Title: Boys That Bite (Blood Coven #1)Author: Mari Mancusi
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: April, 2006
Paperback: 262 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance / Young Adult
Rating: 9/10
Description: My mom is so going to kill me if she finds out I'm turning into a vampire...
Okay, so technically she can't because I'm immortal. Well, not yet. See, due to the worst case of mistaken identity with my dark-side-loving twin sister at a Goth hangout called Club Fang, Magnus, a vampire hottie, went for my innocent neck instead of hers. Now, if I don't reverse it in time, Magnus will be my blood mate forever and I'm doomed to be a blood-gulping, pasty, daylight-hating vampire. Believe me, it seriously bites!
After the unfortunate slaying of the vampire leader, it's up to me, my sister, and Magnus to find the one thing that can solve my problem--the Holy Grail. No joke. I seriously hope I can get out of this on time because, somehow, I scored the hottest prom date in my school, the mouth-watering Jake Wilder. And I do NOT want to be a vampire for the prom--let alone the rest of eternity.
My Thoughts: Very fast read and entertaining first book of a new to me young adult series by an author whose work I’ve only read are time travels. I have noticed I have become more drawn to and intrigued by paranormal young adult stories. Not sure why. Perhaps the characters seem less jaded and cynical to me than in the adult counterparts. Maybe it’s that whole “the future is so bright, I gotta wear shades” mentality that seems to permeate all of the young adult books I have read lately. It’s not a bad thing really; the difference is so intriguing because there’s a sense of adventure and wonder and yes, even innocence in the story that isn’t always present in other series.
This story revolves around identical twins, Sunshine and Rayne McDonald. Ironically, these identical twins couldn’t be more different. Sunshine is a dedicated student who maintains a good grade point average, is on the field hockey team and is currently the understudy to the lead in the school play. She has a major crush (who doesn’t?) on Jake Wilder who doesn’t know she exists and who is also in the school play. Rayne has no interest in school, devoted to maintaining a Goth persona and wants to be a vampire. Rayne all but twists Sunny’s arm into accompanying her to a Goth hangout called Club Fang. Sunny meets Magnus who turns out to be a vampire and who proceeds to bite her, not realizing it was supposed to be Rayne he was to bite. Now Sunny will become a vampire in one week unless she and Magnus can find a way to reverse the change.
This story was a lot of fun. Sunny’s transformation to the undead was quite humorous and I loved her and Magnus together. Initially, Rayne seemed very self absorbed but she grew on me and I ended up liking her a lot too. Some of the things Sunny experiences as she gets closer to becoming a vampire were very entertaining. The smell of food causes her to be physically ill, her initial taste of blood and her surprise at how much she enjoyed it and the unexpected effects of the Vampire Scent having on guys around her. Sunny is adamant she doesn’t want to be a vampire even though she is developing feelings for Magnus and he for her. I enjoyed the conflict. Magnus is willing to do anything to help Sunny get her humanity back in spite of the virtual rejection he is feeling at her reaction to being a vampire.
Along the way, Sunny’s mother is convinced she is on drugs, Sunny is called upon to take over the lead in the play, Sunny and Magnus witness the slaying of the vampire leader and have to travel all the way to England to obtain the cure before prom. Oh, and she still needs to buy a prom dress…
The ending came as a surprise and ends on a big cliffhanger lead in to the next book. I will definitely be looking for the next book in the series so I can find out what happens next. Overall, if you enjoy reading a vampire series featuring young adults and prefer it to be of the lighter variety, I highly recommend this book.
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