Amaranth

by Rachael Wade

[Angie]

I wasn't sure what I was expecting from Amaranth, but this was not it. I'm sucker for all things vampire, and I thought the addition of Hoodoo would be interesting, but ultimately, everything falls flat. Camille is just going about her normal routine at work, when her ex-boyfriend comes in demanding a date with her. She's understandably startled by this, but soon, he's almost forgotten when she meets Gavin. They start dating, but then Andrew tries to kill her. Gavin saves her, but in the process must reveal his secret: he's a vampire. Not only that, but he's trying to lead a resistance against their queen. This sounds good on the surface, but underneath, nothing really worked.

I was confused at the beginning of Amaranth since it opens with Camille in Paris, celebrating her birthday away from an abusive boyfriend. She briefly meets Gavin, and then they both go about their day. Then in the second chapter Camille is in Louisiana, where she is confronted by an abusive ex-boyfriend. At first I thought the guy from Seattle had followed her, but no, it's apparently a new one. This girl does not know how to choose men. It's also two years later, which kind of threw me off. I think if that first chapter had been a prologue instead, or had been labeled as two years prior, I wouldn't have been as confused.

I also didn't care for Camille. She just makes a lot of bad decisions that make no sense. Instead of moving away from her second abusive boyfriend like she did with the first, or calling the cops, she tries to do Hoodoo. I can understand not wanting to move again, especially since she loves the area, but at least call the police! She claims they wouldn't believe her even though she's covered in bruises and her boss has witnessed his threatening behavior. Isn't that all evidence? Even if they didn't arrest him, at least they'd have something on file for when he does something to her again and she calls! But naturally, Hoodoo is the better solution. Even though it doesn't work! She also makes quick decisions to "save" Gavin, and then when things go badly she realizes that maybe he knows more about what's going on than she does, and she should have listened. Seriously.

Amaranth was just kind of okay for me. I didn't like a lot of it, but I do think there's an interesting premise and some good ideas here. Camille has managed to make a bigger mess of things, but I suppose, that's good for added drama. Let's see how Gavin gets them out of it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.