My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.
Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.
Which could spell death for us all.
Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.
Amazon Link: Crave (Crave #1)
Author: Tracy Wolff
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Rating: 5/5 stars
The cover invites comparisons to Twilight, and that’s intentional. This reminds me of everything I loved about Twilight (vampires, intensity of a first love, supernatural creatures hiding in plain sight) with none of the problems (toxic masculinity, stalking, Mormonism parallels, etc.) and I really enjoyed it.
I liked how Grace stood up for herself and made sure to tell Jaxon not to control her–and he listened! He actually apologizes for some of his early behavior and makes changes. I liked that there are many kinds of supernatural creatures from the beginning. I loved the humor and how it gently poked fun at the tropes while still delivering a good paranormal romance. There were a lot of over-the-top parodies of Twilight in the early days and this is not one of those. It checked every box I had.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants a cheesy vampire romance without the problematic elements. If you liked Twilight but got turned off by issues that compounded as the series went on, this could be the exact replacement that you want!
***I don’t recommend this book to people who don’t actually like stories written about teen girls and are just looking to criticize them. If you think teen girls/young women are whiny and emotional, read something else.
I’ll keep reading this series to see if it holds up!
Here is the book in my reading journal:
