2-5 -3 Stars

I received an e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

In an American town called Santuary, a large group of Supernatural creatures lives in one community group. Rel is one of these supernatural creatures. She is a 16-year-old vampire who hasn't developed her powers yet which is a good thing because her adoptive parents are a succubus and incubus and can't tell her what she should expect. When a new guy arrives in school, Rel suddenly finds herself having urges that aren't just to do with teenage hormones. On top of that, it seems like a new hunter has arrived, and a mysterious beast is killing people.

This is a great, fun read for a younger reader. I think this book would have been a 4-5 star read for me when I was younger, and especially around the time I would have been reading books like House of Night and Twilight. It's full of teenage angst and Rel not only has to deal with a changes with her body and feelings (which young teenagers can totally relate to, even though they are obviously not vampires) but also ends up on a bit of an adventure when she tries to track down a fearsome monster.

Unfortunately this book wasn't fantastic for me but I do think it has largely to do with my age. I'm 25 now and while I do like YA still, I can't quite connect with some of the more angsty feelings that get thrown into such stories, like this one, now. Rel called Richard (or Rick - we never actually heard from him which he prefers) the love of her life on a few occasions, instead of just acknowledging him as her crush, even though she had literally only spoken to him about three times. I also feel like Richard kept cropping up as this romantic interest but there was nothing that seemed to spur this interest on for Rel apart from his looks. We didn't get any deep conversation from Richard, we didn't learn about him such as who he was, his life in England before he moved, how he really felt about moving, where his mom was, etc etc. He ended up being a very flat character because all he was used for was a tasty (literally and figuratively) romantic interest.

I do have to give kudos to A Lynch for having Rel's parents very much involved in the story. They were there for her (most of the time) and were concerned with her whereabouts. Richard's dad was also in his life. However, Rel's parents approach to her vampirism just confused me. Why did they never get someone to come and talk to her before her powers came out and almost killed someone. And they were happy to have her going out and about with a blood lust, and a strong one for a classmate, and that baffled me. Why didn't the SCIM have some sort of operation set up aka The Vampire Diaries where blood bags were available for vampires so they don't have to hunt and hurt humans.

I did like the variety of supernaturals that were in the story and how they were set up in their little community. I think A Lynch has the potential for a great story/series set up and one that not only has to follow Rel but might follow other characters and how they deal with their powers as well.

One other small thing I didn't like - that Rel joined the cheerleader squad just to get Richard's attention. Nope.