Review: Living Violet by Jamie Reed

Living Violet by Jamie Reed
Published: December 27, 2011
Publisher: K-Teen/Dafina
Pages: 304
Series: The Cambion Chronicles #1
My Rating:  4 of 5 stars

Synopsis: He's persuasive, charming, and way too mysterious. And for Samara Marshall, her co-worker is everything she wants most--and everything she most fears. . .

Samara Marshall is determined to make the summer before her senior year the best ever. Her plan: enjoy downtime with friends and work to save up cash for her dream car. Summer romance is not on her to-do list, but uncovering the truth about her flirtatious co-worker, Caleb Baker, is. From the peculiar glow to his eyes to the unfortunate events that befall the girls who pine after him, Samara is the only one to sense danger behind his smile.

But Caleb's secrets are drawing Samara into a world where the laws of attraction are a means of survival. And as a sinister power closes in on those she loves, Samara must take a risk that will change her life forever. . .or consume it.

My Review: Going into this book I was expecting the usual paranormal stuff and the usual romance where the guy saves the girl and they end up falling in love or the dreaded instant love. Well I was pleasantly surprised! Living Violet isn't really like any other paranormal book I've read.

The whole Cambion concept was basically new to me. When incubus were mentioned I had this vague sense of knowing what was being talked about before it was explained but I don't exactly know where I know that word from and that is going to drive me crazy for the rest of the day.

The main character Samara Marshall was great. She didn't drool over Caleb like everyone else. She even thought he was weird and he is so a round of applause for her. It actually took her awhile to warm up to Caleb and she had actual reasons for liking him. Basically she's curious why women are dropping like flies after they make out with him and that's why she want to find out more about him. I mean wouldn't you be curious too?

I loved reading about Samara no matter what was happening. She was sarcastic and strong so she didn't like to get bossed around and most of the time she was the one bossing Caleb around. I found some things completely ridiculous though. Like Dougie teaching Caleb how to defend himself and he gets beat up by an eight year old (I think that was how old the girl was). The relationship between Samara's parents was also really strange to me. How is her dad's wife ok with him spending time with Samara's mom? Wouldn't she be the tiniest bit worried about that since Samara's mom seems to have a hard time getting over the fact that Samara's dad married someone else.

Anyway I think my favorite part of this book was the romance between Samara and Caleb. Sam isn't exactly sure what to do about her feelings for Caleb. This is probably because of what happened to her parents. She's not really sure if she wants a serious relationship and even though Caleb is he doesn't push her. You can actually read about their relationship developing. I just love reading about that.

It was also pretty obvious that there was something paranormal going on with Caleb and there were some other obvious things but I never saw the ending coming! So basically I really liked this book. It was a nice change from the usual paranormal.

*I received this book from the author. Thank you!