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.

GENRE: 

Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal

PAGES:

592 pages

PART OF A SERIES?:

First in a New Series

RELEASE DATE: 

April 7th 2020

PUBLISHER:

Entangled Teen

SOURCE:

e-ARC

Please note that I receive most ARCs in exchange for honest reviews but this does not have an effect on the authenticity of the review itself. Reviews on books that have not yet been released are always spoiler free. ARCs may differ from final book!

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GOODREADS SUMMARY: 

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.

MY REVIEW

For quite a few years there, vampire fiction was the hot ticket item. I’m thinking Twilight, Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, Vampire Kisses, House of Night and so on. Young adult fiction became synonymous with vampire fiction because of this and after the initial boom, it died off. Big time. I know that I’ve been avoiding vampire fiction for quite some time, other than keeping up with series I already liked, like Vampire Academy/Bloodlines. But I was really, really sick recently and my go-to when I’m sick is to watch Twilight and I was stuck in bed for so long that I watched the entire saga in a couple of days. Add that in to a trip to Seattle where I’ll be making a day trip to Forks to see it (AGH!) and I’ve been in a full Twilight mood. This book – Crave – kept popping up on my radar so when one of the publicists I work with sent me an e-copy, I was SO excited. I’m in a HUUUUGE slump and I had a feeling that this book was exactly what I needed.

I was exactly right.

This book is the kind of Twilight, dark, romantic, yes a little cheesy but perfect story that I needed at 31 like I needed Twilight when I was 18. It was fun and mysterious and, like Grace, I was completely enamored by Jaxon the moment he appeared on page – it was like meeting Edward Cullen all over again.

Everything that I loved about the early paranormal romances of YA is present in this book. I loved the over the top academy taking place in this crazy, over the top castle in the middle of Alaska of all places. All of the super mysterious and dangerous but also insanely attractive and charming students who all seem to be just way above Grace’s head. The multitude of creatures including vampires, shape shifters, and freaking dragons?

UGH. I loved every bit of it. From the moment that we see Grace arrive in Alaska and take the weirdest snowmobile ride with her cousin Macy through the Alaskan wilderness to the academy, I was absolutely hooked. The characters were all super fun and even though you kind of already knew what was happening, it was the fact that Grace didn’t know that kept you turning the pages. Watching her try to figure out the dynamics of the school and trying to just figure out the undeniably sexy Jaxon was juicy and dark and sexy.

I think that Tracy also just built  a fun world. It is reminiscent of Twilight, yes, but also the first three books of the Mortal Instruments and even Vampire Academy. Its both dark and edgy but also incredibly sweet and pure and I enjoy all of that. I like that its more than just vampires but there are shape shifters, dragons, witches and warlocks and I know that even though they say Grace is nothing, there’s just no way. I love that there’s this obvious hierarchy here and do get to learn more of it as the book goes along but there is just so much more to learn, so much more to explore and I know the series will only get better from here.

Lastly I’ll say that I absolutely loved the romance in this novel. I’m not one for insta-love, I’m really not. I think I’ve gotten too old and cynical for that and what used to make me swoon at 18 just doesn’t quite do it anymore. That being said, the moment that Jaxon and Grace met, I was all in. I needed this romance, the back and forth, the ups and downs, the slow delicious burn. Their romance is the big focal point of the novel and this is what kept me obsessed from page one to the very end.

Now I have to wait for this book to release so then I can wait forever for book two.

I’m really impatient.

RATING:

5 out of 5 Stars

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