This story starts out to be a standard YA Paranormal novel. It soon develops into more than that, mainly because of its quirky sense of humour, in places involving the main character’s extreme embarrassment at having two other characters — who happen to be boys her age — discussing events which happened in the bathroom where she threw up.

In fact, a lot of the enjoyment of the book involves experiencing the main character’s reactions to the metaphysical events that overtake her, skittering between mature analysis and teenage silliness. Plus, her awareness of the silliness, and her reaction to that. Like, “Why am I noticing how cute he is when there’s a damn vampire chasing us?” The language is pretty realistic as well.

There is also a decent level of repartee between the two main characters, based, as one might expect, on mutual attraction and natural caution, as their relationship develops throughout the story.

The plotline flows logically, and the conflicts pile up in a natural fashion, starting with a magical storm, and adding a classical novel character, then a vampire, then a pack of zombies, then…well, the rest would be telling.

Anyway, the storm and the supernatural conflict build to their inevitable climax and then crash to an ending that should be disappointing but isn’t, because our real interest is in the relationship between the two characters…

…which will continue in the next episode. Because this is not a novel, it’s a serial, and it’s just getting started.

I can’t wait.

(5 / 5)