57) American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout

The Blurb -

Buried in the Heartland is a town that no one enters or leaves. Graf McDonald somehow becomes its first visitor in more than five years…and he was only looking for a good party. Unfortunately, Penance, Ohio, is not that place. And after having been isolated for so long, they do not like strangers at all.

Jessa's the only one to even remotely trust him, and she's desperate for the kind of protection that only a vampire like Graf can provide. Supplies are low, the locals are ornery for a sacrifice and there's a monster more powerful than Graf lurking in the woods. New men are hard to come by in this lonesome town, and this handsome stranger might be Jessa's only hope for salvation.

Even if she has to die first…

My Review -

I really enjoyed Jennifer Armintrout's Blood Ties series and I have been eagerly awaiting something new from her. Yes I know she had a Fae series out but Fae just aren't my cup of tea. I want vampires, weres, demons or ghosts and in American Vampire I hoped my wait had ended. It had but not in the way I expected. I have to admit that I didn't really read the blurb and had no idea what to expect from this new release. I read this purely because of the name and title on the cover. It wasn't a bad thing but it just wasn't what I thought this book was going to be like. I am still not sure why the book is called American Vampire and I can't decide what the title has to do with the actual story.

However all that aside this was a good read. Most likely because Jennifer Armintrout is a good strong writer with a nice style. Her idea for this book wasn't totally off either. Getting a vampire stuck in a town filled with humans who haven't been able to leave said town for five years is actually quite interesting. Kind of like Lost mixed up with Jericho this certainly had a suspense factor and I was definitely reading to the end to see how things worked out for all involved.

I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between Jessa and Graf evolved and it was very gripping to find out what the monster plaguing the town really was and why it was there. The constant question of 'Will anyone make it out of the town?' really was enough to keep me reading to the end. I wondered if this would turn into a series with the author keeping everyone prisoner and leaving Graf to find some way to survive. However the story ended nicely with everything cleared up. It seems this is just a one off.

Any fans of Armintrout's work will certainly enjoy this new release. It is a little different to her previous books but it is nice to see that she can mix things up a bit and not keep to the same old stuff. While reading this I was often reminded of Stephen King's work. Maybe it was the atmosphere the author created or it may just be the monster being called 'It'. Whichever it was the story definitely had a goosebump thriller feel to it like King's early books.

I am excited to see what she what this author comes up with next. Jennifer really does have a good imagination and I am going to be checking out what she comes up with next. Keep me on my toes!