The Lost Girls: A Vampire Revenge Story / Sonia Hartl / Book Review

The Lost Girls: A Vampire Revenge Story

Blurb

Eternity seemed a lot better before the breakup. Since Elton dumped her, however, things have been looking down for Holly. Perpetually sixteen and still stuck with the bad perm she gave herself the night before she became a vampire, Holly is condemned to an eternity of fast food jobs and gross motels. Even worse, she's stuck following her ex around. He was her maker, after all. That's how it works. Holly is resigned to this miserable existence until she meets Rose and Ida. Rose and Ida were once Elton's girls, too, and just like Holly, Elton left them behind. And he's moved onto a new target now. Spurned by their ex, the lady vampires decide to team up to stop another girl from falling for Elton's eternal trap. What's the best way to get revenge on your vampire ex? By killing him, of course. 

Pros

• Revenge-Fueled Girl Power: A group of vampire girls ganging up on their ex: what a fun concept! It plays with revenge tropes and vampire tropes at the same time. These girls infiltrate Elton's new relationship. They mess up his dates as well as his vampiric plans. They support each other and believe each other even when their dirty ex tries to set a wedge between them. They're fun even when they're set on bloody revenge. 

• High School Infiltration: Elton has returned to the same old school again, and so have his exes. Vampires in high school is fun. It is even more fun when they're returning to the high school where they were students thirty (or more) years ago--and they look exactly the same. It was fun going through the cultural changes, from fashions to new metal detectors, and it was also fun to have the girls point out the things that are the same: the lockers, the trophy cases, the cliques--even some teachers who vaguely recognize these girls who have come back to the hallowed halls of high school again. 

• Creepy Undead: These vampires lose limbs and regrow them. They're stuck in perpetual stasis, bad choices (like once-fashionable hair) following them into their afterlife. They bleed and feel pain but are stronger and faster--and heal quicker--than before. They've got a tenuous grasp on their former lives. Their presence causes ineffable fear in the living. When they decide to kill, the gore is instant. Some of them even tear the living apart for fun. They're gross and creepy and perfectly undead, just as anyone could wish. 

Cons

• Distracting Tense: It wasn't inconsistent but it was awkward nonetheless. For some reason, the use of past tense kept jumping out to me, and it shouldn't be that obvious as a reader. It pulled me from the narrative, and that's a bad thing, obviously. 

• So Much Talking: A much bigger problem than the distracting tense, this book is full to the brim with talking. These vampire gals do more talking than anything else, which is a major problem when the voices of these vampire ladies just don't work. I mean, the vampire from the 1920s shouldn't sound like a contemporary (and petulant) teenager, right? She shouldn't be dropping f-bombs left and right. And most importantly, she should be out doing things--more than just talking about things, at any rate. The tension in this book is low despite what the premise may suggest. There are vampire threats on every page, but they're just threats. Nothing comes to a head because everyone is just too busy talking, talking, talking. They forget to actually do things, you know? 

• Explicit: As a warning, this book comes with a sex scene. Sure, sex happens in YA books. That's nothing new. But readers here should be warned that this isn't the typical fade-to-black sex scene in YA. It's not explained in euphemisms and feelings, either. It's pretty on-the-page. This book isn't the romantic safe-zone many readers have come to expect, which is fine. But is deserves a warning nonetheless.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐

3/10

Those who loved the vampires-in-high-school of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight should fall right into this world of teenage bloodsuckers. Those who appreciated the gory vampire life of Emma McKay's The Farm will love these new undead beasts. 

Details

Publisher: Page Street Kids
Date: September 14, 2021
Series: N/A
Buy It HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.