Good Morning and Happy Friday!

You made it through the week, congratulations! I hope you’re excited about the weekend.

I’ve got a couple adulting chores to do before heading off to my third writer’s retreat on Monday, but other than that my schedule is wide open, so I plan on getting plenty done with my writing as well as resting and relaxing.

Anywho, back to the meat and potatoes!

I finished another book yesterday, hooray! This time around it was Until Summer Comes Around by Glenn Rolfe.

This read is another buddy read with Iseult Murphy, and when she said the word vampire, I pretty much automatically said yes. I’ve loved vampires since high school, so it doesn’t take much to get me on board.

This review will be my individual opinion, soon to be followed by a buddy read and rant sesh. Let’s jump into it!

Blurb:

When fifteen year old Rocky Zukas meets a mysterious dark-haired girl named November, his world is forever changed. The young couple falls under the spell of summer love, but not everyone approves. November’s brother, Gabriel, is the keeper of the family’s secret, and big brother is always watching, growing more sinister as his bloodlust gets the best of him. Directing his attention to Rocky’s family, Gabriel aims to make sure little sister knows who is in charge. 

GoodReads

The Review:

I give this novel four stars!

This book was a fun nostalgic read. I love vampires and the eighties, so why not have both?

In a nutshell this book is about a young guy named Rocky. He’s never had a girlfriend, and when summer rolls around that’s all he can think about. So when dark-haired, pale November enters his life, he’s mesmerized. There’s something about her that’s just … different. But as people start to go missing in his peaceful tourist-trap town, Rocky begins to fear for his life, November’s, and his family’s. This is going to be one summer he will never forget.

For a vampire-themed novel, this was pretty good.

The characters worked pretty well. Rocky is your average teenage kid. The hormones, the embarrassment from family, wanting to be liked. There’s a lot about him to relate to, and that felt real. To be honest, I didn’t like Rocky all that much at first, but he did grow on me. His POV was good, but not always the most entertaining if you ask me. Sometimes he got a little mopey, and while that’s realistic given his age, I just wasn’t all about it.

Enter Gabriel. He was my favorite at first and a big reason why this book worked. I enjoyed his little jaunts here and there. Definitely a hungry, flawed character, and I liked that he knew what he wanted and went for it. He struck out most vividly.

I also think Julie was written well as his sister.

The writing was simple and easy to read, and there wasn’t too much purple prose going on.

Also, the plot was intriguing. I was worried this was going to be all about the romance, but far from it. The romance does come into play but it doesn’t overpower the plot, and I commend the author for that. There was a good mix of horror, gore, and action throughout, and that’s a big selling point for me. I did think that the climax near the end of the story felt a little underwhelming, but overall I was really pleased with almost everything.

All in all, this was a good solid read, and if you like vampires I think you’ll enjoy this one. Definitely worth a peek!

That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

Have you read this book before? What did you think? Do you have a book recommendation similar to this one? Feel free to share in the comments!

If you’d like to see other reviews of mine, feel free to check out the book review section of my blog or my GoodReads. You can also follow my GoodReads reviews here. There are some great binge-worthy books on there!

Have a great day!

***

Can’t get enough of Jaunts & Haunts?

Subscribe to my newsletter for in-depth updates on my writing, reading, and watching experiences, special deals, and important announcements regarding upcoming publications.

Also, feel free to check me out at the social media links below!

***

Facebook | GoodReads | Tumblr | Instagram