Genre: Urban Fantasy
The Analysis:
This sat in my kindle awhile before I got to it. It was definitely worth the wait. Should have read it sooner. Fashionably Dead by Robyn Peterman, lets book review it.
Heres the Blurb:
Vampyres don’t exist. They absolutely do not exist.
At least I didn’t think they did ‘til I tried to quit smoking and ended up Undead. Who in the hell did I screw over in a former life that my getting healthy equates with dead?
Now I’m a Vampyre. Yes, we exist whether we want to or not. However, I have to admit, the perks aren’t bad. My girls no longer jiggle, my ass is higher than a kite and the latest Prada keeps finding its way to my wardrobe. On the downside, I’m stuck with an obscenely profane Guardian Angel who looks like Oprah and a Fairy Fighting Coach who’s teaching me to annihilate like the Terminator.
To complicate matters, my libido has increased to Vampyric proportions and my attraction to a hotter than Satan’s underpants killer rogue Vampyre is not only dangerous . . . it’s possibly deadly. For real dead. Permanent death isn’t on my agenda. Avoiding him is my only option. Of course, since he thinks I’m his, it’s easier said than done. Like THAT’S not enough to deal with, all the other Vampyres think I’m some sort of Chosen One.
Holy Hell, if I’m in charge of saving an entire race of blood suckers, the Undead are in for one hell of a ride.
[/one_half]I absolutely hate cartoons/graphics for book covers. Unless its a graphic novel. Which is why you will never see it as one of my options here at TRS BOOKS. So personally there’s not much for me to love here. But its cute. And something about it must’ve gotten me to click. At the moment I’m not sure what that is though. Comment below what you think?
So there was a prologue in this book, and from what I read an unnecessary one. Sure it introduced us to some of the key background characters, but not in any meaningful way. It kicks off at a funeral. None of it is interesting at all until the mother shows up. (The writer in me wants to say that she should have chosen a poignant memory from her past that would have included all the supporting characters that accurately betrayed what they all meant to her.)
Chapter 1 is set immediately after the funeral. Doesn’t really grab you, but what does grab you is the main character’s personality. Which shines through, and I had one of those moments where as a writer I was like, this character is written really well.
Then chapter 2 hits and the rest of the story just takes off from there. Spoiler alert: She wakes up the next morning mysteriously a vampire after having gone to see a hypnotist the day before.
But curiously she is assigned a guardian angel if you will and a bunch of other supernatural helpers. Except they all look like celebrities. Now I realized three things about these celebrity inserts.
- As a writer you dont have to bother describing the character because everyone already knows how they look.
- If you’re not a fan of said celebrity it can be a little off-putting
- If her biggest dreams were to come true and this was made into a movie. And she can’t get these same celebrities to play these roles either because of money issues or contractual obligations. The movie is instantly a let down to all of its fans who have read the book.
Now as an author, I don’t think I’ll employ this tactic myself. Unless, I’m writing a story about musicians (which is coming in the future) and only in general terms. But the celebrity cameos in this story was integral to the storyline and actually quite funny. The costumes she had them wearing and there personality’s which was contrary to what we’re used to seeing from them. Drew you in to keep reading.
It truly was the best thing ever to read.
And I like her implementation. Just not something I would personally do. She also changes vampire folklore in some interesting ways. For instance all supernatural creatures appear to be vampyra’s, but then you have a sub-designation. Like Vampyra-Demon for example. Not a fan, but don’t hate it either.
Lets talk more about where this book soars. The integration of the love interest, Ethan, about halfway through was everything. I loved them together. They had a kind of push, pull start to there romance. He was keeping a secret from her and I loved the big reveal. It was also a moment where we got to see just how cool our new found vampire main character is.
Sex scenes were taken seriously. And I’m glad the main character just didn’t throw herself on to him. Even though it was clear that the sexual tension was palpable.
Further in there’s a serious moment where everyone’s concerned she might die, and I’m concerned she might die. I had to check where I was in the table of contents to ensure this wasn’t the end. It was well-written, completely believable. Ethan’s response was just as annoying and believable.
As there figuring out there relationship there is a power struggle. Where she wants a little more independence and he wants to be included more in her life. However, for me it didn’t come across this way. Her need for independence was simultaneously tied to her keeping her apartment. And then the issue seemed to disappear in a cloud of sex. I wanted to throw a flag on the play, like that’s a foul author. For one thing, if there going to do this then she shouldn’t keep her apartment, but he shouldn’t be allowed to dictate where she goes when she’s in the castle or otherwise. So I didn’t like that part, but I’m still an Ethan fan.
Not so much about the sex. More than two sex scenes and I’ve read about enough. Crazy, coming from me right (lol). There might have only been two sex scenes, but it was so constant. She was always thinking about having sex with him. They were always touching. At moments where, I was just like can I get some story here. Which could indicate the mindset of vampires or just our main characters personality.
This book does end on a cliffhanger. But this story is part of a series. So she nicely wraps up the main conflict of this story and starts the primary problem of book 2. The way its supposed to be done. So its technically not a cliffhanger at all.
Story At A Glance:
Overall Story:
I probably didn’t say enough about how much I liked this. It was certainly entertaining.
Pacing:
For me everything starts in Chapter 2 and its paced nicely from there with a serious of highs and lows.
Characterization:
Its the best thing about this book and from an author stand point I’m like scratching my head, How does she do it?
World/Building Setting:
I feel like it was a little light. But everyone’s personalities just fill the room that you’re not immediately paying attention to setting.
Language:
Simple. Everyone was speaking English. Sensitive readers look out for the curse words.
Feeling:
So I read on a schedule. A certain amount of chapters a day, and after I got to the Ethan reveal I was glued to that book way after I was supposed to before I put it down. I was genuinely happy to be reading it. Felt entertained the whole time. And I never had a moment where I was like, when is this over.
Recommendation: Yes.
The Ratings:
My Thumbs Up For:
- Bringing Different Character Personalities to Life
- The Love Interest
- Believable Conflicts
My Thumbs Down For:
- Handling of Independence Issue
THE TRS BOOKS SYSTEM:
Book Cover Appeal:
🍓🍓
Story & Narration:
🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
Romance:
🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
Sex Scenes:
🍓🍓🍓🍓
OVERALL READING EXPERIENCE:
Fashionably Dead gets five strawberries from me. Its ranked at 5 on Amazon. I think this is the first time me and Amazon agree.
Book Info:
Pages: 320
Publisher: Robyn Peterman
Available: On Amazon
