Sunday, December 9, 2012

BLOOD FOREVER by Mari Mancusi




A Blood Coven Vampire Novel
Berkley Books, September 2012
paperback
Obtained via:  publisher
ISBN 978-0425253038
Young Adult

 


Mari Mancusi’s BLOOD FOREVER follows twins Sunny and Rayne McDonald, whose lives have been changed forever by the Blood Coven.  With Sunny dead, Rayne makes a deal with Hades to go back in time to save her sister and the Blood Coven and possibly even humankind.

Having never read any of author Mari Mancusi’s other books, perhaps jumping in mid-series with BLOOD FOREVER was not the best choice, though the author does an excellent job recapping the series that reading prior books may not have made any difference.  Perhaps this reader just was hoping for something more; I don’t know.  But this story just didn’t really click for me.  The leads, Sunny and Rayne, go back and forth between being vapid teens and concerned young women trying to save humankind and perhaps vampirekind as well.  As the storyline moves between bad decisions and even badder choices, the girls one constant is their desire to live happily ever after with their vampire sweeties, Magnus and Jareth, who don’t even know them in this new version of reality.  The constant what ifs and their results make the story frustrating to read and even harder to empathize with the characters.  For example, even though Magnus now knows Sunny as Rayne, several times during the book she is called Sunny in front of him and he takes the name change in stride.

And yet, the story is entertaining, light and a fast read.  Young adults whose minds skip around and interests are constantly changing may enjoy BLOOD FOREVER more than someone looking for a more indepth storyline.  But at a selling point of close to ten dollars, this reader just can’t imagine this disjointed attempt at teen fiction as a big seller.  Of course, I have been wrong before. 


Reviewed by T. Barringer

"This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book."

 
 

No comments: