Customer Reviews

Braced2Bite

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sixteen-year-old Colby Blanchard lives in Seattle, is the head cheerleader, and keeps a 4.0 grade average. She knows what she wants in life and has a plan to obtain it. But it all falls apart when she is bitten and becomes Undead.

Colby's family is very supportive. Great-Aunt Chloe has dealt with vampires as a nurse during the wars and is the first family member to start helping out. Colby's mom starts digging up everything she can find on the internet to help Colby's transmission. And her orthodontist dad, who had her canine teeth removed when she was twelve, made her a "fang headgear set" to help her feed. Colby is upset to be Undead, but even more embarrassed that she has to have fang braces to survive. But those are not her biggest worries.

Thomas and Carl are with The Tribunal Group. They break the news to Colby that she is not a full-blooded vampire. She is a half-blood. Since one must have a license (which is a signet ring) to be accepted as Undead, Colby must appear before the three princes in a vampire court. If Colby is not accepted, she will be executed. Thomas wants to help her prepare, but if she is not accepted he is also the one who must eliminate her. That is definitely not what Colby wants to think about since she is crushing on Thomas. Yet there is more to Colby's intelligence and maturity than anyone else could possibly have guessed, including Colby! Oh, and one other bad piece of news, her creator keeps showing up.

***** An interesting new series for young adults revolving around vampire and human society. I was hooked almost immediately and could not stop reading until the last page had been turned! When the story ended I was so bummed. I wanted to know what happened later in life. Therefore, I was thrilled to learn that there will be a second novel titled "Fangs 4 Freaks" due for release in November 2006. YES! Author Serena Robar has created a fascinating world which blends high school and normal teen life with a darker world that hides in plain sight. I foresee awards in this author's future. Highly recommended! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Colby Blanched is the typical sixteen year old, interested in boys, clothing and staying head cheerleader. Her normal life comes to a screeching halt when she is attacked by a man and left in a ravine. When she wakes up, she returns home to learn she has been missing for forty-eight hours. When she smells blood on her mother's hand, she starts drinking it until she is full. Tests by her aunt prove she is a vampire as she has no pulse or heartbeat.

The Vampire Tribunal comes over to serve her with a summons because she is not a vampire but a half-breed Undead because she is too many generations removed to be a full Vampire. Undead have different abilities then vampires and the tribunal looks at them as abominations that must be destroyed. She has to appear before them and make a case that she should not be destroyed but she doesn't have a clue how she is going to manage it.

Aimed at the young adult market BRACED 2 BITE will also be thoroughly enjoyed by adults who like chick lit serio-comic vampire novels. Since her incisors were removed when Colby wore braces her father makes her a mechanical contraption to take their place and some of the funniest bites in the book take place around them. The heroine is strong willed and willing to fight against the injustice of the Vampire Council in their deadly dealings with the undead. Readers will be happy to know that this is just the beginning of a charming, beguiling and totally entertaining new series.

Harriet Klausner

Never having read a Young Adult novel before, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find myself immediately drawn in to Braced2Bite. Not once did I stop and remember this was technically Teen Fiction, as it definitely entertains young adults and...ahem, slightly older adults...from the first page to the end. Robar's snarky sense of humor, touch of suspense and genuine, fresh voice left me wanting more. Good thing the second in this series is only a matter of months away! I highly recommend this book, and the rest in the series to come, to all readers looking for a terrific story and a great adventure!

Colby is queen of the school. Pretty, smart and a cheerleader she has it all, until one day when stupidly, walking home from school after dark, alone she's assaulted.

The assault is not your normal mugger. He's a vampire who's decided to turn Colby into one of his pack. She staggers home 3 days later in time for her own memorial service, everyone assumed she was dead. No just undead. Now to survive Colby has to prove to the local vampire council that she can be a contributing member or they will destroy her. The problem is that before she was turned, Colby's dentist dad removed her canine teeth for a better smile. She's a vampire without fangs! She's supposed to prove she's a contributing member and she can't even feed herself!

Colby is an interesting character. The vampires and their society are well developed. So why did I give this such a low rating? Because Colby's friends and family are completely unbelievable. That's right, the book is so well written I can buy into teen queen vampires and councils and trials etc. I cannot buy into her suburban family.

Firstly no dentist is going to remove perfectly sound, adult teeth for a smile. Particularly pointed canines can be shaved down to look normal but to pull out two frontal teeth is NOT going to improve the smile unless you want the toothless crone look.

Secondly and far more importantly once Colby resurfaces her family and friend next door are perfectly accepting that she's a vampire! The family, understandably, is relieved their daughter is returned to them. But do they not get medical attention for her? She starts saying she's a vampire and they just accept it without being the least concerned that she came home after 3 days in the woods and a violent attack that she may be a few fries short of a happy meal and they just go with the flow??? OK maybe the family could be more understandable but her teenaged, neighbor friend, when told just accepts it "oh yeah?" not even a "You're kidding" or "There's no such thing." Just "Oh you're a vampire now? Want to go to the mall?" Like Colby suddenly said she'd become a vegan or was taking a few AP courses!

Vamps? OK. Preppy cheerleader turned into kind of creature of the night? OK.
But the mortal family and friends are so stupidly accepting in this mess I found it too distracting. I just wanted to shake the mother and say "Could you please snap out June Cleaver mode and call a professional!"

I really tried to like it and modern Colby trading verbal barbs with the ancient vamps is fun, but the friends and family just sucked all the believability out of the story for me.

This is the first book by Serena Robar about a teen cheerleader turned vampire. I thought it was a little weird at first with her mom and great aunt being so comfortable with her transformation, but I got used to it an grew to love the characters in the book. It's a must read for any fan of vampire teen lit.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!

Recommendations:
* Boys That Bite by Mari Mancusi
* Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
* Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

This series is a great series if your looking to kill some time. It was really cute and i even caught myself laughing at times. I am not going to discuss the plot and characters but i will say that i read them all because i love this auther and the story just pulled me in. It will pull you in too.

If you've got a few hours of time, no matter what your age, it'll be well spent reading Braced2Bite, the debut young adult novel by Serena Robar! I'd actually read an early copy of this manuscript about a year ago, and was thrilled to find the book was just as much fun on the second go-round. Robar's voice through the character of Colby Blanchard, is witty and snarky, and fun for old and young alike.

Can't wait for book 2!

"I don't like the thought of getting staked before being named Homecoming Queen, so we all have some adjusting to do, don't we?"

braced2bite, a teen comedy written by Serena Robar, introduces us to Colby, a popular high school cheerleader. She has a nice family, cool friends, and good grades. She has her sights set on a cute classmate and is hoping he'll ask her to the Homecoming dance. Basically, she's a blond version of Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell.

That is, until she's bitten by a vampire after the big game. She fights back - a part that made me cheer - against a boy who appears to be about her age, but ultimately loses consciousness. When she awakens, she stumbles home and shocks her parents. She's been gone for days, and her gray eyes have turned yellow. Enter her great-aunt, a retired nurse who has seen it all and holds nothing back. She promptly declares Colby a vampire.

Well, she's only half-right, as the family soon learns. Two Vampire Investigators come to see Colby and explain that she's a half-vampire, something the Council frowns upon. Not only does she have to speak before this immortal Council and fight for the right to keep living, but she also has to buy sunscreen to protect her from the sun's harmful rays, get color contacts to cover up her yellow irises - and, don't forget, snag a date for Homecoming!

Thankfully, Colby is far more Girl Next Door than Valley Girl. Though she is lighthearted, she is not vapid, and she has plenty of potential to grow as a character throughout the next two books in this series. Colby will trade her pom poms for Greek letters in the next book, fangs4freaks, when she heads to college and leads a sorority filled with other half-bloods. I hope it's just as light and fluffy as this book is; we all need escapism from time to time.

Ultimately, braced2bite is an easy read combining comedy, romance, and vampires. Pre-teens and teens looking for a vampire story that relies more on laughs than frights will enjoy it.

Serena Robar has now joined my auto-buy list as a fabulous up-and-coming author. Her debut novel, Braced2Bite takes a humerous and adventurous look at what it means to be undead without a license. While much of standard vampire lore is included, Ms. Robar adds her own twist to the wonderfully quirky character of Colby Blanchard. The ending leaves the reader with just enough hook to have you begging for more. I look forward to November when book #2 in the series: Fangs4Freaks arrives.

Braced 2 Bite by Serena Robar
Colby Blanchard is head cheerleader, popular, and a half- vampire. Colby has several things going wrong all at the same time. First, she can't even feed properly because she had her canine teeth removed when she was twelve to have the perfect smile. Then her dad, who is an orthodontist, designs her headgear with fangs to be able to feed.
Cobly's second problem is that she now has to defend her existence because she was turned without having a license. She has to plead her case in front of the Vampire Council, which doesn't even want half- vampires on the earth.
Colby now has to get a date for Homecoming, get a scholarship for college, and try not to fall for the hot Vampire Investigator, Thomas, who is trying to find the vampire that bit her.