Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber

Release Date: 17th May, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 211pgs

The Story

The morbidly monotonous Dullsville has finally become the most exciting place on earth now that Raven is madly in love with her hot vampire boyfriend Alexander, and a crew of vampires has taken residence in Dullsville's old mill. Raven discovers Jagger has plans to open a new club, the Crypt, right here in Dullsville. But is it her dream come true, or her worst nightmare? Raven and Alexander have to figure out what the nefarious vampire has in store for Dullsville's teen and vampire population. Can Raven convince Jagger to make the Crypt the morbidly magnificent dance club it could be? Will it be safe for mortals and vampires alike?

And as Sebastian and Luna's relationship heats up, Raven wonders about her own amorous fate: Will Alexander ever turn her? Does he crave her and does he want to spend eternity together? And what does she really want?

With cryptic secrets and cravings, this eighth installment in the Vampire Kisses series is a romantic and mysterious thrill ride.

The Review

I've been a big fan of Ellen Schreiber's Vampire Kisses series, not because they are epic adventures or because they have vampires in it (yes there's vampires and don't go eye-rolling me!), but because despite the cheesy romance parts . . . they are the kind of books you will always find cute, loveable, and very fast-paced reads that are great for any book fix needs. Especially if you have nothing else to do or read. For me, I loved all of her Vampire Kisses novels so far except this one. Unfortunately. CRYPTIC CRAVINGS was missing something that the other books had . . . a little mystery perhaps. I wanted more action and excitement than the predictable scenes, but I guess having a book with so little pages, you're most likely not going to get much out of them. *sad face*

The main problem with young adult books is the number of them you bring in a series. You have standalones that can sometimes work magic, you have sequels that maybe brilliant for some series and some others that you can absolutely make no sense of, then you have your trilogies that I prefer to read when it comes to YA books . . . and then you have a little too much book series that can go way over the book limit of six and seven and eight books . . . which can make a loveable series turn nasty! Only a couple of stories can getaway with this number. Anyway, I read CRYPTIC CRAVINGS very quickly, almost in one sitting, and I thought it was pretty good for a short read. The only problem for me is: When will the mysterious vampire, Alexander, turn gothic gal Raven into a vampire? I was hoping this would happen in the book . . . but it looks like nothing of the sort WILL ever happen. Sigh. But maybe I'll be proved wrong when another VK book is published.

I can't review this book too much on here - since it's a short one and if I talk about it right now then it would spoilery so I'll save you from that - but if you loved all of the Ellen Schreiber's Vampire Kisses books, then I can guarantee that you too will love this one too. While it's fast-paced and has all of the characters that you love and adore from the previous installments, I found CRYPTIC CRAVINGS not as exciting nor as interesting as the other books. Mind you, another book is coming out next year - Stormy Nights. So, I hope that one will offer me some happiness in the future.

The Rating

3/5 stars

Note: Don't you just love the cover?! I've seen the original but I love this photo!