I do love me some paranormal YA books. I was very excited to read Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff, which is the start to her new Watchers series. It rocked and I’m definitely looking forward to the next book, Vampires Kiss.
When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she’s whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. To survive and become a Watcher, Annelise has to beat out every other girl, but she’s determined to do so, because to fail doesn’t mean dishonor-it means death.
I really like Annalise (aka Drew). She is this quirky, nerdy teen girl. Think Bella Swan as far as the quirky mannerisms, but um, Drew is sooo much better. She isn’t whiny, in fact quite the opposite. I think she is what we all wished Bella would’ve been. Strong, independent, but still has that naive quality (despite her hard childhood with an abusive father and evil stepmother) that a teenage girl should have. Drew starts out as this girl who is just desperate to leave her past. So desperate that when she gets to college (a semester early) and finds out some stupid issue with her diploma occurred, she takes off with this super sexy stranger, Ronan. He whisks her away to this school…where everything Drew thought about life gets changed. Drew really has to toughen up and you see her transform from this girl who isn’t quite confident in herself yet, to really digging in and begin to be sure of herself, and kicking ass.
There is a huge spark between Drew and Ronan. We see a lot of Ronan, but I don’t yet feel I really know much about him. He’s kind of mysterious and has that “swoon” factor that comes with that dark mystery. I’m really rooting for him to actually become Drew’s love interest.
Isle of Night was pretty fast paced. Even though it’s nearly 300 pages, it shouldn’t take you too terribly long to get through. Ms. Wolff does a good job of weaving in that ever important world building into the plot. I will say that there were times I found myself skimming and not feeling like I really missed much, action-wise, but that’s just how I tend to read. I do not think the world-building for this series is anywhere near complete. There’s so much still to learn. Why aren’t girls allowed to become vampires, why do they only protect them (no boys do this job). How are the boys chosen? Like I said, lots still to learn and I’m looking forward to learning all about this world Ms. Wolff has created and to see what mischief Drew finds herself in once…well, I can’t really tell you that since it’d give away the ending ;). I will tell you it involves a centuries old vampire who knew all about Drew and was the one who sent Ronan to find her and watch out for her during her first year at school. For you YA lovers, you definately need to add Isle of Night to your list!
Read Order:
Isle of Night
Vampire’s Kiss (March 2012)
Other Reviews: Books, brains and brilliance, Book Bowl, Scooper Speaks, The Story Sirens, Book Exhibitionism
It’s amazing how different tastes sometimes are. I really like your review and agree with MANY things, but Drew.. Oh Drew, why couldn’t I like her more? *g
So true. I’m really curious!
Patricia, those differing tastes are what make it fun to talk with others about :). I could see where a person wouldn’t like Drew. She’s still really really young and well, naive (to put it mildly) at times. Tries to rely too much on her IQ and not always listen to her gut or others when she needs to.
It sounds as if though you’ll continue the series…I do stand by my statements of there is SO much MORE to learn! :)