A review by veecaswell
Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw

4.0

Summer ’95, New Orleans. Mina’s having a summer to die for.

17-year-old Mina arrives in New Orleans to visit her estranged sister, Libby. Mina loves nothing more than a creepy horror movie and can't wait to explore the city’s darkest secrets – vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths…

But the perfect summer bliss is broken when, while exploring the mansion, Mina discovers the body of a girl with puncture marks on her neck and a lock of hair suspiciously resembling Libby’s … who, or what has made those marks? Is Mina’s fanatical obsession with Vampires playing tricks on her mind? Or could Vampires actually be stalking the streets of New Orleans, hunting for fresh prey?

When this story got going, this story was truly so good. The plot twists, the tension, action and in synergy leading to the end was brilliant and really wasn't something I completely expected, which is something I never mind in a book. The moments in this book where I was on the edge of my seat to find out what happened was incredible, and though I don't know how another book would continue, I do think I want to read more from this writer for sure.

The chemistry between the characters is also wonderful. The burning chemistry between Jared and Mina is great as the book develops and what happens next for them really is something I want to know and Della and Libby are the cutest couple and kind of goals to be honest. The characters are really well developed be that through the story or the diary entries and their growth in the book is done amazingly - and these characters in New Orleans make for a wonderful combination.

I also appreciated how much detail when it came to the era/dates that went into this book, with the style, films, music etc that were popular at the time and really woven into this book brilliantly - costumes, pop culture references and movies weaved into the story so well and were a nice touch to the story.

A great read that you really can sink your teeth (or fangs) into!