Picture drawn by Maggie Stiefvater, 2009. Header made by S.F. Robertson, 2010.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Insatiable by Meg Cabot


Insatiable by Meg Cabot
"Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn't believe in them.

Not that Meena isn't familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you're going to die. (Not that you're going to believe her. No one ever does.)

But not even Meena's precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. It's a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, Lucien's already dead. Maybe that's why he's the first guy Meena's ever met whom she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena's always been able to see everyone else's future, she's never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future. . . .

If she even has one."- summary from Amazon

Yes, we all know that vampires are taking over and everyone seems to be getting on the ship, but with Meg Cabot, the vampire world is turned upside-down with her trademark style and humor. But it's not completely similar to Meg's other works; there's a great balance of what has made Meg's books so great and the exploration of some new territory. The biggest difference is the point-of-view, which is third person omniscient and not something Meg has used before. The perspective is mainly between three characters- Meena Harper, the heroine; Lucien Antonescu, the head vampire; and Alaric, the vampire hunter- but there's the occasional chapter from someone else's perspective. It took a while to get into because while the humor is still very Meg, it's done in a different manner and can be a bit startling to read.

The book is very light (in terms of tone), though it does have some dark elements and keeps in tradition with the Gothic take on vampires. The climax is action-packed and very suspenseful and had me on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen next. There probably could have been some trimming of the story, as it clocks in at 450 pages (Meg's longest book yet, to my knowledge) and not all the scenes seem to be necessary to the plot moving forward.

I think my favorite character has to be Alaric Wulf. I almost always laughed when he was in the scene because he's so deadpan and most likely unintentionally funny. Meena, of course, is still a traditional Meg heroine- strong, relatable, and capable of holding her own. She isn't going to sit back and watch everything unfold, but rather fight to protect those she loves. It's always refreshing to see that sort of character.

Overall though, it was a really fun, interesting paranormal read and one I would definitely recommend. I'm extremely excited for the sequel.

FTC: Received copies from author and publisher. Link above is Amazon Associate link; any profit I get goes toward funding contests.

6 comments:

  1. I am getting this book mailed to me as we speak I am sooo excited! I am glad you liked it, now I can't wait :)

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  2. This book is on my shelf, so I'm glad you liked it!

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  3. So funny I reviewed this today too and it seems we have almost the same take on it!

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  4. I've been so excited for this one! I enjoy Meg's novels and I'm happy she's trying something somewhat different - don't want her to fall into a rut. (Okay, and I like vampires even if they are everywhere.)

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  5. This book sounds really good. I keep thinking that eventually I will tire of reading about vampires, but it hasn't happened yet lol

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  6. I still love vampire stories too esp. funny ones. You should Nice Girl's Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper. Too funny and really good. There are three, but that's the first. :)

    Anywho, good review. I really want to read this as it sounds like something I'd love and it's been awhile since I've read a Meg book.


    -Lauren

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