I was so happy to win this book in an IG contest - Buffy was my jam back in high school. I will admit though, I did go into the story a little concerned about it matching the tone of the show. I shouldn’t have worried - Kiersten White did a fantastic job and I loved it.

White has managed to pull in TV show canon quite nicely, and yet tells a completely unique story. It takes place after the end of the series, and is told from a young teen’s POV. Nina is a part of one of the original Watcher families, and has a lot of baggage related to that. She hates Buffy for the chaos and death she has brought to Nina’s family, and pretty much feels the same way about all the other Potentials/Slayers. So when Nina becomes a Slayer herself… well, emotional upheaval would be an understatement.

Nina is a great character, but at times I just wanted to smack her; her insecurities were CONSTANTLY cropping up, which made her act like a total doormat. But her progression into a confident woman was well done - it felt natural and not abrupt at all.

The only bummer with this book was how fast I spotted the villain - which doesn’t usually happen to me! It kind of killed the suspense, unfortunately, and I found myself getting impatient while waiting for the characters to catch up. But I still enjoyed it - this a great start to a new series, and a worthy continuation of the show. I’m looking forward to the next book!