*This title will be released on September 21, 2010*
Book Description
Shay has had a rare blood disorder since she was born. In fact, her mother married one of Shay’s doctors, Martin, who left his world-renowned leukemia research to try and figure out exactly what the disorder is and how to cure it. When she turns seventeen, Martin begins to give her new blood transfusions that make her feel the strongest she has ever felt. But she also has odd visions where she sees through the eyes of a vampire. At first, she thinks she must be imagining the visions, but when she begins to see Martin’s office in them, she knows she has to check it out. That’s when she finds Gabriel, a sexy, teenaged vampire, imprisoned in Martin’s office. The connection she has built with Gabriel compels her to set him free. But when he kidnaps her in an attempt at revenge on Martin, their lives become deeply intertwined. She doesn’t know the half of it.
Review
Book 1 in The Crave Series
Back in High School, I was more than a little obsessed with a TV show called Roswell which starred the ridiculously good looking Jason Behr (you can watch all three seasons on Netflix Watch Instantly). The show was based on a book series called Roswell High by Melinda Metz who, along with Laura J. Burns, wrote the TV show. The books were good, the TV show was excellent, and a re-teaming of these two ladies in a fresh take on vampire romance is even better.
CRAVE is the first in a new Paranormal YA series about a terminally ill girl and the vampire guy who holds the cure. Romance ensues but in CRAVE, the couple actually have a relationship arc that goes beyond 'I love you instantly because of some mystical fate' formula (for the life of me I don't know why so many YA authors skip the falling for stages and jump right to the in love part. It's the best part!) Shay and Gabriel do have an instant attraction, but it's just that: attraction. They go through the flirting stages, the getting to know to stages, the I'm learning to trust you stages, all of it. Sweet moments layered with sexy scenes, and all the awkwardness that comes in between.
The romance worked as well as it did because of the full back-story given to both Shay and Gabriel. Shay with her lifetime of being the Sick Girl whose disease defined her existence (for anyone who has battled illness, Shay’s trials with endless hospital stays and the escalating decline of her body are extremely realistic). For Gabriel, the mini flashback scenes from his life that Shay experiences explain why he is completely detached from the world and his distrust of humans.
The only bad thing about CRAVE is the total cliffhanger ending. I get that they are trying to establish a new series here, and I love meta narratives that span multiple books, but this was just cruel. Life and death are hanging in the balance…and it just ends. I couldn’t find any details about the sequel except that there definitely will be one. No release date has be set, but I’m guessing when can expect it in Spring 2011.
Sexual Content: References to sex. An implied sex scene. Kissing.
My Rating (out of 5):
Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.
Click HERE to read an excerpt from CRAVE
Previous books in the series:
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Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult - Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Original edition (September 21, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1442408162
- ISBN-13: 978-1442408166
- Cover Art: N/A
*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of Simon & Schuster
