Veronica Wolff

I should have reviewed this one right away because it was really good but since I waited and have read tons of books since I'm a tad sketchy on specific things and quotes that I really liked. I won this in a giveaway that I truthfully entered becasue I liked the cover so much although I didn't know the author. I had also moved away from young-reader onto more adult, risque erotica type stuff. However, I did go into this one open minded and was instantly hooked! The things the main character show more Drew said were actually funny and not the typical "I hate the world and am so smart yet have no self esteem teenager crap/whining" so that was a major plus. I'm totally hooked and can't wait for the next installment to be relased!!! I again apologize for not reviewing right away in fact I may just re-read it cuz 1. It's that good and 2. I can put more specific details in this review. For now just trust me this is a great book and y'all should go and get it asap ;-) show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

If you love vampire YA, The Watchers is THE series to read. Danger, desire, and delicious mythology make each book better than the last. Drew has grown so much over the course of this series. She now wields her body as the weapon it is, and coupled with the genius level IQ that brought her to the vampire’s attention in the first place, she’s skilled and clever enough to find the upper hand in most of the dire situations she encounters in THE show more KEEP. Whether it’s her heart or her life that’s in danger, Drew is a fighter.

What I love most about The Watchers series is how it perfectly balances intense violence with tender romance. Given the life or death stakes on the Isle of Night, the ‘school’ were Drew and other girls are forced to train as lethal vampire guardians, it makes sense that they would love just as fiercely. Drew and Carden have just gotten to that heart thrilling stage in their relationship where they aren’t saddled with doubts and fears. They just get to explore what is blossoming between them. Every stolen kiss, every desperate touch, every confessed feeling. It’s heady stuff. Made even more intoxicating by the threat of discovery.

And it’s not just death and romance this time out, Wolff finally starts to dig into the juicy details of her particular brand of vampire mythology, and wow are there some shockers. The Keep, vampire origins, the male and female roles in this society. All of them are explored with more detail than the three previous book combined. Wolff is currently writing the fifth book in The Watchers series and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it.

Sexual Content:
Kissing. References to attempted rape show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

It’s official, The Watchers is my new favorite YA vampire series. Not since Richelle Mead‘s Vampire Academy series have vampires and human interaction been so dangerous and so addictive. The training at Isle of Night has never been more deadly as it’s not just the teachers and fellow students that Drew has to worry about. Someone or something is slaughtering people all over the island, and Drew’s secret and accidental bond with Carden is show more becoming harder and harder to ignore. They are both suspected of the murders and if their bond is discovered, they won’t live long enough to prove their innocence.

BLOOD FEVER, the third book in Veronica Wolff’s The Watchers series is the best installment yet. Drew is shedding the last remnants of her weak, victimized former life. She has fully embraced her training to one day become a lethal vampire Watcher–if she lives that long–and now has the skills to draw some unwanted attention from the vampires and other students. As with the previous books, the violence level is high. Expect plenty of bloodshed and vicious attacks on par with THE HUNGER GAMES.

Balancing out the constant threat of death and dismemberment, the romance is also heightened in BLOOD FEVER. A few potential love interests have been circulating in the previous books, but one emerges clearly this time. I flat out loved how this romance developed. No insta-love here, instead there is a lot a caution and doubt and plenty of attraction to make both parties loose their head is several delicious encounters. Plus there’s the added mystical nature of the bond that keeps Drew constantly suspicious of her own desires–though never in an angsty, annoying way. She’s a smart girl who’s getting smarter all the time. She wants to make sure her heart in involved and not just her hormones…and in the case of the vampire, that he hungers for more than just her blood.

Danger, desire, and intriguing mystery fill every single page of BLOOD FEVER. Wolff clearly has an endgame in mind for this series and based on the hints and revelations so far, the next book in The Watchers series titled THE KEEP which will be hitting shelves on April 1, 2013, promises to be killer.

Sexual Content:
Kissing. Attempted sexual assault show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

VAMPIRE’S KISS is a cross between Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series and La Femme Nikita. Translation: It’s scary good! Even better than ISLE OF NIGHT.

There is something so refreshingly sinister about this book. The bullies in VAMPIRE’S KISS aren’t going to spread rumors or say hateful things, no, they are going to try and gut you in the cafeteria, set your hair on fire, or strip you naked and tied to a tree to freeze to death. No show more exaggeration. And that’s not including the vampire instructors who dispense corporal punishment the way other teachers hand out detention slips. It’s intense, it’s scary, but it’s so exhilarating to watch Drew fight back. She smart enough to know when to keep her mouth shut, and she’s stubborn enough to deal with the consequences when she slips up.

And if the title didn’t clue you in, there is plenty of romance to balance out all the terror. Whether it’s the ancient super sexy/super scary vampire that takes a special interest in Drew, the stoic Tracer who deceived Drew initially but now seems to be protecting her, the vampire-in-training whose playful flirtations may be more than playful, or the enigmatic angry vampire that Drew is sent to rescue. Any one of these guys could be the lead in their own story, but Veronica Wolff packs them all into one book. Be still my heart.

Overall, ISLE OF NIGHT was an amazing debut, but VAMPIRE’S KISS takes all the dangerous and romantic aspects from the debut and makes them even better. I don’t ever want to end up on the Isle of Night, but I can’t wait to read more about how Drew survives in the next Watcher book, BLOOD FEVER, due out in August 2012.

Sexual Content:
Kissing. References to sex show less