Savor

Review Originally Posted on Pretty in Fiction.

Title: Savor
Author: Megan Duncan
Publication Date: October 10, 2011
Rating: 4/5

Ever since reading Released by Megan Duncan I've been waiting anxiously for her second book, Savor, to be released. Savor is the first book in a brand new series about vampires, royalty, and a girl who's life just keeps more and more complicated.

Savor tells the story of Claire, an eighteen year old who lives in a world run by vampires. The vampire royals who rule Claire's region take care of humans, unlike the vampires in some of the other regions, but there is still a lot of animosity between the races. Humans protest against the Royal Family and refuse to sign up to donate blood to the blood bank for vampire show more consumption. But not Claire. Claire is finally old enough and after being raised by her pro-vampire mom, she's more than happy to donate.

When a man arrives at her door the next day saying she's been chosen as the new vampire princess, Claire is a little less eager to comply. It means leaving her friends and her mom, everything she's ever known. It also means being turned into a vampire. When Claire agrees to becoming vampire royalty she never expects the turn her life will take.

Can she overcome the harsh realities that go along with living forever in the palace or will her enemies get the best of her? And how will she ever decide between the two men she comes to love? One who she's never even met.

Savor was a fun read, it's quick and entertaining. The characters were likable and the vampire society was so detailed that I found myself wanting to learn more about every aspect of it. Especially the other regions because no one talks about them. Guess I'll have to wait for the sequel to learn more!

There were a few things that got on my nerves as I was reading the story. Claire and her new vampire friend, Robin, giggled like the palace was pumping laughing gas through the air vents. I know that they're eighteen year old girls, but do eighteen year old's really giggle THAT much? If so, can we check to see what's in their water supplies, because its unhealthy.

I also found it a little odd how affectionate Evilyn (Claire's new vamp mom) was with Claire. I mean, almost right off the bat there was a sense of motherly love. Hugging, kissing. It was so instant and out of no where it sort of seemed suspicious to me. Made me question Evilyn's motives. Is she really as sweet and good natured as she seems, or does she have an agenda?

I'm not usually a fan of the insta-love between characters in paranormal romance, and I wasn't when it came to Dmitry and Claire either. They went from meeting each other and being sort of friendly to being madly in love the next day (with hardly any interaction in between). It just seemed a little ridiculous to me. I mean, sure, there's a scene where they have some sort of magical connection, but it still just seemed too fast for Claire to decide she loved him. And even worse was how she acted like she was betraying him when she was going through with the Blood Mate ceremony. They weren't even dating! They only kissed once. I just didn't see any legitimate reason for their feelings besides the fact that they decided they liked each other. It seemed to have little to do with any actual feelings on either side.

On the other (more hypocritical) hand, I adored the mystery man! He alone had me ripping through Savor hoping he'd finally be introduced to Claire. Their connection, while still magical and instantaneous, had a more realistic feel to it. They were connected magically before they had even met, so it seems a little more natural when Claire talks about her feelings for him.

During the course of the book Claire must go through a few different vampire ceremonies. Before each ceremony someone always wants to talk to her, yet they never explain what will happen at the ceremony itself. Claire is always left wondering what to do, much to the annoyance of the people performing the ceremony. I found myself becoming annoyed at Evilyn and Robin because every time Claire would ask them what the ceremony would be like or what she would be expected to do, they would simply say they couldn't tell her, or that she would figure it out. I'm sorry, but if you are forcing me to undergo ritual after ritual then I would demand to know what those rituals consist of. I'm not going into a room full of hooded vampires and priests with daggers and silver goblets unless I understand what is expected of me first.

The writing seemed a little forced at times but it truly didn't bother me that much. I liked the story and really wanted to see where it was headed.

All in all, I enjoyed Savor and can't wait to read the second book in the Warm Delicacy series, Indulge. I have to get more of the mystery man now that I know who he is! And most importantly, what happened to Louie?! I need to know! show less

Claire Miller lives in a speculative world, a world where vampires rule as a monarchy separated by regions. When Claire turns eighteen her mother excitedly takes her to register as a blood donor and just hours later she's being whisked off to become a vampire to join the royal family because her blood was deemed pure.

There's a relative peace in Claire's world but living in the castle opens her eyes to the stability and the validity of that peace. The region Claire lives in claims to be the most peaceful and keeps the way of life in other regions secret.

This is one of those books that brought out emotions which made me wish I could reach into the book and ring the ears of the protagonists. I enjoyed the story very much but Claire drove show more me batty. I tried to excuse her being all over the place with her thoughts on her age and the fact that she has no one to depend on for support. Her mother was emotionally absent and is obsessed with vampires, so her decision would be obvious. Claire was indecisive, she was constantly back and forth with her decisions, she was naive, and repetitive, she continually reiterates her final(not so much) conclusions seeming to forgot she made them already. Every time I thinks she's resolved with her decisions, she's back to wavering again. I know the decisions she needs to make would not be easy and she could make the wrong ones, but I felt she just needed to make them already and deal with the consequences. Okay, that's mean, but her situation seems dire and she has no other choice, so whining over them isn't getting her anywhere.

Claire had me so confused I didn't pay attention to that tense feeling that something seemed off. I found myself apologizing(just a tad) to Claire for being so hard on her when that shocker of a ending just threw me off kilter. I could not believe the revelations Claire learned.

This story was a unique take on the vampire genre, I thought it was good concept and a good story. Even with Claire's constant fickleness the story was interesting and kept me tuned in. show less

From the moment I discovered Savor I was on my hands and knees, begging Megan Duncan for a chance to read it in advance. The cover was what had originally caught my eye—it’s just so very pretty—but it was the synopsis that really piqued my interest. At the time Megan had told me she wasn’t quite done writing Savor but she would be happy for me to review it once it was ready. So when I woke up one day to find it waiting in my inbox a few months later, I was very excited.

In a world where vampires reign, everyone who comes of age is required to get their blood tested, receive a “donor ID” and donate blood, monthly, as sustenance for their vampire rulers. Soon after Claire Miller is tested, she finds out her blood is essentially show more “perfect” and she is invited by the vampire king and queen themselves, to become their heir.

Claire struggles to come to a decision, especially when she finds she can no longer keep in contact with her friends or family but eventually she realizes her becoming a vampire is for a greater cause. As a reader, I thought that Claire not being able to ever see her mother again didn’t faze her enough. I feel like there should have at least been a grief period because realistically, I don’t think that anyone could move on from that so quickly, unless they had a really horrible parent.

Dmitry and Arrick, hmm… I want to point out the fact that I adore both of Claire’s love interests. When I realized the story was leading to a love triangle, in my head I was screaming “No, No! I don’t want her to like anyone else!” because I was really enjoying her relationship with Dmitry and I was eagerly turning the pages to see more of what happened between them. But once Ms. Duncan introduced Arrick my thought process immediately changed, he’s just so mysterious and seductive. So if you asked me to choose which one of them I want Claire to end up with, I simply couldn’t tell you because I cannot choose. While Dmitry and Claire’s relationship is easy going and sweet, Arrick and Claire’s relationship seems like it is going to be sexy and Arrick’s protectiveness for her just makes me swoon.

Though I was thoroughly engaged in Savor, it was a little too slowly paced at times but the ending certainly made up for that, especially the very last chapter. Savor is truly a unique vampire story and after that insanely crazy, astonishing, but good ending, I will be impatiently looking forward to what will happen next in Indulge, the next installment in the Warm Delicacy series. show less

Savor was one of those books that I whimsically downloaded because Amazon had it for free on their site. There were some glaring typos, unfinished sentences and a few cases of homonym replacement. I'm used to reading something more polished, but it was free.

The story itself was closer to a short story than a novel. I felt it could have been fleshed out extraneously in order to fix some of the issues I had with the pacing. The romance, from the presentation, felt forced, as though the characters, after seeing each other a handful of times and, from our perspective, lacking any thought for the other, are madly in love. There is also a love triangle heaved upon the plot as though it is a pack mule. The story was fine without the love show more triangle, it felt tacked on for the trope factor.

The world itself is interesting, a different take on vampires than I am used to. It also suffers from pacing. There is a failed coup, but there are only hints to its possibility before it actually happens. I needed more foreboding, more character development. What I got was a childish villain running around cackling madly, only to be put in their place.

Perhaps the worst part of this bad pacing was the info dump in the last chapter. “Oh by the way,” is not the note I want to end the book on.

Still, the sequel is only $2.99 on Amazon and I'm tempted to check it out. This story was merely alright, buoyed by the possibilities it possessed. I'm hoping that the second book polishes some of the issues I had with the book to deliver a great story. It has the potential! show less

There are a lot of YA vampire novels on the market. Some of us believe that there can't be too many of them while others think the trend is over. I say that as long as authors are able to come up with creative and unique situations and characters then I am more than happy to continue to read them. "Savor" is the most recent one I have `sunk my teeth into'. I was very excited to read this book because it is written by Megan Duncan who wrote the amazing post-apocolyptic book "Released".

"Savor" is the story about a girl named Claire who learns there is something special about her blood. This makes her extremely desirable to the vampire community. Claire's mother has long been a vampire supporter and urges Claire to accept an invitation show more into the royal vampire family. Claire will be made one of them, she will be the princess. She quickly meets several other families that live in the palace. Some become friends and other...well not so much. Awaiting Claire in her new home: new parents who embrace her with open arms, a possible crush worthy hottie, a new BFF, and a lot of tension and jealousy.

I have to say I haven't read one yet where the girl was adopted by vampires! But when Claire gets her own Blood Mate, or protector, I wasn't overly impressed and was a little concerned that the story might venture into previously chartered territory. I shouldn't have feared too much because the last part of the book really adds some twists and turns I never expected to see! The author does a fantastic job making the reader think certain things are one way when they really are something completely different.

There was only one thing that bothered me. I just didn't understand how Claire could be so willing to leave her life behind. She left her mom and friends behind forever without looking back and with little regret. Sure it gets mentioned that she is upset to leave them and will miss them but she immediately buys into her new lifestyle without any feelings of true loss. She just adapted too easily. Because of this one aspect, I didn't like her as well as I would have if she had shown more indecision and feelings of loss.

Overall I am very impressed and happy with this story. I can't wait to read the second book which I purchased upon completing this one. Other reviews indicate that it is even better than "Savor". I would recommend this book...if you are like me and still love a unique vampire story. show less

After reading this book I was in love. In love with the writing, the characters and the plot line. I just loved the book so much!

What I loved the most is the plot line. It was intense and kept me reading faster. I love how easy it was for me to fall into the book and not looked back. I liked how Ms. Duncan threw surprises at every pages turn. A new secret, a new rule, a new hate, a new person! So much to gobble down that it is extremely filling!

I love how the characters feeling were well detailed and express. I felt the anxiety of the characters growth but also delighted in their learning experience. The main character, Claire, I felt grew the amount she needed to grow. She still has lot to learn as well as the reader. I like how Ms. show more Duncan left the reader with a great ending the makes the reader want more.

Savor is an delightful book. I felt immense love for it and could read it over and over again. I love the drama, the emotions, and especially underlying betrayals discovered! This is a book you will savor! show less

Within a week of turning 18, Claire Miller has realized she has “perfect blood” was claimed by and turned into a vampire by the ruling family, found a new family, a new best friend, a pair of mortal enemies and a crush. A pretty exciting week in the life of anyone, let alone a girl who thinks of herself as nothing special, and feels both forgotten and misunderstood by her mother.

I had purchased this book a few months back, and it has been updated by the people at Amazon once, with a note that significant editorial issues were present. I was asked for an honest review, and have not been compensated for the review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Let’s start with the good parts. First: the cover art is amazing and show more beautiful. It reaches out to say “get me”. And if you are a book junkie like me – covers are the first “I want” tingle. This book has a very interesting premise: the world has been structured to provide a registry of sorts. You reach your 18th birthday, and you are blood typed and identified – and then donate twice a month. You are providing the ruling family with the blood they need to survive, and you are obeying the law. But, this also means that feeding on humans and ‘turning’ humans is frowned upon.

Claire is a fairly ordinary, self-absorbed teen. Full of dreams for the future: university, become “important” and to raise her children next door to her best friend. All of this changes the day after she turns 18 when it is revealed that the vampire rulers wish her to become their heir and princess.

In less than 72 hours, Claire is introduced to her “new” family, made a vampire and has her coronation ball where she is presented to the dignitaries and families in the region.

This is where things get sticky. The story moves fast – which is great, if life were to move that fast. But you can’t help but be left with the feeling that Claire is reacting with a childish carelessness to consequence, without actually seeming to consider just what the changes could mean. While this is titled a ‘romance’ it is more a puppy love first crush sort of reaction, and perfectly appropriate and tame for a YA level novel. I’d like to see Claire display more of the strength everyone keeps telling her she has. There were far too many “eager to please” moments from her, which are far from creating the impression of a character that will be able to manage the trials to come.

Yes, the author did a really good job of moving the story forward, and left enough questions unanswered to alternately annoy and create interest in the next book in the series. However, I do hope that more care will be paid to word choice when editing, especially taking care to NOT rely on spellcheck suggestions for words. There were enough errors in this version to cause some break in the flow. At times, the conversation seemed stilted and unrealistic, with word choices not appropriate to the age or position of the person speaking.

I can unreservedly give this book a solid 3 stars in its current version. There are some rough patches to work out, but as a starter for a series it’s not a waste of time to read for a YA /Paranormal book – and I would be interested in seeing book 2 and how the story progresses. show less