lenorayoder's reviews
132 reviews

I love new takes and additions to vampire lore, and I think this book had some fun world building. Unfortunately that's most of what it had going for it. The plot mostly served as a device for revealing that world, and by the end of the book I didn't feel like I knew any of the characters much better than I did when first introduced to them. It was an enjoyable read and I liked this take on vampires, but I don't think I'll be reading the sequel.

I liked the formatting of this book - opening questions with SAT-style questions, giving us insight into the main character's feelings with SAT-style vocab words, and occasional lists that foreshadowed events upcoming chapters or set up a punchline. However, everything else about this book was just lacking. None of the characters are very compelling, and the main character is downright unlikeable. Despite the book wanting me to think she's become a better person by the end, it just seems like she's moved from an emotionally abusive relationship to a shallow one. I predicted the resolution and twist of the subplot of the book very early on, but even if I hadn't seen what was coming the reveal would have been disappointing. There was a decent amount to work with here, but instead the resolution is hasty and at the very end of the book with no room to breathe. On top of that, there's fatphobia, internalized misogyny, and use of the r word sprinkled throughout the book making it even more unpleasant. I probably would have liked this book better if I read it as a high school freshman, but not by much.