Aimee Agresti

It wouldn't be fair to say that I disliked this book, because I didn't. The characters are what got to me more often then not. Agresti's writing shone when describing, in vivid detail, the historical past of the Lexington hotel and the gorgeous outfits the 'Glamazons' wore or the pretty trifles Dante would dress Haven up in. Her attention to detail and ability to invoke a response is undisputed by me.

Her ability to conjure complex or even likeable characters fell flat.

For instance Haven's friend Dante never really breaks out of the mold of 'the gay best friend'--he's not effeminate so much as just very...girly. He likes dressing Haven up and dishing about gossip and looking at the pretty people. Hidden layers he does not have. Don't get me wrong, I've known guys like that--gay or straight for that matter, but Agresti doesn't given him any hidden depths or flaws. Almost a Stepford Wife honestly--he could do hair, clean, go shopping and still have time to chat with his friends at the local shop before going home to make a perfect three course meal.

It got annoying.

Then there's Haven herself. Honestly the predominant need of 'shy, brainy' girls who just need to unleash their hidden beauty is getting tiring. Shy has become the new name for girls (or guys) who are merely not 'socially sophisticated' enough. 'Brainy' is the by word for anyone who has high grades and an interest in something artsy (like photography). And every single girl who is shy and brainy is undoubtedly a diamond in the rough just panting for the chance to be beautiful and noticed. Sorry that isn't how 'shy' works. You don't become insta-prom queen and suddenly get over the fact you dislike crowds, or can't stand obnoxious people or god forbid lose all your common sense.

The other characters are kind of..uber-creepy. Even given the explanation for the uber-creepiness (lost their souls blah blah) they still managed to be a cut above normal creepy. This book also manages to take adult negligence, parental absenteeism and 'grown-ups are bad' tropes to a whole new level.

And lest you think otherwise this is another paranormal Angel book. Though Agresti at least doesn't ram it down our throats as liberally as Jessica Shirvington did in EMBRACE.

In the end I kept reading this book mainly for the lush detail work Agresti put into Haven's photography and the grand past of the hotel and very little else.… (más)

I was a bit uneasy when it turned out that the evil creatures in this book are not vampires (they act a heck of a lot like most fiction vampires, but no, they are not, in this book, vampires.) I was concerned that this book might turn into some sort of Christian 'inspirational' fantasy (a subgenre I have absolutely no interest in). I suppose one could include this in Christian fantasy, but I doubt most of my more devout Christian family members would enjoy this book much. On the flipside, I (an atheist) actually didn't mind the magic and mythology in this book that draws from Christianity and Christian tradition. In fact, I may check out the rest of this series later this month. It was a fun read. The heroine is a bit dense and lacks curiosity, so I was annoyed at her a lot that she was so content to accept things at face value, and that she had so narrow a perspective as to let a crush distract her from figuring out more about how to stop what seems to be a threat to all of mankind. But, I suppose a 16 year old has limited perspective, so it kinda worked.… (más)