Review Detail

Jessica Packwood is waiting on the bus for school when she spots him - the mysterious stranger leaning up against a tree with a long, black coat on. The part that bothered her? He was staring at her. Avoiding contact with him by climbing into the school bus, Jessica heads for school with more questions about the stranger - like how he knew her name from her past that no one knew about. Her crazy encounters don't stop there. Suddenly, this guy is everywhere in her life - from being in her class, to talking to her mom, to being invited to her house for supper! How could things get any worse? Finding out that Lucius, the stranger, believes that she is a vampire princess and she has been decreed as his fiance since birth to save their rival clans from war. Oh, and he's a vampire too, obviously. Convinced that the guy is off of his rocker, Jessica goes out of her way to try to avoid him - only to have her own parents turn on her and make her be courteous to him, in and out of school. Throughout the story, Lucius tries to court Jessica, but finds it completely impossible - especially with a farmhand courting her as well and Jessica accepting his advances. Realizing that Jessica was not raised to handle her vampire life, Lucius begins to distance himself from Jessica - only to have Jessica start accepting her heritage. During this time, Lucius figures out some dark secrets of his own family and decides to break their contract of marriage in order to save Jessica's own life. However, he puts his own life in jeopardy. The ball is in Jessica's court - does she continue to live out her normal life, or does she embrace her fate ... even if there is a chance she has lost her vampire fiance?

This story ... was pretty awesome. There are so many cliches in this story ... yet their are also so many original twists to the story, it makes my head spin to keep up with the two. What I love about this story is that you can really see the character development happen right before your eyes with the two main characters, as well as a few others. Jessica actually develops feelings for Lucius over the course of the story, she doesn't just automatically fall in love with him as soon as she sees him or as soon as he shows chivalry. Lucius is hard at first, set on bringing Jessica back to marry her as part of his duty - but her ways charms him into actually feeling something for her. Both characters I find very endearing. The story is told from Jessica's point of view (in 1st person pov), but you get breaks and a peek in Lucius' mind through his letters to his uncle scattered throughout the book. The story was wrapped up really well and everything just seemed to flow seamlessly. My favorite part? Lucius' banter. He reminded me a lot of Stewie Griffin - and that's a very good thing!