writing

I just loved this book. I read her first book (In the forests of the night)and liked Aubrey from the start even though he was bad in the first book.It was great to see him be the good guy in this book.Ok basicaly this book is about this girl named Jessica Who writes horror books about vampires. She doesn't think that vampires exsist and thats where the trouble starts. See vampires really DO exsisit and she's writting the truth about them.BIG problem. In telling her stories some of the vampires have come across as weak. Thats a very bad thing because vampires don't like seeming weak.So Aubrey go's to check it out.Well he gets a big suprise.He meets her at school where Jessica is an outsider. He detects a slight vampiric arua around her but doesn't know why. She immediately trusts him not knowing that he's a vampire. A witch/Vampire hunter/killer shows up at her school too. And tries to keep her away from Alex/Aybrey But fails because Jessica doesn't like her.Well in good time Jessica learns that what she's writing IS real and that Aubrey IS a vampire and that she's in some BIG trouble. First she thinks that Aubrey is going to kill her. But she's wrong again he's fallen in love with her and is trying to protect her from a vampire named Fala. Aubrey wants to turn jessica into a vampire but can't because thats what Jessica wants and if he does what she wants she will be a VERY weak Vampire.Jessica finds out that her mother became a vampire by will while she was pregnant with Jessica So Jessica was kept alive on vampire blood for 20 years. her mother was brought to ife by a vampire hunter because the hunter wanted to save jessica.But by being kept alive for 20 years on vampire blood is why she's slightly Vampiric and thats where her vampiric arua come from. Her So anyway Fala attaks jessica and almost kills her. But Aubrey and the Witch save her. Jessica drew Fala's blood which means that Aubrey can now turn her into a vampire because in fighting Fala she fought for her life. Aubrey asks Jessica if she would like to become a vampire. She thinks it over and decides she wants to be one. He turns her and the book pretty much ends. But you can tell that she's gonna be very strong. I hope the auther continues the Jessica/Aubrey thing. So Amelia if you ever read this I think you have a ton of talent and and I hope you continue this series.

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."

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.