Today I am privileged to have reviewed Summer Break Blues by J.A Campbell. This is a great Young Adult/Urban Fantasy book. This is the second book in her Clanless series. Be sure to check out my review after the excerpt.
Title: Summer Break Blues
Series: Clanless
Author: J.A. Campbell
Genre: YA, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Format: Ebook
Length: 54000 words
Book Description:
Meg managed to survive her senior year of high school as a vampire, and now she’s looking forward to a relaxing summer with her friends before trying to tackle college. Unfortunately, some unfinished business from the previous year rears its ugly head. Meg is forced to deal with the Sidhe who are distinctly unhappy that she killed one of their kind last winter. Then Ann’s parents vanish while on their annual summer vacation in Maine and it’s up to Meg and the rest of the gang to come to the rescue. Though she is still trying to figure out who and what she has become, Meg feels she and her friends are up to the challenge. That is, until things really start to fall apart.
Excerpt:
I ran, almost flew over the sand. Alexander’s sheer panic drove me to move faster than I ever had before. I didn’t have much time to take in the scene, but he struggled with someone. Not having a better idea, or time to plan, I tackled them. We all tumbled to the ground, and I managed to keep hold of his attacker long enough to get him away from Alexander. We rolled, and I tried to come up on top, but the stranger was strong and pinned me before we even stopped moving.
“Aww, and here I’d thought you brought me dinner.” I had a brief impression of black eyes and gleaming fangs before he grabbed my shoulders and lifted me up, then slammed me back into the sand.
Pain lanced through my head. I groaned and tried to fight back, but before I’d even formulated a plan, the assailant’s weight was gone. Alexander cried out again.
“Damn it, why do I have to keep saving you!” I jumped up and plowed into them again. This time I dug claws into his ribcage and jerked him away. I thought I had a good grip, but he twisted free. The smell of blood was overpowering. Some of it was Alexander’s, but much of it was my opponent’s. He backed up, still smiling at me. He didn’t look at all concerned I’d just buried claws into his ribcage. He wasn’t much taller than me, and his dark hair and almond eyes made me think he was Asian. But the fangs he bared were all Vampire.
Terror lanced through me, making me weak. I wanted to run. The fear I’d felt when I’d faced the Unseelie last winter was nothing compared to my fear now. Vampires were real monsters, and I was certain I was about to die.
“Well, you do have a little bite to you.” His smile wasn’t friendly. He wasn’t much bigger than me, but he was a lot faster, and I lost sight of him until he stood right in front of me.
“But you’re young. And dumb. I told you to be more careful.”
I tried to block his next move, but he caught my arm and twisted me around, trapping me against his chest. I felt strangely exposed and panic turned my limbs,
and my brain, to jelly. I shrieked and tried to pull away.
The Vampire laughed.
“Meg!”
“Run! Get out of here!” I thought that’s what I said, but in my panicked state I could have been shouting the periodic table. I kicked backward, and my heel connected with the Vampire’s shin. His grip never loosened.
Duck!
I wasn’t sure if I actually heard the words or not, but they punched through my panicked fog, and I did the best I could. The Vampire still had hold of me so I twisted my face against his blood-covered chest.
Light flared and the Vampire screamed. I pulled away from him, small pinpricks of heat searing along my shoulder and back. He was still yelling as I ran away from him.
Review:
Summer Break Blues is the second book in J.A Campbell’s Clanless series. This was a fantastic short Paranormal Young Adult novel. I unfortunately didn’t read the first book in the series, but I must say that when reading this I didn’t feel like I missed so much that I couldn’t get a handle on the book. I do, however, want to go back and read the first novel. In this book, we start off with the three girls Meg, Ann and Steph graduating high school. While planning on what to do with their summer before college the girls discover that Ann’s parents have not checked in on their scheduled time. After trying numerous ways to get a hold of them Meg, Ann, Steph and Ann’s boyfriend Alexander must travel to Maine to search for Ann’s missing parents. This may seem like just another suspense novel, but there are some added elements to this. Both Meg and Alexander are supernatural creatures. Meg is a vampire and Alexander is part Fae. Meg having been turned without any guidance on how to be a vampire has had to learn what little she can from Alexander. Unfortunately, the underlying theme about Vampires is that no one likes them. Now, compound her feelings of self-hatred for being a vampire and constant control on her impulses so that she will not hurt her friends and it adds an entirely different emotional level to this Young Adult novel. This was a well-written and concise novel that drew me in after the first page. The characters and theme were well-developed. I can definitely see this series crossing over to a New Adult thematic switch. Overall, this was a great novel. I would recommend doing what I didn’t get to do and read the first novel first so that you have a better understanding of the background of the characters. Be sure you pick up this Young Adult novel for a good read!
I’d like to thank FMB Author Promotions for letting me host a spot on this book tour. For more information about Summer Break Blues you can go to Barnes and Noble, Amazon and any other book retailer.
About the Author:
Julie writes fantasy novels. When she’s not out riding her horse, she can usually be found sitting in front of her computer with a cat on her lap and her dog at her side. You can find out more about her and her writing at www.writerjacampbell.com
Thank you so much for having me here! I’m glad you enjoyed my novel.
Julie