Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Summary:
The undead can really screw up your senior year . . .

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with new-found confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

Review:
From the description, I thought this would be another Twilight wannabe, but Fantaskey as put her own spin on the vampire trend. In the middle of rural Pennsylvania, Jessica lives with her adoptive parents and is starting out her senior year. The last thing she suspected was for her past to track her down.

Lucius shows up determined to fulfill the pact his and Jessica's real parents signed--their betrothal to one another. But first he has to convince Jessica that vampires are more than just a myth--that they are real. As much as Jessica tries to deny her birthright and her fanged fiancee, she slowly discovers that there is no avoiding the inevitable. But is it too late? Has she lost Lucius to the dark side and the school's head cheerleader?

Jessica remains determined to win him back and stop their families' clans from going to war. She ditches her role as an average high school student and embraces her position as a vampire princess. Overall, this was a nice twist on the vampire legend. Fantaskey dismisses many of the stereotypes associated with the dark ones and develops her own brand of vampire. She also shows it's not easy being a vampire--especially for a teenager.

Reading Rating:
This is another quick-paced book. If you enjoyed Twilight or like paranormal romance, you will devour this one in a couple of hours.

Twilight Read-Alikes

Okay, I'm starting the sequel to Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. I have to admit I only read the first one because it was suggested to me as a Twilight read-alike. It's not. At least not for me. It's dark and gloomy with an unsatisfying ending, IMHO. I have to admit that the only reason I'm reading this one is that I read the first one, so I have to know what happens whether I like it or not (silly reason--I know). We'll see if I make it through. Sorry for those of you who liked Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange. Maybe this one will change my mind about the series.....

If you really want a Twilight read-alike, I suggest you try The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones. It's the first in a trilogy, which I've all read all three. And they're a good mix of fantasy and romance. Much more to my liking. Currently my library only has the first installment, but I'll be trying to buy the other two as they come out in paperback. In case you want to try and find the other two, the second one is The Lost Queen and the last one is The Sorcerer King.