Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Review - Insatiable by Meg Cabot



Sick of vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them.

Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die (not that you’re going to believe her; no one ever does).

But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side . . . a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, he already is dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future . . .

If she even has one.

Review: Let me start of by saying if Meg Cabot’s name wasn’t attached to this book I probably wouldn’t have given it a second glance. I’ve been a big Meg Cabot fan for years, reading all the Princess Diaries (even suffering through the last few in the series), most of her young adult titles, and pretty much all of her adult fiction.

I was surprised to see Cabot covering vampire lore, which has become a pretty tired premise over the last few years. (I believe my first thought was, God, not another vampire book. And I like the vampire genre!) Cabot’s take on the Dracula legend has a few surprises, but isn’t anything that will change the vampire genre as you know it. Yet, as always, Cabot creates fun, lively characters that make you forget you’ve heard this story many, many times before. Cabot’s silliness works for the genre that’s become a little stale. Never in my life did I think I’d be reading a vampire novel thinking, It’s Liz Lemon meets Bill Compton. Only Liz Lemon runs a soap opera and Bill Compton is a vampire that actually comes from Transylvania.

Being more of an Eric girl than a member of Team Bill, I found the relationship between Lucien and Meena a bit dry and not all that convincing. But it didn’t matter because the second demon hunter Alaric Wulf (I know, I know, the names are cheese-tastic but it works for Cabot) came onto the scene Lucien kind of ceased to exist to me.

I don’t know if this is the first in a new series for Cabot (still have my fingers crossed for that fourth Heather Wells novel that we’ve been waiting years for), but it certainly seems like there are more to come and as long as it’s chock-full of witty, love you/hate you banter between Meena and Alaric I’ll be sure to keep reading.

Lit Snit Verdict: B

Like I said, Cabot hasn’t revolutionized the vampire genre, but Insatiable is a fun, frothy read that you’ll enjoy if you’ve liked Cabot’s previous work or are a fan of either the chick lit or fantasy genre.

3 comments:

  1. I am currently reading this, vampires are not my thing but I am enjoying Meg's writing.
    It's the love you/hate you banter that always works for me :)

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  2. Exactly! I wasn't blown away by the premise, but Meg Cabot always makes the fantastical and silly work in her favor with good dialogue and likable characters. Meena and Alaric totally sealed it for me. They were adorable!

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