Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Jessica Rules The Dark Side Review


Author: Beth Fantaskey
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Pages: 309 (ARC)
Publisher: Harcourt
Most Appropriate For Ages: 12+
Where I Got It: For review through tour site
Other titles in series: Jessica's Guide To Dating on the Dark Side
The highly anticipated sequel to Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. 

It’s one thing to find out you’re a vampire princess. It’s a whole other thing to actually rule. Newly married Jessica Packwood is having a hard enough time feeling regal with her husband, Lucius, at her side. But when evidence in the murder of a powerful elder points to Lucius, sending him into solitary confinement, Jessica is suddenly on her own. Determined to clear her husband’s name, Jessica launches into a full-scale investigation, but hallucinations and nightmares of betrayal keep getting in her way. Jessica knows that with no blood to drink, Lucius’s time is running out. Can she figure out who the real killer is—and whom she can trust—before it’s too late?
3 years after reading Jessica's Guide To Dating on The Dark Side, and I still look back fondly about it. That says something about Fantaskey's debut, so I was excited to read the sequel (and get my Lucius-fix).

As I started to read Jessica Rules the Dark Side, I realized that I'd need to read the story of Lucius and Jessica's wedding before I read on. I also wished there was more recap about the end of book 1--I mean, by the time it'll be published, it will have been about 4 years since Jessica's Guide was released, and it was 3 years since I'd read it.

Sadly, I was rather annoyed by Jessica. Jessica (or Antanasia as she's mainly called in this installment) is pretty annoyingly whiny and naive through a good deal of Jessica Rules, but trust me when I say that it's worth wading through to see her overall transformation.

Even though Jess and Lucius's relationship is--thankfully--rock-solid throughout the book, there's still a new romance brewing between Raneiro and Mindy. I loved learning about Raneiro a lot, and thought Mindy was a surpirsingly bright and fun character, but I didn't love their relationship. It felt strained and unhealthy to me.

I can't say I liked Jessica Rules as much as I remember liking Jessica's Guide. I predicted the villains from the very beginning, didn't like one of the relationships, and thought the pacing was a bit off. BUT this was still a fun read, and I still completely love Lucius A LOT, and those who loved the angst in the first installment will also find plenty of angst here.

Book Report:
Plot: Exciting, but the end was predictable and the pacing was off.
Characters: Jessica can be annoying, BUT Lucius, Raneiro, and Mindy were awesome throughout.
Writing: Light and easy to read.
Ending: I'm going to guess that there's a third book? Maybe?
Kid friendly? There's mentions of sex, and maybe some very mild language.
Should I read it? Fans of Jessica's Guide shouldn't be too disappointed!
Overall:

3 comments:

  1. You have a fabulous blog! I’m an author and illustrator and I made some awards to give to fellow bloggers whose sites I enjoy. It’s not a pass on award. This is just for you to keep. I want to award you with one of my homemade awards: Powerful Woman Writer Award for all the hard work you do!

    Go to http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com/p/awards.html and pick up your award.
    ~Deirdra

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  2. Great review! Like you, I loved Jessica's Guide and am really looking forward to this release. I'm sad Jessica is a bit annoying in this one but Lucius always makes up for it. He's oh-so-devilish and I'll never forget how they met!

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  3. I was hoping that this one would be absolutely amazing, but even if it's predictable, I think I'd still like to find out what happens to Jessica. Thanks for the review!

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