I never read this or Blood and Chocolate when I was younger and I really regret missing out on that! I can absolutely see why this book was formative for so many people. ( )

Like Twilight, but better! The characters actually have personalities, flaws, and motivations. And it's nice and short, it doesn't drag on. I wonder if Stephenie Meyer read this before writing her vampire fantasy. ( )

This audio book came with two short stories-Summer of Love (my favorite) and The Christmas Cat, one read before the novel and one read after. If it weren't for these, I probably would have rated the novel by itself 3 stars. I liked her writing style and every element of the plot except for the romance, which didn't make a lot of sense to me. That's OK, though, because there's a lot more going on besides vampire boy falling in love with human girl. I definitely enjoyed it enough to read more of her books. ( )

3-1/2 stars
This one is a heartbreaking story about growing up, love, death and loss of innocence. Nicely handled and it left me in tears. I usually avoid coming of age stories, but after Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, I needed a good contrasting story which completely lacked melodrama. What a relief.
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The Silver Kiss is Most Excellent! To me, this is almost the perfect vampire romance/non-romance. More importantly, it is about facing death, facing life, facing evil. It is about choosing life.

Zoe is perhaps too wise for her years, but I think that comes when loving with a family member who is suffering and facing death. Perhaps that is what made it resonate with me in a year when the news is filled with illness, suffering, and death.

Simon is a vampire who is over 300-years old. Simon wants revenge on a vampire who killed his mother and continues to delight in killing others. When he was turned, he was probably an appropriate age to court Zoe.

I liked this book because Simon knows that his life is too dark to ask anyone, even Zoe, to share it. And Zoe learns and grows throughout the book. And the ending ... well, I leave it to you to discover.

While it was written for young adults, I highly recommend it for anyone who likes a touch of horror in their vampire novel. ( )