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A review by zea_d_writing
Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I absolutely adored this book in middle school and high school. It was one (of a handful) that I re-read often during those years.
This was my first re-read as an adult and I honestly still had a fun time with it. There were certainly some moments/elements that my adolescent self swooned over but has me arching my eyebrow at as an adult. It’s not a perfect book by any means and you can absolutely tell that it was released in the 90s. But it doesn’t have anything too egregious (that I caught at least) that would earn it the “didn’t age well” designation.
The “romance” certainly fits into the insta-love category but is, in my opinion, far less annoying as other vampire YA novels that became popular in the early two thousands.
I also found myself still enjoying the ridiculous banter and edginess that younger me loved so much.
The ending was also so incredibly rushed. The rest of the story has great pacing and everything plays out in what feels like a reasonable time frame. And the abruptly everything just…ends. It felt like the editor/publisher literally just cut out a couple chapters at the end and called it good. It feels like there’s an important step missing, which makes the ending feel far less satisfying. Especially since there is no sequel, despite the fact that the two main characters don’t end up together (Something that actually happened a lot in ‘90s YA stories).
Overall this was a fun, nostalgic re-read for me.
This was my first re-read as an adult and I honestly still had a fun time with it. There were certainly some moments/elements that my adolescent self swooned over but has me arching my eyebrow at as an adult. It’s not a perfect book by any means and you can absolutely tell that it was released in the 90s. But it doesn’t have anything too egregious (that I caught at least) that would earn it the “didn’t age well” designation.
The “romance” certainly fits into the insta-love category but is, in my opinion, far less annoying as other vampire YA novels that became popular in the early two thousands.
I also found myself still enjoying the ridiculous banter and edginess that younger me loved so much.
The ending was also so incredibly rushed. The rest of the story has great pacing and everything plays out in what feels like a reasonable time frame. And the abruptly everything just…ends. It felt like the editor/publisher literally just cut out a couple chapters at the end and called it good. It feels like there’s an important step missing, which makes the ending feel far less satisfying. Especially since there is no sequel, despite the fact that the two main characters don’t end up together (Something that actually happened a lot in ‘90s YA stories).
Overall this was a fun, nostalgic re-read for me.