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A review by thewordslinger
The Vampires Will Save You by Rebecca F. Kenney
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I wasn't expecting much out of this series, but at the same time I'd heard pretty good things about it. And wow. I'm actually pleasantly surprised. This is such a unique and cool world! The lore behind how the vampires came to be, and the zombies too is something like I've never seen before. Even the anatomy of how vampires' bodies operate was really great, even if the romance ends up not making a tonnnnn of sense because of it (It's never really explained how or why Atlan's body responds for Finley. Given how well the rest of this world is reasoned out, I'd have expected this aspect to make sense. But alas.)
I think the characters are where this knocks off a bit for me. While there's nothing wrong with any of them exactly, I didn't really get close to them either.
Finley is an interesting character, but I'm not a fan of how she's attracted to Charon and Harry early on. Even as she's repulsed by Charon. And it doesn't feel like the attraction is natural. It feels like she gets drugged or even compelled by the vampire. But it's never explained as anything other than her body wanting and needing sex. And the bed scene? It made me so fucking uncomfortable.
Finley's characterization as a whole was odd and inconsistent, she can be a total badass, but when it comes to protecting herself from assault, she whimpers and bends to Charon in ways that honestly felt out of character and that pissed me off.
Atlan is more palatable. And also a badass sexy vampire warrior. But also for being like 75 years old, he's still kinda immature. There were times the cringe made it difficult to keep reading.
I also would have liked the side characters to be way more than they were. Even Harry was little more than a prop for Finley to showcase her badassery. We have a "mean girl" who's ... not. We've got a tragic love story that's... not.
For all the cool aspects of the world-building, the author falls a bit short when it comes to building well-developed characters who have complex and multi-dimensional relationships with each other. But who knows, maybe that'll change in future books.
Regardless, this was a pretty fast read, and 100% held my interest, despite my complaints.
I think the characters are where this knocks off a bit for me. While there's nothing wrong with any of them exactly, I didn't really get close to them either.
Finley is an interesting character, but I'm not a fan of how she's attracted to Charon and Harry early on. Even as she's repulsed by Charon. And it doesn't feel like the attraction is natural. It feels like she gets drugged or even compelled by the vampire. But it's never explained as anything other than her body wanting and needing sex. And the bed scene? It made me so fucking uncomfortable.
Finley's characterization as a whole was odd and inconsistent, she can be a total badass, but when it comes to protecting herself from assault, she whimpers and bends to Charon in ways that honestly felt out of character and that pissed me off.
Atlan is more palatable. And also a badass sexy vampire warrior. But also for being like 75 years old, he's still kinda immature. There were times the cringe made it difficult to keep reading.
I also would have liked the side characters to be way more than they were. Even Harry was little more than a prop for Finley to showcase her badassery. We have a "mean girl" who's ... not. We've got a tragic love story that's... not.
For all the cool aspects of the world-building, the author falls a bit short when it comes to building well-developed characters who have complex and multi-dimensional relationships with each other. But who knows, maybe that'll change in future books.
Regardless, this was a pretty fast read, and 100% held my interest, despite my complaints.