I am so excited to share this book with you all because I have finally gotten the opportunity to not only read this awesome book but to also do a review on it for the amazing Cassandra Giovanni.
About the Book
by Cassandra Giovanni
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Book Description
Seconds seem like a lifetime when the life you lived is slowly drained out of you by those who care not what you felt, hoped, or dreamed. When the darkness comes it is all-consuming; there is no light and there is no pain. It is the never-ending loss of hope that now consumes me as I die in his arms.
This is Abigail Martin’s nightmare. After her parents become the first victims of a serial killer obsessed with the vampire saga, "Crimson Reign," Abigail does the only thing that she thinks will save her from her parent’s fate–she becomes some one else. As Vera MacIntrye, she falls in love with the very handsome Tad Knightley, and then walks into her first day at her new school to see him standing at the front of the classroom. He’s every teenage girls fantasy, but as he writes “Mr. Knightley: AP British Literature” across the white board Vera realizes the one person who filled the gaping hole in her heart will soon rip it wide open again.
Vera struggles to adjust to being a ‘normal’ teenager with very adult responsibilities like paying the rent, buying groceries and making sure that lights stay on, while being drawn time and time again back to her off-limits teacher. What’s worse is he is drawn to her too, and their worlds refuse to stay apart when Tad finds Vera screaming in terror in the parking lot after the winter formal. The murderer has struck again and is getting closer to the next target–Vera. Tad will do whatever he can to save her, even if it means losing his dream job, but will it be enough when the murderer is closer than anyone ever thought?
Review
Before I start my review, I want to first apologize to Cassandra because I was given a copy of this book a few months ago to do my review and I am just now getting around to doing it. Life has thrown some curve balls my way over the past few months but I am slowly but surely getting things back on track. I honestly want to kick myself for waiting so long to read this book because it was so good. I literally starting reading and did not put it down until I was finished, it really was that good.
I have to first start off by saying this book reminded me of first a television show, Pretty Little Liars, and then parts of a movie, Scream. At first I was iffy on the whole thing because I didn't know what I had gotten myself into. Was this a sort of fan fiction type thing or, to my happy relief, something completely different? The reason I say it reminded me of Pretty Little Liars is because in the show one of the girls has a relationship with her teacher, just like Vera in the book. The reason it has Scream movie moments was that in the book the murders take place because of a book that was made into a movie, where as in Scream a series of murders were made into a movie, which sparked even more murders. Anyway, despite the book sounding very familiar, it has elements which mixed nicely together and Cassandra really knows how to tell a good story. I love her writing style as it isn't filled with all this none sense that a teenager, even one that acts as grown up as Vera does, wouldn't actually say. It is also great that Vera seemed like a real person instead of this person that you knew could have never existed. For me, the characters felt real and that was just one thing that made this book much better for me.
I do have to say though, that there were some moments where I had to put the book down and do a silent scream because honestly it was frustrating, to say the least. I mean, I was never expecting anything to happen between Vera and Tad because let’s face it, even though the age difference is only a few years between them. It is still teacher and student and we all know how that works out in the media. Anyway, there were some steamy moments that I couldn't help but want to go a little further than they did. Call me crazy or whatever but you just can't help it sometimes. lol Seriously, I could tell that Tad didn't want Vera to answer the door any more than I wanted her too. LOL I became so emotional invested in these characters and this book it was unreal. I swear when I finished the book I felt so empty because it was over and I didn't want it to be.
All in all, this book was pretty darn awesome. The writing was consistent and the story, for the most part, was original and very entertaining. You fell in love with the characters and went through the emotional rollercoaster along with them. That for me is what makes the books a hit or miss and this one was a definite hit for me. This book also had its moment where you saw a side of someone who has gone through something so horrific and how each of us deals with grief and loss in our own different ways. Where one person cries for days and then is able to get up and move on another person could have a harder time dealing with the loss and end up locking it away inside him or her. For Vera this is what she did and it wasn't until she was able to put to rest what happened to her parents was she able to really begin to open up to people. It really is a heartbreaking but amazing story. I am looking forward to reading Cassandra's other book because I know it will be just as amazing.
I give this book
*Disclosure Notice*
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my personal and honest review. I was not compensated in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.
About the Author
Cassandra Giovanni
Cassandra Giovanni is an avid writer of young adult novels and can't wait to share her work with you. The genres of her novels include dystopian, paranormal, mystery and romance all aimed at appealing to adults and young adults alike. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. She began writing at a very young age, in fact from the moment she could draw she was telling stories that way. At age seven she won a contest in American Girl Doll to have a chapter she had written published. From that point on she was always writing, if not on paper than in her head. In May 2012 she published her first novel, In Between Seasons, which demonstrated her unique writing style and approach to the genre of post-apocalyptic fiction. On Halloween 2012 Cassandra released her second novel, Walking in the Shadows. This novel puts a new twist on the obsession of vampires in literature and explores some of the darkest parts of human nature, while still showing that there is always hope--if we only choose to believe in ourselves.
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I've never heard of that movie--but that's interesting to hear! I did see Pretty Little Liars after and was afraid that some might draw that line, but then again I think many books with the teacher-student relationship are probably reminders of Pretty Little Liars because of it's popularity. I'm glad that you enjoyed my novel!
ReplyDeletePS. I understand that life gets in the way--I'm just glad that you liked it!