My Love Lies Bleeding (The Drake Chronicles) by Alyxandra Harvey

My Love Lies Bleeding is the first in The Drake Chronicle series. It tells the story of Solange, who is the only female vampire ever born, and her best friend Lucy – a human. Solange is approaching her sixteen birthday, and with that her transformation into a vampire. As the only female vampire born, not initiated, Solange is in great danger from all the other vampires, despite the efforts of her family, the Drakes. Her family includes seven sexy brothers, her strong parents and several other relatives. One brother in particular, Nicholas, is the romantic focus of this story for Lucy.

This novel changes perspective between Solange and Lucy, as the danger creeps ever closer and lives are hung in the balance. It is the characters in this novel that make it such a good read. Lucy is just… well, normal. She is funny, slightly weird, with a refreshing personality, and her relationship with Nicholas, Solange and the whole Drake family is brilliant. Solange’s mum is another favourite character of mine, because she is so fierce and dedicated to her family. 

The novel is short and straight to the point; with only 256 pages, the action never stops, and you are thrown into the middle of it from the start. I laughed, nearly cried, wanted to join in with the Drake’s training – it is a quick read that will make you want more.

This novel is a must read for all the fantasy lovers out there. I say fantasy, instead of vampires, because it is such a unique take that it doesn’t compare to the others. The book and series is refreshing. The rest of the series (four books so far, but more on the way) follow different Drake brothers through their adventures, with each one getting more exciting. I personally prefer this first book to the rest, purely because you hear from Lucy’s perspective.

The Lunar Chronicles: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I read this book in a day and a bit. I was hooked! Cinderella is my weakness, so when I heard about this book I had to buy it.

‘Cinder’ is a brilliant transformation, merging the classic Cinderella with a futuristic world. After following Cinderella for so long, I didn’t think the transformation could surprise me as much as it did, and I even found myself wondering how it would end!

The world of ‘Cinder’ is set in the future, where cyborgs and androids live among humans. The story begins with Cinder, a mechanic and cyborg, removing her metal foot in preparation for a new one. This futuristic theme was exciting and a new area to explore, gripping me to the pages.

When the Prince turns up at her market stall, you are introduced to the light conversation between them that will bring a smile to your face. This relationship is one of the many storylines that grows in the novel, parallel to each other and all connected by Cinder, and is the happy part of the novel that all you romantics will look forward to.

For the more fantasy/action lovers out there, there is a deeper side that will keep your eyes glued to the text. There are hints at the beginning that cyborgs – humans with robot-type features – are not highly thought of in the world. Cinder doesn’t want the Prince to know about this part of her, and her stepmother is disgraced by having a cyborg in the house. When Cinder’s kind stepsister gets the plague that has killed thousands of people and threatens the current King, Cinder is volunteered by her stepmother to be a participant in their experiments to find a cure. This should result in the death of Cinder, however a set of circumstances unravel that makes Cinder more important than anyone gives her credit for. The story continues, with a new race being introduced, sections from Kia’s viewpoint as he takes on new responsibilities and deep secrets being discovered.

This novel is much more than another Cinderella transformation, and Marissa has not allowed the fairytale to narrow the depth or restrict her story at all. Cinder is a great heroin with a strong personality, and I can’t wait for the sequel, to get to know her more and see how the story unfolds.