Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Review: Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater

Title: Pretty When She Dies
Author: Rhiannon Frater
Series: Book One in the Pretty When She Dies Series
Published: February 12, 2009
Source: Purchased
Genre: YA Paranormal
My Rating: 4 Stars!

Book Description:
Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry...

... in a new, horrific, unimaginable way...

Sating her great hunger, she discovers that she is now a vampire, the bloodthirsty creature of legend. She has no choice but to flee from her old life and travels across Texas. Her new hunger spurs her to leave a wake of death and blood behind her as she struggles with her new nature.

All the while, her creator is watching. He is ancient, he is powerful, and what's worse is that he's a necromancer. He has the power to force the dead to do his bidding. Amaliya realizes she is but a pawn in a twisted game, and her only hope for survival is to seek out one of her own kind.

But if Amaliya finds another vampire, will it mean her salvation... or her death?









Okay so this wasn't exactly that happy go lucky romance that I normally read during this time of the year, nor was this one anywhere near the summer list of must read books I had created in my head, but I think that is exactly why this one was so darn good. It wasn't expected. I hadn't planned on picking it up and honestly, at the time, the only reason that I did was because I was in sort of a slump. I needed something different and not romance related (gasp, I know, I can't believe I just typed that). I needed something darker and something that would completely pull me away and put me in another place and mind set.

This did that and then some. And to ease that nagging voice in my head that demands romance, this even had just enough of the hot stuff to keep her happy and satiated. 

I don't know what my problem is sometimes, I see the glowing reviews and praise and still, I hesitate to pick up a book and try it. I don't know, maybe I fear it won't live up to the hype. Not really sure but either way, we all do it. We buy a book based on a recommendation and then it sits there in our TBR piles and grows dusty and forgotten.

Can I just say, I am so glad I pulled this one out and dusted it off?

This was deliciously dark and called out to me in ways a book hasn't for a while now. It pulled me right out of my book slump and made me forget all about it as I was quickly thrown into the world the author had created.

This isn't a lighthearted easy read. In fact, at times it will make you grimace and maybe even blush but we can't help but be fascinated with it all and be drawn into the story as what happened to Liya slowly unravels and unfolds and her new life begins.

This was so well done. I have read a lot of vamp books in my life and this one truly does stand out, not because anything about it is new necessarily new or unique but because the writing and the story are just that good. 


I will definitely be coming back for more.




35 comments:

  1. Well, what do you know? Vamps are back in :D I'm a great advocate of vamp lit, so all I can say is ... yay!!! I know what you mean about the books we get and then push to one side for no apparent reason... It's a mystery! But I'm sure glad you dusted this one off... I'll be reading it soon!

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    1. They are definitely back with this series. ;)

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  2. I love how dark this series is. So happy you loved it as much as I did. It felt so different from other reads, right? I am always looking for that in my books.

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    1. Definitely and it was exactly what I needed.

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  3. I've been meaning to read this one since it's gotten so much love from practically everyone I know! Somehow, I had a feeling it would be unexpectedly dark. :)

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    1. It was and it was such a nice change! I hope you love it!

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  4. Well, that is a sufficiently creepy cover for sure Ali! Love the sound of it though - and I'm exactly like you, no matter the the hype I sometimes just can't bring myself to pick up certain books until a much later date. So glad this was everything you'd heard it was!!!!

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  5. I'm a little over vampire books these days, but I've heard nothing but amazing things about this author, Ali. I'm like you in that sometimes I can't pick up a book because of all the hype. I might have to dive into this soon.
    Wonderful review, Ali!

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    1. Thanks so much Nick and I was pretty over vamps too until I read this, if that helps. :)

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  6. Oh My! What a cover, yikes. Thanks for the great review Ali, I love Vamp novels and if it can surprise me all for the better. But Oh my that cover, well maybe I'll get the ebook ;)

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    1. LOL! I got the e-book so I wouldn't have to look at the cover. :P

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  7. I'm glad that this one stands out for a vamp book. I don't read too many of those anymore, but I have heard good things about this series. Did they get new covers?

    Great Review!

    Michelle @ Book Briefs

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  8. Hype avoidance is why I don't pick up a lot of books until much later, but usually that kind of helps. Glad you enjoyed this one! I've been wanting to read something of hers for ages, and this sounds really cool!

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    1. It was a really good read and totally unexpected. ;)

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  9. I see this has a new cover. I am a big fan of Frater and I held off reading her for awhile as well. I am glad you took a chance on this one.

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  10. I love it when I pick up a book and it completely surprises me. A little variety in your reads is sometimes just what you need, so it sounds like this is a great choice if I'm looking for something darker!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  11. Good for you! I'm on a slump now. Last week it was just a blogging thing, now I got the rotten reading one! I'm "reading" three books now and none of them are grabbing my attention. *sobs*

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    1. Oh I feel for you, I so hate it when that happens. I hope you can find something soon to read!!

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  12. That's great this one got you out of a slump and you found you really loved it! Hope the second is just as good.

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  13. I'm like you when everyone is raving about a book, I tend to stay away for a long time too. I heard a lot of great things about this author but I haven't read any of her work so I really should try. This one sounds really well done! Great review!

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    1. I hope you do end up giving her a try, great for if you just want something a bit darker and different.

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  14. I have this on my kindle for months and I'm basically the same as you, something was just keeping me from actually picking it up and reading it! Anyway, I'm glad for your review and rating, it reminded me that there was a reason why I one-clicked this and I should definitely read it soon! Awesome review Kindlemom! :)

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    1. Thanks so much Amir, I hope you end up liking it as well.

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  15. Sometimes it great to switch it up and pull something down from that endless tbr shelf. It sounds like this ended up being a darkly deliciously read and brought you out of a reading slump. Yay Ali!

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  16. I love a good vampire book every once in a while. I'm glad this one turned out pretty good. The cover isn't my favorite, but it sounds worth reading!

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    1. It isn't mine either but the story more than made up for it. ;)

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  17. You'v definitely gotten me interested in this one. Great review.

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  18. It seems like everyone who reads this, LOVES it! I'm not sure if I would, I'm not a fan of darker/horror type reads. But maybe one day.

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