Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Teenage love and teenage vampire love certainly is nothing new at this point. A new, and refreshing spin on the story, however, makes all the difference. Beth Fantaskey’s JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE was a fantastic book and one that immediately became a favorite of mine.

Jessica, or Antanasia as she was previously named, is you average high school senior girl, excited for the what is supposed to be one of the best years of one’s life. Senior year is upon her along with freedom and fun. Unfortunately there’s one major kink in her otherwise perfect year - a dark foreigner claiming to be her fiancé.

I absolutely loved how Fantaskey created both Jessica and the mysterious Lucius. Straying from the normal teenage show more romances, Jessica seems to be a little more down-to-earth and Lucius is darkly dreamy. In fact, the book as a whole seems much more dark than many of the Young Adult books I have read recently; no real violence or angst, but somehow the mood of the book feels fairly dark. I loved it.

Fantaskey has an amazing ability to play with her readers’ emotions, even in fairly simple scenes. I was expecting JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE to be good, but not to be something that kept me staring at the cover and thinking back to the story time and time again. The romance and the roadblocks to it were right up there with the Twilight Saga in my opinion. In both cases I went through a roller coaster of emotions, willing everything to work out just right for Jessica and Lucius. A mark of a great author, however, is not making things too easy on her characters; Fantaskey gave us a compelling and addictive story in this respect.

It should be pretty obvious by now that I would highly suggest JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE. The story was beautiful and colorful with multiple layers of depth added to Fantaskey’s characters. If the gorgeous cover didn’t already make this book a favorite for me, the mysterious storyline would. show less

Jessica Packwood is your average, everyday teenager. It’s the first day of her senior year and she has high hopes and expectations for this year. Her “get-a-life” plan is in effect - she plans on hanging out with her BFF and possibly even dating the cute neighbor boy. And everything is going as planned until Lucius Vladescu (the mysterious, foreign exchange student) shows up.

Lucius not only claims to be her betrothed but he is also claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth - and if the two do not get married, their family clans will war. Talk about putting a screeching halt to her plans for the perfect school year.

Luckily for Jessica or Antanasia (her Romanian birth name), Lucius brought along a helpful copy of show more Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire's Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions to help ease her way from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But will Jessica give up her normal life and embrace her darker nature?

I had such fun reading this! It is definitely not your typical vampire/love story. Jessica is this silly girl - she has this great sense of humor and sarcastic tone that I found quite amusing. Lucius was the dark and brooding vampire - but also sooo funny with his take on American culture. They are both very likable characters that you not only relate to and like but will also be rooting for from the start. They are both strong-willed, opinionated and had great chemistry. I loved their constant bickering. Although Jessica would frustrate me at times (yes, the girl would not believe in a vampire if he bit her) but in the end I thought both characters grew and became exactly who you hoped they would be.

The story is told through both Jessica and Lucius’ perspectives. I absolutely loved reading Lucius’ letters to his Uncle Vasile. These were hilarious and by far the funniest moments in the story. Another nice touch was how easily Ms. Fantaskey went from the rural Pennsylvania setting to the exoticness of the Carpathian mountains in Romania. I seriously had issues putting this book down - at no point was I sure what was going to happen. Jessica didn't like Lucius; then Lucius didn't like Jessica; there was no hope for a future... should you keep hoping... oh no. I mean I was taken in by the whole "bloody" [pun intended] mess.

All in all, this was very enjoyable and quick read. It is funny, romantic, action-packed and definitely keeps you guessing. I highly recommend to young adults as well as lovers of paranormal YA. show less

"Welcome to the world of the mysterious, Jessica," A shadow crossed her face. "Please be careful there. It's very, very tricky territory. Completely untamed. The mysterious can be beautiful - and dangerous"

Yes, that's right. 5 stars!!! I see you raise your eyebrows! Please, lower those judge-y eyebrows,soften those eyes and hear me out.

Jessica. I loved that girl. Fierce, loving and so very very...stubborn. Ugh! No no, I get it. "you're a vampire princess" - who would believe any of them?? And she doesn't!!

and Lucius. Hot sexy vampire served up raw. He's nothing but sweet sweet sweet until he realizes it's futile - she's comfy in her nice little life. She won't even be nice to HIM!.

It's just Jake!!! Jake!!!! show more Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!!!!
and his kiss sounded gross. I'm just sayin'.

And, c'mon, think about it! Could you have said no to Lucius? He was a little stuck up, a little pompous, but - he's a sex god asking her out on dates and she's snubbing him. He buys her a beautiful dress, stands up to the bully AND respects her space and limited experience with him and his world. And he takes all of this in stride.

She is stubborn and fierce, I'm telling you. But he is stubborn too....

The story is compelling. Once I got 10 chapters in, there was NO putting the book down. And both of them change about 2/3 of the way in, becoming who they should always be because of each other.
I'm definitely reading all the books in this series.

And if I NEVER have to hear about FAITH *shudders* again, it will be none too soon. show less

Teenage love and teenage vampire love certainly is nothing new at this point. A new, and refreshing spin on the story, however, makes all the difference. Beth Fantaskey’s JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE was a fantastic book and one that immediately became a favorite of mine.Jessica, or Antanasia as she was previously named, is you average high school senior girl, excited for the what is supposed to be one of the best years of one’s life. Senior year is upon her along with freedom and fun. Unfortunately there’s one major kink in her otherwise perfect year - a dark foreigner claiming to be her fiancé. I absolutely loved how Fantaskey created both Jessica and the mysterious Lucius. Straying from the normal teenage show more romances, Jessica seems to be a little more down-to-earth and Lucius is darkly dreamy. In fact, the book as a whole seems much more dark than many of the Young Adult books I have read recently; no real violence or angst, but somehow the mood of the book feels fairly dark. I loved it.Fantaskey has an amazing ability to play with her readers’ emotions, even in fairly simple scenes. I was expecting JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE to be good, but not to be something that kept me staring at the cover and thinking back to the story time and time again. The romance and the roadblocks to it were right up there with the Twilight Saga, in my opinion. In both cases I went through a roller coaster of emotions, willing everything to work out just right for Jessica and Lucius. A mark of a great author, however, is not making things too easy on her characters; Fantaskey gave us a compelling and addictive story in this respect.It should be pretty obvious by now that I would highly suggest JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE. The story was beautiful and colorful with multiple layers of depth added to Fantaskey’s characters. If the gorgeous cover didn’t already make this book a favorite for me, the mysterious storyline would. show less

I have not had a book make me want to yell at it in a really long time. This is a good thing. A really good thing. Beth Fantaskey was able to convey so many things with her words that she drew me into the story and pushed the emotions onto me. I wanted to beat the crap out of Lucius when he was being a pain in the arse, which is much more feeling than I have had for a character in a while. I wanted to shake Jessica and wake her up to what was obviously going on around her and then console her when she came to. More than anything I wanted to tell Faith off! I can feel for Jessica (my name too) when she is continually called by another name (my sisters name)!!

The story is new and refreshing, what I am always looking for in a vampire show more fantasy. The title is a little misleading to me, it makes it sound like the book is a fluffier read, which it isn’t. The one and only real issue I had was that Faith was never completely put in her place and it didn’t happen by who I wanted it to happen from….but I won’t go into details as I don’t like to ruin the plots. However, my emotions to these characters probably got the better of me and any small irritation could contribute to that.

I am now seeking out other books by Fantaskey, who has the most fabulous name by the way, and can’t wait to read the follow-up book to this one. Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait! show less

I find the title Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side a tad misleading - it implies a more bubbly and fluffy read along the lines of Sucks To Be Me or Never Slow Dance With A Zombie. At least, in my mind, it implies something cute with humorous advice on dating a vampire. This is definitely not the case. Instead Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side is better described as a hate you/love you/can't have you romance. The chemistry between Jessica and Lucius was positively toe-curling delicious, and Beth Fantaskey really kept the tension going in unexpected directions!

As the ending drew near, the plot took a twist that I haven't quite decided if I found it believable (oh, the irony, since we talk of vampires). Suddenly we're not show more in high school anymore - Jessica takes off for Romania after graduation to confront Lucius who - long story short (and trust me, lots of details left out here) - pretended to have died but really has been waging a vampire civil war. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the final confrontation between Jessica and Lucius, but such confrontation usually does not come fresh out of high school. Indeed high school never enters the equation, so I was simply taken aback at the transition.

One thing that I do have trouble with is the fact that Jessica's Romanian past includes her "true" name as Anastasia Dragomir. Frankly the ending does not address whether she will continue to go by Jessica - or choose to go back to Anastasia. Lucius sometimes calls her Anastasia when they meet, but honestly her foster parents rescued her as an infant so she never grew up as Anastasia. I don't know. It's a weird thing to get hung up on, but I cannot help it. I want to know! I also want to know why her parents didn't just keep the name Anastasia, but did a 180 and changed it to Jessica.

Oh, and before I forget, I absolutely loved Beth Fantaskey's vampires. Which could be 100% due to the deliciousness known as Lucius (to be frank, his relatives were a little too mobster for me). I thought the link between becoming a vampire and reaching puberty was a rather unique concept. The difference between a boy and girl reaching "vampire puberty" was interesting to contemplate, and the much-beloved vampire myths were quickly debunked in this book. show less

Jessica Packwood is looking forward to her senior year with her best friend Mindy and competing on the Math team. However, the first day begins on an ominous note, when a tall stranger emerges from the early morning gloom and calls her by her birth name—Antanasia. Her college professor mom and yoga instructor/organic farmer dad adopted her from Romania when they were there on a research trip and that is all she knows of her origins. Until the stranger, Lucius Vladescu tells her they are betrothed because of a pact made between the Dragomirs and the Vladescus, and her parents finally tell her the story of her vampire princess origins. Lucius has come to the States to fulfill the pact but Jessica, the rational mathlete who believes in show more science not myths, was having none of it. This engaging first novel has a main character that is smart, funny and likeable; her internal dialogue is hysterical and the repartee with Lucius in the beginning of the book is delightful. Lucius finds Jessica wanting in the vampire princess department and gives her a copy of A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health and Emotions, which she promptly deposits under her bed. The novel, however, becomes darker about midway, when Lucius becomes interested in the stereotypically witchy and scheming cheerleader and Jessica realizes, maybe too late, that she is falling for him. Even though it is another vampire novel, it is clever, well-written, sexy, and exciting. Publisher’s Weekly starred. show less