Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Bethany Fantaskey

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Bethany Fantaskey
Release Date –  February 1, 2009
Publisher Website –  Harcourt
Pages - 351 pages
My Rating- 7/10
**purchased **

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

The undead can really screw up your senior year ... 

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

After reading the synopsis of this book I was expecting something a little lighter, maybe a little fluffy and cute. I got something much more complex than I was expecting and ended up enjoying Jessica’s journey.

Bethany Fantaskey’s writing stands out in the novel. The pacing is a little slow at first but the ending more than makes up for the slower start. Her character development is great, and not usual for this type of story. Even the minor characters are developed and it makes the story feel more detailed.

Jessica is really the heart of the story. She reacted the way anyone would to someone showing up and claiming to be your fiancé, never mind vampire. She wanted nothing to do with him, and thought he was crazy. I loved that she didn’t just fall into Lucius arms. Once she accpted Lucius' story she took the time to look at her options before making any decisions, and even tried to do what was best for her (even if she might of secretly wanted something else). She was caring, determined, smart, and quite logical.

Lucius caused me concern. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to enjoy the romance aspect of this novel as a result. If Bethany had not provided insight into Lucius with letters he wrote to his Uncle I would have not enjoyed this novel as much as I did. The letters showed a humorous, more likeable side to him that needed to be there. I often asked myself what Jessica would see in him because while it was obvious what he would see in Jessica, I had a harder time liking him. These letters helped show a side that Jessica would like, and as a result I started to warm up to him. I enjoyed his humorous insights to the students at Jessica’s school most of all. I usually ended up giggling at parts of his letters. They were some of my favourite parts of the novel.

The vampires in this novel are cruel. They do not hesitate to torture, and punish what they consider wrongdoings. Lucius has been raised in this environment and it reflects in his behaviour. He and Jessica are very different, and yet bring out good qualities in each other. Jessica's confidence is brought to the surface by Lucius, and she sees herself in a new way thanks to him. She is gentle and caring with Lucius, something he is not used to. He starts to look at his upbringing and how it made what he is. The American lifestyle, and Jessica's kindness affect him in ways he did not expect.

As we get to the end of the novel it takes a darker turn, and Jessica must stand up and become the princess she was born to be, her clan of vampires, and Lucius himself depend on it. While the novel ends on a satisfying ending, I am happy to continue Jessica’s tale and see her continue to grow.

In My Mailbox

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

The amazing Christy sent me a package that I got this week. It featured two books I was dying to read. Thank you so much Christy!

Everneath by Brodi Ashton (goodreads)*
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (goodreads)

*Everneath is not pictured as I left it at my sister's house. I already read it, and the review will be going up on Monday. I am pretty much almost done Pandemonium as well and words can not describe how awesome it is.

I received one egalley this week:

When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle (goodreads)

This is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but with a twist. It sounds really good though. *not pictured as it does not have a cover yet

I won a novel from RandomHouse:

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate (goodreads)

I am excited to hear about the other characters in this story. Roland and Arriane's stories especially intrigue me.

Lastly I purchased one novel this week:

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (goodreads).

This hardcover was on sale for $4.99 at my local Chapters, so I had to grab it! I've heard wonderful things about it and can't wait to read it.

Happy reading everyone!

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey
Release Date – May 3 2010
Publisher – Harcourt Children's Books
Pages - 282
My Rating- 6.5/10


Here is the synopsis from Good Reads

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents rules;especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.
To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything, even Tristen's love just for the thrill of being . . . bad

This novel is a twist on the classic “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” tale. I had read the original tale in high school and was interested to see what this novel would be like. I liked that the author used the novel as a prominent part of the story (Tristen actually has a copy of it that is important to the plot).

We meet Jill Jekel the “good” girl and Tristen the “mysterious” boy in her chemistry class. I liked that the author decided to make Jekyll(Jekel) and Hyde two different people. It was a nice touch, almost a yin/yang element to it. It made the chemistry between Jill and Tristen that much more electric. The chemistry between them was one of the best parts of the story. It was obvious they were meant to be together.

I also really liked that the author switched point of views between the two characters. It made it much more interesting to see what the other character was thinking. I find in stories told from one perspective people usually want to hear the other side.

What I liked most about the book was that the message was sort of relatable(even though it’s a fantasy type story). I think everyone can relate to having a side to themselves that they might be unwilling or afraid to show people. A part of themselves that they struggle to accept or bring out. This is especially true for teenagers and young adults as they are trying to find themselves, and decide who they are as an individual. Jill, for example, is the “good girl” but she does a lot of things in the novel that do not fit that characterization. She has a hard time with some of the stuff she does. Tristen is afraid of the “beast” (as he calls it) taking control and losing himself.

The story does move a littler slower, and parts were hard to get through. It was a lot darker and more twisted than I expected. The twists and turns of the story are mostly predictable (with very few genuinely surprising twists) but it was a dark and enjoyable read.