Well, another thing I tend to avoid: a vampire novel. But this one is more Adult than YA and by a well-established author (though, I'm ashamed to say, not one I'd actually read before) so I decided to give it a go.
The blurb was definitely a draw - someone who's sick of how often vampires pop up in modern culture, fits me perfectly - and it gave away very little of the story. No choice but to dive straight in!
Well, Meg Cabot definitely lived up to her reputation and I was hooked from the start. The main character, Meena, was wondefully ordinary with a few quirks and some supernatural excess baggage, but that excess baggage never seemed to take over the storyline - it was just there adding extra drama which didn't hurt at all. The supporting cast, also, were well developed and all had their own agendas, making for some amusing situations (Alaric and Jon in particular, one is clearly exasperated while the other won't give up pestering). There were one or two dotted around who I found a little two-dimensional, but it didn't bother me much and it's really only looking back that I noticed it.
The plot meanwhile, while predictable at points, certainly kept me entertained and there were some very unexpected twists towards the end. And the ending itself, while definitely setting up for the sequel, didn't just trail off like I'd been afraid it would. A couple of cases of insta-love (or at least insta-crush) thrown in there but none of them disaterous.
All in all making me much less leery about modern vampire books and I'll be keeping an eye out for the next.
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