Audiobook Review – Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (Jessica, Book 1) by Beth Fantaskey (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 373 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 18, 2010
ASIN: B003UV91AQ
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Jessica series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“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.”

This is the first book in the Jessica duology and it was an uneven read. I really loved the first half of the book; it was very fun and heartfelt. The second half gets much more serious and just didn’t have the charm of the first part of the book. It almost felt like the book was written by two different people.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was okay. The narrator did a decent job with character voices but I felt like the voice/accent used with Jessica shifted as the book went on. I am not sure if this was intentional or not but I felt like it detracted from the story.

Jessica is your typical American teenage mathlete, when Lucius shows up. Lucius informs her that they are betrothed as part of an ancient vampire pact…of course Jessica doesn’t believe him. Lucius continues to try to convince her, while Jess continues to try to finish up her senior year. However as events unfold Jess realizes the vampire pact may be real and may be very important.

I really loved the first part of this book, it was cute and funny. Lucius’s attitude toward American teenage life is hilarious and Jess is not your normal “swoon over a vamp” type of teen. The scenes between them are very funny. As the book continues though the story gets frustrating. The two refuse to communicate and then things get very dark when Lucius’s family enters the picture. It really felt like the book was written by two different people, the tone changes completely by the end.

I ended up feeling confused by the end of the book. I loved the playful and humorous start, but didn’t enjoy the darker more typical YA paranormal ending.

Overall I loved the first half of this book and was confused by the second half. I don’t plan on continuing the series because of that. This starts as something really fun and intriguing but then fell completely flat.