Book Review / Evernight by Claudia Gray

Bianca wants to escape.

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

Published:     10th February 2009
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Author Website:  http://www.claudiagray.com/
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, Evernight
Source:  Bought
Review:   2 out of 5

MY REVIEW  

This was one of those stores that has been on my shelf for absolutely ages.  I have always kept meaning to pick it up but something else came in between me and this series!  One of my goals this year is to read more of what I already own rather than buying and reading new books.  I still buy books but not at the level I have been.  When I made this goal for myself at the beginning of the year, this was one of the series of books that I definitely wanted to get to.  It feels that it has been absolutely ages since I read a vampire book.

What I loved about this story...
What I loved the most was the setting of this story.  I know that there are a lot of paranormal stories that are based on boarding schools and I should be tired of it but I'm still loving it.  For me, there is something mystifying about a boarding school.  Pupils eat, drink, learn and sleep there.  There is literally no escape unless it is a holiday.  With all those people living in such a proximity, it comes as no surprise to me that there should be plenty of secrets hidden beneath closed (and sometimes open) doors.  With this story, there are defiantly a few secrets here and there both with the boarding school and with its temporary residents!  

What I was not fond of with this story...   
Every once and a while a story comes along that you just can't get into.  Not every book is a perfect fit with each and every reader.  Unfortunately, this was one of those stories for me.  I found it hard to connect to the characters and follow their story.  I did finish the book because I was intrigued to find out how the story would go but, for me, I couldn't connect with the characters.  I am definitely intrigued to want to find out what happens next and see if the second book 'sticks to me' better but I am going to put this series down for now to be picked up at another time.  

I don't usually like to end on a negative so I will say that I really did enjoy Claudia Gray's writing style and her world building and I will definitely be looking into other books she has written.  I have on my shelf Fateful by her (which I believe is a Titanic werewolf mix but I could be wrong) which I am very excited to pick up.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Claudia Gray is not my real name. I didn't choose a pseudonym because my real name is unpleasant (it isn't), because I'd always dreamed of calling myself this (I haven't) or even because I'm hiding from the remnants of that international diamond-smuggling cartel I smashed in 2003 (Interpol has taken care of them). In short, I took a pseudonym for no real reason whatsoever. Sometimes this is actually the best reason to do things.

I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.