American Vampire

American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm writing this review whilst still feeling the slight feeling of elation which you get from really enjoying a good book and although I believe that the five stars I am giving this book is truly justifieid; there may be some of you that might not agree with my five star feeling of elation. I doubt however that there are any readers of paranormal stories that will not love this addition to Jennifer Armintrout's repertoire. Before reading American Vampire I had finished a book which I really did not enjoy and was facing a very depressing reading slump. I am happy to report that this book has made me remember why I love reading and that there are really good reads out there that are just waiting for you to pick them up.

SUMMARY

As is my habit with pre-release books I am not going to provide a summary, other than quoting the blurp from Goodreads, but I will add this time around that whilst the summary from Goodreads is really intriguing it does not capture the enchantment of this book. But here goes: HE'S THE GOOD KIND OF VAMPIRE. SORT OF. Buried in the Heartland is a town that no one enters or leaves. Graf McDonald somehow becomes its first visitor in more than five years… and he was only looking for a good party. Unfortunately, Penance, Ohio, is not that place. And after having been isolated for so long, they do not like strangers at all. Jessa's the only one to even remotely trust him, and she's desperate for the kind of protection that only a vampire like Graf can provide. Supplies are low, the locals are ornery for a sacrifice and there's a monster more powerful than Graf lurking in the woods. New men are hard to come by in this lonesome town, and this handsome stranger might be Jessa's only hope for salvation. Even if she has to die first…

WHAT I LIKED

I absolutely loved the characters that the author created for us to meet in this book, particularly referring to the main characters, Graf and Jessa. Graf is a vampire (that much you can tell from the summary) and he seems to have no regard for human life, as is typical with most vampires who don't glitter in the sun. He is sarcastic, blunt to the point of rudeness and has a very irritating (for him) habit of saying what he thinks without pondering the consequences. He has a very dry sense of humour and finds it annoying to have to fake normal human interactions (like manners). He is no good vampire, don't be fooled by that, but he is an addictive character that I could simply not get enough of. I found his disregard refreshing and very realistic and I loved his bantering with Jessa. He is certainly the type of vampire that I would want gracing my front porch on a lonely night.

Jessa is just as likeable. Although she has faced many trials and tribulations (one of which is being used by a total douche bag) and altough she shows signs of vulnerability, she is a strong female character who can look after herself. She gives Graf a hard time most of the time and theirs is certainly not a "love-at-first-sight" easy romance. I loved every second of this book, which had intrigue, suspense, sarcasm, humour, sadness and just about every emotion you like in a good book. Although the story might be critiqued for the characters accepting a vampire in their midsts to easily, I do believe this is realistic for characters who have been dealing with the paranormal for quite some time. The subtexts of change and how frightening it is too some, how jealousy and coveting can ruin your life and the ridiculousness of "small town mindedness", can be taken as instructive and brings a bit extra to the book as well.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The only thing I did not like about this book is that there is not enough of it... I hope that we will be seeing more of Graf and Jessa from Jennifer Armintrout, although the ending did feel final. Being a hopeless romantic I would have loved to see some more of the relationship between Graf and Jessa.

SO WHAT’S THE VERDICT?I just love a book that makes me remember why I love reading. I gave this book five stars and I really believe in every one of them. As I intimated above, I believe some will find the story somewhat flat, but I enjoyed it tremendously, reading well into the early hours of the morning to finish it. It will certainly one of my frequent re-reads in future. Two very determined thumbs up!

Once again thank you to Harlequin, through Netgalley for providing this book to me for review.

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