Rating: 
Summary: ***Fun 2 Read Luv'd It Lotz***
Review: I loved this book it was a very well put together and creative book. I think that the writer(Amelia Atwater-Rhodes) has an extremely creative mind. I would recommend this book to anyone into action, adventure, mystical, imaginative, and strangely romantic books. The reason I gave it 4/5 stars is because I absolutely loved the book, but there was a small amount of the parts of the book were almost hard to follow, like the blood lines (for instance).
This book is about a girl named Jessica. Jessica is a very odd girl who lives with her aunt, and she loves to write and create mystic stories. Every day she goes to school as the outcast type and doesn't have any friends, but she has learned to live with it. One day a girl named Caryn comes to Jessica's school and tries to be her friend, but Jessica will not let her, and tells her to go away. A few days later a hot new guy, named Aubrey, comes to her school, and is exactly like one of the characters in her books. She has a huge crush on him instantly, and he soon becomes her friend. Little did she know there was something very particular about this boy, something that is very odd to even imagine, and whatever it is Caryn doesn't like him for it, and he doesn't like her neither... so I will let you read this awesome book and discover it for yourself(it`s a real page turner).
Rating: 
Summary: Shows promise
Review: Overall the plot was great, but the writing was lacking. like wearing a sweater that is two sizes to big. She should have tightened up more. I recommend MIDNIGHT PREDATOR instead.
Rating: 
Summary: That of an Inexperience
Review: After seeing all the good reviews, I have to say that I would had never read a book by a high school student, but since it got such praise, I decided to take this one up. I read the NOVELLA, getting tired of seeing people call it a novel. Majority of YA books are nothing but short novellas and a majority of YA books are from inexperience writers. This book is another one of those. The main character is a callous and lone wolf, Jessica, who apparently hates everyone for unknown reasons. That's what makes the character so unrealistic. She's a loner and doesn't have friends, why? Well, lets put it this way, she's rude, mean, shallow and highly superficial. Who would want to be her friend? The sad thing is both main characters, Jessica and Aubrey are extremely hot, so hot that they deserve each other. If I were Jessica, I probably would have tons of boyfriends. Apparently, these characters have no flaws once so ever, none mental or physical. The vampires are nothing but invincible beings. Even the villain is a weakling. She is one of the WEAKEST vampires I have seen in a book. RULE #1 Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: You never and I mean never, make the villain weaker than the heroine and hero. It's plain stupidity. Vampires: holy substances don't harm, stakes don't kill, hell, they aren't even demon. Vampires are suppose to have weaknesses, rather they sound like human-vampire wannabes. Question: Why are the vampires in school? Others things I had a problem with were the plot, characterization ans style. The style was annoying to read. It sounded like a Dawson's Creek episode. The book is cliched and unrealistic. I don't understand how this girl got published, but we know why, her age. It had to do with her age. After reading this book I am suggesting you don't read anything by a high school student, or unless somehow the writer withholds his or her age and gains actual praise for actual writing...
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant Short Read
Review: Good book, I read it within a few hours, and although it's not an on the edge of your seat page-turner, it follows a consistent plot line and she effectively throws in a couple twists. Jessica the female lead in the book is written as a strong heroine. This is a "PG" rated book. I thought upon picking up Demon In My View that it didn't seem like it belonged in the Young Adult Genre, but it's accurately placed. Although some sparks fly between Audrey (our heroine protecting vampire) and Jessica it's all very innocent. I would recommend checking this book out at the library before purchasing it.
As far as the story line goes, Jessica finds out that the fictional paranormal stories aren't so fictional. Not all of her characters are so happy about how they are portrayed. So Audrey her vampire lead is sent out to check out this "Mysterious Author" and make sure things get taken care of. He likes her of course because she is a very independent individual with lots of inner strength. All in all a decent read.
If you are looking for something that is well written and has a bit more bite, I highly recommend Simon Green and his Nightside Novels.
Rating:
Summary: I envy Amelia Atwater-Rhodes.
Review: I am so tired of reading review after review written by so-called mature adults who seem to think they are above "novellas" written by teen authors. If they can't appreciate teen books, then they should -obviously- stay out of the teen section. They constantly criticize the author's inexperience, when many of them probably haven't even come close to publishing a book. Amelia Atwater-Rhodes is a very talented author and Demon in my View is just one of her five published books that demonstrate exactly that. Demon in my View revolves around the average sarcastic high school loner we can all relate to-but there's something a little different about Jessica. She has strange, realistic dreams that inspire her to write vampire stories under her pen name, Ash Night. But unbeknownst to her, all her stories are actually factual, and her vampire main characters aren't pleased about her exposing their dark secrets. Her personal favorite character, Aubrey, suddenly appears at her school and befriends her, while secretly plotting to kill her. But Jessica isn't just your average teenage prey. I definitely recommend this book to teenagers and readers who enjoyed Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's other books (In the Forests of the Night, Hawksong, Midnight Predator, and Shattered Mirror.) I love this book (and Aubrey, of course) and have read it too many times to count!
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS A GREAT BOOK!
Review: I liked Demon in my View a lot, but Amelia seemed to soften Aubrey up a bit. I liked to think of him as the powerful, never loving, traditional vampire, but when he gets his crush on Jessica, it gets kind of unreal. The ending, although good, was a bit predictable. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Dead and Cold
Review: I love vampire stories. I will obsess over a good one. I will slam a bad one, and I'm afraid to say this is a bad one.
The problem with this story is that it takes a long time to get to nowhere. Plot elements that could've been interesting just take too long to get to, and the manner in which they are presented makes it seem like nothing has happened at all. There is a climax, but it practically doesn't exist. The only point when it even started to get interesting was the end, and that's probably only because of the possibilities. What would really happen if she had continued the story would be a series of missed opportunities.
The protagonist has the personality of a dead fish, and although her origins are interesting I would not like to have another go with this character. The vampires are little better, they have personality all right, the personalities have a depth a grade schooler could have come up with. There is the blood obsessed vampire and then there is the usual misunderstood hot vampire boy. Then the witches, who are just generally pathetic. Even the "vampire hunter" witch is a yawn, not to mention abnormally annoying.
When I heard the writer was only 16 (not sure really but somewhere in that range) the quality of the writing made sense. This is the product of a developing writer who will get much better with practice. What really astounds me is that the publishing house actually saw this book fit to be published. It's a bore, overwritten and messy. There is a market for all things dark and vampiric but they can't seriously expect that audience to be so idiotic.
Rating:
Summary: Ugh.
Review: I picked up this book looking for something interesting to read.
And I must say I was a bit jealous to find that this author is a year younger than I am and has an array of books published.
But you know what? I'm no longer jealous. Because a retarded monkey could come up with better character developments and plots than Ms. Atwater-Rhodes has put in this novel.
I barely got halfway through this book when I threw it across the room, finished with the drivel that she called a story. It immediately earned a place next to Foxfire and To Ride a Silver Broomstick in my collection of "Books I would never sell to anyone for I would not want them to suffer by reading this crap."
Save yourself some time and buy anything by LJ Smith, Kelley Armstrong, or (dare I say it) Anne Rice. Even Ms. Rice is better than this girl, and I hate that woman.
Rating:
Summary: Meh.
Review: I'll admit to having read three of Atwater-Rhodes' books, the best of which I liked being Hawksong. This book, however--like most of her others--seems to lack something. It's not that she isn't creative or that she lacks the talent to weave a good story. Perhaps it's only that she lacks the practice and years of experience that other authors do. Jessica seems to be a bit flat for a main character. She feels a great deal of disdain not only for her adoptive mother but for her fellow classmates at school. Considering that they treat her like she carries some horrible, contagious disease, it's really no great surprise. But her constant sarcasm and blatant disdain for the people around her aren't really attractive qualities. It's refreshing to see a "heroine" (I use that term lightly) who has some kind of spunk and backbone, but she's overwhelmed with it. Another author also suggested below that it's a blatant Mary Sue. Although I can't quite agree with that--Mary Sues tend to embody perfection--I have to agree that it feels like a serious plug-in to me. Aubrey, the vampire "hero" of this story didn't spark a whole lot of interest in me. He seemed alot like the typical vamp to me. Cold, uncaring, ruthless... until he meets Jessica, someone who isn't what I'd call a ray of sunshine, and by page 104 (end of chapter 19) ends up kissing her. I might be wrong, but I think hundreds of years of previous behavior aren't going to change over night. The one thing I really do appreciate about Atwater-Rhodes's story telling is the amount of detail that she puts into describing her characters. In comparison, it leaves the rest of the story feeling drab. It would be nice if she could learn to maybe concentrate some more on other things. Another surprise--her chapters, on average, are no more than a few pages long at the very least. It's not that I'm asking for a tome of work here, but I can finish off her books in less than an hour if I'm not concentrating. I suppose her style is also a lot more simplistic than what I'm used to, but when you constantly write chapters that last a maximum of five-six pages (and often end between two and three) it's a little pitiful. One other thing I'd like to remark on that I found ironic and irritating is the symbol of the "black rose" for the vampires. Begging your pardon, though, but didn't L.J. Smith use a black/violet rose to symbolize the Night World in her series? Those books were written quite some time ago, but it wasn't so long ago that she couldn't have been familiar with that series. She's only three years older than I am, and I was crazy about those books when I was younger. I'm not accusing anyone of plagiarism, but I just find it a bit hard to swallow. So I guess, all in all, that although the book itself isn't horrible, it could use some work. There are probably better books to spend your money on, though, folks. I'm hoping that despite the redundant character personalities Amelia uses, Snakecharm will be better, at least. The title's catchier, anyhow.
Rating:
Summary: She Missed the Piñata With Her Eyes Open
Review: I've read three of her book so far, including this one, and it isn't anywhere near the caliber of Shattered Mirror or Midnight Predator. The characters were flat and don't even deserve to bear the title "one dimensional". There was no substance at all; just a messy story that seemed rushed. A bummer, but in the end I closed the book thinking, "Rhodes is still a great writer."
|
