BOOK REVIEW: CRAVE by Melissa Darnell

Book:  CRAVE
Author:  Melissa Darnell
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Category: Young Adult Fiction

The Clann: Book I

Forbidden to Love

Doomed to Fail

Savannah Colbert has never known why she’s so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It’s as if he’s a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she’s destined to fail.

For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back… different, and suddenly he can’t stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences…

Bloodlust.    Magic .    Forbidden secrets.

Savannah loves Tristan.  She always has.  But there is one big problem.  He ignores her, and so do the rest of his group, the powerful kids belonging to families in THE CLANN.  It hasn’t always been this way.  Sav and Tristan used to be best friends and more…. but something happened  which Sav never truly understood. 

What she didn’t know was that The Clann members are powerful witches, eternal enemies of Vampires, and that the reason they are told to stay away from Savannah is that she is an anomaly in both their worlds…she is a dhampir, half vampire half witch, a daughter of an incubus father and a witch mother…there has never been one like her and as such, her parents were prevented from teaching her magic or telling her anything about her heritage until one day she gets very sick.  Two weeks later she goes back to school a more beautiful version of herself…and everyone notices…. including the Vampire Council to which her absentee father belongs…. And Tristan.

Tristan is failing in his promise to stay away from Savannah.  It’s not just her beauty.  He has always been drawn to her but much more so now.  His family never told him what she is and thus never understood why he was asked to leave her be.  But he can no longer ignore his attraction to her.  So against all odds, he pursues the one person who can eventually kill him.

Two extreme powers lie within Savannah. The question is, which one will emerge: will she be a vampire who feeds on humans for blood and witches for energy? Or a witch, whose power of fire can destroy vampires? 

I love the fact that the author wrote in both characters’ perspectives.  it gave me a clearer sense of who they are as people.  Tristan is the strong one, a fighter.  And though he tries to be a good son, particularly when it comes to staying away from Sav, he can not fully ignore her nor his feelings for her.    Sav on the other hand is afraid.  Not that she is weak, but it just takes awhile and a lot for her to go against the rules, even if it is what her heart wants.  Two other characters I liked were Tristan’s sister Emily and Sav’s bestfriend Anne.  Unfortunately they were a little more than extras in the storyline but hopefully there will be more of them in the next book. 

This is an interesting twist to the usual vampire-human love story. It is a good read but a bit too long as ¾ into the book the pace slows to give Savannah and Tristan more time to develop as a couple, it felt like it went on too long.  Overall though it is something that paranormal romance lovers shouldn’t miss out.