I am sorry to say, but this was a DNF. I had high hopes from the description, a century years old vampires are expelled and forced to live among the humans of Iowa. Sign me up. But it didn't work as an audiobook. I am not sure of the pace of the story, the narrator, or the story itself. I tried to listen to this book at least 3 times and and never got further then an hour. Maybe if I was reading it, I might enjoy it, but not as an audiobook. ( )

This almost is a four star...if it can just remain a stand alone (it doesn't FEEL like a stand alone however, and I'm wary af since stand alone paranormal YA isn't common).

It opens a bit jumbled feeling - with an angry and belligerent Charlie snapping at Adante and making it hard for her brother Reg to keep things from getting worse. We're given a lot of information - such as the "Elders" believed they were such children because with their turning they never matured, but some of it is out of context.

Charlie talks about the various places they've lived, finding the current "shack" dissatisfying, Reg eludes to the crime that forced the Elders to levy the punishment the two were about to suffer, and through it all Charlie keeps quipping in an effort to hide her fear.

A few chapters in Lange evens out the pacing and information giving, offering background in a more organic way, but at first its a lot.

I enjoyed Charlie (which slight digression, I imagined her as some sort of 80s British Punk for some reason) and found her to be likeable despite her obvious disdain for mortality.

Which hey, I get it.

Reg was harder to pin, which made the ending (and certain fears Charlie has) hard to really understand. His bond with Charlie, the bonds he makes with the "mortals" they befriend...it made certain decisions on his part harder to accept.

All that said I'm glad to see vampires return to YA. Not that they ever fully left, but they took a backseat to other supernatural/magical types and well. ( )

I listened to the voice galley audio arc of this book and it was a quick listen. I finished listening to this all in one sitting and was very engrossed. It was a unique take on classic vampires, but in this story, they're turned back into mortals and have to face the nightmare of going to high school.
Charlie and her brother, Reg, have been vampires for a long time, but after they make a mistake, they're punished by being turned back into mortals and sent to live in a place called Nowhere, Iowa. They both begin to find friends and enjoy some of what being human brings with being in the sunlight and tasting food. But even though they find themselves enjoying some of the experience of being human, they don't forget their former life as a vampire and still want to return to being vampires again. They try to get someone to help them to appeal the decision and talk with the Elders to get them to give them another chance at being vampires again. When they finally get the chance to. speak with the Elders, the Elders are willing to give them another chance at being immortal again if Charlie and Reg agree to some terms, which will only involve a betrayal of their new friends and the new town they've started to grow attached to as well. The ending is some of what I expected, but it also was a bit different.
If you like paranormal stories, vampires, and such then you'll love this one. It's a great listen. I can't comment as to the narrator as it was a voice galley. Make sure to put this one on your list, get it, listen to it and read it when it comes out this next week.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harper Audio for letting me listen and review this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

3.5 out of 5 stars

This audiobook is a voicegalley so I cannot comment on the final audiobook or the narrator's abilities.

I loved the ending of this book as I was not expecting the choices made by Charlie and Reg. I found Charlie quite entitled at the beginning of this book and it was hard not to be annoyed when she talked to her peers and Sal. By the middle of the book, Charlie does start to realize that her words and actions have consequences and that the way she has been treating people needs to change. Overall, an enjoyable read. ( )

What if you did something so heinous, even in the eyes of the Elder Vampires, that you and your brother were forced to become human again? That’s what happens to Charlie and Reg after a bit of a “mess up”, the Elder Seat “rewards” them with being made human again, as opposed to being staked or left out on the sun. What this brings about is a look at how vampires have to adapt to humanity, be able to blend in. This is not easy for 100 year old teen siblings who are used to the finer things in life, especially Charlie. They are taken in by Sal the Slayer, not your usual every day vampire slayer they learn. As the story progresses, she not only has to learn how to deal with hormonal changes but with human emotion, creating friendships with the local teens, falling in love, navigating the halls of High School. Learning that Nowhere is not just any little old country town. This becomes a “life and death” situation for her and Reg when they discover an “Ancient” is living among the humans in the town of Nowhere and they convince Lina to sponsor them, so they can become immortal once more. Thus begins a heart wrenching decision for the teens: become immortal and betray those who have become your family or stay human and eventually die. I really enjoyed this take on the “vampire legend”. It didn’t disappoint. Lots of laughs and lots of tears, taking a good look around you and realizing not all is what it appears to be. ( )