Book Review: Cat the Vamp

Title: Cat the Vamp
Author: Christina Martine
Published: 2009

Summary: As a child, Catherine Taylor never understood why her parents were so secretive and distant. After the death of her grandmother, Cat's parents take her to a mysterious castle called Blacklune. They explain to her that they, and she, are vampires, part of a hidden community co-existing with humans. Now that she's of age, Cat will be initiated into the community and undergo a period of training in its methods and morals, along with several other vampire students her own age. At Blacklune, Cat meets a young man who had appeared to her in dreams, Morgan. She and Morgan form an instant bond, but success with their vampire lessons doesn't come so easily. Tempted by the lure of blood and the powers they now have, Cat and Morgan push the limits over and over, ignoring the concerns of their classmates and the scolding of their teacher, River. As they become ever more reckless, Cat and Morgan risk going too far. It's only when serious harm comes to someone else that they realize they have to control themselves--and it may be too late.

My Review: Cat the Vamp is definitely darker and edgier than a regular young adult vampire book. If you're tired of goody two-shoes vampires like Edward Cullen, this is the book for you! Because Cat? She's not one to say no to blood, and she definitely doesn't sparkle!

The main character in this book, Catherine, was an interesting person. She acted so adult at times, casually drinking (we're talking both alcohol and blood here) and smoking - just to act like a child the next minute, being in a water and mud fight. You could never tell what she was about to do or how she was going to react! She took the whole vampire thing very easy though, and was soon stuck in a blood addiction that only was getting worse, and soon she was doing anything to get fresh blood - even if it meant hurting people.

After every horrible thing Cat and Morgan did I thought 'this must be the event when they realize what they are doing and come to their senses', but it wasn't. They just kept getting more selfish and "evil". And Cat didn't understand the seriousness and wrongness of her acts, she thought getting a curfew was a harsh punishment for the things she did, because vampires are actually "above and better than normal people", aren't they?

This book was written in 3rd person Omnipresent, and I would probably have like it more if it was written in present tense or 1st person perspective, so I could have gotten closer into Cat's head and understood her feelings and actions better.

If you're looking for a different and more dangerous vampire novel, this book might be for you, but keep in mind that this book contains drinking, smoking, drugs and sex.

Rating: 2.5 of 5

Thanks to By Light Unseen Media for sending me a copy of this book for review purposes.