly great books for vampire, fantasy, and mystery fans.
melbsreads's review against another edition
3.0
Plot summary: Nina was fifteen years old when she became a vampire. Thirty-six years later, the highlight of her miserable, sickly life is weekly meetings with Sydney’s other vampires for therapy sessions with a Catholic priest. When one of their group is staked by a mysterious slayer, the vampires decide that it’s time to take things into their own hands, however feeble they may be. Nina's un-life is about to get more exciting than she’d ever bargained for.
Thoughts: It's been a long time since I read anything by Catherine Jinks. In my early teens, I loved the crap out of the Pagan Chronicles, and I was hoping that this would deliver a similar mix of humour and serious issues. It did certainly fulfilled that hope.
However, while I found it entertaining, humerous, and a welcome change from the "vampires have super-strength and sparkle" mythology, I didn't really warm to Nina. I don't blame her for feeling miserable, considering she survives on guinea pigs, lives with her mother, is nauseous a lot of the time, and her eyes bleed in all but the dimmest of light, resulting in the need to constantly wear sunglasses. It wasn't so much her "poor me" attitude that bothered me as her continuing state of ineptitude. While she may be 51 years old, she still acts and thinks like a teenager - with very little thought for the consequences of her actions.
While I liked characters such as Dave, Reuben and Father Ramon - not to mention Nina's mum, who's hilarous - and I very much enjoyed the non-stereotypical vampires, Nina drove me up the wall.
Oh, and if you like guinea pigs? Yeah, you should probably prepare yourself for lots of them meeting grizzly ends before you read this!
Thoughts: It's been a long time since I read anything by Catherine Jinks. In my early teens, I loved the crap out of the Pagan Chronicles, and I was hoping that this would deliver a similar mix of humour and serious issues. It did certainly fulfilled that hope.
However, while I found it entertaining, humerous, and a welcome change from the "vampires have super-strength and sparkle" mythology, I didn't really warm to Nina. I don't blame her for feeling miserable, considering she survives on guinea pigs, lives with her mother, is nauseous a lot of the time, and her eyes bleed in all but the dimmest of light, resulting in the need to constantly wear sunglasses. It wasn't so much her "poor me" attitude that bothered me as her continuing state of ineptitude. While she may be 51 years old, she still acts and thinks like a teenager - with very little thought for the consequences of her actions.
While I liked characters such as Dave, Reuben and Father Ramon - not to mention Nina's mum, who's hilarous - and I very much enjoyed the non-stereotypical vampires, Nina drove me up the wall.
Oh, and if you like guinea pigs? Yeah, you should probably prepare yourself for lots of them meeting grizzly ends before you read this!
pegahe's review against another edition
1.0
EDIT: I've changed my rating to 1 stars because though this book will appeal to other readers, something about it just makes me very very not like it. I can't figure out why I don't like this book though. O.o
Not my kind of read, but original and quirky.
Not my kind of read, but original and quirky.
adriii_bell's review against another edition
4.0
Its a good book, has a very different type of vampires. At first i was very agains it but eehhh it wasent bad, im so not doing good at helping anyone pick this book up jaja, but really, its good. Again tho, the vampires are so DIFFERENT than they would normally be described as.
nicobella's review against another edition
2.0
“Vampires aren’t glamorous,” and thats the only reason why I didn’t put this down. What started off as interesting dialogue between the Average Joe vampires presented in a first-person voice of the main character, eventually became a grating delivery method of an okay plot. I was mildly interested in the mystery, but I mostly stayed because of the unique spin on vampire lore.
meg_wadlington's review against another edition
3.0
Vampires have a disease that turn them into weak, vomiting invalids. That is, if you abstain from human blood. It takes fortitude and support. Thus, the support group for reformed vampires. I enjoyed this quirky story, but it wasn't my all time favorite. It was a little gross at times. It was funny at times. Sometimes the narrator was a little whiny. Ok, everyone in the story (Except Dave) was whiny.
leakelley's review against another edition
5.0
The life of a vampire is not nearly as glamorous as TV and movies make it out to be: there's the pale skin and weak muscles, the nausea and the vomiting and, well, the guinea pigs. Not to mention that Nina Harrison has been fifteen years old for the last thirty-six years, permanently too young for a driver's license and living at home with her mum. Her only friends are the other members of her Reformed Vampire Support Group and the priest who hosts their weekly meetings in his church. The group is forced into action when one of its members is staked through the heart. Can Nina and her friends find the slayer before he finds them?
Catherine Jinks puts an entirely new spin on the vampire genre with this book, and that's a good thing. This book is funny and original and full of interesting characters that can't be found anywhere else. I highly recommend that you check this one out.
Catherine Jinks puts an entirely new spin on the vampire genre with this book, and that's a good thing. This book is funny and original and full of interesting characters that can't be found anywhere else. I highly recommend that you check this one out.