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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
An extra star because I remember being so amazed when this came out that she wrote it at fifteen.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So every Halloween I read this book. I don't know why, but it's one of my favorites. It's stuck with me year after year and I never get bored re-reading it. Though I know everything that happens as I read it, I still love how I can be surprised and engaged in the story.
I don't know if I have written a review of it but I think I will (possibly) write a review each year I read it, you never know, I might find something new!
This time around I couldn't help but notice the darkness of this book. I mean, yeah vamps and witches and killing, but there is a moral darkness going on, too. When Ather changes Rachel, she keeps telling her she is now the hunter and she has the right to kill her prey, in this case, humans. It's no different than killing chickens for food or caging a dog as a pet, Ather tells her. If Rachel were to go back to her church, they would condemn her for what she has become, and yet it wasn't Rachel's choice. I think that exchange in the book rankles me the most. I want to almost yell at Ather myself.
I noticed, too, that Risika (Rachel) also throws away all her morals as well. She eventually just kills to feed and doesn't care who it is that she kills. She no longer has any regard for others. At the end, she admits to remembering her humanity all because she spares Aubrey, but I think, looking at the rest of her life, she has thrown away her humanity and merely leaves that as an excuse to leave Aubrey alive. To me, it's more about her wanting the power over him and Ather.
I also, too, am annoyed with Alexander at the end. Yes, he's hoping his twin still has her humanity, but he's so surprised that she has given up her humanity and hasn't even fought for it (though I agree with him, that she should have at least tried). But she makes a valid argument - she thought he was dead for 300 years and she had no proof that he was even alive. She could have lived a completely different life if she had known he wasn't dead.
I look forward to reading this again in 364 days. Maybe I'll pick up on something else!
If you haven't read this book, you really should. Sure, it's not the greatest book in the world, and the writing is a little iffy, but there is just something about it that pulls you right in! The rest of the series (called the Den of Shadows Quartet, this being #1) is quite good as well. Different characters in each one of the books, but all intertwining somehow. It's quite fascinating! Enjoy!
(October 2018)
Still trying to hold to tradition! I do think I read it in one sitting last year but I didn't update here. Anyway, I read it this year and I still love it.
I was noticing (and it may have been because of a subreddit that I read just before jumping into this) that the dialogue was kinda rough. At the end when Risika and Aubrey are fighting they say each others name A LOT. It was getting kinda annoying actually, seeing all of that repetition. But she was only 19 when she read this, so she wasn't all that experienced yet (this was her first book).
I don't know if I have written a review of it but I think I will (possibly) write a review each year I read it, you never know, I might find something new!
This time around I couldn't help but notice the darkness of this book. I mean, yeah vamps and witches and killing, but there is a moral darkness going on, too. When Ather changes Rachel, she keeps telling her she is now the hunter and she has the right to kill her prey, in this case, humans. It's no different than killing chickens for food or caging a dog as a pet, Ather tells her. If Rachel were to go back to her church, they would condemn her for what she has become, and yet it wasn't Rachel's choice. I think that exchange in the book rankles me the most. I want to almost yell at Ather myself.
I noticed, too, that Risika (Rachel) also throws away all her morals as well. She eventually just kills to feed and doesn't care who it is that she kills. She no longer has any regard for others. At the end, she admits to remembering her humanity all because she spares Aubrey, but I think, looking at the rest of her life, she has thrown away her humanity and merely leaves that as an excuse to leave Aubrey alive. To me, it's more about her wanting the power over him and Ather.
I also, too, am annoyed with Alexander at the end. Yes, he's hoping his twin still has her humanity, but he's so surprised that she has given up her humanity and hasn't even fought for it (though I agree with him, that she should have at least tried). But she makes a valid argument - she thought he was dead for 300 years and she had no proof that he was even alive. She could have lived a completely different life if she had known he wasn't dead.
I look forward to reading this again in 364 days. Maybe I'll pick up on something else!
If you haven't read this book, you really should. Sure, it's not the greatest book in the world, and the writing is a little iffy, but there is just something about it that pulls you right in! The rest of the series (called the Den of Shadows Quartet, this being #1) is quite good as well. Different characters in each one of the books, but all intertwining somehow. It's quite fascinating! Enjoy!
(October 2018)
Still trying to hold to tradition! I do think I read it in one sitting last year but I didn't update here. Anyway, I read it this year and I still love it.
I was noticing (and it may have been because of a subreddit that I read just before jumping into this) that the dialogue was kinda rough. At the end when Risika and Aubrey are fighting they say each others name A LOT. It was getting kinda annoying actually, seeing all of that repetition. But she was only 19 when she read this, so she wasn't all that experienced yet (this was her first book).
I expected more from this book. Although interesting it lacked in its climax and plot. The main character was well developed and we get the complete story about her turning. Ather and Aubrey in the other hand we get some info but they were not well developed characters. Everything escalated quite quickly from her cowering one night to all of a sudden deciding after 300 years to take a stand. I also expected more of a fight from Aubrey considering how afraid she is of him. It was a nice twist with what happened to Alexander but I think at that point it didn't make up much for the story. It was great in the way we get Risika's story but was expecting more to it. I won't give up on the series I will read the next in hopes that with the ending of this one it will get better.
I can't rate this book because I read it when I was like 12. I loved it then, but I doubt it would stand up to my interests now. However, I do feel like the target audience is about 12 like I was. In that sense, I think it's a successful book.
Had this weird otherworldly tone that I really liked - the story was simple but for some reason I remember it as being a very slow, sinuous kind of book. Pretty awesome for a teenage author. Yay vampires.
Such a fast and easy read!!! Keep my attention till the end!!!
When I first read this book, I disliked it. I thought it felt like the sort of story that a little girl writes in her head, and then, when telling the story to someone else, forgets to tell the listener certain details that makes the story make sense. It still sort of feels like that, but I feel like I enjoyed it a little bit more, and got a few more ideas for my own characters out of it.
The first time I read this book was years ago at the recommendation of a good friend. Luckily, it's been long enough that it was only vaguely familiar to me and I didn't remember exactly how it went. I loved it back then and I find I do still enjoy the story, though I found myself constantly distracted by the repetitiveness of the writing and the first-person narrative style. It's a quick read and a decent story.