Book Review: Drain You

Image courtesy of Amazon

When I read the synopsis of this book, this is what I read:

Quinlan Lacey’s life is a red carpet of weird fashions, hip bands, random parties, and chilling by the pool with her on-and-off BF, Libby. There’s also her boring job (minimum wage), a crushed out co-worker (way too interested), her summer plans (nada), and her parents (totally clueless). Then one night she meets gorgeous James, and Quinn’s whole world turns crazy. Technicolor, 3-D, fireworks, whatever.

So I put my name in the draw to receive this book. What was NOT included in the synopsis which is in fact on the back of the book is the following:

But with good comes bad, and unfortunately Quinn’s new romance brings with it some majorly evil baggage. The Los Angeles canyons are crawling with gangs of the undead, all aching to drain something. Now, to make things right, Quinn has to do a lot of things wrong. Quinn’s goal: to stay sane, cool, in love, and alive. “My So-Called Life” meets “Twilight” in this clever, sexy, unforgettable debut from M. Beth Bloom.

I am not a fan of paranormal or fantasy novels. I have had occasion to read some books in this genre at the request of the authors. I did not know what I was getting when I got this book. When I received it in the mail a note fell out that read “Harper Teen Paranormal Romance”. I groaned. Not my genre. But this was an advanced reader’s copy which was sent for the sole purpose of the reader providing a review of the story, so I had to read it.

I had no difficulty reading this book. I rather enjoyed the story. The voice of the narrator was definitely that of a teenager, sarcasm and all. I found her very humourous. I did find the fact that her parents were never around a little unrealistic, but that didn’t take away from the story much. Of course stories about vampires aren’t realistic, are they? I just felt one should be able to relate to the teenage narrator, and most teenagers probably could.  I guess as a parent I couldn’t relate to the parents.

This story of good vampire vs. bad vampire captured my attention, though as James says in the story there are no good vampires. But as a reader I liked James (the good vampire). I was pulling for James and Quinn through the interference of the bad vampires. I think teenagers would love this story. As a middle-aged mother of teenagers, I liked it a lot. It was a page-turner for me, the non-paranormal reader. But you learn something new every day. Stepping outside your reading comfort zone can be a good thing.

These days I feel YA books are written for both teenage readers as well as adults. Look at all the adults who have read the Harry Potter and Twilight series. Smart writers can reach both reading audiences and M. Beth Bloom does this.

There were some inconsistencies in scenes wherein Quinn stands up, then she stands up again. In the same scene the television was turned off yet she states she is left with a certain television show. This is an advanced reader’s copy (ARC). I trust the publishers will fix these small inconsistencies before its release.

This book is not available for release until next month but can be purchased in advance at http://astore.amazon.ca/headwritguil-20.