Companions of the Night

Vivian Vande Velde, produced an excellent Vampire story without the usual clichés found in many YA books. Kerry is a likeable character who is willing to go through great lengths to save her family, with the help of Ethan. Ethan isn't the nice friendly vampire (found in certain YA Vampire series), he's cunning, ruthless and untrustworthy, but shades of humanity peek out when you least expect it.
Perhaps what I like most about Companions of the Night is the fact that Ethan doesn't reveal all, which means that all questions aren't answered, though at times annoying, that's also the way that life works. Not all questions are answered. Therefore, he remains a mystery throughout the book. It would have been great if Velde would have made show more Companion of the Night into a series, so that readers could further explore the world of Brockport, New York, however that’s not the case.
I recommend this book to all fans of the Vampire genre. Companions of the Night is a journey worth taking, if only for one night. show less

What is it with supernatural YA novels about vampires that make me want to bash my head against the wall repeatedly? Is it just me? Because I have not found one YA vampire novel that was just plain okay. It doesn't even have to be great, just bearable. Unfortunately for me, Companions of the Night wasn't even that. I think I may have to say that it was more unbearable than Twilight...

The novel starts out great. I'm sitting in my favorite comfty sofa chair with a Coke bottle on the left side and Twizzlers on the right. Clearly, I am in my element. I'm hunkering down and while I'm reading, I'm excited to get to the plot. I keep reading thinking "Okay, surely, the plot's coming soon. It's just taking a while". More pages... "I'm sure show more it'll be here any minute." "It's still not here?!!! Well, I can't give up now, I only have about 120 pages to go. Might as well just finish it." "Plot! There you are! Oh, how I missed you!" "The end??? That was the plot...okay..." Yep, that was basically my thought process throughout the whole novel, in regards to the plot. It just took to damn long to get going and when it finally did get going it was just "okay". For something that took so long to actually happen, it should've been "BAM! Amazing!"

Now, the main character, Kerry...just plain annoying and aggravating. I think she may have been more annoying than Bella of Twilight (I THINK, I'm not so sure since Bella was all types of annoying and just full of suckage). It's just that she kept doing extremely stupid things and having even more extremely stupid thoughts. I actually rolled my eyes thinking "Oh my God! Can she really just stop thinking at least for a little while?" Okay, correct me if I'm wrong, but if a guy (I don't care how hot he is) tries to (EXTREMELY MILD SPOILER HERE) kill you, then wouldn't any sane person just not like him, let alone wuv him? Unless, of course, they have Stockholm syndrome, but I really don't think that's where the author wanted to go with this. Apparently, a sane protagonist is too much to ask for in a vampire YA novel...

Twilight had something going for it...it was a page-turner. The feminist in me hated that book to bits and pieces, but my God, I could just not put it down. It was like a trainwreck in that you really couldn't look away. Plus, it had Jacob and Alice and those were the only two characters I like (not enough to enjoy the first two books or even attempt to start the last two books, but they didn't make me want to claw my eyes out the way everyone else in that novel did). Companions of the Night was BORING. I only kept flipping the pages because I thought it would get better and by the time I realized it wouldn't, I had read most of it. And there was not one redeeming character in this book to make me reading it seem worth it. Nope, not a one.

I have to say, I rarely hand out one star ratings because I feel guilty and if I can't find anything redeeming in a book, I just drop it cause life's too short. But this one was a really short read, so, I finished it. The good thing about this was that it was library read so I didn't waste any money on it. But still, I could've spent my time reading something sooo much better... show less

Companions of the Night is an excellent vampire novel, and that in itself is the highest compliment I can pay this wonderful book. Companions of the Night stays firmly away from the classic vampire cheese readers have come to expect, and is surprisingly fresh and entertaining. Completely devoid of swooping capes, brooding anti-heroes, and swooning damsels who always fall for the bad guy, Companions tells the story of a young girl who finds herself caught in the vampire underworld when she encounters a group of vampire hunters trying to kill an "innocent" man and helps him escape. Unfortunately, the innocent isn't what he appears to be, and the vampire hunters have kidnapped Kerry's family in hopes of luring her and her vampire companion show more into their trap. Kerry finds herself forced to team up with the enigmatic Ethan to save them, and as their enemies close in, Kerry and Ethan must each chose a path, and their decisions will determine whether or not either of them will live to see another night. show less

I recently re-read this book because long after I read it, the story stayed with me, which is saying a lot. The story is definitely written for teens, but I found myself engaged by the 16-year-old girl who unwittingly became involved with a centuries old vampire who used her for his own agenda, only coming to grudgingly respect her in the end.

I liked that the vamp was written in shades of grey rather than black and white, and that because of his strong self-preservation instinct, you couldn't trust anything that he said. Kerry, the young girl, was savvy enough to not buy into his vampire bull, and was able to hold her own, and make her own decisions, even when she found herself attracted to him.

The only thing I wasn't sure about was why show more she made the decision she did at the end. I didn't feel that the author let me into her head enough to know exactly what her reasoning was behind her decision, so that left me a little bit unsatisfied, but overall, I would say this is an intelligent and interesting addition to the plethora of vampire lit out there. Really good. show less

I have a couple issues with this book (again with the age gaps VVV?) but overall a good book and a good vampire story. I really like the protagonist.

A note from 2020 reread; still a good vampire book. One of the few vampire books involving a teenage girl that doesn't romanticize the situation too much which I appreciate.

The vampire, while still being sexy, at least to the 16 year-old main character, is still a vampire. He drinks human blood, kills when needed, lies to her left and right, but she still falls in love with him. Of course, she is a teenager and he does know how to manipulate her. I felt the vampire did care for her, but he never lost his "vampireness" if that makes sense.

I re-read this book regularly all through high school, and just recently hunted down a copy to keep at my finger tips. This book was a seminal introduction to vampires and urban fantasy for me.