American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout - review

American Vampire
Jennifer Armintrout
UF
2011

*****  (five out of six stars)

Cover - yes.  it's good.  Totally the young american look - with the hoodie and all...

American Vampire --- one of those stories where NO ONE is quite the good guy, and there are a few bad guys...and yet you find yourself rooting for one of the not quite good/not quite baddies, just because....

I had fun reading this one.  One of the reviews I read said there was little to distinguish this from other paranormal romances.  I disagree.  

The basics - Graf is a vampire.  Graf is on his way to a party, looking forward to it.  He has a kick-ass car but isn't so good on GPS, or finding his way around, and he's lost.  So seeing it's getting close to dawn, decides to pull over at a gas station - even though it looks closed...might be a place to hide for the day.  But what's this?  he sees a light inside the building, so he investigates....

And comes across not only a monster, but a girl who's trying to hide from monster.  He saves her and drives her home and finds out he's ended in in.....PENANCE, Ohio.  A place people haven't been able to come in or out of for FIVE years.  What are the odds?

Jessa (the girl) isn't too happy to have a guest, being stuck in a town for five years wreaks havoc on your supplies, etc....

So she's continuously trying to find a way to get rid of this guy, he's one bite away from "eating" her (for reals, needs to eat ....SOON) and on top of that the townspeople are weird...and not so great things begin to happen...

so...not your average love story. Both main characters have some flaws and character defects, one of them isn't very concerned with his....

Fun story, great dialogue and some weird ass shenanigans.  I liked it.   :)

It's Monday, and.....Well, It's another Monday

It's bad enough when we get sick...but when kids get sick, it's hard to watch.  I'm not talking a simple cold, but the kind of sick where a normally bouncing off the walls type of kid is layin around, listless.  The kid who normally eats us out of house and home when he's with us had no appetite.  Between the sick, the fevers, and the sore throat he's skinnier than ever.  His mom had him for the first part of the sickness, and then it was daddy's turn.  He spends weekends with Dad and us.  Happily, by his second day here, he was making a comeback.  Even though his energy burned out quickly - he did play a little.  And he wanted to eat something besides popsicles for the first time in almost a week.  He couldn't eat very much - stomach probably shrunk but he ate.  then he went to bed early.  On the mend.  His dad and mom took good care of him.  It's different experiencing this as a grandparent.  You're worried about the kid, but not the main caretaker, so the pressure is different.

Good thing is, by Sunday morning, he was feeling more himself.  Voice was still a little off, but I got a nice hug good bye from him, nice and strong.

As usual, It's Monday is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.  Bloggers visit each other blogs and see what we'all be readin'. 

This week, I actually read three books!  Three! but just barely three.  Feels good to finish more than one.  And one of the was pretty Kick Ass.  Actually - all are very good in different ways....

finished

Clean by Alex Hughes.

a telepath who is trying to hold down a job while  fighting an addiction finds himself trying to protect a partner who seems to hate him, while trying to solve a string of odd murders, attend NA meetings and deal with the distrust of the whole police force - all while being able to read thoughts.  (that's gotta be awkward, yes?) It's set in the future - and has an easy SciFi feel, low on tech explanations.


American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout
A narcissistic vampire finds himself stuck in a town that no one can get out of.  Unfortunately, there's another being that just might be 'higher in the food chain' than he is...and the townspeople are a little stressed out.





The Burn Zone by James K Decker

there are these beings from outerspace, who have accidently landed on a building, or more (killing over a million people).  In apology, they have been providing the country with tech - improving human lives....or are they?  As part of the deal, some people are paid to act as surrogate parents to Haan babies. A huge amount of food resources are spent on the Haan, leaving the humans on food rationing. One surrogate suddenly has her life turned inside out when her military father is arrested for treason.  
Current Reads
I've just barely finished reading The Burn Zone, so I haven't settled on the next book yet...
But some possibilities are...