:: book bound

*possible spoilers*

I couldn't believe this cover when I googled it just now. This is quite possibly the best (read: most terrible) book artwork I have ever seen! If it was possible for books to be B-Side like a movie, this would definitely be dancing on the borderline.

Or, perhaps, I am being unnecessarily mean.

Seriously, though, if you've seen the re-released covers for the Night World series by L.J. Smith, you'll notice that they're a lot sleeker and minimalistic in comparison. They're also 3 books in one, but that's beside the point.

I picked up the entire series, based on a friend of mine raving about the books - she had read them years ago and absolutely loved them. At the time of her raving, however, she couldn't remember the titles, much to her dismay. Then, by some strange coincidence, we walked into a bookstore and there sat the re-release copies near the front entrance. It was really quite strange.

Regardless, I finished Secret Vampire today, and even though I am going to plow through the remaining eight books, I'm kind of unimpressed. Perhaps my disappointment will be isolated to Secret Vampire and the other books will shine - time will tell.

The problem I had, and I really can't blame the book for this since it came first, was just how much it felt like I was reading a dated copy of Twilight. Many of the same plot elements are seen in Secret Vampire as in Twilight, and I'm finding it hard to think it was merely a coincidence.

- James = Edward
- Poppy = Bella
- Vampire loves human
- Vampire loving human is bad
- Elders ensure vampire way of life is being adhered to, and will kill those who are not playing by the rules (Volturi anyone?)
- James is very protective of Poppy, obsessively so (erm, Edward?)
- Poppy has telepathic abilities, similar to those of Bella
- Poppy quickly masters her new vampire abilities, faster than anyone else (Breaking Dawn)
- Ash, cousin to James, shows up towards the end of the novel to provide the much needed conflict and resolution (rogue vampires showing up at the end of Twilight out of nowhere)
- James being one of the rogue vampires in Twilight

I could be reading too much into it, but if I were a detective, I'd assume that Ms. Meyers used Ms. Smith's Secret Vampire as a spring board for telling and creating Edward and Bella's story. I'm probably off my rocker. That's most likely the reality.

The book was a quick and pleasant read. The dialogue felt awkward at times, but I find that's the case in most novels. Catching the truest form of conversation in novels is tough, since it tends to be used as a means of moving a story forward, when, really, in day to day life, our conversations don't exactly move our lives forward in any big way. Sometimes. Not always.

The pace was ultra quick, to the point where I wish Smith would have slowed down and really worked her way through the details. It would have been great to see the characters developed further, or some more time injected into certain parts. Things seemed to happen too fast, with one thing happening after the other with no break in between.

Overall, enjoyable in a mediocre way. I'm hoping for a bit more polish in Daughters of Darkness.