You're never too busy to read

I found this strange and elusive. I was never sure if I was meant to sympathise with the vampires or not. Even though Tana is determined to remain human despite all the odds against that, she falls for a vampire, so there is that tension all the way through the narrative.

Tana is quite different from the other girls in the book. Many were just fangirls, who want to hang out with the 'Cold Ones'. Others want to be turned. Tana just wants to get back to her family. And she wants to save people. She is brave and selfless. Her journey, although sometimes slow, is worth going on with her because she has such strong values.

This vampire-romance-road-trip story is also sort of a dystopian novel. Tana talks about the end of the world. And we see the lengths that governments go to, to protect the innocents. It's pretty crazy in Tana's world. Black makes salient points too, about some of the issues facing modern society: Reality TV and the making of celebrities comes under scrutiny, as does baring all on the Internet.

I always wonder how Holly Black will manage the impossible of allowing her two romantic leads to find a way to be together because she does such a great job of setting up the obstacles between them. But this resolution is kinda perfect in a perfectly awful way.

I really don't know how to recommend this. I am not even sure she pulls it off. It's dense and slow and complex, and to be honest, a little confusing. But maybe that's your thing?