Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater

October 5th, 2012 Kimberly Review 36 Comments

5th Oct
Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater
Pretty When She Dies
by Rhiannon Frater
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry...
... in a new, horrific, unimaginable way...Sating her great hunger, she discovers that she is now a vampire, the bloodthirsty creature of legend. She has no choice but to flee from her old life and travels across Texas. Her new hunger spurs her to leave a wake of death and blood behind her as she struggles with her new nature.All the while, her creator is watching. He is ancient, he is powerful, and what's worse is that he's a necromancer. He has the power to force the dead to do his bidding. Amaliya realizes she is but a pawn in a twisted game, and her only hope for survival is to seek out one of her own kind.But if Amaliya finds another vampire, will it mean her salvation... or her death?

Pretty When She Dies is a deliciously dark urban fantasy that quickly draws you in. Filled with vampires, necromancers, romance and kick-ass characters Frater took me on one heck of a ride. As a book addict, there is the high I constantly chase, that only an awesome, epic book can give me. Pretty When She Dies gave me that fix.

When we first meet protagonist Amaliya she finds herself buried in a shallow grave on her college campus. At first she cannot remember who she is, but stumbles her way back to campus and her dorm room. She gets sick and showers, but soon realizes she is very hungry. Making her way out to the parking lot, she hears music and smells food. Things get very bloody, very fast. When she awakens in the morning, her college professor is there and confirms her worse fears; he has made her a vampire. Naked and covered in blood he gives her his jacket, declaring that is the only help she will get from him. Amaliya quickly realizes she needs to flee. The tale that unfolds is action packed, funny, terrifying and filled with endearing characters.

The characters Frater has created are friggin awesome. Amaliya is sweet and bad-ass all at the same time. I quickly connected with her. She is a natural blonde, but dyes her hair jet black, sports tattoos and piercings. She loves rock and roll, and is studying to be a psychologist. Her creator is one freaky ancient vampire who completely gave me the chills! He is bored and turned Amaliya for his own amusement. He stalks her, to watch how she handles the change. *shivers* Cain is a centuries old vampire also created by the same creator and he controls Austin, Texas. He is smart, oh so smexy and about to marry a human named Samantha. He lives in an apartment building he owns with his servant Roberto who cracked me up one minute and annoyed me the next. His fiancée Samantha is innocent, pure and completely annoying! Both Roberto and Samantha want Amaliya gone. This creates some interesting situations and double crosses. Amaliya’s grandmother was an absolute hoot and at times she and the other vampire hunters stole the show. I loved their shenanigans and her fearlessness.

The world building is fantastic. Frater brought this dark, gritty vampire world to life. There are no sparkly vampires here. While vampires act and behave like the vampires of old; sleeping during the day and living without reflection, Frater brought a new twist that blew my mind. I loved the history she provided regarding the Creator and Cain. The romance that develops is dripping with sexual tension and the dance was delicious, raw and hot. The relationship slowly developed into more and I enjoyed watching it unfold. The creator , known by some as “The Summoner” can raise and control the dead. He is not at all happy with his new toy and when he discovers her strengths he sets out to control her. Frater created action packed scenes and gave such detail that I had a HD Movie with surround sound playing in my head. The tale wraps up nicely without the dreaded cliffhanger. Frater has breathed life back into vampires for me, and I cannot wait to read more.

Fans of dark, gritty urban fantasy with kick-ass protagonist need to purchase Pretty When She Dies immediately. *just saying, can you tell I absolutely loved this book!* Frater skillfully brought the vampires of old lore to present day Texas and it will literally blow your mind. Pretty When She Kills is the next book in the trilogy and I will be bringing you the review later this month.

Copyright (c) 2011-2013 Caffeinated Book Reviewer
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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36 Responses to “Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater”

  7. Sandy

    I’m definitely stoked about this one! It’s great to hear you liked it so much!

  12. Liz

    I got this book a while ago, based on the cover alone. It is superb. Then the blurb really got me too. I haven’t read it yet, my mountain is ridiculous. But your FraterFest is making me think I need to light a fire under it and get to it.

  15. Heidi

    I finished this Friday and started Pretty When She Kills last night. I am liking Book two better, book one was good but a little too much sexy time for my taste!

  17. kimbacaffeinate

    You totally need to read these, I just finished book two and the action is fantastic! My review and giveaway for that will be later this month!

  18. Jen

    I admit that I didn’t read more than the first few words per paragraph in your review to avoid any possible spoilers but I’m glad to see you rated it high since it’s my next Fraterfest book 🙂

  19. kimbacaffeinate

    Not to worry Jen..i practice spoil free reviews..ALWAYS! There is nothing I hate more than someone robbing me of the joy of reading it myself. Glad you are going to read this next!

  21. sherry fundin

    I like your description of the high you chase. I know exactly what you mean. I read a lot of great books, but those ones that are over the top hang in my mind and I find myself reading them again and again. Thanks for the great review and the giveaway.

  28. Carolyn Brown

    I love the cover art of this novel. Have added it to my TBR list. Thanks for the giveaway!

  32. Jennifer Bielman

    Uh, why have I not heard of this book before? It sounds AWESOME, No joke. I love everything about it. The concept, the story, and the characters sounds awesome. Great review. I have to pick this one up.

  33. erinf1

    thanks for the great review! I’m dying to read this book 🙂

  35. Darlene's Book Nook

    I want to read this one as well! I’m glad to see how much you enjoyed it!

  36. Michelle

    I seriously need to read something by Frater, and this sounds like a great book. I’m kind of bummed that I’ve put myself on a book buying restriction and I can’t get it, but maybe next time I get a gift card I’ll pick it up. Great review!