Review: What Kills Me

What Kills Me by Wynne Channing

Genre: YA

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Says: The fight for survival begins.

An ancient prophecy warns of a girl destined to cause the extinction of the vampire race.

So when 17-year-old Axelia falls into a sacred well filled with blood and emerges a vampire, the immortal empire believes she is this legendary destroyer. Hunted by soldiers and mercenaries, Axelia and her reluctant ally, the vampire bladesmith Lucas, must battle to survive.

How will she convince the empire that she is just an innocent teenager-turned bloodsucker and not a creature of destruction? And if she cannot, can a vampire who is afraid of bugs summon the courage to fight a nation of immortals?

This might be a bit spoiler-ish for some. Please be one with your Spoiler Sensitivity Level and tread carefully.

I have to admit that I was not digging the first couple of chapters, more specifically prior to Axelia becoming a vampire. First, it felt that those chapters were predictable. We have a foreign student out enjoying Italy when she notices someone watching her. She needs to get home and gets lost on the way when stalker person then befriends her and then gets uber scary. It was just all too familiar. Secondly, Axelia wasn’t someone I liked. She was always trying to be funny and I didn’t find her funny. Needless to say, there were a lot of eye rolls coming from me, eye rolls and disappointment when I really wanted to like this book!

BUT, Wynne Channing came through and with amazing colors, AFTER Axelia became a vampire. It was like flipping a switch.

What I liked:

*Axelia becomes more likeable, less trying to be funny but actually is funny at all the right moments. She comes into her abilities and confidence slowly growing into a very believable heroine.

*Axelia never loses her humanity which made her stand out, special and added to that heroine factor.

*Lucas, Axelia’s mentor, was written extremely well. He is well defined and is a strong character from the beginning.

*The multi-cultural cast!

* The vamps and the prophesy. I found it all to be very unique and enjoyed its complexity.

*The lack of romance! I LOVED that romance was not really a focus! This book has a lot going on and busting at the seams with action and it didn’t need the complication of a romance full of angst. Nice balance…Enough said.

* Most of all I loved the feeling that I was watching a movie. It was like Matrix finds the Underworld. It was pretty kick ass. Everything that needed to be seen in your mind's eye was clearly seen. Every scene transitioned nicely and every action scene executed just as nicely.

*Fast paced!

*THE ENDING! I thought the ending was absolutely awesome and I think it was played brilliantly. The more I thought about that ending the more I felt it wasn't as black and white as it appeared but instead walked away with a deeper message.

I’m really glad What Kills Me turned around when it did and that in the end it truly was a great reading experience. I jumped online immediately after finishing in hopes that I could find information on a follow up installment. I didn't find any but hope that there will be another book. This world is one that can easily be explored further in a few more books. In fact, I’d be thoroughly disappointed if there is not a follow up to this read because there are a few ends that need to be cauterized.

Peeps, this book is available RIGHT NOW for .99 at Amazon and Smashwords. Take a chance on this one!

A finished copy was provided by the author via the Goodreads Making Connections Group.

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