Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (September 13, 2011)
Kindle: 400 pages / 5 KB
Source: Galley Grab
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire . . . fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil . . . until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.
Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don’t exist), and they’re shocked she survived. They’re even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl’s family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King’s feast—as the entrÉes.
The only problem? Pearl’s starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she’s definitely dead if she lets down her family. What’s a sunlight-loving vamp to do?
Review:
I know I mentioned on the Book Munchies Twitter (follow if you have a Twitter!) that I would be switching to another genre besides Young Adult/ Teen fiction. Apparently, I lied. I decided to try “Drink, Slay, Love” by Sarah Beth Durst. Maybe it was Durst’s story or the characters she created that made me change my mind. Or maybe it was the fact that the book wasn’t based off of Greek mythology, and was an interesting change of pace. Who knows? All I know is I got sucked into it almost immediately. (There was a slight hitch until the unicorn came into the picture, but from there it was smooth sailings.)
Normally I race through books trying to see when the romance between the characters will start. But not with this book. The premise of the books is so unique and enthralling that, for once, Pearl’s romance with Evan took a back seat. It also helped that Durst had these neatly placed tidbits to tide me over until the romance actually kicked in.
The writing was smooth, and the pacing perfect. There were times where I worried about Pearl, and other times she just made laugh because of something she said or a situation she found herself in. Her worries, her thoughts, her interactions … her everything just fit. As a vampire who could exist in the sun due to a unicorn attack, Pearl had me convinced.
Definitely a recommendation for anyone who wants to read a non-traditional vampire tale and have a good laugh while you’re at it. “Drink, Slay, Love” comes out on September 13, 2011.
Book Munchies 
August 16th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
[…] Drink, Slay, Love — Sarah Beth Durst (8.15.2011) […]
August 17th, 2011 at 8:16 am
Sweet blog you have here. Review gives a good thumbnail of story’s attributes without a “spoiler alert”. Difference between you and me, I’d be tempted to skim through the romance to find the para in the normal. That’s me with the black heart. Can learn from your perspective.
(PS- Can’t wait for The Shattering, will probably review it as well at my blog under Dark Tales For Teens)
August 17th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Thanks. I hate to give too many spoilers. These reviews are so that people will be interested in trying the books out themselves, hopefully. To spoil it seems silly. Romance is fun! It gives people a warm, tingly feeling of happiness and the idea that maybe things can work out okay. Or at least it does for me.
I’ll check out your review when it comes out! I’m excited that so many people seem interested in this book.