Review: Covet by Melissa Darnell

Release Date: 25^th September 2012

Dangerous to be together. Painful to be apart. Savannah Colbert knows she broke up with Tristan Coleman for the right reasons. Most of all, to keep from killing him with her new vampire abilities. But try telling her heart. Now, lost in a sea of hostile Clann faces, Sav tries to come to terms with what she's becoming and what that means for her future. And that someone is doing their best to bully her into making a terrible mistake.
Tristan can't believe Sav won't even talk to him. If being apart is her decision, fine. Just don't expect him to honor it. But even as he prepares to fight for the girl he loves, forces beyond their control take them both in directions neither could have foreseen or prepared for.
A reckoning is coming and not everyone will survive…

There’s something mysteriously compelling about this series, because despite the fact that a lot of the book is taken up with Sav attempting to be a normal teenage girl and her day to day life, it still manages to be pretty riveting.

Crave left us on a bit of a cliff-hanger and I was pretty desperate after that ending to find out what happens next.  Covet takes us straight back in at the action we left in the first book and throws us straight into the deep end with some pretty hard hitting and emotional scenes within the first fifty pages of the book.

Whilst the plot is very good it does takes its time to get going after the initial splurge at the start, and it relies heavily on the characters to be interesting enough to keep your attention during the slower sections. Luckily Covet has two very strong leads and a host of fascinating secondary characters that kept me hooked right the way through.

After the initial set up of Sav and Tristan’s characters in the first book, as well as their romance, it was really interesting to see the two of them work more as individuals and to get to know a bit more of them throughout this book. I love Sav, who is desperately trying to balance the crazy with the normal, the supernatural and the blood lust with school and friends, and my heart really went out to her as she tries to find her centre and balance as well as dealing with all the heartbreak and trauma that is thrown at her throughout.

I love Tristan, and I love that we get to see his point of view as well as Sav’s as it helps to keep the narrative fresh and balanced. It was great to see the two separate narratives gradually weave together. Their romance is not one of the easiest, but it is definitely one of my favourites. It feels real and honest and I love the two of them and the fact that they are separate individuals in their own right, not just smushed into a couple from the start.

It was great to see more of Sav’s dad, I thought that was a fantastic addition to the story as I never really warmed to him in the first book and there was so much more to him than first appeared. I also loved the blossoming friendships and some nice new supernatural additions thrown into the mix to keep everything interesting.

The plot, whilst slow in places, keeps going at a nice pace and builds into a fantastic climax that really leaves you desperate for the third book in the series – Melissa certainly knows how to give the reader a fantastically breathless ending, and I cannot wait now to get my hands on the third book in the series.

All in all I think this sequel more than lives up to the high standard set by the first book and I strongly urge you to go and get your copy if you fancy a fresh twist on the vampire story and some fabulous star crossed romance thrown into the mix. Admittedly the cover does let it down a little, but don’t let that put you off! For fans of Crave this is a must read, and fans of well written young adult supernatural romance, Crave is a fantastic start to a brilliant new series - and Covet is even better!

Review: Crave by Melissa Darnell

Huge thanks to Mira for sending me a copy to review.

Savannah Colbert has never known why she's so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It's as if he's a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she's destined to fail.

For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back…different, and suddenly he can't stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences….

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I went into this book. On the one hand the premise was intriguing and I did like the sound of it. On the other, I’ve kind of had enough of the whole insta-love with vampire’s thing.

The book started off a little slow and I took about fifty pages to get into it, but after that I was hooked. I’m not quite sure what it was that drew me in, but something about the writing and the story and the fact that it takes its time drew me in until I was riveted and desperate to find out what happened next. It was the sort of book love that creeps up on you when you’re least expecting it.

I loved having the two different view-points. It meant that not we got to see how things played out on both sides, and there was no second guessing over the motives and feelings for the two main characters. I was a bit surprised at some of the differences between how Savannah acts and thinks in her parts, as to how she comes across when Tristan is watching her, they felt a bit too extreme in their differences, but on the whole I really liked getting to know the two characters both inside and out.

And the extra bonus was that there wasn’t any insta-love! Such a refreshing change! Tristan and Savannah have known each other since they were children, played together until they were separated and then been forced to ignore the other ever since – with varying degrees of success. Forbidden love is always a good starting point with me, but I loved that we had the foundations of the friendship to start with and the romance was never rushed or forced. They take time to get to know each other, for Savannah to start trusting Tristan when he wants to spend time with her, and like the rest of the book, the romance really takes the time to build up to a fabulous conclusion.

I loved the new twists that Darnell puts on the supernatural – I did feel that we didn’t get to see enough of Savannah’s abilities but I’m very excited to see more of the Clann and to see Savannah come into her own in the next couple of books.

The writing was great, really good characterization and completely engrossing it drew me in and I found myself really desperate to find out what happened next. It was quite a surprise how much it pulled me in – it wasn’t something I was expecting to happen with this book but it’s the mark of really good writing when I don’t want to put a book down and take a break for a while. Once I got into the book I raced through it and didn’t stop until the end.

There were a few things I wasn’t too fussed on. The first being that some of the scenes felt superfluous to the book. There was so much about the book that focused on her being a normal teenager with a regular day to day existence that at times it felt like the supernatural element was being completely ignored. I would have liked to see a bit more of the supernatural being interwoven in the day to day stuff. To start with it is, but after the initial ‘gaze daze’ incident it all turns into high school drama and boyfriends and the supernatural was pushed to one side. I liked both elements of the story I just feel that they could have been expended and interwoven a little better.

The other irritation links in, because it really felt like we learnt next to nothing about Savannah and her abilities. There was so much where it was pushed aside and then brought out at random moments. I wanted to learn more about it and about her, and I wanted to have some more of her abilities introduced because there was so much of her trying to fit in at school as a normal teenager that I wanted to see how she coped with these extra parts of her and fitting in with those.

I also felt that some of the secondary characters were a bit underdeveloped. We had some really great moments with some of savannah’s friends and then barely see them for the majority of the book. I really hope that we get to see more of them in the next book because there were some really great foundations laid for some of the characters and I really hope that they get used.

The final frustration was her sudden complete and utter obsession with dance. At the beginning of the novel she’s completely clumsy and uncoordinated but with her powers come the grace and ability that make her good at dance. Now yes ok, I get that if you suddenly become good at something then you enjoy it more and want to spend more time doing it, but this was suddenly all consuming life or death for her with very little explanation of introduction of the idea to the reader. One minute she wasn’t fussed, the next minute she couldn’t bear to never dance again, and I didn’t feel that that was really explored enough.

However these were relatively minor and on the whole I really loved the book. It drew me in, the writing was good the characters really well constructed and I found both of them interesting and lively enough that I loved seeing everything from both point of views. For a book that I was on the fence about at the start I’ve come out the other side desperate for the second book and to find out what happens to Savannah and Tristan next and where their relationship goes from here. A book that definitely creeps up on you, I highly recommend it for fans of the supernatural who want a bit of a different take on vampires and witches.

Author Q & A with Melissa Darnell

Welcome to day five of the Crave Blog Tour!


Today marks the UK release of the first book 'Crave' in the fantastic new series 'The Clann'. A fantastic blend of the supernatural - vampires, witches and steamy romance, what more could you want?
To celebrate the lovely Melissa has been wonderful enough to answer some questions about her writing, getting published and what we can look forward to in the future...

"What drew you to writing? Was it something you always wanted to do?"

I've been creating stories in my mind ever since I taught myself how to read at the age of 4 (I was too impatient for kindergarden and my family couldn't afford to send me to preschool).  Later I learned how to write, and I've been writing down stories ever since.  There is nothing more thrilling than flying through a rough draft.  Every story I write begins as a movie inside my head.  By the time I finish plotting it all out and am ready to write the rough draft, I can see that movie so clearly, whether my eyes are open or closed, that writing the rough draft is simply an exercise in trying to describe that movie on paper well enough for others to hopefully experience too.

"How did you make that jump from writing for yourself to published author?"

My husband Tim gets all the credit here.  I started off writing stories as a kid just as a hobby, something to do for fun just for myself.  Tim was the one who encouraged me to finally submit one for publication.  I didn't believe my first adult romance novel would even be accepted, but then I received multiple contract offers for it.  That gave me the confidence to write another novel, and then another and another, and eventually to switch over from adult romances to YA romances.

Crave was my first YA novel, and I only submitted it to one publisher (Harlequin Teen).  When the editor turned it down at first with a long explanation of the many revisions it needed, it was my hubby who gave me the courage to make those revisions and resubmit Crave.  The end result was a 3 book deal, and it's all because of him and his unwavering support.  Tristan might be a pretty hot hero, but he'll never be as awesome as the real deal...my husband Tim!

"Do you have any habits or rituals that come with writing? For example music or times of day that are most productive for you?" 

When I write, I like to have a few key things...

-- I prefer to be in a closed room somewhere (part of the inspiration for Savannah's "supersonic" hearing ability is because I've always had extra sensitive ears and even the pressure changes in the air from room to room can distract me!).  I also need to be alone; otherwise I'm tempted to ask anyone who's there to give me feedback on what I've just written!

-- As a former dancer, I've always been nuts about music and really rely on it to help me mentally stay in the right mood for each scene in the story.  So before I begin to write any story's rough draft, I always start by creating a soundtrack specifically for that story.  This is why you'll always find a playlist on my websites for every story of mine that's published.

-- Since I have two young boys and a hubby who all love to be noisy, I listen to that soundtrack (set to loop for hours if necessary) on headphones to further help me focus.

-- While revisions are always done on a laptop, I prefer to write rough drafts longhand using pens and composition notebooks.  I worked for years as an editor, so when I'm on a computer it's hard for me to turn off my internal editor.  Writing longhand subconsciously tells that internal editor to "zip it for awhile already!" so my creative side can come out to play instead.

-- When both writing and revising, I've also been known to call upon the powers of Nacho Cheese Doritos, Crunch N Munch, and my new love of Snapple Peach Tea when flying through a rough draft.  I swear they're superfuel for the brain!

"What have you found to be the most exciting and the most challenging parts of the process?"

The most challenging used to be the revision stage, but now I'm growing to love this process as well.  Now the most challenging part of the process is waiting for each book's publication.  And of course the most exciting is walking into a store and discovering print copies of my books there on the shelves!

"And finally, what are you working on at the moment?"

I'll be working on the Clann Series through at least 2013, but in addition I'm also currently revising a YA magical realism/sci-fi romance called The Source as well as plotting several contemporary YA romances (all of which can be read about at www.melissadarnell.com andwww.TheClannSeries.com as they are completed and contracted).

Thank you for having me here on your blog!  Please feel free to visit my websites at www.TheClannSeries.com and www.melissadarnell.com for updates on the release of each Clann Series book, as well as to listen to each Clann Series book's playlist online, learn more about the Clann and Savannah's race of vampires, as well as to contact me anytime!


A huge thank you to Melissa for sharing with us. And check back later for my review of 'Crave'!