"Dark Beauty"
by Taryn Browning
Genre: Urban
Fantasy/Vampires
Reading Grade: Young
Adult (short story)
Publishing Type:
self-published
Publication Date: July
23, 2011
Source: the author for
review
Age Rating: 15+ (for
some profanity)
For
fifteen-year-old Seeker, Isabelle Crowe, ridding the Houston streets
of the undead is an inherited duty, passed down from her Cherokee
ancestors. During her first night without her mentor, she encounters
Abram, a more experienced Seeker from Chicago looking to avenge his
cousin's death. Isabelle quickly learns she must work with Abram to
protect her city. With one Seeker already dead, Isabelle's love of
the hunt becomes a fight to survive.
My Review
This is an
unexpectedly entertaining little story. For what little there is to
this very short story, there's plenty of urban fantasy-action and
nefarious vampires trying to do what they do best—kill humans by
feeding off their blood.
The best thing about
this story is the main characters, Isabelle and Abram, who are called
“Seekers,” and their job is to kill vampires before they can kill
humans. Isabelle and Abram appear to be older teenagers, but
apparently they're not. There's no real explanation for why they
never age, and they both have to move around every four years so
people don't start noticing that they look perpetually like they
belong in high school.
I find both of them
very charming and endearing with their abrasive interaction. Abram is
a pretty-boy with a pin-up body who likes to point that out to
Isabelle, but in the cutest, silliest way and always with a smile.
She just rolls her eyes at him, as would anyone, but she can't help
but laugh at him, too. And, she's a tough little girl who wants
nothing more than to prove she doesn't need a man to help her kick
some vampire-demon hybrid bootay.
The plot is very
sparse, but it moves incredibly fast and I'm amazed at how well I
understand the characters, despite the concise length. I'd love to
see more of these two Seekers doing things together to get the
friction going between them. They are super adorable when needling
each other, if not outright bickering. Can't wait to read more!
I received this title
from the author in exchange for an honest review.
My score: 4 out of
5 stars.
I've been seeing this one popping up around blogland lately. Looks fun! I tend to avoid short stories, but if you liked it, I might just have to check it out...
ReplyDelete@BJ: Oh, good! I'm sure Taryn would love if you read and reviewed it. It's very much like Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
ReplyDeleteGood character banter is always fun. :) I wonder if it's a prelude for a longer work?
ReplyDelete@Lindsay: I think it might be. The author said she might write more short stories with the characters. I love characters who bicker with each other...
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsay, thank you for your comment. Yes, Dark Beauty is a prelude to my Dark Seeker novel. My agent currently has Dark Seeker for submission to editors. As Catherine said, I am working on the next story in the Dark Beauty series but I can't wait to share the novel it all started with (Dark Seeker). I'd be happy to answer anymore questions. Thanks & best, Taryn :)
ReplyDeleteHi BJ, I'd be happy to send you a review copy of Dark Beauty if interested. The Dark Beauty series is the prequel series to my Dark Seeker novel (going on submission to editors in the near future). Thank you for your comment! Best, Taryn :)
ReplyDelete