Vesper

Vesper

The beginning of this book sucks you in. It is not like your typical Young Adult paranormal fiction stories. You are not going to get romance, you are not going to get a love triangle, and you are not going to get the A typical formula. Apparently, some people that read this before claimed it has the same formula simply because it has supernatural creatures in it. Once I read it, dug in deep to this story I realized I was reading total perfection pretty much. Jeff Sampson has given us a deep, dark, and gritty young adult novel that not only seems to break all the rules, but totally takes us on a roller coaster ride with a girl named Emily Webb.
The token geek at school, Emily pretty much keeps to herself till strange things start to happen with her, namely her suddenly risk taking and promiscuous behavior. To the dismay of her family and best friend they take it the wrong way and it soon becomes very apparent to Emily that she is all alone. or is she?
I'm not going to bore you in this review with a synopsis of this story. I'm simply going to lay it all out for you. It is very rare that a book labeled Young Adult stretches the limits and dares to break free of the obvious formula that The Twilight series has token that genre of fiction. I not only was so refreshed, but I was up till 3AM reading this till I could no longer keep my eyes open. There was no whining where Emily was concerned. She knew that something was wrong and she stood up and it was either face it and figure it out. Or roll over and die, which seemed to be the running trend in the town with all sorts of random teens.
It reminded me a lot of Disturbing Behavior a paranormal film that had Katie Holmes and James Marsten, but it was taken to such a higher level that I caught myself tearing up a little, and wanting to throw the book at the same time. If I had to rate the books in Young Adult Fiction today I would say this was up there on the top ten books for teens the ages of 16-19 to read. I even think adults will appreciate this amazing novel. For me it deserves so much more than to sit in the Young Adult section, I think if it was tagged as paranormal fiction for adults it would have done so much better.
The story had excellent flow and rarely took a break. Just when we thought Emily would get some time to breath, a new challenge was thrown her way. She was a powerful figure for young teen girls. There was no whining female with a controlling older man that wanted to use her like a puppet. Not in this book. I think being that the series was written by a man, it takes on fresh new outlook that was very much needed. I can't tell you what supernatural element this book is about without giving away a major part of this story. All I will say is if you are looking for romance go elsewhere. This novel is a face paced Paranormal Suspense that leaves you breathless and biting for more at the end.

9 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Missy's Reads & Reviews

This was one of those books that I chose randomly from my reading pile, devoured in one sitting, then sat there staring at the novel for a while longer.. just thirsting for more. It's kind of like when you watch the season finale of your favorite TV show. They give you an ending, but they leave enough unanswered questions to keep you hooked for the next season. That's how this was. I read it, was perfectly satisfied with the ending because it ended at a good spot - but that didn't stop me from going, "Well, what's next? I want to know ... NOW!" I felt like Veruca Salt... I wanted to stomp over to my parents' house and scream, "Daddy, I want the second Deviants novel and I want it now," in a completely horrible fake English accent.

Well played, Sampson.

In all seriousness, I did love this novel. The interrogation transcripts placed between some of the chapters left you guessing about what was happening just as much as Emily's actions kept you guessing. It's a little confusing, but by the end it wraps up nicely. That's the easiest way for an author to win my heart with their novel: keep me guessing until the end! I don't like figuring things out too soon in the book... it makes the novel fall flat for me.

Emily, oh Emily. I loved her willingness to accept her geekdom. She was completely wonderful and all of the pop culture references made me nerd out right along with her throughout the book. Actually, I was probably nerding out a little more. I tend to do that. She was also a strong character and didn't go completely head-over-heels for the romantic interest and spend the rest of book talking about how gloriously perfect he was. This also won me over - have a love interest, but don't make that the whole story! The other characters were pretty spiffy too, though the two characters that caught my eyes the most (Spencer and Amy) didn't take the spotlight as much as I'd like. For the story, you get enough of each character. For the series? I need more. Lots more! ;) And the twists on a certain friendship and romantic interest? My head was spinning because I did NOT see either coming. At all.

Alright, so I'm sure that you've probably figured out that I'm in love with this book. I will sing its praises from the highest mountain tops.. well, if I could. The best way I can do this book justice is to just tell you that if you want a great YA paranormal read, you'll want to pick up this book. This is Jeff's debut novel and he definitely does not disappoint!

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Britt

This book was realy unique and i really enjoyed reading it. I definitely suggest reading Vesper.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Disappointed...it took so long to get into

I truly think the first 150 pages of this book was complete dribble. I didn't have a clue what was going on and it was asbsolutely BORING until about the 150th page. It literally took me two months + to get through this book completely, and even then I had to force it. If it had started around page 120 or so, then it would have been a much much better and quicker read. Although I will probably read the sequal if there is one, I found this book lacking and not as strong as I would have hoped.

2 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Yay

This book was very good! I was surprized because of some of the reviews. It was a great read

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I love it to death

This is a great book i couldnt put it down!!!!!!definately re¿ommenend!!!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Mack Attack

I thought it was a great book with a captivating story line. It grabbed my attention from the moment I began reading it. The main character is very relatable, except of course for the whole "changing" thing. It did contain quite the normal teenage high school experience with the wild rebel streaks and the partying, but it also confronted the issue of death and how it affects some people more than others. Overall it was quite the roller coaster ride and it was fun! I recomend it to anyone who enjoys a good thrill ride without too much romance. :)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Amazing

I loved this book! I finished it in two days and couldn't put it down. It really depends on your style of reading, this book was a little dark in some places and ockward. Other than that its an amazing book. I will be looking for more books by this uthor. Hopefully it will turn into a series. Anyways great author great book and i noticed a few mistakes and stuff. Definetly recommend!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book

I read this book in less than a day. That was how drawn in I was! Though the story gets alittle sloppy and unfinished at the end, I would recommend this to a friend. I'm going to start reading the next book ASAP!!!

Anonymos

Good book

Once again, I dove into a book without knowing its basic content

Once again, I dove into a book without knowing its basic contents and I was thoroughly entertained! The book was a good Young Adult debut from Jeff Sampson.

The book was written in Emily Webb's perspective. I didn't like how it was narrated when Nighttime Emily came into the story. Emily Webb is considered 'invisible' in her High School. She wears glasses and loves hiding her perfect body under a giant hoodie. She's average smart but sometimes lack common sense which was annoying especially coming from a girl like her.

The main characters were weak and the secondary characters even weaker. Nobody particularly stood out and there wasn't much distinction between them besides the fact that Emily was the main character.

The plot was present but it was very vague in the beginning especially when it came to what type of paranormal book this was. Lets just say its a mix of everything together with a contemporary twist.

Overall, Vesper was a good read and it definitely kept me entertained but there wasn't much of a bang. The strong element that makes you want to read the next book wasn't there. There was just that passive peak that just shows you a quarter of what the whole series is all about. Lets just say its just the beginning after reading 288 pages waiting for something to happen. Hopefully, the next book will be better.

Not recomended!

I did not like this book at all. The charcters did not act like girls. Emily's sister called everyone dude and Emily was always so ashamed of her awsome body. It was Megan that I really hated the most though. She was so rude to Emily C's friends when they weren't even the ones who picked on her. She bossed Emily around and was not very concerned or supportive of her when she knew she was acting differently. Girls dont act like that. There was very little explanation as to what was going on and the romance in the story was bad. I couldn't even finish the book which is upsetting because the overview sounded really good. I don't recomend this book.

Vesper is a paranormal mystery, told through two very different

Vesper is a paranormal mystery, told through two very different and alternating points of view. One being a transcribed conversation between two people and the other through Emily's first person narrative. The result should seem confusing and disjointed but instead produces an addicting, heart pounding adventure, that had me furiously turning pages. Author Jeff Sampson manages to mix multiple genres effortlessly and still create a strong, and very complex main character.

I really enjoyed this novel from the murder-mystery, to the paranormal twist you may or may not see coming. I won't talk a lot about it because I was honestly surprised by it and I think it adds a great layer to the story if you don't know what's going on. There's also a little romance thrown in to, but its not the main focus of the story, which I found rather refreshing.

I liked the pacing of the novel since it builds up to both its reveals rather nicely. The backstory to both parts was also well done and gets explained with out being confusing or extremely unbelievable. Though as its the first in a series, there are other things that are left a mystery and only briefly touched on.

While I didn't always find Emily the easiest character to like, it definitely wasn't a deal breaker for me because it all gets explained later and I continued to root & sympathized with her. I also really appreciated her bravery, cleverness and determination. She never gives up trying to figure out what's going on with herself or digging into who might have killed the other Emily, even after it becomes very dangerous for her.

Their are some really interesting minor characters that I wish we could have spent more time with. In fact my only real complaint with the novel is how over crowded it was with supporting characters. Many just seemed to be used as filler while other smaller, but actually more important characters got very little development. I'm pretty sure this was actually done intentionally, but I did find it a bit frustrating.

The ending is left very open, I'm not sure I would call it a cliffhanger necessarily but its not all wrapped up either. While that may annoy some people, I found it quite fitting and very true to the narrative that was put in place. I think Vesper is a great start to what I'm sure will continue to be a very interesting and unique series.

Vesper Territory

~Vesper One

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Read!

Worth the $0.99!

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Cool

Cool

vepser

A great story idea but it seems like its not finished. Vesper is a great new take on werewolves but it lacks a fully developed storyline... the ending left a lot to be desired.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Recommended

Good book I read it on my nook and didn't realize until about half way through there was a conversation going on I should of been reading I skipped it. I enjoyed the book and am excited to read the next book.

How good it is

My nook just updagre sofware

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended Read

I love the way Emily is slowly transforming from a geek into something more and not realizing what is going on at the time. It seems like it is a teenage thing when they go through stages but when she develops more of an attitude and carefree persona, she is really becoming worried. There are times that she find herself trying to leave her house without realizing why or where she intended to go.

There are terrible things happening around her small town and she has no idea what is bring all the death. When she becomes her most defiant, she finds that she is searching for one of her own because there is such a magnetic pull toward him that she is sure that he is considered her mate. She goes to all lengths to find him even stalking around his house.

What she also finds out is that she is not alone in her transformation process and that there are more students with some special qualities different from hers. Emily also discovers that someone is out there taking them out one by one. With her new surge of power, she is determined that she will be the one to take out the bad guy(s). As Emily finds her destiny and her hunters, she teams with the other Deviants as they are labeled and begins a new quest.

Highly recommended for YA Paranormal lovers.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.