Merit is a grad student whose life as just changed drastically. While walking across campus, Merit's throat is ripped out by a rogue vampire. Fortunately, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan is there to scare off her attacker and save her by turning her into a vampire. Now she is expected to pledge allegiance to Ethan and the vampires of Cadogan House, something she is hesitant to do since she didn't volunteer to become a vamp. Merit may hate Ethan for turning her without permission, but that doesn't stop her from lusting after him too. She also has to help him discover which vampire is attacking women on campus and leaving them for dead.This is a wonderful beginning to a new series. The book takes place shortly after Vampires have come out to the public. Merit is a strong woman who has to learn a new way of life. The story is told in first-person, so the reader learns the new rules right along with her. I love Merit's snarky attitude, but it sometimes gets her in trouble. Merit is lucky that she has friends to help her through this change in her life. Her roommate, Mallory, has an interest in the occult and gives Merit some tips. Mallory also discovers that she has some strong magic powers. Merit's grandfather is a cop who runs a special branch of the police force dealing with vampires, faeries, and other supernaturals. He employs a shape-shifter and a sorcerer who help Merit learn self-defense skills and keep her apprised of vampire politics. Ethan is still an enigma to me. He is a 400 year old vampire with some old world views. And, he is certainly attracted to Merit, even if he doesn't want to be. Overall, I loved the characters and the world building and can't wait to dive into the next one. My rating: 5 Stars. I can't remember where I got the rec for this one, but it showed up at a discount for the Kindle, so I snagged it. We were at DragonCon this past weekend and I finished the book I was reading, so I started this one.I used to be super into this supernatural, kick-butt female genre. I read a LOT of it. But it got old. Everything seemed just like everything else. So I haven't been reading quite as much. I thought that it was just because the storylines were all so similar, but after reading this one, I think it's just that I'd read all the one's that were fairly well written, so the writing on what remained sucked. There's nothing all that new in this basic storyline. The vampire world isn't revolutionary and there's not a lot that sets it apart from anyone else's world. But I really just enjoyed the writing. I liked the humor. I liked the protagonist a lot. I did feel that if this is supposed to be a supernatural mystery, it fell rather flat. No one did any real detecting and the culprit just owned up to it in the end. I'll for sure read the next one though.
What do You think about Frisch Gebissen (2011)?
There was very little action, too much talk about clothes, Merit was a total bitch and annoying. I struggled to get through it. At times it was confusing and it was hard to tell who was saying or doing something because it just didn't make sense. There were other minor continuity errors that just irk the shit out of me too! For example, Ch. 11 Merit is meeting all the guards when she first reports for duty & she says Luc, the ONLY one in JEANS, everyone else in black, then the next page, describes Peter in a grey sweater, JEANS, and boots. WTF. Then it doesn't make seance who's talking when Lindsay says her "power/ability" & ?Luc? replies " I knew HE, hept you around for a reason." Who's HE? Ethan? I thought this was weird, like it should have been we, not he, because it's Luc's team. Dumb. Ugh! Slow & boring.BUT, I'm giving it one more book to see if it gets better.
—cathyisashorty
One of the things I liked most about this book was that it was a paranormal story that actually revolved around adults as opposed to teenagers. The language used showed the maturity of the characters, and aimed for an adult audience. This story followed a 27 year old english graduate student named Merit, as she transitioned from a traditional student/ TA, into a vampire (against her will), into a soldier who defended what is hers. You see a lot of character growth as Merit tried to come to terms with her new unexpected lifestyle, and there was plenty of humor to keep things interesting. It is a book worth reading if you are looking for a quick read and a laugh.
—aidaliszo
Liked the reluctant vampire angle. Promising start to the series. Will read more.
—neni_p
