I'm sorry to say that this book really wasn't for me. I am outside of the YA target range but I do read a lot of YA and middle grade horror and fantasy.
The beginning was a rapid fire with a ton of new characters all at once, it was really hard to keep them straight. The entire first few chapters was just character after character and I found the concentration on the girls' bodies to be troubling. I understand description for description's sake but it was far too much of the "gorgeous physique" or "tiny waist" sort of thing. There really isn't a need in my opinion to include so much focus on body type, especially with so many impressionable young readers.
I found the entire book was filled with a lot of 'fluff' to bulk it out, constant over-use of descriptors and little substance. The dialogue was weak and although the story had potential, it seemed forced.
I'm sure this would appeal to some but I found the writing needed a lot of help here. It read more like an independently published work.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Anything with the supernatural generally makes me happy, and I went into this completely blind. It totally GAVE everything that I was looking for. Dark academia, ancient vampires, & a Dhampir (Half human, half vampire )

The book is mainly about Dillon who for his whole life has lived alone living with his father believing his mother left when he was a baby to protect him. Dillon's father never went into why his mother abandoned them, but always insisted she was doing what was best for Dillon. Now Dillon has turned 18 and his father has told him he is to go to an elite academy for Vampires. Yes Vampires, Dillon is basically thrown into a whole new world and is told he has to learn to embrace the other half of his genealogy.

VAMPS, the elite three year academy for young vampires who are hand picked to be developed into functioning members of society so that vampires can maintain there every day relationship with the human world. Dillon learns very quickly he isn't going to have a lot of fans at VAMPS. Nobody believes his being half vampire is any reason that he may one day be special. But as Dillon progresses through the school year his class mates start to see the potential within him.

I really loved this book and can't wait for the next installment. I don't want to go on anymore because I'll spoil it for other readers and I'd love for others to pick this one up. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC !

My attention was caught when a reader I follow recommended this highly. I was even more intrigued when it was suggested fans of True Blood would like this. I love the Sookie Stackhouse books.

This was an absolute delight, I loved the world building and the unique voices of each character. It's a bit too mature for my high school classroom YA bookshelf, but I wouldn't hesitate to add it to my own shelf. It's a pretty unique plot and I was left turning the pages excitedly. Dillion was absolutely charming and embodied many of the male stereotypes I love in this genre.

I love True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse novels, however, I felt that the vampire eroticism was not there. It's why I felt it was such a shame when we finally did get a sex scene - if it weren't for 3 or 4 pages and some cussing, it would have been a great YA recommendation. Instead, OTHER True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse elements are similar, including a synthetic blood drink. I don't want to spoil VAMPS, but I rolled my eyes hard at the TB/SS twists that were very similar.

Overall, I loved this and I hope we get follow up sequels.

(Oh! I almost forgot but it's been bothering me - where is Bik in the last two chapters? It was weird to have almost all the other characters there for the finale/twist, but not her?)


Thank you again for the ARC! It was an absolute pleasure.

I went into this expecting a classic teen vampire story, it wasn’t amazing and it wasn’t terrible, and that’s just what it was and it was just what I needed right now.
The book was super easy to read, and I flied through it. It was super easy to understand the magic system which made it that much easier to read and the characters were super interesting which made it that much more interesting to read about.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC copy of this book.

Wow this was such an interesting take on vampires!

I'm always a sucker for academy settings, pun intended, and this one did it so good! The characters were all so well developed and interesting as well the world itself was created to be pretty strong. This book held my attention the entire time and I love it!

A con for me though was the POV shifts. They felt very disjointed and sudden, especially in the beginning of the book and it took me a while to realize whose POV we were in sometimes.

Otherwise I loved this and I will definitely be recommending it to my audience.

I loved the book! The plot is twisting and you just want to know where it leads you. O love that the book have multiple characters and different settings. It seems like there is nothing new to write about vampires but it is and this book is proving it. I like that the timing in this book is present day and not thousands years before as most vampires books are.
Thank you so much for such interesting book!

This one was so well done. I loved the story and the main character was perfect. It takes you on a trip and does not release you until the end.

Oo this book i have no words for. as i was reading it i kept thinking of underworld but man it kept me pulled in and on the edge of my sit. couldn't put it down at all. 5 star book and i highly recommend it and i already know a friend who might really like this book. kinda wonder if this book will be turned into a series or not because man i would read more of it. because it kept me pulled into it. I already want to reread this book because it was so good to read

It doesn't matter how many vampire academy books I have read, I always enjoy them. This story had a MC that was half human and vampire. Easily underestimated. There's mystery and drama and some romance of course. I enjoyed this story.

For those who reminisce on the days of Twilight and Sky High but are looking for a more mature approach to those storylines – this is the book for you! Nicole Arend paints a brilliantly fascinating world in which vampires are trained at an elite academy where they learn to control their bloodthirst as well as explore a variety of their ‘special talents’.
I chose this ARC from Netgalley thinking it would be a perfect read during spooky season for a person with a busy college schedule. Boy, was I right. While this book is not winning any awards for flowery writing or groundbreaking commentary that shake the genre, it was light, fun, and along the lines of a trashy romance pallet cleanser.
The story centers on Dillon as he makes his way through the vampire world being a half-vampire, half-human, or dhamphir. As Dillon attempts to adjust to his fangs and strange sleeping arrangements, he finds himself thrown into a whirl of vampire power struggles, ancient grudges, and competitions which could take him out of the vampire world forever. The cast of characters around Dillon is equally complex (that is to say halfway between 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional) – opening up the door for every character’s actions to be significant in the deadly occurrences at the academy. This book delivers everything you would want from a vampire story - bloodlust, intrigue, spectacular (and descriptive) battle scenes, trashy romance, and places it within a modern academia setting where friendships are made, hearts are broken, and in typical vampire fashion… some throats are ripped out.
Arend does a great job taking the gothic tales we know and love and translating them into a modern era while still holding onto the classic idea of what makes a vampire. Vamps was a thrilling and cheesy romance read that transports you out of the mundane and to a fantastical world of lies, love, and betrayal in the Swiss Alps. I would definitely recommend this book and certainly will be both buying myself a published copy to re-read and reading the next one.
*** While I received a free ARC of this from NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions given in this review are 100% honest. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC***

Many thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley, who provided me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is for people who enjoy cold settings, large casts of characters, and lots of messy relationship drama.

This book is NOT for people who enjoy the monomyth and like their vampires scary.

I was extremely excited to pick up VAMPS: Fresh Blood. I love vampires. I love magical schools. It seemed like it was going to be a perfect match, but alas.

In chapter one, I got delightfully confused between Zambonis and snow mobiles. This was to be the happiest I felt reading this book.

After a very abrupt introduction to a very large cast of characters, we’re dropped into a world that we – and our protagonist Dillon – know absolutely nothing about. This won’t be a problem for all readers. I also couldn’t stand Gideon the Ninth, so if you enjoyed that one, this book might be a hit for you.

The characters themselves are vaguely drawn – little more than names and nationalities. The main character Dillon is Irish, and it comes up a lot, but the deepest the book gets into his identity is a few “Jaysus” and “fecks” to remind us that he is, in fact, speaking with an Irish accent.

Oh and the characters are all absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Who needs detailed descriptions when you know that? This said, if you read more for the plot of a novel than the characters, you might like this one more than I did.

I was also extremely bothered by the representation of misogyny in this world. We’re told early on that there is no homophobia in vampiric society. However, there is no shortage of misogyny, with a lot of weird possessiveness and jealousy within one of the main m/f couples. The main character – who is a man – at one point gleefully listens to the female principal explain to a female classmate there is no misogyny at the school, because… there’s female principal. This is followed nearly immediately by the gym coach making misogynistic remarks that the main character doesn’t spare a second thought.

Netgalley has this book classed as YA, but in my opinion, it doesn’t feel like YA at all. All the characters are eighteen or older, and there’s a lot of sexual content. Normally, this would be a plus for me, especially in a vampire book. But there’s so much telling and so little showing. You can tell me something is erotic a thousand times, but if it’s weirdly sanitized and deeply unsexy, I’m still not going to be fooled.

All in all: not for me. Not a bit.

On a final note, if I read about another character “groping for the right word” ever again, it will be too soon.

I've been looking for a fun, sexy replacement for that other vampire school book series and I think I've found it.

Not the greatest thing I've ever read in YA paranormal, but boy was I entertained. The mix of teens from around the world was a nice touch.

Definitely for the older side of YA as the sexiness hits another level. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Vamps: Fresh Blood
by Nicole Arend
YA Paranormal Vampires
NetGalley ARC

VAMPS is an elite academy for teenage vampires, groomed to be the best, who come from wealthy and powerful families. But Dillon isn't one of the best, he is only half vampire and half human, and has no wealth. Now he has to become more vampire than human if he wants to finish his first year, but after his first taste of blood, that vampire part of him starts to show more power than expected.

First impression: Harry Potter, but with vampires instead of wizards.

I was only ten pages in when I vowed to stay away from any book that takes place within a school, focusing on rich teenage school brats, who are perfect in every way. Perfect hair, face, and bodies with ten-pack abs. Even the ugly/plain poor kid becomes perfect as he embraces his inner vampire. I am so over these types of books.

Ignoring that typical overly done teenage genre, this wasn't that bad of a story. It wasn't an overly complicated read, and the descriptions weren't overly done, except when describing how perfect these kids were. *eye roll. Yeah, I know they're vampires and vampires are supposed to be perfect. But the descriptions were bordering...

The plot, while typical, had a few interesting turns, and I will admit, I guessed wrong.

If only the author hadn't been so detailed in describing these kids. With the language and sexual situations, it's only suitable for readers over sixteen.

2 Stars

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Atria Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Creepy, eerie, thrilling and terrifyingly entertaining.

I chose this book thinking it sounded pretty good, but it was more enjoyable than just "pretty good"; I loved it!

There are loads of characters dumped together in the beginning, but somehow they were mostly pretty easy to keep track of. The mystery of who Dillon's mother is, and later mysteries that crop up, kept me on my toes. What really had me hooked, though, was just the overall story of this boy finding out he's half-vampire and then being forced to adapt to the vampire world among vampire peers. There's some pretty realistic representation of teenage romance and struggles, alongside some maybe less realistic depictions (like how the majority of the new students pair up romantically right from the start).

The loyalty and dedication and support shown by some characters late in the book was really admirable and had me teary-eyed. I became really invested in their lives, and to see noble interactions and deep friendship was really touching. There were some impressively compassionate episodes between characters who weren't fond of each other, too, which made my heart swell.

I was beyond relieved to have a book of this type written with a male main character. The female leads are overly saturated in modern books, as are the snarky, chip-on-their-shoulder attitudes, so this one was refreshing in that Dillon actually possesses some self-awareness and humility.

The writing is clear and efficient, no flowery prose filling up the pages unnecessarily. The story itself is engaging without needing fancy descriptions to draw in the reader. I was hooked for most of the book, and appreciated the straightforward language that didn't distract me from or make vague what was going on in the story.

I would love to listen to an audiobook reading of this, with all the various accents of the characters.

There's quite a bit of "oh wow, he can do this other incredible thing better than everyone, much like the other exceptional talent he showed yesterday!", which was a turn-off. It was cheesy. I accepted it, though, in view of the overall entertainment of the story.

The language and sex in this make it not feel YA to me. I'd classify it more NA for content, but YA only in the fact that it's dealing with 18-year-olds and a coming-of-age story.

This book reminded me a lot of Vampire Academy, but I didn't like VAMPS: Fresh Blood as much as the other series. While I liked the idea of this book, I wasn't a massive fan of the writing and the overall execution. It was difficult to get into initially and took me a while to finish. Also, I know this book is marketed as YA, but some of the scenes in it were a bit spicy, so it feels like NA would be a better fit audience-wise?

Overall, I'd give it 3 stars. I liked parts of it, but it felt like it was lacking in some parts.

A big thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book!

Thank you for allowing me to review this book.
Normally anything vampire related is right up my alley. This book however was a bit too risky to be a young adult book and lacked substance. I had a really hard time getting into it but I really did try. I couldn't figure out who was who because there were so many characters all introduced fairly quickly.

Dillon finds out that he is a Dhampir, part human, part vampire and he is expected to attend an exclusive school for the vampire elite. As he was raised by his mortal father and never having met his vampire mother, this is news for him. While at VAMPS he has to learn everything his peers have known from birth while also ensuring he doesn't get sucked dry. He learns he is at a higher risk not only due to him being part human, but because his blood is special.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which I found very surprising as it is definitely Harry Potter but for vampires. I found a lot of parallels between not only Harry Potter and VAMPs but Crave as well. All of the other students are introduced very quickly at the very beginning and this does lead to some confusion due to how fast those introductions were. I found myself going back to the first chapter to remember what each character looked like more often than I normally would for those books where you are reminded of characters features throughout. While I did see the twist coming, it was still enjoyable and delivered well. I would absolutely read the next installment in a heartbeat.

All in all though there were opportunities throughout the book, it was a fun read that whisked me away to the mountains with the students of VAMPS.

Thank you for the arc, NetGalley. This review is wholly my own.

This is a story about a vampire academy. Sound familiar?

Easy to follow, but too a little too sexy for a YA novel.

The title alone pretty much kills the book.

My main review is that it is just not a good book overall and I would not recommend to anyone.

Think Vampire Academy meets Harry Potter. It was definitely a book that gave off more YA vibes than any New Adult vibes, which is totally fine, because of the story line I actually think it as better off as a more YA type novel! It was a quick read and one I didn't think too much about as I was getting close to the end of it. The characters were funny, dramatic at times but overall fun to read.

There were definitely some spicier moments within the book that made it feel like it should be for an older audience but also not really because the rest of the content is less mature? It definitely followed the formula of Vampire Academy, Crave, and any vampire books I've read in the past, but nonetheless it was a fun read. Definitely geared to the younger generations!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC copy of this booK!