'The coldest girl in Coldtown' by Holly Black

Initially I read this book based purely on its cool title (pardon the pun), but it quickly became apparent that a) this is a vampire novel and b) it’s actually pretty original for a genre that has been done to death (again with the puns!).

Tana wakes after a huge house party to discover the grizzly mass murder of her friends; victims of vampires. The only survivors are herself, her ex-boyfriend Aidan and a half-mad, chained-up vampire named Gavriel. Aidan has been bitten, which means he is now infected, or ‘cold’, with the vampire virus and has the choice of suffering horrendously for 8 weeks while he battles the infection, or drink human blood and complete the transformation to vampire. Either way, Tana has no choice but to take Aidan to the nearest Coldtown, where he won’t be a threat to human life. At the last minute, Tana rescues Gavriel too, a mysterious and clearly powerful vampire with his own agenda and a strange attraction to Tana.

What follows is an original take on Vampire Lore, vampire-human interactions, and a playful exploration of our infatuation for vampires in general. Coldtowns are not only ghettos set up to protect the human populace, but havens for vampires and their human groupies, not to mention reality TV for the world outside, with 24-hour live feeds to the eternal and sumptuous parties within.

At this stage, The coldest girl in Coldtown has no planned sequel, and with an ending that leaves some unanswered questions, it will definitely stimulate your imagination for a long time afterwards.

Caitlin @ Balwyn.

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The reformed vampire support group, by Catherine Jinks

The plain fact is, I can't do anything much. That's part of the problem. Vampires are meant to be so glamorous and powerful, but I'm here to inform you that being a vampire is nothing like that. Not one bit. On the contrary, it's like being stuck indoors with the flu watching daytime television, forever and ever.

Vampire books are all the rage these days, but here's one with a difference. Often vampires are portrayed as being some combination of attractive, strong, and rich. Catherine Jinks has turned this on its head.

Nina, the narrator of the story, is 51 years old. But she became a vampire when she was 15. So she still looks 15, and people still treat her like a 15 year old. She can't even learn to drive. Bridget is stuck in her 80s. She has arthritis. Others never learned to drive because cars weren't invented when they became vampires.

They can't get normal jobs. They can't eat normal food. They breed guinea pigs to satisfy their vampire cravings. They get sick constantly and bright lights will make their eyes bleed. Being a vampire is hard. Which is why they have a support group with weekly group therapy.

Things get even worse when one of them is killed. They decide to track down the killer, not for revenge, but to show him what pitiful creatures they are, that they are no threat to anyone. But they stumble onto something far more concerning and far more dangerous.

This is a very different take on the vampire genre and a fun one at that.

Jonathan @Ashburton

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REVIEWbyU - City of bones, by Cassandra Clare

AboutTheBooks reader evi-sami-poo submitted this review via REVIEWbyU.

Book: City of Bones - The Mortal Instruments Book One
Author: Cassandra Clare
Rating: Amazingly good

This gothic romance/adventure series follows the journey of Clary Fray, a teenage artist who has recently discovered the world is a lot bigger than just school, clubs and Manhattan. When Clary is out clubbing with her best friend Simon she witnesses the death of a young man, only to see his body disappear infront of her eyes. A while later she sees the murderer at a bookshop and confronts the elusive Jace about the murder. Confused she runs home to find a demon, similar yet different from the one that Jace allegedly killed staying in her apartment and her mother missing. Readers are enraptured as they follow Clary, Simon, Jace and the siblings Isabelle and Alec from the "Clave" as they search for Clary's mother and her captor, the mysterious Valentine who had supposedly died sixteen years earlier. This story is gothic, romantic, witty, keeps you on the edge of your seat and craving for more. Fans of 'Twilight' by Stephanie Meyer will enjoy this but will find it a different take on the forbidden love.

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The mortal instruments series

Following on from the review of City of bones, this is what one staff member had to say about book 2 in the series, City of ashes:

This one picks up where the last one left off- the difference between the two is that this one is even better! Loved it!

Book 3 in The mortal instrument series, City of glass is due out very soon and is sure to be popular, of course you can head over to the catalogue and reserve it now if you like.

Beyond Twilight

Wondering what to read after being swept off your feet by Edward?
Do you think Stephenie Meyer is a genius but don't know who else writes great teen fiction?
Perhaps you have reserved Twilight but need something to read in the meantime.

Well, here's a list to get you started. They're not all about vampires, but some are (mainly the ones marked "v"). They're not all love stories, but some are. You might not even like them all, but some you will.

So start reading and let us know which ones you like best, or if you've read something else that you would like to recommend to fans of Twilight, let us know in the comments.

Tithe – Holly Black
Valiant – Holly Black
Ironside – Holly Black
House of night series – P. C. Cast (v)
The mortal instruments series – Cassandra Clare (v)
Nick and Norah's infinite playlist – Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Naomi and Ely’s no kiss list – Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Blue Bloods – Melissa De La Cruz (v)
Just Listen – Sarah Dessen
Sunlight and shadow – Cameron Dokey
Vampire beach series – Alex Duval (v)
The Luxe – Anna Godbersen
The goose girl – Shannon Hale
The seer and the sword – Victoria Hanley
Sookie Stackhouse vampire mysteries – Charlaine Harris (v)

The Ghost’s child – Sonya Hartnett
The raging quiet – Sherryl Jordan
Blood and Chocolate – Annette Curtis Klause (v)
Keturah & Lord Death - Martine Leavitt
Boy meets boy – David Levithan
Snow – Tracy Lynn
Sunshine – Robin McKinley (v)
Beauty – Robin McKinley
Rose Daughter – Robin McKinley
Wildwood Dancing – Juliet Marillier
Wicked Lovely – Melissa Marr
Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead (v)
The Host – Stephenie Meyer
The Darkangel trilogy – Meredith Ann Pierce (v)
Just in case – Meg Rosoff
How I live now – Meg Rosoff
Tantalize – Cynthia Leitich Smith (v)
Crown Duel – Sherwood Smith
Scarlet Moon – Debbie Viguie
Peeps – Scott Westerfeld (v)
The last days – Scott Westerfeld (v)
Uglies series – Scott Westerfeld

Graphic novels…..

Vampire knight series – Matsuri Hino (v)
Vampire game series – Judal (v)
Vampire Hunter D series – Hideyuki Kikuchi (v)
Blood relatives – Ellen Schreiber (v)

And watch….

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – dvd (v)
Angel – dvd (v)
Vampire Princess (anime) – dvd (v)