9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasantly surprised by this addition to vampire chick lit, November 10, 2007
This review is from: Blood Is the New Black: A Novel (Paperback)
I wanted to not like this book, 'cause I'm not really into chick lit*, or fashion, or shopping - but despite myself, I enjoyed it! (*Why did you read it in the first place, then, you ask? Because I am into vampire books, and I always like to see where the genre wanders to.) The dialogue is snappy; enough of the fashion world was explained as we went along that I didn't feel too ignorant; and the vampires were a bit different from the same old same old. I enjoy reading about vampires who have "day jobs" rather than existing solely for the purpose of representing evil/darkness. This is a personal bias; there are many types of vampires for many types of readers, and that's why I try to explain a bit about the specific characteristics of the vampires in each book.
As a vampire story goes, this one is lightweight but amusing. The vampires are part traditional, part not. They can turn into bats, they drink blood, they hate garlic and crucifixes - but they can go out during the day, and drink other things besides blood, and they're surprisingly ambitious in the business world. These vampires aren't the dark, brooding, evil-for-the-sake-of-evil types; they are sometimes-brooding, sometimes-perky, and when they're evil, it's for the sake of corporate profits, just like everyone else. Some are all-evil, some aren't, some are even, at least for now, nice people.
As a previous reviewer noted, there are fun moments for Excel nerds (of whom I am one) in here. And some for medical nerds, since we do get some of Kate's EMT background spilling over into her new job. Most of the fun, though, is poking at fashion, with a bit at the art world thrown in. (I suspect it's entirely possible that another book by this author might involve Kate's uncle Sterling, and his art collection.) Other bits I got an extra laugh out of: the dog named Marc Jacobs; how well Kate's dad and Annabel get along; the comments on viewing New York's gargoyles.
People have different reasons for reading vampire novels. In case yours reasons include sheer horror or vampire sex, let me warn you that there's precious little of the former, and none of the latter. In fact, there's almost no romance, never mind sex. The main themes of this book have to do with female friendships, workplace problems, and shopping - not ethics, not evil, not horror, except the horror inherent in the cutthroat (you should pardon the phrase) business world. There is also a murder mystery component to the story - who killed the models? It's not primarily a mystery, but it is important, so there may be something to appeal to mystery readers who wouldn't read a vampire book if that's all it were.
One small quibble: our protagonist is supposedly an EMT and going to be going to med school in the fall after her internship in New York. That was the one aspect I had a bit of trouble with - it took her so long to catch on that they were vampires; if she were really that dumb, she wouldn't be getting into medical school. And one big word of praise: the novel is well-written and *excellently* copy-edited; there are virtually NONE of the word-misusage, punctuation, and spelling errors that plague most genre fiction these days, whether trade or mass market paperback. It's a real pleasure to read something without having to stop and be peeved at the publisher for letting egregious mistakes get by.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Original and fun, March 1, 2008
This review is from: Blood Is the New Black: A Novel (Paperback)
You've got to give author Valerie Stivers credit for tapping into a brand-new genre...vampire chick lit! "Blood is the New Black" revolves around Kate, a young woman starting a summer internship at Tasty, a popular fashion magazine based in New York City. Breaking into the grueling fashion industry is tough enough as it is, but it doesn't take Kate long to figure out that something is rather off with her Tasty coworkers. They sleep in their offices during the day, they never open the blinds, and they drink large amounts of what looks like a disgusting beet juice drink but turns out to be blood. When a slew of fashion-related deaths occur, Kate realizes that she and a group of aspiring young models are in grave danger. With the help of a few friends, Kate works to bring the vampires to justice before they succeed in making her join the undead.
I enjoyed this book. It's pretty funny and reminds me of "The Devil Wears Prada" meets "Bloodsucking Fiends." Much of the plot is very predictable and certain aspects of the story don't tie together very well, but it's still a fun book and is perfect for a light read.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive debut novel, September 27, 2007
This review is from: Blood Is the New Black: A Novel (Paperback)
Love of fashion and/or interest in vampires will keep you totally immersed in this little gem. If this is any indication - I found myself longing to descend into the stifling, foul-smelling subway station because I do most of my reading during my commute. Also came close to missing my stop a few times. Definitely looking forward to more work from Stivers.
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