Vesper: Deviants bk #1 (ARC review)

Vesper: A Deviants Novel by Jeff Sampson

Releases: January 25, 2011
Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Synopsis:
Emily Webb is a geek. And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.

The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall, Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely—something not human?

As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?

Spoilerish Review:  
Well, Emily Webb, what should I do with you? Strange that I kind of feel like having a battle of Buffyverse wits with you, in which you would probably win.

Gotta say, pleasantly surprised by this book. Really enjoyed the mystery of the story. I didn’t know what to expect since I hadn’t heard anything about the book before I read it, but I certainly wasn’t expecting *Spoiler* werewolves!

The story opens with Emily Webb acting out of of her normal character. She is very confused and unsure why this change is happening to her. With her new, more confident attitude, Emily exhibits behaviors that she would not normally ever dream of doing, plus she is faster and stronger than she has ever been.

Not long after, a degree of explanation is given when Emily first shifts into a wolf. At first she thinks she must be losing her mind, but when it happens again, she knows that she can no longer deny that she is a changeling, especially sine it appears that someone or something is trying to hunt her down and kill her. Soon, Emily finds herself battling between being the good, geeky girl she has always been or embracing the new sexy hunter that she has always secretly wanted to be.

Still, deep down, Emily is a geek to the core. Every time she referenced 80′s pop culture or said something totally Buffyverse, I immediately wanted to doubt that a modern day 16 year old would actually know about all that great stuff, but then a subtle reminder that she was raised by her equally geeky, comic and computer game loving dad would present itself. Okay, I’ll buy.

I do have a few grips, aside from not being a fan of the cover art. Throughout the story, Emily was trying to come to grips with her two very different personalities. She even started to refer to them as Daytime Emily and Nighttime Emily. Nighttime Emily was what she was, a she-wolf on the prowl, as noted by her strong desire to sniff out her ‘mate.’ I found that there was somewhat of a negative theme here in that she should obey his scent and find him. Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive, but it didn’t sit very well with me that a girl, mad with desire, would abandon all caution to find her mate. It made me extremely nervous of what might actually happen when she did find him. Would they tear each other up in the throes of passion? Would he dominate her as the Alpha? And why wasn’t he looking for her with the same intensity?

When she did find him, things were relatively tame between them, which again surprised yet relieved me. Aside from them killing together, there was no actual mating that took place.  

Also, the story included ”transcript” inserts in which Emily, a Vesper and deviant (I still don’t really know what these terms mean) was being interviewed as she told her story to some headquarters guy who is part of the organization that is responsible for her new nature. I just felt the transcripts were dummied down explanations and not really needed. Okay, so Emily and her pack are going after those that did this to them, great idea, but to try to illustrate that in transcripts just didn’t work for me.

Still, the story was thrilling, filled with mystery, and even had some really funny scenes. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the Deviants series.

Notable Scene:

I grunted. I did not want slow. I wanted to blow these people’s minds, for them to worship at my stylish yet affordable boots, for them to say, “Who’s the cool new girl?” then gawk once they heard it was that quiet girl they never paid any attention to.

LOL! Buffy much (ep 6.7)? Still, I thought it was perfect that Emily would think this since she was such a big Buffy fan. 

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Posted at 5:52 pm  •  Labels: 2010, 4 stars, Book Review, paranormal romance, werewolves, YA