FANGIRL_15 by Aimee RoselandMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I (almost literally) devoured this novel. Something about the narrative, the structure, had me hooked - line and sinker - and the only thing that stopped me reading it in one sitting was that would have meant me finishing it at 2am and I had work the next day... As it was, I got up and finished it before going to work (yay for late starts).
It is hard to pinpoint precisely what made me enjoy this story so much, but I think that personal wish-fulfillment played a small role. I mean, what reader doesn't dream of meeting the characters of their favourite book? Hanging out with them, etc. What this story does differently though, and what stops it coming across as Mary-Sue fanfic (over a non-existent - alas - series) is that in reality the Dark Riders Brotherhood are damned scary. My only complaint here is that we are introduced to all 8 of them at the start, via a sort of light info-dump (since Chloe is familiar with their characters) but only a few get to really feature in the story: Draken the almost-7-foot vampire, Raphish the (fake) Scottish werewolf, and of course the haunted, broken and beautiful Lucien who was denied his chance to shine by the untimely death of the original author (Sojourne) and had the series cut-short by a thriller-hack-writer. Anyway, I have digressed, Chloe finds herself dumped into a world she barely understands, with people she knows intimate details about - including their dark secrets - but whom neither know nor trust her, and not only that, but the one that she is most drawn to is destined to find his true mate within the next five days.
So saying, some parts of the plot are somewhat predictable - but others are utterly and completely unexpected. Chloe is a brilliant heroine - with her various insecurities - yet also her outspoken courage that shines through at unexpected moments, she is delightfully well-rounded as a character. Lucien is just... well, I've always had a bit of a thing for heroes that don't understand their own worth.
Anyway, aside from some odd typos - mainly usages of the wrong words, and a couple of weird spellings - this is an absolutely engrossing read and I really, really loved it. Something in it sang to my soul.
eARC received via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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