Author: Sarah Beth Durst (site)
Published: September 13th, 2011 by Margaret K. McElderry
Pages: 320
Buy: Amazon/ Book Depo/ Powell's
Source: GalleyGrab
Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis: Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.
Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.
The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do? (Goodreads)
Review: I didn't realize until I was looking at the author's site (to see if there was going to be a sequel to DSL) that this is not my first book by Durst. Last year I read a wonderful book called Into the Wild about a girl whose mother is a character who escaped from a fairy tale. This is trouble enough, but as the book begins we learn that the fairy tale wants its characters back. Julie has to try and rescue her mom and save the city while trying to keep from getting sucked into one of the fairy tales around her. I loved this book! I think I read it right before I started blogging and never got around to reviewing it. I would love to go on and on here, but my point is this- already a fan of Durst.
Drink, Slay, Love was very different from Into the Wild. However, one of my favorite aspects of Julie's tale was present in Pearl's as well- irreverence. This is a very fun story, a strange mix of scary and silly. The vampires are remorseless, murderous, and evil. Pearl's nonchalant attitude toward violence and the whole people are livestock was somehow funny and casual, although her family leaned more toward terrifying. Even after she begins to change, there is a detachment and moral ambiguity that were amusing. The story moves quickly, there aren't really any lulls. Some of the plot twists were just plain absurd, but it fit in well with the odd/crazy/silly vibe of the story. I liked the characters, but I can't say that I really came to love them. It was a fun ride and I'll definitely pick up whatever Durst puts out next, but I won't be up nights wondering what is going to become of Pearl.
