by Spencer Baum

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I have never read anything by this author before and even though this may not have really made a great impression on me, I am willing to try the next book in this series. I was not thrilled with the characters who were flat and did not really make me like or dislike them. I really was interested in the story based on the blurb but the execution was less than I would have liked to have seen. The majority of the story is spent inside a mansion with the mains looking back at what brought them there. The vampires here are not even remotely cuddly, and there is no type of romance between them and humans, these are soulless creatures.

Jill Wentworth has attended Thorndike Academy since her freshman year and knows a great deal about all of her classmates, both public and private. She also knows a great deal about the immortals who are in power in Washington and which families have the closest ties with them. It’s senior year and her class has only three candidates for coronation because it was planned that way by one family who feels they are more deserving.

Kim Renwick and her family have made it their mission to have as little competition as possible at Homecoming. She is surprised when another girl arrives unexpectedly in black throwing herself into the mix. The race to become the next immortal has begun and Nicky Bloom, the new girl, is determined to win.

There was no real action, a lot of talk, a lot of flashbacks and very little else. This was nothing more than an introduction to the characters and what the coronation is about, or so I hope. I was hard pressed to continue reading and if I had not kept expecting more to happen I would have stopped when nothing interesting had happened at 37%. Read this knowing not to expect much more than kids talking about power and money with a brief appearance by the vampires near the end. Enjoy the history of this world as much as is given.