Demon in My View [Turtleback]

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.