The Quick

by Lauren Owen

[Beth C.]

Victorian England with vampires. But these are not the vampires of Twilight fame - there is no glittering, no super speed. Instead, there is a high-society men's club, plenty of rules, and a young man who is unknowingly about to cause havoc within that world.

The Quick takes the vampire novel and turns it back on its head to the days of old, when vampires were feared, those who believed in them were called lunatics, and a very few wished to have their long lives for their own. There is horror in this book, and blood - but none of it gratuitous. There is love, of different kinds, and not necessarily what those on the receiving end would have imagined. Best of all, there is a fabulous story with characters that will stay with you long after the story ends. The choices they make - would different choices have changed the outcome? And when does love become a prison instead of a joy?

This book is beautifully written - elegant, almost. Quite impressive for a debut author, and one that I will be sure to keep an eye on in the future.