Book Review: Almost to Die For

By Sandy Amazeen Aug 4, 2010, 3:23 GMT

Twilight meets The Princess Diaries in the new series from the author of Honeymoon of the Dead On her sixteenth birthday, Anastasija Parker learns that her so-called deadbeat dad is actually a vampire king. And he wants Ana to assume her rightful position at his side, in spite of the fact that she has witch\'s blood running through her veins-from her mother\'s side. Too bad witches and ...more

Hallaway throws her expertise into the popular teen vampire genre with an original twist that adds witches and vampire servitude to the mix. Just prior to her sixteenth birthday, Anastasija Parker faces initiation into the Coven, a challenge she just knows is going to go badly. Despite being the daughter of a powerful witch, Ana knows her limits; she can sense magic but has no real ability to wield it. Ana’s father showing up at the house came as a complete surprise but that paled in comparison to what she saw her mother do to him. That was only the first of a series of revelations as Ana finds herself in the middle of a war between vampires and witches, a war that puts her at odds with Nikolai, a boy she secret crush on. Unfortunately, as the son of a witch and vampire hunter, Nikolai cannot decide if he should stake Ana or kiss her senseless. To make matters worse, Ana’s best friend Bea has had romantic designs on Nikolai for ages and failing to pass the initiation rite only adds to the friction. Somehow, Ana must find a balance in her personal life while preventing a war between two paranormal factions that have no love for each other.

Fast moving, filled with fun, self-depreciating humor, this sparkling teen read features plenty of attitude without overplaying it. The characters are authentic feeling and the inventive storyline makes a refreshing change to the dark, brooding stereotypical vampire read. This is one of the better entries to the overcrowded genre and will leave readers anxious for the next addition to the Vampire Princess series.