Insatiable

Meena Harper is disappointed when her soap opera adds a vampire story line, but her life becomes a soap opera when she falls for Lucien Antonescu, the real-life Prince of Darkness. Emily Bauer's bubbly voice captures Meena's girlish whimsy but doesn't always express the dark depravity of her vampire enemies or the dogmatism of the vampire slayers. Bauer does her best with pedestrian dialogue and fully characterizes Meena's na•veté, regardless of how much listeners may grow impatient with it. There are some audio treasures here. In particular, one can even tell from Bauer's delivery when Meena is talking to her dog. As Meena faces a full-scale vampire war in a New York City cathedral, listeners will find themselves rooting for her survival. C.A. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

May 17, 2010
Cabot (Princess Diaries) winningly applies her trademark likably fallible protagonists and breezy storytelling to a vampire war in New York City. TV writer Meena Harper creates fabulous plots for Insatiable, the second-highest–rated soap opera, thanks to her burdensome if lucrative psychic ability to see into the future and determine how people are going to die. And just as Insatiable is switching to a vampire theme to attract a younger demographic, a spate of chilling murders-by-exsanguination grips New York City. Enter Lucien Antonescu, a sexy, melancholic Romanian history professor/vampire who recognizes that the murders are the work of rogue vampires who have broken away from his order. (Lucien happens to be the son of Vlad the Impaler, whom Bram Stoker gave such a bad rep.) Lucien's opposition: Alaric Wulf, a sympathetic detective from the Palatine Guard, who hopes to use Meena and her prophetic gift to stop the murders and track down Lucien. Unfortunately for Alaric, Meena is a little in love with Lucien. Cabot is less concerned with creating a convincing family tree for Lucien than with creating sparks between her characters, who feel pleasantly natural even as they live alongside the vampires next door.

October 15, 2010

A vampire war is raging in New York City, with dead bodies piling up on both sides, and Meena Harper lands right in the middle of it. The coupling of breezy storytelling and vamp soap drama in No. 1 New York Times best-selling author Cabot's (www.megcabot.com) new series starter will appeal to younger readers/listeners, but the story has little real substance. Self-centered, shallow main characters and turgid dialog are, however, mitigated by amusing situations. Actress Emily Bauer's (www.emilybauer.com) girlish, dramatic vocals heighten the maudlin, romantic feel of the novel. A good match for YA listeners and fans of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" novels. [The Morrow hc was recommended for "Cabot's fans, chick-lit followers, and crossover readers from the paranormal romance and urban fantasy genres," LJ 6/15/10.--Ed.]--Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix P.L.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2010
The author of the popular Princess Diaries series and Queen of Babble (2006) jumps on the vampire bandwagon. Meena Harper is a young soap opera writer who possesses the power to see how people are going to die. This ability has allowed her to save the lives of those she cares about, but its also made her something of an outsider. Her dreams of becoming the head writer on her show, Insatiable, are dashed when the job is given to a well-connected rival who wants to add a vampire character to the sudser. Meena is dismayed by the turn of events at work until a mysterious stranger named Lucien rescues her from a bizarre bat attack. Their romance takes off, until a smoldering vampire hunter named Alaric breaks into Meenas apartment and tells her the man shes dating is the prince of darkness. Meena doesnt want to believe her lover is actually a vampire, but the gravity of the situation becomes apparent when she finds herself embroiled in a deadly vampire war. The vampire craze may be reaching the oversaturation point, but this novels appealing love triangle and Cabots popularity should draw plenty of readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)