Review: Savor by Megan Duncan

As some of you might know, I'm in the market for a new cover designer. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I've suspected this for a while now. What might not seem quite so apparent is the fact that I've been looking at the other books some of the designers I'm considering have designed covers for.

Aside from the above, Savor caught my attention when I looked up reviews and people claimed that it was a vampiric version of The Princess Diaries. I loved the Princess Diaries movies, I love anything with vampires (gasp!) and the sample was great. So I decided to go ahead and download this for my kindle.

So, does Savor get the royal stamp of approval or does it totally bite? Read on and I'll tell you what I thought. :)

The Plot: (Summary from GoodReads)

When Claire Miller turned eighteen all she wanted to do was celebrate her birthday, but after a night on the town with her best friend she awakes to a visitor she never expected. The rulers of her region, a vampire royal family, have chosen her to be turned as their new heir and vampire princess. Claire quickly discovers the royal family is not what they seem and that she has secrets in her past, she never knew existed

The first thing I can tell you about this book is that people who say this is The Princess Diaries with vampires are right--in both the best and worst ways possible. In many ways, I felt that this book had the kind of fun and whimsical feeling that I had when I watched those movies (I must admit I've never read the books. I bet that sounds weird coming from me.) I had fun exploring the world that Megan created for Claire and her friends and had no trouble staying interested in what was going on.

The problem is that sometimes--like when we learn that her cat is named Fat Louie--the homage to the source material seemed a little too close for comfort. There were a couple other situations like this and as they added up I must admit that I found myself feeling a little uncomfortable.

On the plus side, the book moved along at a good pace and keep me clicking forward. I have a lot of trouble focusing on reading when I am editing my writing, so it's saying something that this held my atttention. 

There is one other thing that struck me as a rather big problem here. The book felt like it was only half complete. It did not really seem to follow a logical type of plot structure. Yes, I suppose it could be argued that Claire does have her 'moment' at the end and that she accomplishes something. I don't want it to come across as if I don't want to read the next one. On the contrary, I'm very eager to see what will happen. But it seemed like it could have been wrapped up a little better.

The Characters:

I found Claire quite likable. She was a fun lead and I was consistently interested in what was going to happen to her. I did find the way things were between her and her mom when she went to the palace a little odd, but considering the mother's background and the disconnect that seemed to exist between them I suppose this is not totally surprising. 

I wasn't so impressed by the villains, Luca and Ana. I like my villains filled with depth and complexity and they just didn't have that. That does not make the book 'bad'. It's very much a personal thing. But it is my opinion.

I did like Robin and Claire's two potential love interests, Dmitry and Arrick. Robin is a totally awesome friend and I love her vibrant and fun personality. Definitely the kind of person (vampire?) I would want to hang out with. As for Dmitry and Arrick, they are both great. But the build up for Arrick is just so fabulous (even though he does add to my irritation about the plot structure) that by the time we met him he completely swept me away. I really hope that he and Claire end up together. <3 

Characters can often make or break a book for me and this is an area where Savor totally delivered. I found myself growing genuinely attached to these story people and I want to spend more time with them.

The Romance: 

I think that the dynamic that is set up by the end of this book is genius. I'm doing my best not to go into too much details about what happened even though I have named both guys. If you like love triangles, this is something I would strongly recommend. If you like well constructed and lovable male leads, yet again, look no further. I would place this at the sweeter end of the scale, but there is definitely chemistry between Claire and her two potential LIs. I really want to see what happens. (I keep saying that, don't I?)

In General: 

For less then a good cup of coffee, you can own a fabulous paranormal romance with an interesting take on vampires, a great heroine, two awesome love interests and an overall stellar cast. Every book has it's strengths and weaknesses, and Savor is no exception. But considering the level of quality, the fun of the story and the practically free asking price Savor is not to be missed. If you love vampires or have ever dreamed of being a princess you need this book.