Review: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (Jessica #1) by Beth Fantaskey

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Title: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (Jessica #1)
Author: Beth Fantaskey
Publisher: Harcourt
Genre: Young Adult: Paranormal Romance, Teen, Young Adult: Romance
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 

The undead can really screw up your senior year ...

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

The first impression I got from this book was how humorous and funny it both sounded and looked. The title itself sounded way more sarcastic than serious. So I wasn't expecting a book with too much plot and depth.

When I picked up the book (finally). It was exactly what I expected until the story got deeper and the plot began to drip with more depth. Some may say that this book was just like all the usual vampire books but for me, it was Dracula with a new twist. A new twist that was captivating enough to keep a reader up all night.

Jessica's confused and distressed when she finds out that she's vampire royalty and has been betrothed to a vampire Prince since birth. You find yourself following Jessica as she walks the road of self-discovery, denial and sometimes anger. I liked Jessica, she was a great character to follow and she was easy to connect with. She had her flaws and I didn't agree to all her decisions but hey! She's not me.

Lucious Vladescu (her counterpart), on the other hand, is brooding, tall, dark, Romanian and 100% vampire. Lucious was the perfect male counterpart, he wasn't lame and annoying like the male protagonists in "certain" vampire romances that I won't mention. He was extremely dark that any reader can tell that he was coming from a harsh and violent background that tailored his good manners and demeanor. I pitied him a few times and definitely wondered what in the world was he thinking when he did certain things in the book. Tsk.

Jessica and Lucious' relationship was realistic. She didn't immediately fall for him even though she found his charm and looks irresistible. They started out hating each other, then friendship and finally, at the very end, they began to realize how strongly they felt about each other. Though I didn't appreciate what happened near the end of the book.

I enjoyed learning how vampires operate in this book. The author writes it up pretty well, even though it was used before. This version of how vampires operate work fits the story so well that I don't see why anyone would complain about it.

Overall, I loved the unique and clean writing style, the snarky and dark characters and finally, the plot that captivates a reader enough to keep them from putting the book down. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and more of Beth Fantaskey's books (especially, Jekel loves Hyde).