OCTOBER 2021 - AudioFile
Justis Bolding’s narration balances dramatic characters full of righteous anger with the sarcastic dark humor of perpetual teenagers. Earlier, the vampire that “turned” Holly promised her eternal love, but decades later she’s alone and stuck working the kind of dead-end jobs that hire 16-year-olds. After she meets two other girls he also fooled, the three team up to kill him before he can turn his next victim, Parker. Bolding’s careful pacing creates exciting action scenes one moment and slow-burning intensity the next as Holly finds herself falling for Parker. Bolding clearly depicts each character, displaying an impressive emotional connection and tonal range. This sapphic audiobook balances humor, romance, and a unique take on vampire lore. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
A fast-paced and empowering thrill ride guaranteed to get your blood pumping.”
—Caleb Roehrig, author of The Fell of Dark
School Library Journal
09/01/2021
Gr 9 Up—Holly Liddell has been a vampire since 1987. She was in love with Elton and agreed to let him turn her. But Elton ditched Holly and now she is on her own, forced to follow him to each new place he moves as part of the curse of being turned by him. Now they are back in her Michigan hometown and Holly is working nights at Taco Bell, living in a seedy motel, and wondering why she crimped her hair before she died, causing it to stay that way for eternity. One night after work, Holly learns that she is not the only girl cursed to follow Elton for eternity. She meets his two previous exes—Ida, whom he turned in 1921, and Rose, whom he turned in 1954. The three of them plot to kill Elton before he turns another innocent girl into a vampire. Holly has to come to terms with the fact that she to has hurt people to save Parker, Elton's new conquest and a girl Holly is quickly falling for. The plot and story line will draw in teens interested in vampires, revenge, and love stories. But it is difficult to connect to any of the many characters because none is fully developed. VERDICT An additional choice where vampire tales are popular.—Rebekah Buchanan, Western Illinois Univ., Macomb, IL
OCTOBER 2021 - AudioFile
Justis Bolding’s narration balances dramatic characters full of righteous anger with the sarcastic dark humor of perpetual teenagers. Earlier, the vampire that “turned” Holly promised her eternal love, but decades later she’s alone and stuck working the kind of dead-end jobs that hire 16-year-olds. After she meets two other girls he also fooled, the three team up to kill him before he can turn his next victim, Parker. Bolding’s careful pacing creates exciting action scenes one moment and slow-burning intensity the next as Holly finds herself falling for Parker. Bolding clearly depicts each character, displaying an impressive emotional connection and tonal range. This sapphic audiobook balances humor, romance, and a unique take on vampire lore. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2021-06-29
Three women vampires seek revenge against their mutual ex, the man who turned them when they were teens.
Holly became a vampire in 1987 when she fell in love with Elton, believing she was the only one he loved and had made immortal like himself. Now, 34 years later, she’s been abandoned by him and works at Taco Bell, the only job her permanently 16-year-old self can find, which barely pays for the roach-infested motel where she’s living. When she meets Ida and Rose, vampires turned in 1921 and 1954, respectively, she discovers she wasn’t Elton’s first—and that they are back in their Michigan hometown because he’s looking to create a fourth. The trio band together with aspirations to end Elton once and for all and protect his latest prey, high school student Parker, whom Holly develops feelings for. This action-packed, revenge-fueled story is a fun and fresh vampire tale. The characterization is thin; the Sapphic romance isn’t entirely successful, with love developing so quickly that it’s hard to completely buy into. However, the emphasis on female friendships and found family is gratifying, the pacing is quick throughout, the campy body horror and violence are delightfully disturbing, and the twists at the end make for a satisfying conclusion. Characters are implied White.
Exhilarating high-stakes action with plenty of bite. (Paranormal. 14-18)
