Friday 17 September 2010

Secret Vampire - Book Review

*
Secret Vampire by L.J. Smith

What is it about:
The pain was something Poppy couldn't ignore. The diagnosis was death. There was no hope -- until James appeared in the darkened hospital room. James, her best friend and secret love, the handsomest boy in El Camino High. But this was a James she didn't know, menacing yet irresistible as he offered Poppy the gift of eternal life. Only he could open the door to the Night World, and spirit her into its lonely, secret universe. One dizzying kiss and she can see into his soul. She finds that he has always loved her. They're soulmates -- but can she follow him into death and beyond? It's a desperate choice, and Poppy's time is running out...

What did I think of it:
I must confess I didn't have much faith in this book. Having seen and discarded the Vampire Diaries on tv I thought this story would be teen vampire drama at it's worst. *ducks to avoid the stuff getting thrown by Vampire Diaries fans*

I was wrong! There I said it.

This story turned out to be an entertaining and (while a bit angsty) decent YA read. I liked the world building and while Poppy was a bit tiring at times I liked the characters. The story did derail a bit near the end I think, but set against the rest of the story I can overlook this flaw and I will certainly try other stories set in the Nightworld (starting with the other two stories in this omnibus).

Why should you read it:
If you like Young Adult Vampire Romances this is a story for you.

* this story is part of an omnibus containing 3 stories (Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness and Enchantress

5 comments:

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

Sounds really good!! I have tried to watch the tv show too and didn't really like it either.

Danielle said...

Ha! I've put off reading this one for the same, but different, reason.

I *hated* LJ Smith's book of 'Vampire Diaries', but really like the CW TV show adaptation (Ian Somerhalder is so, so pretty). I think I will give Secret Vampire a read.

Good review.

titania86 said...

I grew up reading the Night World and Vampire Diaries series and they are part of the reason why I'm so into the horror genre. If you hated the TV show (I did too. bleh), you might actually like the books.

Sullivan McPig said...

@Titania: I certainly will consider giving them a try

Sugar and Snark said...

Will keep an eye on this book and other reviews of it then :)

Wasn't a big van of the Vampire Diaries books.