Book Recap: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Cover Inspection:
Don't you just think Lucius is handsome here.
Tall and Handsome.
See the fangs?

SUMMARY (book description based on GoodReads):
The undead can really screw up your senior year ...
Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

BOOK REPORT CARD:

Cover	2.0
Plot	2.5
Writing	2.5
Characters	3.0
Ending	2.5
Overall Rating	2.5 Good! (85% to 88%) * highest rating possible is 4.0

LOCATION/SETTING:
Somewhere in Pennsylvania. Modern times. Jessica's house is located near a barn.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
This is the story of Jessica Packwood. An orphan. Originally from Romania, then adopted by American parents, and brought to the US. Senior high school student. She once thought that she is an ordinary teenager. Little does she know that she is a vampire princess, a daughter of the head of a powerful vampire clan. Then she meets Lucius Vladescu. (By the way, Lucius was feature on a Tuesday Character Once Over in this blog.) A vampire prince. Also an orphan, but instead of being adopted, he was trained by his uncles to be a ruthless killer.

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT:
The book is about the courtship of Jessica and Lucius. You see, a long time ago, there were two powerful vampire clans. And the heads of these clans planned to unite their children, Lucius and Jessica, in marriage so as to unite the vampires in Romania. Then the head dies in a massacre, so the children were left without parents. So, Jessica was adopted by her American parents, and Lucius lived with his uncles. Years passed, and now Lucius wants to marry Jessica to fulfill the pact. The thing is, Jessica thinks Lucius is crazy and does not believe in vampires. So Lucius has to prove to Jessica that vampires exist, and convince Jessica to marry him.

LOVE:
I love the verbal exchange between Jessica and Lucius. I also love how Jessica fell in love with Lucius, despite his vampiric tendencies. You see, Jessica is a very scientific and logical person, and Jessica just can't wrap her mind around the fact that vampires exist. And the sexual tension between the two would make you blush.

NO LOVE:
The part where Lucius reciting the Red Riding Hood rhyme to Jessica. Just weird to me.

FAVORITE CHARACTER:
Lucius Vladescu. A ruthless vampire prince. Handsome. Articulate. Intelligent. Elegant. Sophisticated. Well-read. Hard on the outside, gooey on the inside.

FAVORITE LINE:

"This is eternity, Antanasia," he said, both warning and imploring. "Eternity."

MUSINGS:
This is a light and fast read. I read the book in one sitting, I couldn't put the book down. The first part of the book was full of funny banter between Jessica and Lucius. Really entertaining! The middle part kind of dragged, but picked up when Jessica traveled to Romania with her uncle.

DOODLES:
A novella from the author, The Wedding of Lucius and Jessica

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:
Beth Fantaskey

SIMILAR READS:
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

CONTENT REVIEW:
profanity: mild
violence: moderate
sexual content: mild
mature themes: mild
age recommendation: 13+