Review : Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

 Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction. 

First Line : 

The first time I saw him, a heavy, gray fog clung to the cornfields, tails of mist slithering between the dying stalks. 

Jessica Packwood or rather, Antanasia Dragomir gets the biggest surprise of her life when the new kid in town lands up in her house making the most absurd proclamations. He claims to be her fiance and also assumes that she is an heir to the 'vampire throne', sent away to the United States for her protection. Imagine that.

I had no trouble getting into the book. From the very first line, it dragged me headlong into what looked one hell of a ride. The first half, or maybe first one-third of this book, I couldn't stop myself from cracking up every time Lucius opened his mouth to speak. Who knew supercilious Romanian princes could be so wittily sarcastic and so, so amusing? And that was an awesome opening line of his, with all the "You know a writing instrument, yes?" in that patronizing voice I could practically hear.

And then, as I was berating myself for taking over a year to pick this awesome book up just because it had such a cheesy name, it all started going downhill. I quickly tired of the heroine, not being able to connect with her and relate to her actions, but Luc turned out to be as bad. Our Prince Mocking turned to Prince Brooding and what started off as an amusing, engaging read faded into standard high school drama material. Why should there always be annoying blonde cheerleaders and mean jocks in every book in high school?
 
This is somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, probably a 2.5. If I'd to rate this book just on the basis of the first half of the book I'd give it 5 stars! I wish I could give it more just because of the great beginning but the rest was just plain horrible. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but all the teenage drama annoys me bad. Yet, I'm sure when the next book releases I'll be clamoring with the rest of them for a copy. Wish I had a stronger resolve when it came to buying sequels.

There's yet another disappointing book added to the list that's been growing a lot longer this year. Or I've finally given up on vampires.             

The second installment in the series, Jessica Rules The Dark Side, is coming out in January 2012. My common sense tells me I probably should stay away from it but I'd probably end up reading it anyway, unable to stand the fact that there's a book full of Luc's sarcastic comments and wry humor sitting out there without me reading it. 

 It’s one thing to find out you’re a vampire princess. It’s a whole other thing to actually rule. Newly married Jessica Packwood is having a hard enough time feeling regal with her husband, Lucius, at her side. But when evidence in the murder of a powerful elder points to Lucius, sending him into solitary confinement, Jessica is suddenly on her own. Determined to clear her husband’s name, Jessica launches into a full-scale investigation, but hallucinations and nightmares of betrayal keep getting in her way. Jessica knows that with no blood to drink, Lucius’s time is running out. Can she figure out who the real killer is—and whom she can trust—before it’s too late?