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readingrosie's review against another edition
3.0
I love Catherine Jinks. I got Evil Genius from my dad when I was around nine, and I've read it every other year since then, so about five times. It's a great book, everyone should read it. I've read the others in the series too, but since I don't own them, I've only read those once each. So I was pretty excited to read Support Group.
It starts off promising enough--a group of down-in-the-dumps vampires trying to solve the murder of their asshole sire or grand-sire. Then there's a burst of action in the first half of the book; a road-trip through Australia, a werewolf fighting ring, the bad guys who run said werewolf fighting ring.
Unfortunately, the werewolf is the hottest hottie to ever hot, which is just so annoying. Jinks might be mocking the hot-werewolf cliche, but it just comes off as a blind following of the formula, which is annoying because the book starts with a bunch of tropes subverted.
The book really goes downhill when the road-trip arrives back home in Sydney. In Jinks version of the vampire lore, vampires aren't even alive during daylight hours. They black out when the sun comes up and wake up when the sun goes up. It's interesting when it's used as an obstacle, but not so interesting when it leads to endless summaries of what happened when the narrator was knocked out. At least two chapters went like, "I wouldn't know this until I woke up, but at the very moment I was passing out, X was doing this, this, and this, and this happened, etc. etc. etc." So a lot of the book was summary, which could have been avoided.
There was also a forced romance, which was fun, like always. The bad guys were turned into vampires which meant they were automatically forgiven for forcing teenagers to fight to the death, which was ridiculous. And it just wasn't what I was hoping for.
Honestly, I was hoping for something with more plot, more excitement. The inside flap said Nina would learn what being a vampire really meant, but her turnaround in thinking came from nowhere. I was picturing her getting more shit done. Scaring a few people. Finding some excitement. Not sleeping through half the book and then summarizing what the non-vamps did during that time.
It's especially unfortunate because Evil Genius is just. So. Good. Maybe I'll go read that instead.
It starts off promising enough--a group of down-in-the-dumps vampires trying to solve the murder of their asshole sire or grand-sire. Then there's a burst of action in the first half of the book; a road-trip through Australia, a werewolf fighting ring, the bad guys who run said werewolf fighting ring.
Unfortunately, the werewolf is the hottest hottie to ever hot, which is just so annoying. Jinks might be mocking the hot-werewolf cliche, but it just comes off as a blind following of the formula, which is annoying because the book starts with a bunch of tropes subverted.
The book really goes downhill when the road-trip arrives back home in Sydney. In Jinks version of the vampire lore, vampires aren't even alive during daylight hours. They black out when the sun comes up and wake up when the sun goes up. It's interesting when it's used as an obstacle, but not so interesting when it leads to endless summaries of what happened when the narrator was knocked out. At least two chapters went like, "I wouldn't know this until I woke up, but at the very moment I was passing out, X was doing this, this, and this, and this happened, etc. etc. etc." So a lot of the book was summary, which could have been avoided.
There was also a forced romance, which was fun, like always. The bad guys were turned into vampires which meant they were automatically forgiven for forcing teenagers to fight to the death, which was ridiculous. And it just wasn't what I was hoping for.
Honestly, I was hoping for something with more plot, more excitement. The inside flap said Nina would learn what being a vampire really meant, but her turnaround in thinking came from nowhere. I was picturing her getting more shit done. Scaring a few people. Finding some excitement. Not sleeping through half the book and then summarizing what the non-vamps did during that time.
It's especially unfortunate because Evil Genius is just. So. Good. Maybe I'll go read that instead.
spelingexpirt13's review against another edition
3.0
For more reviews go to SpExReviews
There was once a beautiful, stong and sexy vampire. She killed bad guys and kissed the good ones. Her name was Zadia Bloodstone. But this isn't Zadia Bloodstone's story, this is the story of the sickly and weak author who invented her. This is Nina's story and Nina is a real vampire.
Nina, turned thirty years ago when she was fifteen years old and still living with her mum, is one of the small group of vampires living in Australia. This group makes up the Reformed Vampire Support Group. They are led by an ancient vampire, Sanford, who developed supplements that means the vampires can live off guinea pigs.
Life as a vampire is hard; too much light can make your blood vessels burst, you have no energy to be the evil creature of legend and you tend to spend your life stuck in a dark room watching television.
Nina hates being a vampire, she spends her time writing fictional books that are about the scary and sexy creatures that have filled the mainstream recently and the reality she puts up with angers and depresses her.
Then one Tuesday night, one of their group is found murdered in his home. Finally Nina has her chance to act more like Zadia Bloodstone and track down the killer to keep her and the rest of the group safe. Along the way she experiences first love, angry werewolves and slayer fanboys.
This book is a solid three stars. Funny, enjoyable and a nice read.
There was once a beautiful, stong and sexy vampire. She killed bad guys and kissed the good ones. Her name was Zadia Bloodstone. But this isn't Zadia Bloodstone's story, this is the story of the sickly and weak author who invented her. This is Nina's story and Nina is a real vampire.
Nina, turned thirty years ago when she was fifteen years old and still living with her mum, is one of the small group of vampires living in Australia. This group makes up the Reformed Vampire Support Group. They are led by an ancient vampire, Sanford, who developed supplements that means the vampires can live off guinea pigs.
Life as a vampire is hard; too much light can make your blood vessels burst, you have no energy to be the evil creature of legend and you tend to spend your life stuck in a dark room watching television.
Nina hates being a vampire, she spends her time writing fictional books that are about the scary and sexy creatures that have filled the mainstream recently and the reality she puts up with angers and depresses her.
Then one Tuesday night, one of their group is found murdered in his home. Finally Nina has her chance to act more like Zadia Bloodstone and track down the killer to keep her and the rest of the group safe. Along the way she experiences first love, angry werewolves and slayer fanboys.
This book is a solid three stars. Funny, enjoyable and a nice read.
gracecrandall's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nelsonseye's review against another edition
4.0
The Reformed Vampire Support Group was on my "to read" list for a while, and I'm glad I finally read it. It was a unique-to-me take on vampire mythology, and I found the Australian setting fresh as well. Nina was a sympathetic narrator, and her fellow vampires grew on me as well, even the difficult ones. I also adored Nina's mum - she was fantastic. Finally, even the "villains" had their moments.
The mystery was also well done and the suspense and action sequences were not too drawn out; certain scenes could have been quite ugly.
The mystery was also well done and the suspense and action sequences were not too drawn out; certain scenes could have been quite ugly.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! Very funny, in an odd-peculiar characters sort of way. Narrated by Nina, a 15 year old who has been a vampire since 1973 and who writes thrilling vampire adventure stories for a living--but of course they're fiction, because no one would believe there really are vampires, nor would they believe how boring and uneventful a real vampire's life is. Nina and her fellow vamps are misfits, with no super strength or superpowers; they live like hermits because they drop into a coma immediately at sunset and even at night have to wear sunglasses against headlight glare; they're "reformed"--they survive on guinea pig blood and have to take supplements to fend off nausea. They're *so* not the vampires of story and movie. They go to a Support Group meeting every week, they've got so many hangups! But their sheltered existence is shattered when one of their number is found staked to death in his own coffin (he was always rather flamboyant and oldfashioned, having been "fanged" hundreds of years ago; today's vampire sleeps in the basement or in a vault). Thus begins the oddest cross-country road trip, full of slapstick misadventure and characters like an overenthusiastic teenage werewolf and the nasty men who stage werewolf fights. I really really liked this lighthearted Down Under (it's set in Australia) take on vampires.
vixenreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Despite a rough game of plot-tennis around the second half of the novel, it is a nice mix of “What We Do in the Shadows,” “Shaun of the Dead,” and even some “Near Dark.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Vomit, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Medical content
Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Drug use, and Domestic abuse
The support group can sometimes feel like a dysfunctional family unit at times, and there is mention of a lost child for one of the vampires.theawkwardbookw's review against another edition
1.0
Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCferU-BCL2dlFjWdD0rS75Q
1.5/5 Stars
This book follows a group of real life vampires in Australia who create a support group to stop themselves from biting humans and infecting them with the vampire virus. When one of their group members is staked and killed, they find a silver bullet on the scene. Now they must risk their safety to travel across country to find the killer before he strikes again.
This was an attempt to put a spin on the romanticizing of vampires in the sense that it does the complete opposite... honestly it was super duper boring, with extremely unlikable characters. I disliked every single one of them and couldn't care less about any of them. I was also not a fan of the use of the r-word and other offensive terms. The only redeeming quality, which is why I gave it another .5 star, is because there were funny moments... but overall, yeah, not a fan.
1.5/5 Stars
This book follows a group of real life vampires in Australia who create a support group to stop themselves from biting humans and infecting them with the vampire virus. When one of their group members is staked and killed, they find a silver bullet on the scene. Now they must risk their safety to travel across country to find the killer before he strikes again.
This was an attempt to put a spin on the romanticizing of vampires in the sense that it does the complete opposite... honestly it was super duper boring, with extremely unlikable characters. I disliked every single one of them and couldn't care less about any of them. I was also not a fan of the use of the r-word and other offensive terms. The only redeeming quality, which is why I gave it another .5 star, is because there were funny moments... but overall, yeah, not a fan.
tarryncurrentlyreading's review against another edition
3.0
This is anything but your average teen vampire book.
Nina has been stuck as a fifteen year old ever since she was turned into a vampire in 1973. But unlike the supernatural being that she writes about, Zadia Bloodstone, Nina is not powerful, nor does she possess any magnificent qualities like super speed, strength, or the ability to turn into a bat or fly. Hell, she can't even sparkle. This ain't Twilight, folks. Instead, Nina is bound to a life of sickliness. Neverending nausea and weakness plague her immortal existence. Besides writing fantastical stories of what she wishes vampire were like in her room (and yes, she still lives with her mother) the only thing Nina ever does is go to Tuesday night support group meetings. Reformed Vampire Support Group, that is. For years Nina has gone to these meetings, seeing the same faces, like Dave, sullen teen vampire and Sanford, controlling and neurotic doctor vamire.
Then one of the vampires is staked and everything changes. Nina is thrust into a real life mystery, one that causes her to step up and attempt to be the vampire she didn't think she was capable of. She and her friends must find the slayer, for they are all now in danger. But this quest leads them to far bigger problems when they accidentally stumble across an illegal werewolf fighting ring. Nina's world is about to change, big time.
Compared to all the vampire books out there nowadays, in a way, The Reformed Vampire Support Group is refreshing. Instead of being portrayed as glamorous and fierce, Vampires are weak and kind of pathetic. When infected by a vampire in this novel, you are truly INFECTED-sentenced to an eternity of sickliness. Though at times the novel was a little slow and boring, the plot was mostly interesting. Romance is really not a main theme in this book, the mystery is, but even there the mystery is pretty predictable. Overall, I liked the book but it wasn't a golden find or anything. I recommend this book to anyone who is sick of all the vampire romances but don't mind that the supernatural elements in this book are veryyyy light, even if it is about vampires.
Nina has been stuck as a fifteen year old ever since she was turned into a vampire in 1973. But unlike the supernatural being that she writes about, Zadia Bloodstone, Nina is not powerful, nor does she possess any magnificent qualities like super speed, strength, or the ability to turn into a bat or fly. Hell, she can't even sparkle. This ain't Twilight, folks. Instead, Nina is bound to a life of sickliness. Neverending nausea and weakness plague her immortal existence. Besides writing fantastical stories of what she wishes vampire were like in her room (and yes, she still lives with her mother) the only thing Nina ever does is go to Tuesday night support group meetings. Reformed Vampire Support Group, that is. For years Nina has gone to these meetings, seeing the same faces, like Dave, sullen teen vampire and Sanford, controlling and neurotic doctor vamire.
Then one of the vampires is staked and everything changes. Nina is thrust into a real life mystery, one that causes her to step up and attempt to be the vampire she didn't think she was capable of. She and her friends must find the slayer, for they are all now in danger. But this quest leads them to far bigger problems when they accidentally stumble across an illegal werewolf fighting ring. Nina's world is about to change, big time.
Compared to all the vampire books out there nowadays, in a way, The Reformed Vampire Support Group is refreshing. Instead of being portrayed as glamorous and fierce, Vampires are weak and kind of pathetic. When infected by a vampire in this novel, you are truly INFECTED-sentenced to an eternity of sickliness. Though at times the novel was a little slow and boring, the plot was mostly interesting. Romance is really not a main theme in this book, the mystery is, but even there the mystery is pretty predictable. Overall, I liked the book but it wasn't a golden find or anything. I recommend this book to anyone who is sick of all the vampire romances but don't mind that the supernatural elements in this book are veryyyy light, even if it is about vampires.
magpi3's review against another edition
3.0
It was a good enough book, it was a decent read and the premise was interesting. I particularly liked the way vampires were portrayed because it seems to be unique to this book which makes a lovely change.