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Review: Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

>>Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Title: Drink, Slay, Love
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 385
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publication Date: September 13th, 2011
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Rating: B+

Summary:
From Goodreads: Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?


Why did I read this book? I thought the premise sounded like this could be a fun, different kind of vampire book then what's out there right now. I've also read this author before and have enjoyed her work!

Source: Review copy from author

My Review
There are many things that attracted me to Drink, Slay, Love. The cover is really nice and gives off the light, amusing feel of the story. Then I read the synopsis and found it perfectly clever that this story is about a vampire named Pearl who is stabbed by a were-unicorn's horn, and starts to develop tendancies that would suggest a soul. I wasn't disappointed with this either, once the scene came around: "Despite the thick shadows by the dumpsters, he sparkled like a horse-shaped disco ball. His traditional spiral horn beamed like a toy light saber." (p. 8) I found myself reading with a smirk on my face because Durst references so many well-known vampire tropes. I really liked that things were poked fun at and it made the story more enjoyable, that it wasn't just following a tread, but commenting on it.

While the humor and wit of the story is what really grabbed me, I found that what sustained me throughout was the universal nature of Pearl's growth. Yes, she's a vampire but her whole situation is what most young adults are going through (and even some adults). She finds she different from everyone and her parents are pressuring her to be one thing, to follow the family's path. On the other hand, the human friends she makes are pulling her the other way. It's her story of self-discovery and trying to find a place in the world.

What I also really liked about Pearl is that she didn't just get stabbed and "changed" by a were-unicorn's magic, it was a catalyst to her change, but instead of making her life change for her, it just spurred her into thinking about it. She really struggles with how to live her life, whether to suck the life out of people or to do something else. She doesn't exactly welcome the were-unicorns intervention, either.

Rating: B+
In a world where there are so many vampire books, I found this one to be rather refreshing. I loved the humor and the personal growth of the main character, Pearl. Along the way there's action, some romance (but it doesn't dominate) and overall I found it to be a smart story. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light, entertaining read.

1 comment:

  1. Great review! I just adored this story for reasons you listed...wit, growth, and self-discovery. :)

    ReplyDelete

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