Friday 2 January 2015

Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean - Book Review


Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean (Vampirates #1)
by Justin Somper


What is it about:
Twins, Connor and Grace, find truth to the Vampirate shanty their father sang to them before he died, after they are shipwrecked and separated. Connor, aboard a pirate ship, learns to swordfight. For Grace, aboard a ship of vampire pirates, danger is great. What will it take for them to find each other?

What did I think of it:
Is it just me, or is Middle Grade fiction filled with twins? It seems as if lots of series for younger teens feature a brother/sister twin pair. Either I just ran into a couple of these books by accident, or the publishing world seems to think it's needed to get both boys and girls interested in these kind of books.

That being said: I very much enjoyed this book.

Connor and Grace get separated after a shipwreck. Connor ends up on a pirate ship, and Grace on a ship where she gets locked in a cabin for her own safety.

I especially liked Grace's story. Even though I knew right away on what kind of ship Grace ended up, it was fun to read how she slowly figures out what's going on. There's a bit of suspense, an evil vampirate, some really cool characters, and more.

Connor's story was entertaining, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Grace's story. This might be because I didn't much care for Connor. He was a bit too gullible in my opinion. I did like some of the other characters on board of Connor's ship though.

The world building is a bit of a mess though. It's supposed to be in the future, and there are some mentions of modern things, but mostly the setting felt more like the 1700' or there about.

Overall this is a fun Vampirates romp though, and I very much enjoyed reading it. It does end in a way that wraps up some things, but leaves most story-lines open, so you will have to get the next book to find out how things will turn out. I might read the next book if I can find it on sale somewhere.

Why should you read it:
It's a very entertaining story about Vampirates for younger teens


buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery

2 comments:

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

I have also noticed a lot more brother-sister pairings in Middle Grade than we had in the past. I think that it's partly for marketing (so that both boys and girls will be hooked more easily) and partly because two main characters can be more interesting than one! =)

Beanie Mouse said...

Cool!! Glad you enjoyed it!