This is definitely more character driven. Charlie and her brother Reg are turned back to mortal beings as punishment for breaking vampire law. As they adjust to mortal life, including having to go to high school, they start to realize that what they've been told about humans may not be what it seems and the plans Charlie has of becoming immortal again may be jeopardized by the friendships she's starting to build.

I am sorry to say, but this was a DNF. I had high hopes from the description, a century years old vampires are expelled and forced to live among the humans of Iowa. Sign me up. But it didn't work as an audiobook. I am not sure of the pace of the story, the narrator, or the story itself. I tried to listen to this book at least 3 times and and never got further then an hour. Maybe if I was reading it, I might enjoy it, but not as an audiobook.

A fresher take on vampire lore, Mere Mortals is a nice change when it comes to teen vampire stories.

I loved this book! The narrator I think did a great job and anyone who likes vampires is gonna love it too.

Do you ever wonder what would happen if a vampire had the opportunity to return to the mortal world? If so, this one is a good one for you! I wasn't sure how I felt in the beginning because it wasn't what I normally expect from a vampire book but as the story developed I ended up really enjoying it.

This is definitely more character driven. Charlie and her brother Reg are turned back to mortal beings as punishment for breaking vampire law. As they adjust to mortal life, including having to go to high school, they start to realize that what they've been told about humans may not be what it seems and the plans Charlie has of becoming immortal again may be jeopardized by the friendships she's starting to build.

The audiobook was great and narrated by one of my favorites. Overall I enjoyed this one and recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, light-hearted, vampire book!
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My first NetGalley audio and I did not love the robotic narration. Really impacted my overall reading experience in a negative way. I had a hard time following the plot simply because I couldn't get over the poor narration.

3.5 out of 5 stars

This audiobook is a voicegalley so I cannot comment on the final audiobook or the narrator's abilities.

I loved the ending of this book as I was not expecting the choices made by Charlie and Reg. I found Charlie quite entitled at the beginning of this book and it was hard not to be annoyed when she talked to her peers and Sal. By the middle of the book, Charlie does start to realize that her words and actions have consequences and that the way she has been treating people needs to change. Overall, an enjoyable read.

The audio was really enjoyable and honestly, I didn't even realize it was a synthetic voice until writing this review. It really brought the story to life.

Mere Mortals is a fun and enjoyable new kind of vampire story. We start with Charlotte aka Charlie and her brother Reg. They have been vampires for over a hundred years but after accidentally almost draining a human to death they are sentenced to be... dun dun dun gasp... HUMAN. Really the worst thing that can happen to a vampire other than being staked.

They are sentenced to life as humans, but the siblings have hope that if they can prove they have learned their lessons that the council will make them vampires again. They immediately start making plans, but in the meantime have to suffer going to school, and are realizing they might not know as much about human life as they first thought. Luckily Reg and Charlie have each other to help them navigate their new reality, and when they make some new friends and maybe begin falling in love they start to question if they want to go back to the way they were before. I loved Reg's and Charlie's relationship, and seeing how they adjust to being human, sometimes with some comical side effects.

When I first started this story I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Charlie, she comes across as self-centered and hostile she really grew on me and became someone I was rooting for. The ending was spectacular, followed by a combination of some happy and sad bits, with a hint of hope for the future. I definitely enjoyed this story and will read more by this author.

This is a really fun, fresh take on vampires in YA. It's an enjoyable little book that I had a blast reading. It felt like a fresh way to approach vampires, was a little comical, and had some twists that I did not see coming.

This was a fun vamp read that didn't take it self to seriously and out Main character comes around to just being your every day human. Over all i had fun listening to this book and would give it a 4 stars

I did enjoy this, but it’s missing that special quality that makes me love a book. Everything was either funny, sweet, or enjoyable, but only just. Nothing to exceed expectations or really draw me into the book. Charlie and her brother Reg are fine, I just didn’t love them as main characters. I would have probably rather have read about Lina and the vampire hunter. That would have been super entertaining. Their love story was quite intriguing, but we didn’t get a whole lot of that.

The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading and enjoying what I was reading. So that’s good and all, this just wasn’t hitting the spot for me. The writing flowed and was smooth. There was nothing that kept me from loving this book in particular, it just didn’t hit the spot for me. So on to the next one!!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Erin Jade Lange for the opportunity to read this book for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Disclaimer: I received this e-audiobook from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Mere Mortals

Author: Erin Jade Lange

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Gay Characters

Recommended For...: young adult readers, paranormal, vampires, fantasy, urban fantasy, romance

Publication Date: September 27, 2022

Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy

Age Relevance: gore, violence, romance, death

Explanation of Above: There is blood gore and physical/weapons violence in this book. There is some romance shown in the book. There is death mentioned and shown in the book.

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 368

Synopsis: Charlie and her brother, Reg, have been vampires for…a very long time. For a century, they enjoyed the glitz and glamour of life as members of the wealthiest vampire clan. But now, after one careless mistake, they’ve been expelled from the vampire community and dumped in the middle of Nowhere, Iowa, to live as mortals.

Suddenly Charlie has to deal with zits, tears, and—worst of all—high school. But things start to change when she and Reg find a group of friends, including the deliciously good-looking Dexter. And though Charlie would give anything to be vampire again, she begins to appreciate some of the new experiences that humanity brings too.

But nothing could make them forget the life they’ve left behind. When they’re offered a second shot at immortality, Charlie is desperate to seize it. It’ll just mean a total betrayal of all her new friends, who will have their minds wiped of their memories of her. She can handle that if it means she can live forever…right?

Review: This book was super surprising to me! I loved how the book was written and I thought the comedic undertone was amazingly well achieved. The book was parts mysterious, but also with a sense of hilarity throughout. The book also surprised me with the ending and, no spoilers, but I think this has been the best vampire book I’ve read in awhile. I loved how the book featured two vampires who are turned to mortal teens and having to deal with a vampire hunter caretaker while they scheme to get back their vampire powers. The book had amazing character development and world building as well.

The only issue I had with the book, and that might have just been me reading it via audiobook, was that it felt a little slow in parts.

Verdict: It was great! Love it!

I love a fresh vampire book. I love that they're mortals. instead of mortals turning vampire. Obsessed with that idea.

Parts of this were fun, but others were, uh, not good. I was not expecting the former vamps to be aged back so dramatically.

I’ve read some vampire books, but I’ve never read a book about vampires becoming mortal, so I thought I’d give this one a read.

Charlotte (Charlie) and her brother Reginald (Reg) have been vampires for a century. But after one careless mistake, they’ve been expelled and dumped into Nowhere, Iowa, to live as mortals. They must deal with high school. But things start to change when they find a group of friends, including good-looking Dexter. When they’re offered a second shot at being vampires, Charlie learns it’ll mean total betrayal of all her new friends, who won’t remember her. Can she handle that if it means living forever?

The concept, as I have said before, was interesting. I couldn’t pick between the two what was my favorite main character, and I liked all the side characters: Sal, Lina, the twins, the heartthrobs to the new mortals…everyone. I didn’t like the elder vampires much, but I guess that was to be expected.

There are only two things I didn’t like about the book: the heartbreaking ending (no spoilers) and the tone of the original audiobook I received. The tone was all wrong, and originally I felt like I wanted to put the book in the pile I reserve for those books that look interesting at first but are not. Once I received a second version of the audiobook, I was better able to stay focused and follow along with it.

This book is not a romance young adult book, but more of a finding yourself one. It does have some romance in it, and the paranormal fantasy is enough to keep readers entertained. So I would still pick this one up for a good fantasy young adult book to read. Hope there’s a sequel to it, to learn more about what happens a year or two later.

I’ve read some vampire books, but I’ve never read a book about vampires becoming mortal, so I thought I’d give this one a read.

Charlotte (Charlie) and her brother Reginald (Reg) have been vampires for a century. But after one careless mistake, they’ve been expelled and dumped into Nowhere, Iowa, to live as mortals. They must deal with high school. But things start to change when they find a group of friends, including good-looking Dexter. When they’re offered a second shot at being vampires, Charlie learns it’ll mean total betrayal of all her new friends, who won’t remember her. Can she handle that if it means living forever?

The concept, as I have said before, was interesting. I couldn’t pick between the two what was my favorite main character, and I liked all the side characters: Sal, Lina, the twins, the heartthrobs to the new mortals…everyone. I didn’t like the elder vampires much, but I guess that was to be expected.

There are only two things I didn’t like about the book: the heartbreaking ending (no spoilers) and the tone of the original audiobook I received. The tone was all wrong, and originally I felt like I wanted to put the book in the pile I reserve for those books that look interesting at first but are not. Once I received a second version of the audiobook, I was better able to stay focused and follow along with it.

This book is not a romance young adult book, but more of a finding yourself one. It does have some romance in it, and the paranormal fantasy is enough to keep readers entertained. So I would still pick this one up for a good fantasy young adult book to read. Hope there’s a sequel to it, to learn more about what happens a year or two later.

I really enjoyed this book! I wonder if there’s gonna be a number 2? I hope there is. This was sooo good.

Warmth, humor, romance, action, and a tender exploration of what it means to be mortal are all the result of the sly premise that two vampires are forced to live as mortals and attend high school as a punishment. Expectations based on teen TV clash with reality in hilarious ways. This is an improbable and shimmering success as a book that explores the poignant, fragile mortality of humans in a fun and teen-friendly way

I got the audio through Netgalley and was excited to read/listen. As you know Vampires are back with a splash.

Two teenage vampires, Charlie and her brother Reg, have been vampires for a century it’s hard to not be so used to it. But when they’re suddenly turned human and thrown into real life school and settings, can they navigate it.

The story progresses a bit slow to begin with than picks up. Charlie was glitz punk glamor to me while Reg was just there lol. It had some comedic undertones that made the story light and enjoyable. Their relationship of siblings made the story also enjoyable.

This one was a bit of a challenge for me. I was gifted the audio in exchange for a review and it was the synthesized version. While this was hard to listen to I did not include that into my rating.

Overall I’ll start by saying this is very very YA. Characters are that deep, very repetitive and hard to really get into. I’m not usually a vampire person to begin with but this was at least different from other ones I’ve read before. I think that this is a super fun read for someone much younger and I’m positive that with a great narrator this will be a joy to listen to. I personally just think I wasn’t the target audience for this.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.