The Vampire Journals

Rating:
Summary: Not what you'd expect
Review: She's not very seductive. And her journey isn't exactly wild or intimate. Even though the book has a lot of good historical background (like the storming of the Bastille), there isn't much action until the somewhere toward the end. It was interesting though, so I was motivated to finish it once i started. It wasn't too bad. The character does change in the end, just a little. And she asked to be immortal, after all. That's a new twist. Overall, it's okay. But don't expect anything the blurb says.

Rating:
Summary: a different type of vampire indeed
Review: This book tells the story of a different type of vampire. The narrator is an independent minded female in her mid-twenties who lives in the 1700s and chooses to become a vampire as a way out of her restrictive times. She thinks being immortal will give her freedom. The story isn't sensationalist in the least - no real sex or gore to speak of.....so if that's what you're expecting, you should look elsewhere. This work is not a masterpiece but not junk either. The historical overviews were interesting and the plot kept me reading on. Theresa (the narrator) is a remarkable protagonist in this genre - she is unique in that she wanted to become a vampire and doesn't have any subsequent moral dilemmas over this choice. In fact, her only moral issue occurs as a vampire in a situation with another vampire (Mara) who Theresa believes gave humans too much info on their kind due to her empathy with them and vampire guilt (we're talking strains of "Angel" here). Theresa does feel guilt over her handling of this situation and spends the rest of the story trying to make amends. It was disappointing having Theresa's character sell out and become the repentent female type. Overall, an entertaining and different read.