Laney by Joanne I. Martin Sowles

Laney (Brookhaven Vampires #1)
Joanne I. Martin Sowles

Synopsis: In a small college town in Northern California, Laney Alexander leads a regular, uneventful life-that is, until the charming and alluring Oliver Knight enters her world. Who is this gorgeous and mysterious stranger? Or, rather, what is he? As Laney's sophomore year of college begins, so does an unbelievable adventure-including a love she didn't know she longed for. She soon learns that Oliver is not ordinary, nor is the rest of his family, including a sister who openly hates her and a brother who will stop at nothing for revenge. As she fights for her life, and Oliver's love, Laney discovers that the fictional world of vampires isn't so fictional after all. Nobody is safe, especially Laney, Oliver's most important priority, and he will stop at nothing to protect her. With her mortality at risk, and a commitment revealed that she, without a doubt, knows she wants, Laney's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn...

Laney and her best friend forever, Keira, are roommates starting their second year of college. Apparently, this hottie has moved in down the hall, and surprisingly shows up in Laney's classes at school. The attraction seems mutual, and we meet Oliver Knight within the first few pages. But Oliver's slow to move into Laney's life, and it really frustrates her. What time the girls get to spend with Oliver and his roommate Carter, who Keira's been crushing on for years, the more Laney falls head over heels for Oliver. She catches some strange things, like Oliver constantly biting his lip and bleeding as he drinks from a silver canteen (gonna have to say Duh! here cause biting his lip wouldn't have been what I would have been thinking) and that he always seems to avoid the get-togethers involving food. It's not until he saves her from a vampire attack that she opens her eyes to what's right in front of her.

Oliver is a Brookhaven vampire, and his interest in Laney has drawn her into a violent family fued. His brother Oscar blames him for taking his love away from him, so he's determined to return the favor, making Laney number one on their Most Wanted list. Life couldn't suck more...literally. As she struggles dealing with fantasy becoming reality all around her, she's twisted and pulled in every direction as Oliver struggles to keep her safe.

For people with pet peeves, there are a few things I should mention. The first half and the back half of this book don't match. It's almost like the author became a better writer as she advanced through, cause the first half needs a little rewriting. Why do I say this? Because the first half of the book is guilty of the following: 1) Very little substance. Everything interesting happens in the back end of the book and very little in the front. 2) Overly-descriptive. I don't really need to know how many feet there are between Laney's bed and the bathroom, and how many more to Keira's room. All these descriptions slow down the action and makes the story drag out. 3) Simple sentences. At times it actually reads like: Oliver smiles. I blush. Too many short sentences, not enough complex ones. 4) Laney's obsessed with Oliver. Once she meets him, you can't go one page without hearing about how handsome he is or how gorgeous some body part is. It's overwhelming, and her feelings just don't seem real to me, like what she's feeling is lust for his body and not love for who he is. Also, 5) Laney's college is weird. I've attended three universities and I've never experienced the scheduling block she has, nor had the same hottie I liked in all my classes, nor did the professors care whether or not I came to class. It almost felt like Laney was originally attending a live-in private high school and got changed later to make the characters older. Luckily, the second half of this novel seems to fix all these issues when the story becomes focused on the action, and the writing seems to fall into place and flow like it should.

Don't let my last paragraph scare you off of reading Laney. I was really happy with how the story came together by the end, I just felt it was a bumpy ride getting there. Once you pass 150 pages, the story hooks you and the writing flows a lot better. Now that the writing kinks have been smoothed out, I expect Darkness to get a higher rating from me. :)

Novel provided by author for honest review.