This book was a really quick read. It didn't have a whole lot to the story and you could tell it was one of those series books, where the series never ends. It was an interesting view on the vampire romance- the view of a Goth girl who hopes she's falling in love with an undead boy. The end was unsatisfying, leading into the next book in the series. Worth the read if you don't mind following book after book and are in on the whole vampire craze. ( )

As far back as she can remember, Raven Madison has been obsessed with vampires. In kindergarten, her teacher asked the class what they wanted to be when they grew up. When it was Raven’s turn, she swooned, “a vampire”. Living in the town she aptly describes as “Dullsville” is not easy for someone like Raven- being that she is the only goth-girl with a love of horror movies and black lipstick. On top of that, her once cool ex-hippie parents dramatically changed after the birth of her little brother, a boy Raven endearingly nicknames “Nerd Boy”. She has no real friends, except for Becky, a timid farm girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

Everything changes when the Sterling family moves into the creepy, abandoned mansion on top of Benson Hill. The whole town begins talking about them, and their son Alexander in particular. It’s said Alexander hangs out in cemetaries and never goes out in daylight. Raven dreams that Alexander is a real vampire and her ticket out of Dullsville.

Raven’s feisty wit and sharp tongue really made me enjoy this book. It is definitely geared to the pre-teen set, but no less enjoyable for adults. The writing really began to have more meaning for me when Raven began to understand her family better, and realized that being a vampire might not be as important as being accepted and loved for who she really is. I think this is a good start to a new series and will appeal to fans who want a good vampire story without the gore.

This is a hard book to rate. For young adult readers I would probably say 3.5 stars but from an adult point of view I would have to hover around a 2.5-3 stars.

Unlike other YA books which I thought appealed to adults as well as young adults in the writing style I felt like this one was definitely geared just towards teens. There were some parts that made me cringe and the story was somewhat simplistic. If you can get passed that and just go with the flow it wasn't a bad book.

Raven grew up always wanting to be a vampire and with this new, vampire-like family moving in she feels like she might actually get her chance. I enjoyed seeing Alexander as a vulnerable vampire (or not?) who almost seems like he needs someone tough like Raven to stand up for him. It did keep me wondering if Alexander is really a vampire or if it is just wishful thinking on Raven's part.

I did pick up book 2 in the series so it wasn't a horrible book but wouldn't make it to the top of my list.

See my other reviews here: http://debbiesworld.wordpress.com/ ( )

Nice enough and funny in spots. I'm too old to be not the target audience. ( )

I would call this Twilight-lite. Raven is much more likable than Bella. They're both whiners but Raven at least takes action. The set-up to the romance is better than the romance itself - much like in Twilight, these characters seem to fall in love at first sight only because they're intrigued by each other. The storyline really falls apart toward the end but, until then, it's an enjoyable read. The author could definitely develop these characters further so, hopefully, that's what the rest of the series holds. ( )