Reviews!

"Arranged Marriage to a Vampire... Why me?" - Review

"Arranged Marriage to a Vampire... WHY ME?" - Review

iVanessa17 opens her story with a short dream sequence. Now, who doesn't love a good dream sequence? It throws you right into the mind of the character and lets you experience her emotions right there with her. It's a powerful way to humanize a character, and I'm on board with it. Sure, it gets knocked as being cliche and overused, and it probably is, but when it's relevant to a future story line, I'm alright with it. And if it's overused, well, that's just because it works. So, for this, I don't fault iVanessa17 one bit.

I will, however, lay some of the blame at her feet for using the "get-out-of-bed-because-mom-has-something-to-tell-you!" cliche. I honestly have no idea why this seems to be the only way that an arranged marriage story can begin. Why not let us get a really solid sense of who the character is before she's throw into that? Couldn't we meet her a few days before that scene? Or even, you know, any time when she's not just rolling out of bed?

The premise as to why Kathy needs to be married is unclear also. Were these doctors really so worried their son would be an un-wedd-able troll that they had to arrange a marriage from birth? Perhaps if Kathy's family were rich, or royalty, or had something of value that Damon's family needed, I could follow along. But it's made pretty clear that Damon's family is the one who is rich, not Kathy's, and there doesn't seem to be any real reason why they need to be married. Sure, Damon's parents are doctors who saved Kathy's life as a baby - but they're doctors. That's their job. They get money for this, not a new daughter-in-law. And even if there is some overarching reason why they needed to find their son a wife, why Kathy? What makes her family the one they wanted to manipulate? When it comes to these questions... it may just be that iVanessa17 hasn't gotten far enough into the story to address them yet. So, I'm willing to be patient while I wait for answers.

Soon after the marriage in announced, however, the author throws in a twist that I didn't see coming, which I always love! Our new male suitor is already attached, and doesn't want to break up with his girlfriend, Sam, who he loves. Now - if only this had lasted. Shamefully quick, Damon drops Sam and declares his undying love for Kathy within the first 7 pages of the story. Kathy handles her new life and love fairly well. Perhaps a little too well. But again, that's just one reader's opinion. 

My official view on this story, is that it's just a little too convenient. Everyone falls in and out and then back into love again a little too easily, and shoddy explanations and justifications are what the plot is built upon. In all reality, I think that iVanessa17 is a great writer. You can see it in her tone of voice and the flow with which she writes, and I respect that. But I think that this plot in particular could use a little bit of a revamp. (Ha. Pun!) It just needs a little more tweaking to make it more believable, and therefore, more engrossing and livable. (Because we all want to feel like the characters we're reading, right?) So, in order to do that, we've got to be able to understand and relate to why these characters are doing what they're doing. It should leave us with a sense of, "Oh, yeah, that's probably what I'd do too". 

I'll keep my eye on this story, since the writing is easy to follow, and there's clearly a roller coaster ride on the plot horizon. And who knows, perhaps all my little nit-pickings are just the ramblings of a reviewer with too little caffeine in the system. Either way, I'd definitely give this story a chance to develop before making my opinions final.