Speculating on SpecFic

I liked the first book in The Vampire Agápe series, and I looked forward to reading the continuing adventures of Curry and Chansey. I didn’t enjoy Blood Jewel as much as Blood of Anteros: I feel like there could have been a little more character development but liked the extension of the world and the introduction of some cool new characters.It would be almost impossible for me to review this book without mentioning the Twilight saga – because it disturbingly follows the plot line of the first half of Breaking Dawn, to the point where I can’t ignore it. The newly engaged couple are planning their wedding and enjoying some well needed stability in their relationship, when the planning aspect is commandeered by Curry’s vampire sisters. Curry refuses to deflower his beloved until after marriage, which causes Chansey to use intimacy as a bargaining chip. Even the wedding and honeymoon destination echo Breaking Dawn. There are quite a few more similarities, but I won’t recite them here for fear of spoiling the story, but it suffices to note that Chansey and Curry’s personal lives almost mirror that of Edward and Bella’s after marriage.What the book lacks in originality it makes up in characters: I think the story arc with Solomon and the apparent re-emergence of his humanity is interesting and I spent the better part of the book trying to figure out what was going on with him. The introduction of a fledgling vampire and her human sister intrigued me, because I am interested in the process of turning a human into a vampire in this world. I would have enjoyed some more exploration of Marsala’s motivations – it’s still quite murky. This book also sheds light on the past – not only Curry’s but Chansey’s family as well, which is nice. The only characters who don’t show a lot of growth are Chansey and Curry: they’re fairly two-dimensional as cute newly weds.Despite my slight disappointment in this book, I am still looking forward to the third book in the series, Blood Doll, in hopes of finding the answers to all the questions that burn inside me. This series is not be missed by those fans of vampire novels!A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.