Vesper

Vesper is a paranormal mystery, told through two very different and alternating points of view. One being a transcribed conversation between two people and the other through Emily's first person narrative. The result should seem confusing and disjointed but instead produces an addicting, heart

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pounding adventure, that had me furiously turning pages. Author Jeff Sampson manages to mix multiple genres effortlessly and still create a strong, and very complex main character.

I really enjoyed this novel from the murder-mystery, to the paranormal twist you may or may not see coming. I won't talk a lot about it because I was honestly surprised by it and I think it adds a great layer to the story if you don't know what's going on. There's also a little romance thrown in to, but its not the main focus of the story, which I found rather refreshing.

I liked the pacing of the novel since it builds up to both its reveals rather nicely. The backstory to both parts was also well done and gets explained with out being confusing or extremely unbelievable. Though as its the first in a series, there are other things that are left a mystery and only briefly touched on.

While I didn't always find Emily the easy character to like, it definitely wasn't a deal breaker for me because it all gets explained later and I continued to routed & sympathized with her. I also really appreciated her bravery, cleverness and determination. She never gives up trying to figure out what's going on with herself or digging into who might have killed the other Emily, even after it becomes very dangerous for her.

Their are some really interesting minor characters that I wish we could have spent more time with. If fact my only real complaint with the novel is how over crowded it was with supporting characters. Many just seemed to be used as filler while other smaller, but actually more important characters got very little development. I'm pretty sure this was actually done intentionally, but I did find it a bit frustrating.

The ending is left very open, I'm not sure I would call it a cliffhanger necessarily but its not all wrapped up either. While that may annoy some people, I found it quite fitting and very true to the narrative that was put in place. I think Vesper is a great start to what I'm sure will continue to be a very interesting and unique series.

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Emily Webb is an average geek that doesn't get into trouble and hides herself from others her age. When things start happening at night that make her break out of her former shy self on the same night another classmate named Emily dies, she can only think she's been haunted by a ghost. But then

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even things don't really add up. She is becoming fearless and changing more and more until all she can think about is finding her mate and finding the person responsible for the murders and near murders in the former quiet town.

Paranormal books are all the rage in the young adult section and this one will find a nice comfortable space between them. This book has a little of everything; mystery, death, romance and the element of surprise of the paranormal involved! I loved the way that Mr. Sampson weaved in the interrogation of the Vesper with the actual story. It added a mysterical (not a word I know) element that kept me turning the pages. I knew she was going to get caught, but had no clue how she got to that point. The book flew along and before I realized it 300 pages had come and gone. There were a few spots that seemed to be too short (the BioTech scene for one) and I hope that the friendship of the two best friends is explained more in the future books, but the element of surprise of the deviant behaviour overshadows some of those minor problems. It is actually titled as Vesper (A Deviants Novel) so I hope it isn't long before the next installment comes. Because like any good author....he left lots of loopholes and a few mysteries left to be solved.

This is marked as middle grade lit and young adult but I would say that it is more suited to those in the middle grades than high school. However, anyone with an appetite for Hyde and Jekyll like books will find this appealing. A couple of scenes with alcohol but the consequences were also added in (both in physical and parental areas).

I liked this book and will give it a 6 out of 7 thumbs up! The cover of this book is another amazingly simple but effective picture!

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This book was great! I loved the how it started with the whole getting interviewed and recorded. Very mysterious and a great hook. From the beginning, the book just filled me with lots of questions. I just kept on reading wanting to know the secrets already.

The plot and the drama in the book was

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good. Emily has been seen as a nobody. Through out most of the book her own classmates would questioned who she was, when she was the changed. As changed Emily, no one could stop her. I like that she was filled with strength, fulfilling her mission. Although I concerned for her as to how she dressed and acted sometimes. Emily's constant change did keep me on my toes. I wanted to know everything that happen when she was changed and of course how she was when she changed back. And I must say, I like the change Emily.

The paranormal stance in this book was good and was one I did not see coming. I thought that maybe Emily was a modern day Jekel and Hyde. But no. She was merely changing in her mind in order to prepare her body. At times I would freak out too. But the way Mr. Sampson wrote this was just WOW! He had me at the edge of my seat with excitement!!! He definitely wrote a book I could not put down.

I like how this book had a lot to do with finding yourself. Although Emily struggled, she prevailed in finding out who she was. I was glad to see her mate wasn't so bad either. The big secret in the end was sort of a surprise. I was expecting it. I'm not sure if there is a next book, but if there is, I will most definitely read it. There are so many unanswered questions.

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Vesper is different from your average YA novel. The tone was closer to your average teen than I've read in most other novels, Emily is a geeky girl that doesn't win the heart of a brooding, mysterious guy despite her... circumstances and the book is written by a guy. That last one may not seem like

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an important factor, but I beg to differ. Reading a YA novel written by a man rather than a woman is like reading a YA novel with a male protagonist rather than a female protagonist. The gender of the protagonist/author changes how the story unfolds.

That being said, here is what I thought about Vesper: the tone was conversational and thoroughly teenage, but bordered on contrived. I can recall several moments in the novel where Sampson's narrative just sounded like Sampson and not like Emily.

The plot of the novel was interesting, but not enthralling. In fact, the end of the novel was a much more exciting than the rest of it. I find myself wondering why Sampson didn't introduce the overarching conflict of his novel (and potential series) earlier in the narrative and if I just wasted my time reading a 300 page prologue to his next book where the real action happens.

A recurring theme I found in Vesper is sloppiness. Sloppiness in Sampson's creation of character (bordering on trite and contrived), and sloppiness in the pacing of the novel and the plot in general (heavily unbalanced towards the end of the story).

I don't know if I am invested enough in Emily Webb's character to continue with the series, because although I generally like Emily, I'm not too thrilled with how she is written.

Overall Grade: C +
Would I read it again? No.
Would I recommend it to others? Yes, if they're not too into the romance element and aren't too picky about the way it's written.

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Jeff Sampson's YA debut novel, Vesper, is seriously a must read. To me, it falls into the genres contemporary, paranormal, and mystery all at once. The book was written through Emily Webb's personal account, which she gives to a mysterious man named F. Savage. I didn't even know what was going with

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Emily until the middle of the book - and I loved the surprise!

Emily Webb is your ordinary 16 year old. She's pretty, but not overly pretty, she's smart, but not a genius, and she's a geek. But here's the thing: lately, she's only geek by day. At night, she changes into a totally different Emily. One that dresses dangerously, and does a whole bunch of dangerous stuff - climbing out her window, sneaking in people's yards, crashing parties... you get the picture. And in the morning, when she goes back to her normal, geeky self, she regrets it.

I would too. And that's what I really liked about Vesper. It had that paranormal-ness to it, yet I could almost always relate to Emily. And what I liked even more about Vesper - Emily Webb totally kicks butt. Sounds awesome to me.

Vesper is a unique twist to a common theme. I recommend it for both boys and girls. So what are you waiting for? I know I'm waiting for the second book :)

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This was one of those books that I chose randomly from my reading pile, devoured in one sitting, then sat there staring at the novel for a while longer.. just thirsting for more. It's kind of like when you watch the season finale of your favorite TV show. They give you an ending, but they leave

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enough unanswered questions to keep you hooked for the next season. That's how this was. I read it, was perfectly satisfied with the ending because it ended at a good spot - but that didn't stop me from going, "Well, what's next? I want to know ... NOW!" I felt like Veruca Salt... I wanted to stomp over to my parents' house and scream, "Daddy, I want the second Deviants novel and I want it now," in a completely horrible fake English accent.

Well played, Sampson.

In all seriousness, I did love this novel. The interrogation transcripts placed between some of the chapters left you guessing about what was happening just as much as Emily's actions kept you guessing. It's a little confusing, but by the end it wraps up nicely. That's the easiest way for an author to win my heart with their novel: keep me guessing until the end! I don't like figuring things out too soon in the book... it makes the novel fall flat for me.

Emily, oh Emily. I loved her willingness to accept her geekdom. She was completely wonderful and all of the pop culture references made me nerd out right along with her throughout the book. Actually, I was probably nerding out a little more. I tend to do that. She was also a strong character and didn't go completely head-over-heels for the romantic interest and spend the rest of book talking about how gloriously perfect he was. This also won me over - have a love interest, but don't make that the whole story! The other characters were pretty spiffy too, though the two characters that caught my eyes the most (Spencer and Amy) didn't take the spotlight as much as I'd like. For the story, you get enough of each character. For the series? I need more. Lots more! ;) And the twists on a certain friendship and romantic interest? My head was spinning because I did NOT see either coming. At all.

Alright, so I'm sure that you've probably figured out that I'm in love with this book. I will sing its praises from the highest mountain tops.. well, if I could. The best way I can do this book justice is to just tell you that if you want a great YA paranormal read, you'll want to pick up this book. This is Jeff's debut novel and he definitely does not disappoint!

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Before I actually start this review and go on the usual format of how I do things, I just want to say one thing. My review of this novel doesn't really do this much justice at all, I have to say. What I imagined to happen in Vesper (something along the lines of Jekyll and Hyde) did not actually

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happen. Nor did the mysterious new guy romance happen either once a new guy actually came. The set up was very different than one would actually imagine.

Although Vesper is unlike a lot of YA novels, unique in it's own way, it is not a perfect book. It's still an engaging read that made me read it and want to turn pages quickly when I woke up really early in the morning. And Vesper was a perfect book for that task.

Like I mentioned above, nothing I really thought was going to happen, ever happened in this book. It took a whole different spin which made me glad. One of those things I didn't actually expect was a certain point involving wolves with what Emily referred to as Nighttime Emily. And when she mentions some pop culture references in one scene, I really felt giddy reading it because I actually knew those things.

The whole set-up for this novel is probably one of the cons I have besides Emily's friend Megan who I thought did not actually act friend-like with her attitude sometimes. Despite enjoying the book and its pop culture references, the book's ending kind of made the book seem like it was just there to make way for the second book. Still, I'm looking forward to the second one though.

In the end, I think you should read it and find your own opinion on what you think about it.

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So when I first received a copy of Vesper in the mail for review, I wasn't sure what I would think about it. I'm mostly into romance and Vesper didn't seem like much of a romance novel, and it wasn't, but I was pleasantly suprised by how much I enjoyed it!

Vesper is pretty much one big flashback and

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this gives the book the feel of a prequel. The whole book is about the main character, Emily, explaining what happened to her when she started to "change". One thing that I really liked about this book was that fact that I was really puzzled as to what was happening to her, what she was turning into, for a good part of the book. I usually find it very easy to identify what supernatural creature is in a book, but I really like how this wasn't so obvious in Vesper.

In Vesper, Emily is just the type of girl who doesn't like to stand out, who likes to spend her free time reading books and watcing horror movies, but then when she suddenly starts becoming a wild party girl and seems to gain super-human abilities as soon as night falls, her whole life changes. She goes from being nearly invisible, to being quite the opposite. When other teenagers who seem to be going through the same things as her end up being either hurt or murdered, Emily chooses not to let herself become the next target and begins trying to track down this killer while trying to seek out the answers to what is going on with her.

I quite liked Emily and found that I could relate to her, at least to the daytime her. Although she made some questionable decisions throughout the book that put her in danger, I liked how she didn't just sit around and let that change happen, but instead she hunted for answers, tried to figure out what was happening to her. I don't like it when characters know that something strange, and possibly dangerous, is happening to them, but don't do anything about it, just let it happen, so I liked the fact that Emily took action.

The plot in Vesper was pretty good, but as I mentioned before, it had the feel of a prequel to it. Jeff Sampson did a really good job keeping us in the dark, keeping us guessing, as to what Emily was turning into for the most part of the book, and I really give props to Jeff Sampson for that because I almost always figure it out as soon as I start reading a book.

As a whole, I enjoyed Vesper much more than I expected to, and would definitly recommend picking it up. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this series and am curious as to what will happen next; the end of this book leaves us with many questions left unanswered!

I hope that you enjoyed my review of Vesper by Jeff Sampson! Thanks for reading!

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'Vesper' has a good idea and nice plot. The description is normally exactly what I like to read. Emily is the main character that goes through unexplained changes that transform her from a shy, unnoticed girl by day to a cool, sexy girl by night. As strange things continue to happen, she realizes

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teenage hormones are the least of her problems. Her best friend Megan has a chip on her shoulder and you get the feeling she has held Emily back socially. There are cute boys in this book, although the kind of "love" tension I like to see in YA books isn't there.

Emily starts out as this awkward girl growing into this sexy and strong being. The author makes the distinction between shy Day Emily and outgoing Night Emily. The idea, I think, is to see her start to take on more of the assertiveness Night Emily displays, but in the time frame presented (a few weeks) I don't buy the transformation. A teenage girl who is as shy as Day Emily is portrayed does not make such a major change as the author writes toward the end. One example is when Emily spontaneously decides to check out a potentially dangerous biogenetic company. I didn't buy it with the time frame given. I felt it was too soon to be that assertive, maybe for book 2?

Emily lost her mother when she was young and is now being raised by her dad, step-mom, and step-sister. Everyone gets along and seems to care for each other. Her dad is preoccupied with a computer game and you can tell the author is setting the stage for him to not really know what Emily is doing most of the time. The step-sister lives at home, goes to college, and is interested in helping Emily become more social. The step-mom is said to be a nice person. In the book, the step-sister seems to know what is going on with Emily, but only when the writer needs her to be. I didn't buy the dad not knowing his daughter was missing so much in the nights or a weekend, or the step-sister not knowing. They knew the first couple of times she did something out of character, so don't you think they would all be watching more closely after that? It seems they were nowhere to be found after a certain point in the story. An example is when Emily and her step-sister go to a party, Emily leaves after acting very much out of character, a friend is shot, and the step-sister and step-mom are out all night looking for her. There was a big scene in the morning where she gets grounded, everyone is upset she worried them, etc. Yet, after this, she gets by with more sneaking out and no one notices? It didn't feel right to me.

Megan has a chip on her shoulder from popular girls a few years ago playing a trick and embarrassing her. She is portrayed a bit of a bully to Emily, making her feel bad if she wants to wear make-up or might like boys. The relationship started out at a normal pace and then as the changes start to make Emily do things like go to parties, dress sexy, flirt with boys, her best friend becomes angry. She begins to blend into the background for me as the book goes on, only to supply an argument, or provide a car for Emily to steal. As the book went on, the friendship felt disjointed and obligatory, rather than like she was a true part of the story.

With these "not buying it" pieces, I would still recommend fans of YA paranormal to read it. It just isn't a book I will have on my personal shelf to keep. Again, the plot and idea are great. I am curious to see where the author wants to take it in the sequel. I think if these "holes" could have been filled, this would have been a very good book. But, as it is, I stand by my issues previously stated that make the book rate lower for me. Always keep in mind, one reader's opinion may not be the same as another reader. I do recommend you give it your try. The things that bothered me, you may not even consider an issue or notice at all.

The writing style is fluid. I was able to read the book in a day and a half. It was not bogged down or hard to get through in the least. I just found myself thinking, " I wish that..." or "That was rushed into.." I would have loved to have been a beta reader on this one, as I think if a few things had been changed, this could have been a five star review for me.

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Emily Webb likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lord of the Rings and reading. She does not go clubbing, she does not believing in wearing clothes that will show off her assets, and she definitely does not have an interest in boys. That all suddenly changes when a girl, whose name is also Emily, turns

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up dead and Emily Webb finds her self flirting with guys and sneaking out of her window for a night on the town. Samson creates an interesting tale about a girl desperate for answers with a paranormal twist.

To be quite honest when I first read this synopsis and decided to buy it, I did not think that there would be any paranormal element in this novel, but there most definitely was. Although it was not what I was expecting, I did enjoy the novel. It was always a surprise to see what "Nighttime/Bad" Emily would do next, and each night Nighttime Emily got more and more ballsy! The plot was paced very well, the action occurs over a week in which the author hints that Emily may not be as human as she assumed she was. Chapter by chapter the audience is given clues as to what is causing this sudden change in Emily until all is revealed and explained. I felt that everything was wrapped up in a neat little package, setting the novel up for its sequel, Havoc.

The characters did what they were supposed to do. Daytime Emily was good, nighttime Emily was bad, and her best friend Megan was just....a pain in the ass to put it bluntly. Megan is one of the girls who tried to be popular back in elementary school, was shunned by a popular girl and has hated the world ever since. I felt that the characters, especially Daytime Emily, could use some more depth. Daytime Emily was able to pick out the flaws and logic behind Megan's actions, but she was never able to sew within herself. I truly believe that there is something more to her than a geeky girl who is content to stay home every weekend to watch bad 80s films. She must have some hidden thoughts that she can share about herself, but we don't get a glimpse into her inner workings. Nighttime Emily was just the opposite, she did rather than thought and was quick to squash out of the voice of Daytime Emily. I understand that the author had a Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing going on, but I wanted characters who were more than just "bad" and "good" even if they were two sides to the same person. The other secondary characters kind of just hang out in the background even though quite a few of them play a very big role in the plot. This book does hint at a love story which is so bare right now that I don't know if I can even come up with the words to comment on it. Basically the love interest is being set up for the second novel.

The writing was spot on. There was never a lull and I was completely captured in the story for the entirety of the novel. The author also throws in a lot of nerdy pop culture references which were entertaining and made me happy that my nerdiness came in handy (by the way, ten points to you Mr. Jeff Samson for the Cowboy Bebop reference). I liked that the perspective switched throughout the novel. The story mainly focused on Emily but every five chapters or so, the writing style would change to a transcription between two people: FS and V1 discussing "vespers" and "deviants."

Vespers was a really fun read and I enjoyed it a lot. The writing was littered with nerd culture references, the characters could have used a little more work, but the plot was enticing regardless of if it was not what I was expecting.

I recommend this for those who love a good paranormal novel, probably those who are fans of the X-Men as well.

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VESPER, by Jeff Sampson, exceeded my expectations in more ways then one. What I thought was going to be a mystery story turned into a supernatural thriller that made me want more (more! more!).

I connected so well with the MC, Emily. She is in one of those 'in between' groups in high school (where I

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comfortable set myself long ago). She has one really great and loyal friend who tells it like it is. The book started off with a bang when Emily mentally transforms into a boy-lusting hottie. I was immediately intrigued and each subsequent day of her changes made my heart pount in anticipation of what she would do next.

Emily is the type of character that I love to read. She is smart, hilarious, and down to earth. By day she is quite introverted, but by night she is wild and crazy. All rational explainations were thrown by the wayside when she changed. One scene with sleeping pills had me litterally laughing out loud. Emily turned all of her strange thoughts completetely rational.

The plot was very unique as well. I enjoyed unraveling the mystery of what was happening to Emily in relation to the shootings that were taking place in her town. Sampson really knows how to reel you into the story and not let go. I am (not so)patiently waiting for the next book and more adventure for Emily and the other 'deviants'.

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Emily Webb is a self-professed geek. She’s perfectly happy not existing at school; hiding behind her glasses and frumpy clothes, occasionally hanging out with her one and only friend, Megan. Emily isn’t interested in boys, mainly because she’s convinced they wouldn’t like her back anyway,

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and is perfectly content hanging out at home watching old horror movies. Or at least, she was. Lately something has come over Emily. It all started the night one of her classmates, “the other Emily” was murdered, shot by a stranger not far from her home. That very night Emily got this sudden urge to dress up in her stepsister’s clothing and climb out of her second-story bedroom window, searching for adventure. Suddenly Emily finds herself living two separate lives: Daytime Emily who is shy and withdrawn and nighttime Emily who dresses provocatively, jumps out of her window and takes no crap from anyone. At first she believes she may be possessed by the other Emily’s spirit, but when she transforms into a wolf, she realizes that what’s happening to her is even more bizarre than being possessed. When another student is shot after a party that Emily attends, she gets a feeling that someone is deliberately hunting down and shooting kids from her school, kids who may be like her, and she could be next.

I’d never heard of this book before, and when I received Havoc, the second book in the series for review, I decided I should probably read the first book. When I read that the book was about werewolves, I was a little hesitant because I’m kind of tired of werewolves. I’m glad I gave the book a chance, though. These werewolves are genetically engineered, giving the tired werewolf tale a fresh spin. I really enjoyed the story. The characters are all engaging, there was a lot of action and it is well-written. I particularly liked the segments interspersed throughout the book where Emily is obviously being interviewed by one of her “makers”, as she relates to him the story of her transformation. It gives the reader insight into the overall plot without weighing it down, or making it too long. While the book leaves a lot of unanswered questions, I’m assuming these will all be answered in future installments. It’s a good read, and I can’t wait to read Havoc.

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Emily Webb prefers wearing baggy clothes to hide her figure, watching Buffy or reading to going to parties, but as we're introduced to her, she's trying to sneak out of her room --only she doesn't know why. It's a call from Emily's best friend Megan Reed, Reedy, that startles her back to reality

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during her sneaking out--a call telling her that Emily Cooke, the 'other' Emily at school has been murdered.

Having a girl murdered just a few streets a way is soon not the strangest (or scariest) thing for Emily W., however. Every night after Emily C's death she finds herself a stronger Emily, no longer needing her glasses, and wanting to sneak out of her house in sexy clothing (borrowed from her stepsister)--all things she'd never have dreamed of doing just days earlier.

Referring to her wilder self as 'Nighttime Emily,' Emily W begins to wonder if she's being possessed by the recently murdered Emily C. As Nighttime Emily puts her in more dangerous situations and more students at her high school are shot, Emily knows she needs to figure out what's happening to her. She also needs to find out why, ever time she's 'Nightime Emily' she goes searching for a boy with a certain scent . . . almost as if she's needs to find them

Vesper is a really unique book. While it is a werewolf book--or the start to a werewolf series, it's a lot more about a girl uncovering what's happening to her and around her than werewolves. In fact, there's not actually a lot of werewolveyness in Vesper at all, but I think it's likely that there will be more in the latter books. This book was more of a mystery with Emily trying to figure out why she was turning into a different person every night, someone so unlike herself and finding a way to manage that new self.

I would have liked to have more of the story to know where this was going but since there's not more of it out just yet I guess I'll just have to wait and see where Vesper, Emily, and the 'Deviants' take things. Vesper's definitely a book that would have me picking up the next book in the series if it was available. If you don't like first books in series that are almost like introductions, I would suggest you wait until, at least, there is a release date for Book 2 in this series.

I did enjoy that Emily wasn't an extreme character. She wasn't the one always getting teased, she wasn't the super popular girl, she wasn't terribly awkward . . . yes, she was a geek who liked her sci-fi stuff and wasn't comfortable with her physical appearance, but she was really just, well, average. She was anybody in that sense.

The transcripts of Emily Webb's interrogations with someone from the Vesper Company being included made things almost suspenseful. You knew something was going to happen to Emily--something worthy of her being questioned about--you just had to get to it. After reading the book and knowing why she was being questioned and what all she uncovered, I'm really looking forward to more in this series and seeing just how things do develop.

This is a book that keeps you reading--not necessarily one that keeps you having to know just exactly what will happen in the next instant, but still one that keeps you reading until the end and I can only see it getting better.

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In this book, Emily Webb started acting a bit weird (trying to jump from her two story WINDOW. Yeah, that's an understatement) and she finds out that Em Cee (Emily Cooke) was killed the same night. She starts getting stomach pains and turns up in her "Night-time Emily"-mode and basically does

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some... stuff (Understatement #2). Cut to about after 5 chapters and you get a recording (using a tape recorder. Weren't they used in the 1960s? You'd think that a company that can make up SPOILERS: werewolves END SPOILER: make up some newer tech...) with an Emily that gave a written account of her part of the story. The story spirals up to big plot twists and ends with a "mate". Em Dub (Emily Webb. Spencer made up the Em Cee and Em Dub nickname) also finds out that BioZenith made them that way (for a company that apparently mixes up with some veggies DNA, that's a really weird name...). She finds out that Em Cee (got murdered. BioZenith worker the killer), Dalton (shot in the head, but survived), and Spencer (alive and not hurt. Least not shot). Her "mate" is Spencer and ends the written account with Em Dub back in school, but meeting some guy named Mr. Savage (he wants to see Em Dub for counseling the death of Em Cee). Written account ends, and Mr. Savage is talking to Em Dub and how he apparently kidnapped the Pack.

This book is really well paced, and Mr. Sampson... actually has some ideas about how to write with a girls' point of view. This isn't a bad thing though, and I'm kinda surprised. Anyways the plot has some unexpected twists, like possession or that thing when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly? You decide! At first, I seriously thought that this was gonna be a "possession" story, and the main character might need to get some holy water or oil or something. Instead she turns into a flippin' werewolf and I'm all like: Where'd THIS come from??? When I actually thought about it, it made sense. Anyways, I thought that the characters could use a bit of depth, like Megan, who at first wanted to be popular, and after a sushi restaurant prank (long, and honestly hurtful story) she came back completely harsh and had NOTHING good except being loyal to her (few) friends. I liked her, but she still needed to lighten up. I also wished that Em Dub argued like a regular person would instead of "folding in on herself", but I guess that's what Night-time Emily's for. All in all, this is a book I'd recommend.

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Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: The pacing of Vesper is a nightmare that will leave readers bored for the first half and overwhelmed for the last, while the story itself never pulls it together.

Opening Sentence: I was halfway out my bedroom window when my cell rang.

The

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Review:

I’m still confused on how this novel’s plot came together, despite having read the sequel right after. As you can tell from the synopsis this is a character driven novel, not a plot driven one, which is why the pacing for the first 150 pages could put you to sleep. I don’t care how shy your heroine is; sneaking out her bedroom window to hard-core party with the cool kids usually isn’t enough to hold anyone’s attention. It takes our heroine a while to figure out Emily’s murder and her own nocturnal habits are connected, but when she does she starts thinking the other Emily’s possessing her.

Emily Webb (our heroine, not the dead one) is so horribly insecure at 16 that I almost couldn’t believe her character. She never leaves her house (except for school), has one best friend, and avoids confrontation like it’s her job. The personality flip that happens after Emily Cooke is shot brings out Nighttime Emily. With a voice in her head convincing her to do things she’d never considered, Emily sneaks out her window to crash parties and uses her sense of smell to judge people. That second part makes sense when you’re reading, actually, because it’s a paranormal. She’s cooler, stronger, faster, and all around better than the clumsy Daytime Emily.

This sounds cool. I expected to like the more confident Nighttime Emily, who I think the author wanted to overshadow Daytime Emily’s insecure self. Except Nighttime Emily turned out to be super boring, because the author never took the “wild child” side of her far enough to be believable. Daytime Emily could almost be a friend, but both sides of her, as well as all the supporting characters, fell flat. The author uses this Daytime/Nighttime adjustment period to set the stage for the actual plot of the novel, but frankly I couldn’t get into the characters enough to care that other kids were getting shot.

Her best friend is quickly convinced that Emily’s nighttime activities mean she’s trying to ditch her. Frankly, if Emily had ditched Maggie I might have enjoyed the book more. As a best friend she was whiny and obnoxious, falling into the stereotypical role of idiot BFF.

I enjoyed the transcript aspects of the book, where we discover a bit about the Vesper Company and what’s happened to Emily. However, the writing where Emily was narrating made her sound like a twelve year old, her insecurities and immaturities distracted me to the point where I couldn’t believe she’d actually take on Vesper with her fellow deviants. There is a tiny romance element, and I loved that it stayed small. I also enjoyed the various paths Vesper opened up for the sequels it’ll have.

Notable Scene:

“Seriously,” he said. “I don’t know who you are, but maybe we can call someone or—”

Rage burned inside me, an inferno in my gut. Lip raised into a sneer, I stood on my tiptoes and got in Mikey’s face. “I go to your school,” I said, jabbing a finger into his chest. “My name is Emily Webb. And you need to get out of my frickin’ way!”

I was angry again, more angry than I’d ever been before. With a cry, I shoved Mikey in his chest.

And he flew.

Pinwheeling his arms like a cartoon character, Mikey tumbled backward from the force of my shove. He smacked against a guy behind him, and both of them fell against a bench near the front door.

FTC Advisory: Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins provided me with a copy of Vesper. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

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Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.

When I started this one, I had no idea what to expect. I kept hearing that it was good from various people, so I thought that I would check it out. But I find that although I liked this one, I wasn't very wow'd by it. It fell a tad bit flat, in

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retrospect.

Emily, our main character is a barrage of different personalities and emotions at any given time. To be completely honest, I have no idea why her personality kept changing. It didn't seem important, and it just added a strange element-- I mean I understand *the spoilerific thing*, but I don't understand the personality changes. It makes no sense! Sometimes she was really shy and mousy, then she would change into like superchick or something. I don't know.

I wish that it didn't all happen so fast, you know? Why couldn't she have been some kind of happy-medium? Anywho, I'm moving on from Emily's character now.

I found some things predictable within the plot, but I could not predict what was up with Emily-- and when I found out it still didn't really make sense! I liked the added mystery element (what is she??), but I just wasn't a huge fan of the outcome.

One thing that I predicted turned out well (so adorable!), but other things just bored me. And the ending was just too open! It actually seemed really incomplete to me.

All in all, Vesper was an interesting read, but I could have liked it a lot more than I did.

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Okay, I am sorry to say, this just wasn't my book. Terrible characters, cliche plot, forced dialogue, and a setting that was totally one dimensional made Vesper a fail. Some paranormal fans may find this an enjoyable read, but I certainly did not.

Throughout the book I felt like we never got to know

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Emily. She is totally flat and... ugh. Also, her friend is a terrible friend. And so is her sister. I seriously cannot think of one character I actually liked. They all seemed dumb and not relatable. The plot was boring and cliche. Nothing at all exciting happened. At all. In truth, my eyes glazed over a couple of times.

The ending, by the way, is no ending at all. I think it is supposed to be a cliffhanger but it just left me feeling confused. Everything is very sudden. I also felt like time was really wierd. Sometimes it felt fast or really slow, or I wasn't sure how many days it had been since one scene. This was sorta annoying.

The paranormal aspect...feels pretty non existent for most of the book. The first half of the book was spent seeing Emily do weird things at night and then she wonders why in the morning. The paranormal aspect isn't added in until later. A little too late for my taste.

The cover by the way, is cool. But, it doesn't really match the story. There are some scenes with a window, just I imagined the windows a lot more modern than what is shown on the cover.

Overall, this book could appeal to paranormal fans, but I would never recommend Vesper to any of my friends. I know some people will disagree with me, but this is how I felt.

1.5/5 Bookcases

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I really enjoyed this book. I think the storyline was a nice change to the books out now that all have the same plot. Emily is a super geeky and reserved teenage girl. She doesn’t try to hang out or befriend anybody because of her best friend Megan. I wasn’t fond of Megan’s character. She’s

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incredibly bitchy when it comes to being friends with the “popular” people because of an experience she had years before. She seriously needs to get over herself. Anyways….. Emily has transformations into “Nighttime” Emily. I like this version of Emily. She has confidence, and is charismatic. She’s also extremely sarcastic which just makes her even more awesome. She’s the kind of girl I could see myself being friends with. This entire novel is told past tense, as Emily is telling her story to an investigator at Vesper Inc. You walk away from this book having more questions than answers, and I love the mystery that’s left to be unraveled.

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Shy, unimpressive teen geek Emily is suddenly dressing provocatively and capable of impressive feats of strength and agility, which is all kind of scary/fun until she grows fur and claws. She also quickly realizes that someone is trying to kill her and others like her as she desperately tries to

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figure out what's going on. Some excellent internal dialogue and Emily is a fun character. Clearly book one of a series, and I'm interested in following up.

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