Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Genre: Paranormal Chick Lit

Release Date: 12/1/09

About the Book: Solange Drake is the first female vampire born, not made, in hundreds of years. There's a prophecy that Solange will overthrow the current "vampire queen"-only problem is Solange wants to be a normal teen, no crown included.

When Solange is kidnapped it's up to her best friend Lucy and her brother Nicholas to save her. If only Lucy and Nicholas can stop bickering long enough to come up with a plan.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: There have been so many paranormal reads taking over YA recently that I've been feeling a little burnt out on the paranormal genre. Besides, while I enjoy some paranormal books, they're still not my favorite genre. But Hearts At Stake was the perfect book to pull me back in. It had the perfect blend of paranormal and chick lit.

It's a lighter take on the vampire trend. There's romance, but the story centers around best friends Lucy and Solange. The book is told in the alternating viewpoints of Lucy and Solange. I really loved that Lucy already knew the Drake families vampire secrets-no big revelation or drawing out a surprise for the characters that we as the readers already know. Lucy is part of the Drake family, so we as readers are immediately part of the Drake clan as well.

And the Drakes-love them. I always enjoy seeing great family dynamics in YA-no teens who hate their parents or siblings who don't get along. This is a family that I wouldn't mind spending a day with.

I have to gush for a moment and get all fangirly and mention how much I adore Lucy and Nicholas! Their bantering and bickering and oh-so-hot attraction to each other that they don't see but we do was my favorite part of the book and I looked forward to their scenes together. That's not to say I didn't really like Solange. Both girls kick major butt which made me very happy.

I saw on the author's website (at least her old one, I'm not sure if it's on the newly redesigned site) that the inspiration for the story came from Snow White. I'm not sure if I would have picked up on that without the tip, but knowing that I was able to catch some of the references, which made reading Hearts At Stake even more fun.

Yes, it's predictable, yes it's fluffy, yes, some of the story gets repetitive and yes, the vampire mythology is somewhat complicated. I would have liked to see the romance between Solange and her love interest develop more. But you know what? I loved it anyway-even with it's faults. Hearts At Stake was the perfect read for my chick lit romance loving self. I can't wait for the sequel, Blood Feud.

Full Disclosure: From my personal library-I bought this one at the bookstore!