Insatiable by Meg Cabot

Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.
But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn't believe in them. Not that Meena isn't familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you're going to die. (Not that you're going to believe her. No one ever does.) But not even Meena's precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets-then makes the mistake of falling in love with-Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. It's a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for. The problem is, Lucien's already dead. Maybe that's why he's the first guy Meena's ever met whom she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena's always been able to see everyone else's future, she's never been able look into her own. And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.
Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future. . . .
If she even has one.                                                   -Chapters Canada

Having read almost all of Meg Cabot's other books (and loving all of them!), I had really high expectations for this book. It was only alright.

I didn't really know much about the book when I picked it up (my trust in Meg Cabot is pretty high), and was pretty surprised to find that it was about vampires (which, in retrospect would have been pretty obvious if I was observant enough to look at the cover!). As I have read and loved many other vampire-based books, I decided to give it a chance. Although I am pretty close to being over the whole vampire craze, this book was different enough to keep me interested, set with an independent heroine and funny characters. It did come off as kind of spoofish though, which I'm not sure was intentional or not. Alaric (name of a vampire hunter on The Vampire Diaries) Wulf (wolf? hello... always hate vampires) who is a vampire killer in the book, kind of tipped me off. And then there were lots of True Blood and Twilight references to keep a salivating paranormalist happy. In any case, it did lighten the theme of the book, and I still enjoyed the plot and the romance.

Overall, I think that Meg Cabot fans will still enjoy this light, fun, if supernatural, chick-lit read, that has all the humour and spunk of a usual Meg Cabot novel.

Spoiler Alert: Don't read past this point if you don't want to know specific book details!

As soon as I started reading Insatiable I knew where the plot was going. Average girl meets tall, dark, handsome stranger; soon finds out he's a vampire. What I did like though, was that our Meena actually had second thoughts when she discovered Lucien's secret. Which should be a knee jerk reaction, people! It was plausible, and I liked this aspect. Something I didn't expect also, was Alaric becoming a romantic interest, although this does ring true with mocking other books in the genre (especially seeing as his last name is Wulf!). Anyway, the love triangle seems interesting, and for once I can't really decide how it's going to play out, or how I want it to either. Since this book is the first in a series, I am totally looking forward to seeing who Meena chooses.

Aside from the romantic themes going on, there were also very interesting plotlines woven into the story, with a whole slew of secondary characters that were just as interesting as Meena and her beaus. Her brother Jon's story is far from over, and I really hope that we see more of Leisha and her baby, and Emil and Mary Lou Antonescu.

After reading Insatiable I really am looking forward to learning more about Meena's life, even if this isn't my favourite Meg Cabot novel.

He vants to suck her blood!--Cheers & Enjoy♥

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

"Throughout all my histories, I found no one I loved more than you...no one."

Those were some of Rhode's last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face.

It was the first time in 592 years I could take a breath. Lay in the sun. Taste.

Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the blood lust.
I never expected to fall in love with someone else that wasn't Rhode.
But Justin was...daring. Exciting. More beautiful than I could dream.
I never expected to be sixteen again...then again, I never expected my past to come back and haunt me...

                                                                                -Chapters Canada


I really enjoyed this book. I have read my fair share of vampire books, but let me say that this one definitely stands out from all the rest.  Firstly, the young (well...) heroine actually chooses to be human, and therefore doesn't choose the guy. I think this concept is just revolutionary!  All joking aside, I think this was definitely a well needed change, and I have yet to read anything similar, where a vampire gets turned back into a human.

Having said that, I also want to give recognition for the plausibility of the plot. Everything seemed just a little bit more normal and relatable than in the typical vampire romance novel, which we have been seeing so much of as of late. I really enjoyed experiencing the new (to her) world that we happen to live in, and it really made me think of how far our society has come in a very short period of time. This was also gave way to some perfect little snippets of humour. The romance was actually a little bit of a downside for me, for the most part.  As much as I wanted to like, Justin, I wasn't really buying it. Which is suprising for me, because you can pretty much push any form of romance my way and I will devour it. In this case it just didn't seem sincere and believable.  It was like Justin just wasn't quite deep enough to embrace the maturity and situation in which Lenah found herself. I guess we will have to see in the follow-up how that develops.

This book was overall a good read, and I would recommend it not only for teens, but anyone who is looking for a vampire-switch-up of sorts.  You will not be disappointed.


Spoiler Alert: Don't read past this point if you don't want to know specific book details!


Right from the beginning, it is easy to see that this book is different from all of the other vampire ones out there.  Lenah Beaudonte (love the name) is an ancient vampire who is recieving the ultimate gift from her long-time soulmate: mortality.  And he is sacrificing himself to do it, a process that is hardly ever completed because it demands utter selflessness to be successful. So after hundreds of years of being a vampire, Lenah finally becomes human again, and is thrust into our world with only a few minutes guidance from her (mate?) and a few notes and gifts he leaves her.

Not long into her journey Lenah discovers Justin, who to me just seemed like glorified eye-candy. He was presented as immature right off the batt and was still dating a shallow bimbo. But he seems to fall for Lenah and embraces her past in its entirety. Trouble is always looming for Lenah, though, because her second vampire lover,Vicken, is going to realize what Rhode accomplished, and come to find what he believes is his: his Queen, Lenah.

Of course her old coven inevitably finds Lenah and takes her away. Which was pretty unexpected for me. I didn't expect for her to just hastily be ripped from the life she had built for herself at boarding school, and forced to do the ritual for Vicken.  (I was pretty confused about Vicken, whether I wanted to like him or not, and most of the time I felt myself pittying him.  Because the way that Lenah described him made him seem so noble, and like he really, truly loved her as well.  And of course he is going to come for you, he loves you and are connected by bond. Can you really blame him?)  I could have also done without Tony.  He didn't really come off as likeable, and I always feel uncomfortable whenever a pathetic stalkery dude falls for the girl that clearly only likes him as a friend. And this was one of those cases times about a thousand.

Despite a few minor setbacks, I really enjoyed this book, and think the sequel will be another hit. I recommend it to anyone who likes vampire fiction!


Sequel to come--Cheers & Enjoy♥

Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

So I suppose I will start my book reviewing on a rather controversial series: The Twilight Saga.

I know, I know... A lot of people hate it.  Let me just say that I don't care.  I do respect other people's opinion on the books, but I am not going to cater my review just because it might make me look shallow.  Let it be said that although I read a lot, some of the books I read are not that deep, actually most of them are light, chick-lit books that make me laugh :)

So for the longest time I refused to read this series, ironically enough, because I saw it everywhere, and was constantly wishing it to go back to wherever it came from and stop ambushing me every time I entered Chapters!  I mean come on, vampires? (I had never been one for the sci-fi genre, but I have come a long way since this point).  But one day, I logged on to Amazon to read an excerpt, just to see what all the fuss was about.  Let me just say that I was pretty much hooked after reading those few pages.  It was so intriguing.  I have always been a sucker for love stories pretty much of any kind, and this one just spoke to me.  I was in High School at the time, experiencing teen love and angst and all that fun stuff, so, basically, I just ate that shit up!

Within that first week, I had read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse and was dying for more.  Thus commencing my absolute obsession with the Twilight series.  Although I am a quasi-closeted obsesser (obsessee?) I love the series immensely.  The only reason that I didn't read Breaking Dawn in its entirety the very day it came out, was because I did an exchange in Quebec that summer, and didn't want to risk having it sent to my host family's house, lest I had left for home whilst it arrived.  So when my Mom greeted me at the train station on the night of my return (which was at like midnight) she brought Breaking Dawn with her in the car, which she had purchased for me, because she is such a good little muffin :)
also probably because I threatened her....

To be continued.....