Genre: Paranormal YA
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on September 13, 2011
Format: eARC
Pages: 385
Source: Publisher
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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 entrées.
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?
*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Vampires, were-unicorns and prom, oh my!
Pearl is a teenage vampire who’s completely fine with drinking blood, sleeping the day away and enjoying a late night “snack” at night. Hunting has always been a fun sport for Pearl, until the day she becomes prey herself and is staked by a unicorn! Pearl survives the attack and when she shares the details of that night, her vampire family isn’t too sold on her story and blame her attack on vampire hunters, instead of the infamous unicorn she claims to have seen. When she learns she can now walk freely in daylight, Pearl confides in her family again and finds herself immersed in the human world (high school to be exact) in a devious plan to lure humans as a feast for the vampire King of New England. Along with being a day-walker, Pearl soon begins to exhibit emotions for the humans she must lead to the slaughter and starts to question if she’s still the cold hearted killer she claims to be.
This book drew me in with its title, great cover and proved to be just as enticing as it looks to be. Pearl is a fascinating character for her young age. She starts off as a typical rebellious, smart mouthed teenager who also happens to be an emotionless vampire with a thirst for blood. It’s hard to think someone like her is capable of change but as the book progresses you see a softer side of her and she really starts to grow on you. Pearl is a bit of a tortured heroine, torn between who she is and who she learns she can be.
“Staying could destroy her more thoroughly than a stake through the heart ever could.” “She met their smiles with her own until a terrible thought ocurred to her: Oh, crap. I have friends.”
Placing a vampire in high school has been done before but this is no Twilight! Pearl is not the sparkly kind of vampire, she’s sassy and can be a real threat if provoked. I love her confidence and how she stands up for herself and how that influences her friends to do the same. She’s faced with siding with her own or doing the right thing and keeps you turning the pages to find out what choice she’ll make.
Vampires love proms. Look at the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. I mean, don’t look at it, because it’s seriously bad, like in an awesome way, but the climax? Giant vampire attack at prom.”
One of my favorite elements of the story is how Ms. Durst stuck to the dark side of the vampire myth and didn’t try to sweeten it up for a young adult audience. Did I see the were-unicorn coming? No, but it was quite original and worked! DRINK, SLAY, LOVE is a fun trip back to high school and all its drama with a new twist and a lot of flair. You’ll devour this story in one sitting with it’s humor, darkness and irresistible characters. Sara Beth Durst is an author to watch out for!
RtDS Recommends: If you’re a lover of unicorns and vampires in high school who don’t sparkle!
Fun review Lori! I loved this one too. I hadn’t come across unicorns in my para reading before so I just couldn’t pass this one up!
Carmel @ Rabid Reads
I need this! I didn’t end up having time to read it through galley grab! 🙁
I want this book SO bad! It sounds AMAZING! I’ve read a few reviews and each one makes me want it more! So happy to see another good review of it!