Publication Date: October 15, 2011
Paperback, 416 pages
Savannah Colbert has been shunned all her life by the kids of the Clann. And when she undergoes some drastic changes after a strange illness, Savannah learns secrets about the group and about herself—dangerous secrets. For the Clann are powerful magic users, and Savannah herself is half Clann and half vampire—a forbidden, unheard of combination. Falling for Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman isn’t just a bad idea—it could be deadly if anyone finds out. But her attraction to Tristan—and his to her—isn’t something either of them can resist for long.
I liked the better part of the beginning of the book – and when I say the better part, we’re talking the first three pages or so. I thought the first page that gave me a glimpse of Savannah’s and Tristan’s natural reactions toward each other were a good preamble to this story. And when I turned the page to the Prologue, I was already salivating for more.
Sadly, this book started out pretty strong but let up with its intensity in the middle. You’d think that the story would take off even more after Savannah found out she was a half-vampire, half-witch. But it didn’t. It got even slower, if that was even possible. There were so many parts of this story that probably should’ve been left out of the finished product, perhaps those parts where Savannah kept agonizing about the Brat Twins or when she decided to be the manager of the Charmers(resisting the eye roll here) or when Tristan became a quasi-manager himself (say, what?!). Tristan was supposed to be a studly football player but opted to follow around a dance team as an escort/manager. I’m sorry, but now you just sound like a wimp to me. I probably skimmed through most of the parts where they were either preparing for a game or at a game. They were pointless.
There are a lot of things that bothered me with this book. Bullying is very rampant. The character doesn’t do anything about the ‘accidental’ pushing, shoving, and verbal abuse she got from the members of the Clann. I just can’t like a book that justified these acts okay. And the character did just that, by thinking that if she ignored them, they’d go away. I’m sorry…just no.
Crave is very unoriginal from this genre’s standpoint. But that’s really okay – only if it was executed very well. As it was, I thought that when Savannah was finally told she was a half-vampire, half-witch, her reaction was a little blah. She accepted her parents’ decisions quite easily with very little questions.
When she finally went through the change, I waited for the bloodlust and got none. What kind of vampire (half or not) does not thirst for blood? Instead, you’ll read about Savannah prancing around school being chased by hormonal boys who suddenly noticed she grew a full cup size over a week’s time. I understand she’s part witch too, but come on! There’s got to be a part of her that yearns for blood, no? The whole Tristan-Savannah romance thing was painful to watch. It was a cheese-fest of epic proportions.
Over all, Crave is a cookie-cutter YA paranormal read. No plot twists await for you here.
On another note, I think I’m a minority on this one, so please – my opinion about this book is just that…MY OPINION.
Arc provided by Net Galley and Harlequin for an honest review.