Velvet by Temple West
Published: May 12, 2015
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Summary:
Equal parts steamy and funny, with a few genuinely creepy moments, this paranormal romance has everything -- compelling characters, plenty of witty banter, and a romance that just might be to die for.
After losing both her parents before age 17, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before she accidentally attracted the attention of a demon. Then, she learns that her hot, bad-boy neighbor, Adrian -- who might have just saved her life -- is actually a half-demon vampire.
Suddenly, Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart?
Temple West’s debut novel Velvet is a sexy, delightful romance chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads.
Review:
I know what you’re thinking. Paranormal romance with vampires? The genre doesn’t exactly have a good reputation and the characters tend to have a problematic streak. Plus this book screams TWILIGHT but it’s not what you think, I promise!
Not your normal vampire. The vampires are a mix between a vampire and incubus/succubus. An incubus is a demon that feeds off of sexual energy but in this case draws energy from any strong feelings. Adrian, however, also needs blood because his body is not able to produce it. Though they soak up feelings, Adrian’s family isn’t exactly the most friendly people. There’s a rule that vampires can’t get connected to humans (no friends or relationships) resulting in a family that doesn’t know how to love each other because they never learned kindness. Adrian is different. He learns compassion and loyalty from books like Harry Potter and vows to teach his little brother, Lucian, the concept of love. I watched as Adrian’s influence turns Lucian into a smiley child who honestly stole my heart. Lucian’s the sweetest little thing ever.
Science! Adrian is a science nerd. He goes on a rant about how why vampires need blood on a molecular level. He talks about hemoglobins and oxygen bonding. He explains the science behind vampire healing with his supernatural platelets. Adrian tutors Caitlin on water properties while scaling a library using harnesses (Yes that happened. Flying in a huge library). It was the most interesting EVER. My inner AP Biology nerd was crying with happiness. Would I ever need to use vampire science in my life? No, probably not. But it was SO awesome for West to include it in the book because I was soaking it up.
Wonderful side characters. Caitlin’s girl friends at school have lives. It’s not something you see often in books. This one girl was explored so much that I thought she had an angle for the entire book because I wasn’t used to side characters getting attention. I really appreciated her friends.
Perfect pacing = BFFs before romance. There’s no rush in this book. It spans out for half a year allowing us to slowly fall in love with Adrian as Caitlin did. There’s no INSTA-anything in this book. The two spends more time in the book as best friends than a couple. They are so silly and their banter made me laugh a ton. I aspire to have a friendship like these two one day. Caitlin spends the beginning of the book thinking that Adrian is gay which is why the “I know what you are” scene is as hilarious as you would think. All this together is why when Caitlin realizes she’s in love with Adrian, it was perfect.
What I didn’t like:
Since the book was inspired by Twilight, there are some similarities. It is more noticeable in the beginning which puts some people off. But I promise you, once Adrian explains the problem with his demon father, thus becoming Caitlin’s bodyguard, his brooding act ends and the hilarity begins.
There is angst. It’s understandable though because Caitlin’s mother died just days before the book starts, but she’s really angry. Angry enough to lash out at people and refuse to be grateful. This ends eventually but be aware it’s hard to connect to Caitlin in the beginning.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Velvet is exciting, funny, and everything I wish the paranormal romance genre to be. I hope anyone who reads this book enjoys it as much as I did!
Warm regards,
Diana Banana
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