Book Review: Lucienne Diver's Vamped

Today I’m reviewing YA vamp tale, Vamped by Lucienne Diver. I was really excited to read this series since I already had a copy of Book 2, Revamped in my hands. I couldn’t read it, though without reading Vamped first, right? Youbetcha. Beware, there are some spoilers in this review.


Gina Covello woke up one evening as an undead vampire, climbing her way out of a coffin. That scene would be normal for any undead creature, but for Gina and her divalicious style, it was downright criminal. And who was responsible for her undead transformation…Bobby Delvecchio. This one-time geek/chess champion was not as dull as Gina recalled, especially after he showed up in the graveyard, holding two, filled Macy shopping bags. The second she saw those bags, Gina began warming up to the unlikely hero.

For me, Gina’s character was lively, snarky and brazen from like page 2. Her dominating personality was slightly schizophrenic - to the point of her hearing voices in her head. This all went well with the story, told from her point of view. She was the perfect, popular teenager that wouldn’t let “being dead” stand in the way of her maintaining fashion sense. For as narcissistic as she was, I found it funny that she couldn’t see her image reflected in a mirror. I thought that was the perfect touch for  her self-involved vamp personality type. Add the fact that she’s a teenager and you have quite a character on your hands.

Eventually, Gina did begin putting others first. Hey, even as an undead bloodsucker, she was still maturing. I really liked her boy toy, Bobby, and would have liked to had more of him in the book. Oh well.

As for the plot…it unfolded a bit awkward for me. First there was Mellisande going around creating an army of vamp teenagers at the local high school. And then there were so many different characters between humans and vampires, Mellisande minions and council members; I had a hard time following the “who’s” in a scene.

I liked Gina’s spirit, though and was inspired by her willingness to lead the charge against the Mellisande. But when the end erupted into her “coming out” to the Police/media/public, I was like…huh? I didn’t really get it until the Man in Black sauntered in. Then, I’ll admit I was intrigued. Through all the trials these teenagers endured, it was clear someone of power would always try to control them. Gina seemed to be jockeying around to different players throughout the tale in an effort to survive. In the end, they were left with another entity attempting to control them. And what does this mean for Gina? Not sure but I’ll have to wait to read Book 2…Revamped. Stay tuned as I plan on reviewing this book soon.  On my KilloMeter, I give Vamped a 3.

Until next time…read a YA book, try Lucienne Diver’s Vamped.

Mina B.