"Taste"

by Kate Evangelista, YA, 2012, ebook, 259p, rating=5
Source: received from author in exchange for honest review
Available at:  Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Find author: Website

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.
When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud. (Goodreads)

Wow!  I'm giving this book five E's ...expressive, entertaining, exciting, engaging, and down right enthralling!  I absolutely loved it!!  I'm so glad that Ms Evangelista quit her day job to pursue a writing career.  This woman can write!  Look out world, Kate Evangelista is going to be BIG!!  In fact, I forsee a film adaptation of this book.

I really was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this read.  I tend to shy away from the paranormal genre but this book reminded me that if there's an excellent writer behind a great story, genre doesn't matter much.  Indeed, that was the case with this book.  I'm one very happy bookworm!

The story grabbed me from the start.  It had the right amount of descriptive intrigue to see me through to each page.  I found myself ooh-ing and aah-ing out loud that I startled my kids and had them curious about what I was reading.  Ms Evangelista also threw in a good sense of humor and I was caught with smiles.  I tell ya, this story had the writing zest of Harry Potter meets Twilight but a quality and style all the author's own ...a stamp of excellence.

The character developments was amazing.  I'm not a big fan of love triangles but Phoenix, Demitri, and Luka melted my heart.  Plus, the supporting casts did exactly that and bore the weight of sustaining the grand story.  I love books that applaud humility and integrity in their characters.  This book did that and that's my kind of book!  Aahh, I'm so giddy with joy!  It's books like this that makes me love to read.  So go treat yourself to a superb book and taste this book.  You'll find yourself devouring it.  Really, I can't imagine you being disappointed but I can imagine you gleaming.

I can't wait for Ms. Evangelista's next book.  I'm going to read them all!

Oh, and as a special treat, here's a gorgeous anime drawing of the book by Ice @Book Whales.