Review: Shiny New Vampire
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
I promise to be brutally honest with my opinion, but it should not be taken as fact. Any reader should read it for themselves, before they decide if this book has any merit or not. Do not judge this book biased solely on my opinion. If you do, you might miss out on a great read. You never know. It could happen. My review may contain spoilers, but I really strive to be spoiler-free. I downloaded this book for free on Amazon.com. This book was not suggested nor "gifted" to me by the author. I have no affiliation with the author or his/her publisher.1. Strong Main Character/ Female Heroine: Ava is sarcastic and quick witted. A bit of a recluse, she is thrown into people contact, not exactly human if you know what I mean, and has to deal with the trials of being something different from the norm. In this case, she is a different type of vampire that was created quite by accident. I wonder who her father was, since her mother is decidedly human. I could definitely relate to Ava's dislike of people and social contact. I am not exactly a people person myself. She wants to do everything on her own and hates to admit that she needs help with anything. She was a very strong character and I enjoyed her witty banter, especially the dilemmas in her head. She is no Melissa from Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising. Ava can defend herself and she has a wicked cool blade to do it with. I love how much of a mystery her origin is and I cannot help but think that in the books to come, her parentage will come into play. Maybe, she will even discover who her father is. I look forward to discovering more about Ava in the next book. The only thing that I have to say about her that is somewhat negative is that she never voices her thoughts and feelings to Peter. You can tell that he wants to say things as well, but I believe that if she would start sharing first, he would soon follow suit. I also really feel for Ava's tragic childhood and it makes me reflect and feel grateful that my own was not the same as hers. Then again, I was never considered a demon or possessed. Still, I felt for her, because I know that plenty of children go through abuse by parent and guardians. 5 out of 5 stars2. Strong Main Character / Male Hero: Peter is the hero in this story. He knows the life of the creatures that he hunts and is able to help Ava confront them. At first, he seems really arrogant and angry all of the time. I really did not like him in the beginning, but then, I found out about what happened to his family and it broke my heart. Peter and Ava could relate to each other, if they would only open up their hearts. He is brave and protective of Ava, so you can really tell that he has feelings for her. He says that he promised her grandmother that he would help Ava no matter what to keep her safe, but I highly doubt that. He does it, because he likes her. Fair and square. He does not always save her, which is understandable seeing how he is only human and she is...well not. I find him to be the male version of Ava. Maybe that is why I feel that they would be great together. They are both stubborn and iron willed. If they ever got together, they would be unstoppable. 4 out of 5 stars3. Strong Main Character / Evil Antagonist: Maximus is a very evil vampire, who has basically lost his mind due to the raging virus that is dramatics and vampirism. He is a very shady character cast in a dark light, but at one point, did not seem that bad of a choice compared to being captured by Daimhin and her coven. But then again, she was cast in a bad light as well. Whether she is deserving of it or not, well, we shall wait and see. In conclusion, Maximus was a psychotic character that the reader did not experience the pleasure of knowing until the near end. Eddie is a man of many mysteries...mainly, if he actually human or something...other...other than vampire of course! He is helpful...a little too helpful, if you catch my drift. He goes out of his way to understand Ava and then, only gives her cryptic messages about how "instrumental" she will be in the future. In the end, he played her and he played her well; however, I believe that with Eddie there is more than meets the eye. Nancy is Ava's grandmother and let me tell you, I thoroughly hate the woman. She gave Ava a very rough childhood and rough does not even begin to describe it. She deserves to die and the sad part is, she does not see the harm in what she did in the past. Now here comes the funny part, she wants to do it all over again. Nice grandmother, huh? She deserves to be labeled as an evil antagonist, although she was more of a minor character. 4 out of 5 stars4. Strong Minor Characters: There is a bizarre presence that follows Ava around after she meets with Eddie for the first time. I cannot help, but speculate who or rather, what it is. Is it a ghost perhaps? If so, then maybe, her mother is the ghostly spirit? Whoever or whatever it is, it leaves a mysterious taste lingering in my mouth and I crave to know more about it. Carl, I found to be a really annoying aspect to the story. He follows Ava around with no mind that is his own and even after he gets it back, he refuses to go back to his old life. It is frustrating and I wish that he would just go away, because I do not see any value in him that makes the story a better read. In fact, it just distracts the reader from the whole plot. I wish he was more of a background character or extra rather than a minor character. Daimhin is a puzzling case for me, because on one hand, she is an evil woman who wants Ava dead. On the other hand, she is being really nice to her and finds her very amusing. I believe that Ava's father must be with Daimhin's coven. That is the only reason that I can think of that she would keep Ava around for or maybe, she is just not a vampire killer when she does not have to be. Arthur was the only vampire character that I actually liked. He was a father like figure and protected Ava like one. He could have been her father and I am kind of debating that right now in my head. I really do not want him to be, though, because he is not in the rest of the books. I know this for a fact and if you have read this, you know why too. So, I am hoping that it was someone else, but Arthur was very sweet for a vampire. 3 out of 5 stars5. The Plot: The storyline is not exactly unique. It is about a girl who is a vampire, but can walk during the day and still has a beating heart. She is like no vampire out there. Now, the rest of the plot is very unique and the writing spun this book in a more humorous direction. Although, the book was still quite serious, it had a humorous quality to it that made the darker elements much more bearable to read. I would have liked to see the storyline a little longer, because the whole book takes place in a matter of days, then weeks at the end of the book. The action part of the book takes place in only days, while the ending was weeks. I feel that if the action extended to weeks then it would have made for a heated story that could have been filled with more action, until reaching a resolution. Otherwise, I found the plot to be very satisfying. 3 out of 5 stars6. The Setting: Since this whole story takes place in a matter of days, there is not a whole lot of places that Ava can go...or so one would think. It is quite contrary, though. There are many details about Ava's apartment, Eddie's place, Peter's, the club's, Maximum's, and another place or two that eludes my mind at the moment. If the book was longer, there would have been more space for better, more detailed descriptions or maybe even a couple of more places to visit. I feel a coffee shop may have been nice and would have fit into the plot somewhere. As is, the setting could have been improved, if the story was longer. 4 out of 5 stars7. The Dialogue: Depending upon the character, the dialogue was witty, sarcastic, but sometimes it fell flat. Carl's dialogue was nothing short of disastrous. I get that he does not control his mind, but he still has brain function and should be capable of forming coherent sentences that engage the reader. If it was only going to annoy, I wish the author would have given him zero lines. The dialogue was clever at times, but I saw it lacking here and there. I wish that more questions were answered and that somethings would be less of a mystery. 3 out of 5 stars8. Engaging Surprises: This book did have plenty of surprises, I will tell you. Every chapter held something surprising that the reader did not know before and kept my interest throughout the entire book. The surprises were mostly small ones that led the reader on a breadcrumb trail, but sometimes, smaller surprises lead to even bigger ones in the future. I think this book might have had one big surprise, but I really do not consider any of the surprises bigger than the others. I found that they all were about equal in size as well as magnitude. 3 out of 5 stars9. Climax: The climax was monumental for the story, although it is hard to pick exactly what spot was the actual climax where things went downhill before being resolved. If I had to guess, it would probably have been the time in the taxi cab. Anyone who has read this before will know what I mean. I know this moment was important to the plot of the entire story, but it was not made a big deal in the story. I was expecting something elaborate, but what I got, was a little disappointing. It could have been a boom, but it was more of a rushed add-on. 2 out of 5 stars10. Emotional Response: There was not a lot of emotional moments in this book that made me want to cry. There were a couple that I shed real tears over, but most of the emotional moments were spent rolling my eyes or in tears of laughter. I do not know if the author really intended this to be a humorous book, but I found many of the dark situations very funny. I thought it was suitable for the scene, but I could be sadly mistaken. If my readers are anything like me, than you will be laughing, while reading most of this book. This book was a happy relief after reading a book that was oh-so-not-good. 4 out of 5 stars11. Ending: The climax fell a bit flat and I think that the ending did as well. I have to say that the last page of the book was the worst for me. I really hated it, but it had to do with a character that I sorely disliked. However, leading up to that last page, I really do like the satisfying slaying of that particular vampire; however, I hate how easy it was done. Are vampires weakened during the day? How come she is not weakened at night, when they are during the day? I wished there were more explanations about the vampires and their way of life. It would make understanding this book so much easier. 2 out of 5 stars12. The Writing: A book that has got me speculating what will happen in the next book, before that one is done, is definitely a series that I will have no choice, but to continue to satisfy my curiosity. But with a book written this good, it comes as no surprise. The only real drawback for her character is the sappy love triangle going on, because love triangles never happen in real life. By reading the first two chapters of the next book, I can say with confidence that the love triangle has reverted to Ava loving him and him being a jerk and ignoring her. So, there you go! No more sappy love triangle, until maybe later in the book. Still, I would have liked to have seen it end I the first book. To counteract that con, it is a pro that she does not have a boyfriend by the end of the book. This is no story about instant romance, which I quite enjoyed besides the love triangle. Now that I think about it though, it was never quite a triangle with someone's brain not really working on their own at all. Still, this novel needed some explanations that were never given. It made the book hard to understand at times, which is not a good thing. It is a good thing however, that for much of the book that was not the case. 3 out of 5 stars13. The Artwork: A beautiful cover that captures Ava and her cross quite well. It fit in with the entire book and I love the fact that we never actually see her eyes. It makes it a mystery about what color they are and if you can see any red in them. I believe this was the author's intention, but if not, a great piece of cover art. It is the best fitting cover that I have ever seen for a book, especially a series. Let us hope it stays consistent. 5 out of 5 stars14. Genre: The genre of this story is paranormal romance. It is also a self-discovery book as well, because Ava learns things about herself along the way. Paranormal is obvious, because this book is about vampires. I sincerely think that vampire books should have their own genre, since there is so many of them. Romance is a tough one though. The story has elements of romance, but nothing substantial happens between any of the characters, which maybe a reason why I enjoyed this book so much. I am always happen, when a girl stays single in the end. She does not need a man to complete herself and that makes me happy. I believe that no woman can complete herself with a man. She needs to complete herself, otherwise relationships usually suffer because you are looking for someone to help you fill that hole but no one can help you do that but yourself. A run on sentence I know, but I needed to get that out in one breath. 5 out of 5 stars15. Title: Thirst is a great title for the book, because the whole novel revolves around Ava's thirst for blood and other people's thirst as well, whether for blood, sex, or power. The title was thought about and you can tell that the author took painstaking efforts to ensure that everything physical about the book would market to the right audience. Well done. 5 out of 5 starsOverall, I give this story a 3.6, which I would round up to a 4. The author could improve by making the next novel longer and adding more descriptions. Developing characters more and writing explanations that make sense would also vastly improve the series as well. I will be looking forward to the next book.