Reviewing The Urchin by Adrianne Ambrose

5/5

The end of the world. Vampires. These are things that have almost become synonymous with eye rolling. Especially the overly-romanticized version of vampires. These vampires are not romance novel vampires. In fact they are a means to an end to support the story.

Nick, a pilot, crashes down and is luckily saved by a few teenagers before he is eaten by the vampires. He finds himself within Stanton Military Academy, which is now referred to as The Urchin. It is the last standing building for miles and the boys of the academy are all that remain, besides the vampires that haunt them nightly.

Now Nick must join together with Vance in an attempt to fix his plane and go to New Washington.

This is a dark look at the way people think and will act in the time of desperation. Ambrose does well to liken the experience to Lord of the Flies while Vance explains what it is he doesn’t want from the boys he’s trying to keep safe. The book explores the before and the during and the after of the apocalypse all interwoven together perfectly to make a complete story.

As with most novels that delve into the darkness, the ending is not particularly happy, but unlike most, it’s not something so desperately awful either. Ambrose ties the strings together she must and completes the story she is trying to tell. There is a world of stories here that Ambrose could embrace and she does well dragging her reader in and keeping them there.

Reasons to Read:

- Well Written

- Great dynamic of characters

- The stories behind the actions all make sense

Reasons Not to Read:

- Basically a horror novel with less horror and more storytelling

Confessions of a Virgin Sacrifice

Confessions of a Virgin Sacrifice by Adrianne Ambrose

4 out of 5

A virgin is sacrificed once a year to a Volcano God who demands it. This is what happens when women do not sit around waiting to be sacrificed.

Plot: It is hard to explain what the plot of this novel is about without giving too much away. Extremely fast-paced and a very quick read by the time you apprehend one thing there is a new one. This does not make it a bad thing but it does make for a plot that is constantly fluid.

Characters: Point-of-view character Jezebelle proves, often, to be the smartest character in the novel. Which is actually rather scary considering she has her own dense moments where she should have stopped to consider things. However, her companions in travel, Dizeray, the actual virgin sacrifice, and Thor, a barbarian that Jez admits has a stupid name, seem to be that much… stupider. It is frustrating to a point, but entertaining to watch the group bumble their way through the plot. They are joined by a troll, Lestor, and Thor’s brother, Tul. Lestor has the most personality out of the group and might be verging on the next smartest, which is scary considering he is an idiot as well.

Why did I enjoy a novel filled with so many idiots? It was a well told mess of bumbling circumstances. It reminded me of an episode of a sitcom where everything just keeps going wrong as they try to make it to their destination. Jez and Diz keep stumbling their way along, not really sure where they are going or why, and enjoying the fight. They are joined later by a wolf named Puddin’ who I kept hoping would do more.

This is not a plot to take seriously. It is easily torn apart and questioned if you really wanted to think about it, but that is not the purpose of this novel. This novel is to entertain and allow the non-virginal women to embrace something new. We all have days where we feel like Jez, Jez is just unabashedly brazen about her attitude. When you come to the ending you realize this ending is so very much the character. What could you have expected?

4 reason to enjoy this novel:

4. Fast paced, easy read

3. Humor that pokes fun at the fantasy genre

2. Strong female heroine that does not want to be

1. Does not attempt to take itself seriously

4 reasons to stay way from this novel:

4. Plot could become incoherent if deliberately picked at

3. Definitely a book for women

2. No real descriptions for the sex scenes

1. Does not attempt to take itself seriously