Review: Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

Title: Drink, Slay, Love

Author: Sarah Beth Durst

Category: Teen

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Expected Publication: September, 2011

ISBN: 1442423757

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire . . . fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil . . . until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don’t exist), and they’re shocked she survived. They’re even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl’s family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King’s feast—as the entrées.

The only problem? Pearl’s starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she’s definitely dead if she lets down her family. What’s a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

My Thoughts

After Twilight, I literally have given up on vampire stories because it seemed to me that vampires in modern literature have been reduced to merely sparkles and hopeless romance with humans. Aren't humans supposed to be their meals and nothing more beyond that? However, in Sarah Beth Durst's Drink, Slay, Love, I'm glad that vampires' have reprised their classic role of becoming a superior predator of some sort on humans instead of trying hopelessly to seduce and then fall for them. But then there’s another question, adding unicorn to it? Quite a gamble! I had initial doubts but nonetheless, this book blew me away page after page.  

Durst's style of writing was witty and I enjoyed every moment I had with this book. While some bracketed lines present every now and then in each chapter I found rather unimpressive, the flaw wasn’t interrupted and every word was put together nicely. The first scene in this book wasn’t dreary, in fact, I was kept reading because of the continuous suspense and thrill. Durst had composed her story in quite of a perfection that her readers will find it addictive and possible to keep this book down. 

And the unicorn, truthfully, I wasn’t impressed with it at all. I could accept if it was a shape-shifter, werewolf or other mythical creature or perhaps an offspring of a Greek god, but a unicorn to me seemed a bit cheesy. Why would Durst use a unicorn in replacement of other considerable mythical characters? I personally think (and still am) unicorns don’t make good combination with a vampire. Thankfully though, in Drink, Slay, Love it didn’t ruin the whole story and dampened my mood. Evan the unicorn was just as perfect as he is in human form. All characters in this book are strong, especially the Family but my favorite of all was probably Bethany. Her humor and geeky persona captivated my heart, not forget to mention her lively attitude.

Drink, Slay, Love had somehow brought to me a whole new perception on modern young adult paranormal that centered on vampires. It possessed the very essence of classic horror I typically look for in any vampire stories yet, with a twist that caters to teen readers’ appetite. A splendid book, really look forward to its official release!

Target readers and recommendation

Young adult (teens) as well as adults. Those who enjoy vampire stories and anything paranormal and mythical.

Bornean Bookworm rates: 4 stars out of 5!

Pre-order your copy: Amazon  

Notes:

*eARC is courtesy of Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

*Cover taken from Goodreads