by P.C. Cast (Goodreads Author), Kristin Cast, Kent Dalian , Joëlle Jones , Karl Kerschl
Date Read: 8/7/2013
Rating: ★ ★ ★
This probably leans more toward 3.5 stars.
So I have not read a single House of Night book. So maybe it was weird starting a graphic novel off without knowing what the series is about. But this book did a pretty good job of flashbacks and recaps that even though I didn’t know anything, I still knew what was going on. So I was really happy with that.
I also really liked the Vampyre world that was set up in this story. Of course, I really only got a glimpse of it in this short graphic novel, but it actually made me want to start reading this book series. So that’s saying something. I had tried to stay away from this series because there are so many books, but maybe I’ll pick up the first and see what it’s like.
Being a big Avatar the Last Airbender fan, I enjoy when magic revolves around the elements. Of course, their use of the elements is different than in Avatar, but I still liked the fact that each vampyre is gifted with a different element…except in Zoey’s case, where she is gifted with them all. (I’m still a little fuzzy on why that is…) I like that the vampyres are more than just blood sucking evildoers. That actually the vampyres weren’t meant to be killer beasts. And I enjoyed how the sun affected them. It wasn’t the usual burn the skin and die thing. It made them sick, like the flu. Now, she was still wearing jeans and a long sleeved hoodie, so maybe I don’t know all the details on how the sun affects them, but I liked it. I thought it was different and unique…and much better than just being sparkly!
I also really liked the history and myths that were mixed in with the story. How the authors translated their story with myths and history. The story of Boudicca’s Daughters was sooo disturbing! I hated reading it. But I actually really liked how it ended and explained how the Dark Daughters were created. I think Circe and Cleopatra’s stories were my favorite. I thought they were mixed with the myth really well, and of course those are stories I was already familiar with.
Even though I thought the book did a decent job with giving me all the details I needed to know to understand, I did feel like I was missing things. But it wasn’t anything major, I just wasn’t completely clear on everything that was happening. There was a lot going on in this book. She was dealing with becoming the leader of the Dark Daughters, learning lessons, dealing with Aphrodite, and dealing with an ex-boyfriend. Kind of felt like a little too much going on, and so I felt like some details might have been left out.
I actually really like the illustrations. There were a lot of sharp lines, but I think that worked well with the characters of the story being vampyres. And I thought the illustrator did a really good job with handling all the flashbacks. I was always able to tell what was a flashback and what was really happening now.
The book has a bit of sex and intimacy. So if you don’t want your younger daughter reading this, fare warning. And there is a rape scene which is very disturbing. But vampyres have always had sex appeal. So I don’t think this graphic novel was too over the top. I think they handled the sex and rape scenes in the illustrations pretty well. Nothing was too graphic.
Overall I thought this was a pretty good graphic novel. And it’s made me want to pick up the first House of Night book. So I think it did its job. I suggest that if you’re thinking about picking up the House of Night books, give this a quick read to see if you enjoy the world and characters. That way you don’t waste your time on an entire novel if it’s not your cup of tea.
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