Customer Reviews

Stake That (A Blood Coven Vampire Novel)

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STAKE THAT! is Mari Mancusi's sequel to Boys that Bite. Mancusi is back with fun characters, plot twists and turns, and humor any teen (or adult) will appreciate.

The story of twins Sunshine and Rayne continues with the focus on Rayne's adventures. Mostly written in "blogging" style complete with comments at the end of the posts, Rayne brings readers up-to-date on the girls' vampire dilemmas.

In this second book, Rayne is faced with her new role as a vampire slayer. She's learning everything, from which vampires are which to the art of carving her own wooden stake. To complicate matters she must work with Jareth, a vampire who makes Rayne's head spin.

Add to the adventures a love interest for the girls' mother, a dangerous, unknown vampire virus, and continued confusion about their absent father, and Mancusi once again grabs teen readers and has them begging for more. Fans of Boys that Bite will not be disappointed with the direction the story is headed, only with the fact that they'll have to wait for the story "to be continued"....

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

The first book in this series, Boys that Bite, told the story of what happened after Rayne's sister Sunny was accidentally bitten by a vampire who'd intended to bite Rayne. In book two, Rayne discovers that instead of the vampire that she has always longed to be, she's actually the chosen one, Slayer Inc.'s newest vampire slayer. Her first assignment: find out what evil vampire Maverick is up to as he plots to take down Magnus, the leader of the Blood Coven (and Sunny's boyfriend). Rayne teams up with Jareth, second in command to Magnus and a vampire who is not impressed with Rayne. Can Rayne slay the evil vampire and find out what is bothering Jareth in time to bump her way to a high spot on the vampire-to-be waiting list, or is it her destiny to be the slayer forever?

Although this book, like its predecessor, suffers from over-exaggerated teenspeak in the opening section, it quickly settles down to a more even keel. Also, the book is told first in the form of a blog and then as a diary, so it suffers a bit from the shallowness that is hard to avoid with that format. And Jareth and Magnus, though dreamy, are still not fully realized characters yet.

With that said, this book is still laugh-out-loud funny and a very enjoyable read. In fact, when I read it during silent reading my students kept turning around to stare at me because I was laughing so hard. I'm definitely going to keep reading this series.

Stake That is an awesome book filled with mysterious vampires, vampire hotties, and twin girls that are as different as night and day. What more could you ask for. I found that I liked Rayne being the narrator better than Sunny. I just agree more with the way that Rayne views the world and her situations. I also enjoy the fact that she's not only a vampire, but she's also a vampire slayer, with a super hot vampire boyfriend. Overall I love both books but Stake That was my favorite of the two.
If any of you know me, which you probably don't, you know that I'm a very picky reader. I can't read something that doesn't interest me but if it does interest me you can't get me to put it down. (Most parents can't get their kids to pick up a book and mine can't get me to put the book down.) I first read Stake That and Boys that Bite last year. (When I first got it, I clung to that book like a groupie to a rockstar!) Since then i have passed them (esp. Stake That) around to my group of friends that i lovingly call The Bookclub. I have even gotten my mother interested in the series and have read both books repeatedly. I lent Stake That to my cousin and she lost it. I'm furious and ready to pay the money to buy a new one just so I can reread it, again. It's most definitly one of my favorite books of all time and I can't wait for the next book in the series!!!

When I read this book, I had no idea that it was second in a series. However, it read so well that it made complete sense from suspenseful start to fabulous finish--an ending that begs for a sequel, of course.

The story is about twin teens, Sunshine (Sunny) and Rayne, who--although identical in appearance--are really as different as ... well, as "sunshine and rain." The first book (Boys That Bite) was from Sunny's point of view (POV), showing how she did NOT wish to be a vampire, while Rayne is a Goth Girl, completely into the whole vampire scene.

"Stake That" is from Rayne's POV and takes off where the other book ended, with Rayne upset because the vamp (Magnus) who was destined to be her "blood mate" bit her sister instead. Even though Sunny didn't wish to be a vampire, she fell in love with Magnus and they're working on their problems.

Meanwhile, Rayne seems destined for other vampy things:a vampire "slayer," of all things! This is completely contrary to her wishes because she WANTS to one day be a vamp herself. This causes many problems for her, and to complicate matters further, she suspects her mother's new boyfriend may be a vamp himself.

When Rayne is sent on a dangerous mission, she is paired with a real "hottie" vampire named Jareth who makes her forget all about Magnus ... or any other "blood mate," even though at first she finds him stubborn and uncompromising. But enough of the plot ... You must read this one for yourself. It's so into the teen vamp scene.

This author has done a brilliant job; she has the current teen jargon down pat, making the characters come to life in such a fashion I'm now totally convinced there ARE vampires and most of them are caring ... like real people. Mancusi is such a fine writer that all her characters come to life ... right before your eyes. Her ingenious plot twists are to "die for" and will keep you in suspense during the entire "read."

I was fascinated by the way this talented author handled the plot, with Rayne writing most of the story as a blog, complete with bloggers' comments, only switching to "diary" format when something was too private for her "blogging public."

Before reading this book, I was so NOT into vamps, but now I'm ready and eager to learn more. After going back to read "Boys That Bite," I plan to read the third in the series, which has just been released. Take my advice: Run ... don't walk to the nearest bookstore, or order it from Amazon ... right now! You'll thank me for it later.

Well, I just finished Stake That! by Mari Mancusi last night. This one and the prequel, Boys That Bite, are just so easy to read. I love them. The first one was from the point of view of Sunny, the "good" sister who was accidently bitten by a vampire, Magnus, who was supposed to bite Rayne, the "goth" sister. Now, how could he mistake one sister for another you ask? Well, the are identical twins. So, of course, Sunny is NOT thrilled to be becoming a vampire so she teams up with Magnus and they find a way to reverse the process.

Stake That! is written from Rayne's point of view. She is now waiting again on the list for a blood mate so she can continue with the process of becoming a vampire. She finds out though, that she is a vampire slayer. This is the worst news she could ever get since she totally doesn't want to kill any vampires because she doesn't want to get on their bad side since she really wants to be one some day. She is sent on a dangerous mission to find out about the vampire that is trying to over throw Magnus as the leader of the vampire coven by spreading a virus that takes away all vampire powers and kills humans that get infected.

To help her in this quest she is assigned a vampire named Jareth to help her. At first, neither of them is excited about working with the other, but eventually they realize they are in love!!! Anyway, Rayne is in very dangerous situations in this story and comes very close to dying. In order to see how she gets out of this predicament, you'll need to read Stake That! by Mari Mancusi! It is a joy!

After my dog died I was very depressed and Read the first of A Blood Coven Vampire Novel. Twins that get mixed up Goth Vampires that turn Surfer Day-walker, Buffy Fan Girl turned Vampire slayer Who want's to be the Vampire,Very clear about that. A cast of scary magical cool and silly ,I laughed and kept laughing have not laughed so hard in years. This book is about enjoying a good read and not getting any sleep till the books done and about making you smile and laugh to you cry.It's not done in a stupid way but in well thought out set of secrets that involve two sisters one fated to save the world from vampires and rather be a Vampire (she filed a application and was on a waiting list!)and one that's not but dose any way and would like to remain normal teen. It's about growing up and being a individual. About being your self and not a stereotype people expect whether your a teen Vamp ,or goth Teen Cheerleader or a prep girl who dates the undead or a Vampire General who enjoys surfing.That it's only cool to be You!

If you need to laugh to you cry this is for you!

Sweet and really funny. Not quite as good or as funny as "Boys that bite", and the ending definitely adds too much sugar and too much drama, but, even then, I enjoyed it. And it made me laugh. Which is what I was asking from the book and what I got from it.

Stake That! is the sequel to Boys That Bite by Mari Mancusi. I didn't read the first book but i still understood the whole story just by reading the second book. The story is about a girl and her name is Rayne and she really wants to become a vampire but one day during schoola theater techer goes to her and tells her that once every century a vampire slayer is chosen ( just like Buffy) and surprise surprise Rayne is the next slayer. I absolutely loved this book. It has adventure, and fantasy and very hot vampire guys. I strongly recommend it to anyone who loves adventure and vampires.

Rayne's goal in life was to be a vampire; after all her boyfriend, Magnus, was one. However, Mag failed to differentiate between Rayne and her twin, Sunny, and bit the wrong girl. So, not only has Rayne lost her boyfriend, but she's lost her hope of unlife. You know the saying when a door closes, a window opens? Rayne's finding that to be true. It turns out she is the chosen one of this generation, the girl who is supposed to slay vampires, but only the bad ones. Slayers Inc, recognizes there are some good ones, like Magnus, and want him to stay in power. With an evil vampire out to take down Magnus using bio-weapons, Rayne has a double impetus to stake the dude. She also has help she is not sure she wants at first in the form of a very easy on the eyes, undercover vamp, Jareth. Of course, being a slayer and semi-dating a new vampire are not all fun and games. It is dangerous work, demanding sacrifices, and exposing Rayne to trolls on her blog that chronicles her adventures.

**** No matter how old you are, if you enjoyed Buffy and Angel, odds are you will love this as well. Rayne is a snappy, smart aleck heroine with a unique take on life. Laughs come fast and furious, even in the grimmest moments. I look forward to seeing how the series develops. ****

In the book Boys That Bite, readers met Sunshine and Rayne McDonald, twin sisters who are physically identical but psychologically opposite. Sunny is as perky as her name implies, while Rayne dresses in black and wants to become a vampire. When Magnus, the vampire who was supposed to sire Rayne, accidentally bit Sunny instead, the two worked together to find a cure for her vampirism and fell in love in the process.

That's all well and good for Sunny, but what about Rayne? She still wants to be a vampire, and she really wants to stop being mistaken for her sister. Stake That! gives readers a chance to walk in Rayne's shoes - make that black leather zip-up boots - as she discovers that, instead of being one with the vampires, she has been chosen to slay them. The bad ones, that is. Now she's going undercover and hitting the vamp clubs downtown, fake ID in hand.

The book is set up like Rayne's online blog, complete with comments from random folks and Instant Message conversations with her best friend Spider. She shares details of her training experiences, her attempts to reconnect with her estranged father, and her growing interest in Jareth, a British vampire who helps her figure out how a blood disease is being passed around a vampire bar.

Stake That! offers more laughs and teen angst than violence. As they did in the previous book, the characters often Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which will crack up those who watched the television series. This book's best audience will be kids and teens that want a light vampire story.