ARC Review: Bloodthirsty

Bloodthirsty

Flynn Meaney

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: October 2010

Publisher: Poppy/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 240

Author Site: http://www.flynnmeaney.com/

My Rating: 5/5

Source: Won from giveaway from Yankee Romance Reviewers

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

Some vampires are good. Some are evil. Some are faking it to get girls. Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his school are obsessed with a vampire romance novel called Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to boldly go where no sane guy has gone before--he becomes a vampire, minus the whole blood sucking part. With his brooding nature and weirdly pale skin, it's surprisingly easy for Finbar to pretend to be paranormal. But, when he meets the one girl who just might like him for who he really is, he discovers that his life as a pseudo-vampire is more complicated than he expected. This hilarious debut novel is for anyone who believes that sometimes even nice guys-without sharp teeth or sparkly skin--can get the girl.

Review:

Finbar is definitely at an awkward and lonely stage in his life. His twin brother, Luke, may not be the smartest guy in school but he pretty much excels at everything else. And to top off his popularity and sport skills he attracts all the girls. Finn on the other hand gets walked all over. He spends most of his time avoided kids at school and watching chick flicks with his mom on the weekend. He has a tough time standing up for himself and he happens to be allergic to the sun, which definitely doesn’t make him seem any cooler. So when he starts his junior year at a public school he decides he needs to do something different… He decides he’ll become a vampire.

But Finn doesn’t expect that he’ll actually make friends with his own personality at his new school. And he certainly doesn’t expect that he’ll meet a girl that actually likes him for him. Add in the fact that being a vampire is a lot tougher than one would think… he may just be in WAY too over his head this year.

I honestly didn’t think I was going to enjoy Bloodthirsty as much as I did. And I admit, at the beginning, I didn’t really like the book very much. Sure it was snarky and mildly funny but it came off a bit annoying as well. But as I got more into the book I really started to like Finbar and the mildly funny turned into laugh-out loud. First off, Finbar is just a hilarious name. And I can’t believe his parents would curse one son and let the other off the hook. Of course there was a pretty hilarious part where Finn goes on a tangent about how he got all the crappy genes and then got the crappy name when he was born. Speaking of Finn’s parents, they are pretty funny on their own and definitely stand out as characters. I also liked how Luke wasn’t an ass. I mean he’s got it all compared to Finn and I sort of expected him to be a jerk. But he definitely wasn’t and that made the story better.

I really enjoyed the “coming-of-age” feel of the novel. Finn grows and matures while still keeping his quirky attitude about life intact. Meaney completely won me over with Finn’s personality. The supporting characters had just the right amount of development. They all had a significant amount of personality that didn’t take anything away from the point of the story. With vampires being the forefront in a lot of books and movies out right now, Bloodthirsty is a really fun and funny addition that I recommend to everyone.

P.S. (cover talk)

My copy was an ARC so I had this purple book with red font on it that made no sense whatsoever. However, if I may comment on the other two covers I’ve seen: The one I included above is my favorite. It depicts Finn pretty well and captures his quirky personality. The other cover has a white heart with fangs against a black background and it just seems weird to me. Cute, but weird =)

Book Arrivals

-----------

Won

Daughter of Darkness :: V.C. Andrews

(October 2010 - Pocket Star)

When I was a little girl, Daddy told me never to fear the dark. “We exist because of the darkness,” he told me. “All of you are daughters of darkness.” Beloved bestselling author V.C. Andrews’s passion for vampires comes to spellbinding life in a long-awaited novel of dark desires as all-consuming—and forbidden—as in Flowers in the Attic. One night, with the sound of a young man’s scream, high school senior Lorelei discovers that her stern but loving father, who adopted Lorelei and her sisters as infants, is no ordinary man. He has raised his beautiful girls for one purpose: to lure young men into their world of shadows. Like her sisters, Lorelei has been trained in the art of seduction and warned never to fall in love. But when she meets a handsome and charming classmate, she boldly defies her family and follows her heart—even if love is a poison. . . . Dangerously enticing and deliriously intoxicating, V.C. Andrews’s Daughter of Darkness will leave readers thirsting for more.

**Thank you Roxanne from Fang-tastic Books

Dark Song :: Gail Giles

(September 2010 - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Mark said he heard the dark song when he creeped houses. The song the predator's heart sings when it hears the heart of the prey. I heard it now. Mark said it had always been in me. Lurking. Waiting for me to hear.

Ames is not the person she was a few months ago. Her father lost his job, and her family is crumbling apart. Now, all she has is Marc. Marc, who loves her more than anything. Marc, who owns a gun collection. And he'll stop at nothing--even using his guns--to get what he wants. Ames feels her parents have betrayed her with their lies and self-absorption, but is she prepared to make the ultimate betrayal against them?

**Thank you Terra from Yankee Romance Reviewers

Manifest :: Artist Arthur (Mystyx series, book one)

(August 2010 - Harlequin)

When fifteen-year-old Krystal Bentley moves to Lincoln, Connecticut, her mom's hometown, she assumes her biggest drama will be adjusting to the burbs after living in New York City.

But Lincoln is nothing like Krystal imagined. The weirdness begins when Ricky Watson starts confiding in her. He's cute, funny, a good listener—and everything she'd ever want—except that he was killed nearly a year ago. Krystal's ghost-whispering talents soon lead other "freaks" to her door—Sasha, a rich girl who can literally disappear, and Jake, who moves objects with his mind. All three share a distinctive birthmark in the shape of an M and, fittingly, call themselves the Mystyx. They set out to learn what really happened to Ricky, only to realize that they aren't the only ones with mysterious powers. But if Krystal succeeds in finding out the truth about Ricky's death, will she lose him for good?

**Thank you Jessica from Shut Up! Im Reading

Birth of a Killer :: Darren Shan (The Saga of Larten Crepsley series, book one)

 (October 2010 - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

 
Before Cirque Du Freak...
Before the war with the vampaneze...

Before he was a vampire.

Larten Crepsley was a boy.

As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his brother as an example to the other children.

In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.

This is his story.

**Thank you Terra from Yankee Romance Reviewers

The Witches' Kitchen :: Allen Williams

(October 2010 - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

When Toad wakes up, dangling over a bubbling witches' cauldron, she has no memory of her former life, not even her name. With some luck, she escapes and sets out on a journey to the oracle of the kitchen. Along the way, she makes friends with Natterjack, an imp who refuses his demon ancestry; Horsefly, a carnivorous fairy; and Pug and Sootfoot, residents of the Kitchen. But the Kitchen and the witch sisters it belongs to, is not a place one wants to end up lost. The Kitchen is pitch black and infinite, filled with furniture that constantly moves when unobserved, making navigation nearly impossible. Its residents are both animals from the outside, unwitting victims of the Witches, and creatures who were born or made in the Kitchen itself - many of whom would not mind eating the Toad and her friends. And let's not forget the Witches themselves, who seem to have a special interest in the Toad. With some courage and wisdom, the Toad just might find self-realization yet - and with it, the power to defeat the mighty Witches.
 

**Thank you Terra from Yankee Romance Reviewers

Bloodthirsty :: Flynn Meaney

(October 2010 - Poppy/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Some vampires are good. Some are evil. Some are faking it to get girls. Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his school are obsessed with a vampire romance novel called Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to boldly go where no sane guy has gone before--he becomes a vampire, minus the whole blood sucking part. With his brooding nature and weirdly pale skin, it's surprisingly easy for Finbar to pretend to be paranormal. But, when he meets the one girl who just might like him for who he really is, he discovers that his life as a pseudo-vampire is more complicated than he expected. This hilarious debut novel is for anyone who believes that sometimes even nice guys-without sharp teeth or sparkly skin--can get the girl.
 

**Thank you Terra from Yankee Romance Reviewers