Hybrid
by Angie L. Reed

Published: June 2009
Genre: Romance, Vampires
Paperback: 300 pages
Rating: 4

Inspiration: my R.I.P. challenge and Weekly Zombies (check out the latest zombie reviews and blogosphere finds)

Description from amazon.com: Just when you think you have read and seen it all, something new dawns on the horizon. Julian, Max and Emily open a new door into the unreal, a door that will mesmerize the reader with shocking unexpected twists and turns as a new generation of vampires is revealed.

My thoughts:
In-a-word(s): I am neither good, nor bad, neither angel nor devil, I am a man, I am a vampire.- Michael Romkey. I, Vampire.

Don’t be fooled by the book cover. This is a YA vampire novel. Well sorta. There’s a twist. It’s a story of half human/ half vampire creatures.

Being a YA novel the first half of the book covers all the trials and tribulations of a teen girl fitting into a new school in a small town. Fortunately, the assimilation into the new school goes well. Friends, popularity and a boyfriend come easily for the main character, Emily.

You get brief peeks into Emily’s past which provides a mystery element into the story. But for the most part, the first half of the book puts you into a false sense of security.

The second half of the book picks up with some vampir-ish action. I say "ish" because you don’t get neck biting. However, you get introduced to the whole concept of a Hybrid. This part of the story is what fascinated me.

Oh yeah, there’s also a love triangle. ;-D

Then, it ends with a doozy of cliffhanger. To me, the story has just begun and I look forward to what book 2 has to offer.

Loved the vampire quotes and references that prefaced each chapter. One in particular that was an interesting tidbit was a picture in the intro pages.

The Great Wall of China during the Ming Dynasty, Home of Ursulus, The Original Vampire, 1368-1644 A.D.

Series:
Hybrid
Bloodling

Interview with Angie

Excerpt:

When did you decide to start writing and why?

I decided to write Hybrid after reading Stephanie Meyer’s series Twilight. I was inspired by Renesmee who is half human and half vampire.

And, check out Angie’s site to win a copy of Hybrid during her November giveaway!

Zombie sighting:
Mom thought it was a zombie flick--that is why she rented it.
page 164

Hybrid tells of 16-year-old Emily "Dallas" Reed, who’s family relocated from Texas to West Virginia after the murder of its youngest member, a 4-year-old girl with Down’s Syndrome. Though nervous about attending a new school, Dallas makes friends quickly and even scores a dreamy boyfriend. She’s a likable lead, more confident of her good looks, in a non-manipulative, non-obsessive way, than is typical in the teen television and books I’ve been exposed to. The plot could move along a little more quickly perhaps, but this is the first book in a series, so an excess of exposition is not unreasonable. She doesn’t give too much away, so you are left curious about what will happen as the series develops. I like that Reed is unafraid to develop her own vampire lore, how they live, die, and live again, what their powers and vulnerabilities are and all that. She should also be commended for creating a complicated bad boy whose fuckability leaps off the page. Not that our heroine is necessarily going there yet, but you can bet she’s thinking about it.