Blood Curse by Janice Harrell

I recently found out that you can get a whole bunch of older young adult books for free if you have Kindle Unlimited. If revisting the Point Horror novellas that were a staple of your youth isn't reason enough to sign up and subscribe, I don't know what is. #notsponsored

BLOOD CURSE is about-- you guessed it-- vampires. Rina is a vampire who was turned as an innocent young waif by an opportunist (and sexy!) vampire named Vlad. Now she's curious about the high school experience because she's fallen for a teenager named James. Rina will do whatever it takes to possess James, be it seduction or murder, which is unfortunate, because James has a girlfriend...

While reading this book, I kept thinking about how it was giving me L.J. Smith vibes. I was really enjoying it! So, naturally, I checked out the author's backlist to see if she had any other goodies I could enjoy once I finished with this one. While checking out the synopsis for TEMPTATION, I couldn't help but notice the blurb: "From the creators of the bestselling Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle."

Say WHAT? Is Janice Harrell a ghost-writer or pen name for L.J. Smith? COLOR ME YES. I mean, I have no idea and can't confirm, but the blurb seems to imply a relation between the two authors. Having finished BLOOD CURSE, I would say that Janice Harrell is probably an author you will love if L.J. Smith is a favorite of yours. Her books have that same breathless, yet, repressed vibe of sexuality, with surprisingly deep emotional arcs and some truly good scenes of horror.

I really enjoyed this horrific vampire romance between a young female vampire and a teenage boy. Word of warning is that it ends on a mega-cliffhanger, so it doesn't really work as a standalone. I know if I had read this as a kid growing up and had the book end there, I'd be mad as shit.

3 to 3.5 out of 5 stars