Lucky Break

My Sister the Vampire #7

by Sienna Mercer

This book features hot guys, horses and high school hi-jinks! Ivy and Olivia are super excited - their aunt on their mother's side has invited them to stay at her ranch, to get to know them. But she's not in on the vampire thing, and when Ivy scares off her favourite horse, Lucky, the girls have to find him. Or risk blowing the coffin lid off the secret...Meanwhile, the school is putting on a production of Romeo and Juliet. Surely Olivia's boyfriend Jackson - Hollywood teen heart throb - is a shoo-in for the part of Romeo? So when Olivia gets the part of Juliet she's delighted. Only, Jackson isn't Romeo, he's Mercutio. And, even worse, Garrick, the grossest of the vampire 'Beasts' gang, is playing Romeo. So Olivia will have to kiss him - and she hasn't even kissed Jackson yet! Oh my darkness! The twins need a lucky break like a vampire needs blood!

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Middle Grade, Childrens, Paranormal, Fiction, Young Adult

193 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2011

About the author

Sienna Mercer grew up in Toronto, Canada. She was an only child, and always wanted a brother or sister – especially a twin. A twin would have been awesome! Sadly, she never got that sister so, when she was grown up, she did the next best thing - she wrote books about a girl who reminded her of herself, and gave her the most fun, fabulous twin she could think of!

Sienna began writing stories when she was a teenager, on a very wet day in Toronto when her cheerleading practice was cancelled - and she has not stopped writing since. She used to write in red leather notebooks while sat on her bed, but now does most of her writing in her attic, which is quite dark, and has some spooky cobwebs in the corners - the perfect location for thinking about vampires. She doesn't use red notebooks anymore, either, although she keeps them in a chest by her desk in the attic.

Sienna got the idea for My Sister the Vampire from a daydream she had - what if she had a super-cool twin sister... who was a vampire? She loved the characters - and their kooky friends and family - so much that she just had to keep writing about them.

When she's not daydreaming about vampires and cheerleading, Sienna enjoys travelling and exploring new cities, and keeps a detailed scrapbook of everywhere she’s visited. She lives in Toronto, kept company by Calypso and Angel – her two gorgeous cats. She is happily writing away and we wait for her upcoming books!

Reviews

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The aunt reallllly gets on my nerves still, she’s so annoying! I don’t think I remember any books past this point so everything from 8 on is essentially a new experience

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

31/12/17 re-read: It's amazing how the further away I get from the age of this series' intended audience and main characters, the more I seem to love these books. During the many years I've been re-reading My Sister the Vampire, my love and appreciation for nature, animals, the outdoors, theatre and Shakespeare - all key themes of this story - have blossomed a lot, meaning this particular book gelled with my tastes on so many levels. Then there's the core themes running through the entire series of family, love, friendship, growing up, loss, trying new things, accepting yourself and others different to you, loyalty, joy... I could go on. There's so much positivity in these books. And I am never going to grow out of that.

Original review 29/09/14: What a book. I love how well thought out and creative the storylines are in this, the seventh in Sienna Mercer's Vampalicious MSTV series. I'm a fan of Shakespeare, a fan of the countryside, and a HUGE fan of My Sister the Vampire, so I may be kind of biased in this book's favour during this review ... okay, so maybe a lot biased. But that doesn't even matter - the bottom line is, this book totally sucks. (BTW, that means it's amazing - 'sucks' is a good thing in this series. Get it, because vampires suck blood...? Anyway...)

This isn't one of my favourite books in this series, but I think it may be one of the best ... if that makes sense. I think the storylines were really well thought out because it felt like the twins actually had real problems that weren't going to be fixed overnight. Don't get me wrong here, I know better than anyone (you wouldn't believe me if I told you how many times I've read them all) that there has been real problems in the previous books, but I can't help feeling that Olivia and Ivy showed new sides of themselves with these particular dilemmas that they were facing.

The character's relationships with eachother were portrayed beautifully in this book. We, the readers, saw new sides to the relationships between; Ivy and Brendan, Olivia and Camilla, Susannah and Charles, Olivia and Jackson and Brendan and Charles - to name a few! I enjoyed these new insights more than I can say!

If I had one tiny complaint about this story, it would be the attitude that was displayed towards Olivia having her first ever kiss. I'm not talking about the characters - they had a very healthy attitude towards the fact that she had never been kissed before. For instance, Olivia was said to have have been completely fine with it and that she believed totally in waiting for the right time. But sometimes it felt like the 3rd person narration was hinting that she ought to have been kissed before. Maybe it was the way that she kept saying that she was fine with it, as if there was reason not to be fine with it. Which there isn't. Let's hope it was unintentional.

This is an utterly fabulous book which I'm sure any 7 - 13 year old girl would easily fall in love with. (Although I do know some much older people who still enjoy this series). I have read it and re-read it so many times, and it has never failed to put a smile on my face. :)

[smalls · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 8 year old asked for this book from her scholastics book order. Atually it was the first book, so I figured it was appropriate for her. Maybe I am getting old. When she Came down stairs all excited telling about the book I was pleased, until I heard the plot of "she is trying out for Juliet, so that she can have her first kiss with her boyfriend." Whoa!

I let her finish the book, and then told her no more from the series until I read it. The book was actually pretty cute. I did point out to her the girls were in high school, and had to remind her she was a bit too young for parts of it. But for the most part the story was cute.

I decided to let her read the other books after I read them first. So far the second book I read, again out of order, was fun and fast paced, and had lots of silly moments in it. You do get hooked on them pretty quickly, they are a fun story line.

[Dr. Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This installment was kind of lackluster. Olivia spends a lot of this book running around trying to get her first kiss from Jackson, which was kinda stupid since she was treating it like they were getting married. Honey your first kiss doesn't matter.

The play was kind of cool, I totally knew Camilla was going to make it a sci-fi retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It was surprising that she decided to cast Garrick as Romeo, but if he hadn't been then there would be no drama! I liked how the girls got to meet an aunt from their mother's side in this, even if Rebecca was a bit judgmental about Brendan and Charles. Olivia had an insight quote, "It's not what you wear that makes you a thug." I think this quote is still meaningful today.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
6th Book of 2018

I remember when I first read this book I found the ending to be a disappointment, but this second time around I enjoyed it a lot more! The twist on the school performance was slightly unrealistic, but cute, and I enjoyed seeing the familial conflict and resolution play out.

[Quince · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my FAVOURITE series back in fourth grade.

[mush♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know what, all I gotta say is as an ex theater kid, there's always that one time someone's been casted romantically alongside a guy they really didn't wanna have to kiss instead of the cute boy. Olivia, you were so brave and strong here girl !! I felt your pain !!

[Mady · Rating 5 out of 5]

i havent red it but all the other ones were great i couldnt put them dowmn so i think this one will be great :)

[Georgina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good!!

[Blue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just because a book is written for young readers does not mean it should be written as though by one. The writing is stiff, with the jerky cadence of a pre-schooler attemptung to tell a story although this book does manage to stay chronological. I could wave off the predictability that kept me cringing for much of the book but the writing itself made it impossible to not notice how little care was put into it. Beyond telling the reader feelings and reactions, there was also no depth to any character - each a loosely defined pawn for a role in an unrelated story. We get every minute detail, or at least a fast summary, of any emotion or reason and yet the characters still come across as empty.

[Star · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a salvo for 50cents. I was only going to read it to make sure it was okay for my niece before handing it off to her. I was surprised by how well I liked it. The pacing is a bit rushed unrealistically in my opinion. I feel preparation for a play would take a few weeks instead of the week and a half we get. The horse surviving to be found for over a week later felt like it was convenient rather than lucky so I docked it a star. I really liked the relation between siblings Ivy & Olivia. The idea of a re-vamped Romeo & Juliet play into Romezog(Alien) & Julietron(Robot) sci fi version was adorable and I wish I could watch it in real life. I'm definitely going to get the other books in the series for my niece.

[Georgi Velkov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though some parts of the book felt a bit slow to me, I still enjoyed this entry in the My Sister The Vampire series. I think I would have liked more ranch scenes as compared to the scenes in the school. Gotta admit tho, some scenes were funny as heck - for example the itching powder and Ivy and Garrick going crazy because of it. When I read the reviews for this book, I was surprised to find that some people thought Rebecca annoying. I admit, she had her faults, but I think they stemmed from a place of hurt, a place where she was separated from the twins for longer than she could imagine.

Overall, this book felt quite memorable compared to the previous one - but maybe that's because I read book 6 like two years ago :D

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one more than the previous one mainly because it was more interesting. there was the whole play thing going on, and I liked the sci-fi twist on Romeo and Juliet. I also liked the other half of the plot where they visited their aunt. Ivy doesn't think she fits in with either side of the family, but after reading her mum's diary finds out she's more like her mum than anyone else. the one thing that bugged me though was why does aunt whats-her-name dislike Brendan so much? just because he wears black a lot? so what, ivy does it too. and then he takes the blame for ivy and is practically banished from the farm. I feel like she didn't really have a basis for the dislike.

[Autumn Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awww! I really liked this book too! IT has a super sweet ending with everyone getting along like usual. Ivy gets over her fear of horses (for the most part) and figures out shes more like her bio-mom than she initially thought. I liked it!

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les filles rencontrent leur tante maternelle et tout n’est pas rose et noir.
Olivia joue le premier rôle de la pièce de théâtre de l’école, mais Romeo n’est pas celui qu’elle espère.
J’adore Garrick ! 🤣

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read when I was younger I only focused on the Romeo and Juliet stuff that I completely forgot about all the stuff that happens with the horses/Aunt Rebecca.

[Aadi N · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was Good but Somewhat Boring. It didnt interest me but it may interest some

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olivia and Ivy meet their mothers twin sister and spend time on her ranch.

[Aakanksha · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a fan of making ivy the villain for what ???

[Akelah Harrigan]

Lol

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

X6

[Marie-José · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun and delightful read! Very enjoyable.

[holden caulfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brendan is such a sweetie 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 but ivy was kinda wrong for not sticking up for him ngl.... kinda wrong how no one stood up for him

[Marga · Rating 4 out of 5]

First posted on worthlesswords.tumblr.com (My tumblr/blog)

Important info. Switched (book review). Fangtastic! (book review) Re-Vamped!(book review) Vampalicious! (book review) Take Two (book review) Love Bites (book review)

“This title features hot guys, horses and high school hi-jinks! Ivy and Olivia are super excited - their aunt on their mother’s side has invited them to stay at her ranch, to get to know them. But she’s not in on the vampire thing, and when Ivy scares off her favourite horse, Lucky, the girls have to find him. Or risk blowing the coffin lid off the secret…Meanwhile, the school is putting on a production of Romeo and Juliet. Surely Olivia’s boyfriend Jackson - Hollywood teen heart throb - is a shoo-in for the part of Romeo? So when Olivia gets the part of Juliet she’s delighted. Only, Jackson isn’t Romeo, he’s Mercutio. And, even worse, Garrick, the grossest of the vampire ‘Beasts’ gang, is playing Romeo. So Olivia will have to kiss him - and she hasn’t even kissed Jackson yet! Oh my darkness! The twins need a lucky break like a vampire needs blood…Sink your teeth into Olivia and Ivy’s seventh fright-time adventure.” (Amazon.com)

Let me just start by saying…
BRENDAN IS THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!!!

This is book features the best in Brendan and Ivy’s relationship. Brendan is seriously drop dead plus he’s an amazing boyfriend. What else could you ask for?

I disliked the parts where Olivia (AGAIN) was becoming the center of the story. And why does Olivia usually have a good and positive part in the book - and also in Love Bites. In this book, Ivy, yet again, feels like she doesnt belong and - of course - Olivia fits in perfectly.

I could definitely relate to Ivy when she felt left out in her mom’s and Aunt’s farm. I feel that way sometimes when I’m with my siblings and cousins. I feel like an outcast, like I’ll break something if I touch it, and animals will run away from mer or I’ll get hurt by an animal. The part were Ivy felt like she wasnt her mom’s daughter brought me to tears - seriously, I cried.

Olivia did have a struggle in this book - she was worried that her first kiss would be with Garrick Stephens instead of her boyfriend, Jackson - but Ivy’s struggle was waaaay deeper and more sentimental. Worrying if you are your mother’s daughter or if you’re, at all, related to your mom is definitely rough. I would know… I feel like that everyday.

I didnt like Camilla changing Romeo and Juliet to a sci-fi. It's a good idea but I'm not a fan of it. And "bosy Camilla" scares the filling outa my donut! And I miss Sophia's character. I hope the next book add more parts of her in it.

The end was really beautiful. I think its my favorite ending among all the other books. I cant wait to read the next! I’m still downloading it though and its taking an eternity to load. Ugh.

[Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twins have returned from Transylvania. Olivia and Jackson are still together, and his parents have moved to Franklin Grove. Olivia's friend Camilla is directing a production of Romeo and Juliet. Olivia hopes that she will get her first kiss from Jackson, and would love it if the two of them got the starring roles.

The other major development in the girls' lives is the introduction of their Aunt Rebecca, their mother's twin sister. Aunt Rebecca doesn't know about vampires, and has some serious hard feelings about having been left out of the girls' lives.

Aunt Rebecca lives on a farm not far from Franklin Grove. There the girls meet their mother's beloved horse Lucky, and discover a hidden diary their mother kept when she was their age. The girls begin visiting Aunt Rebecca on weekends, but Ivy again feels out of place. Olivia takes to the animals and horse-riding immediately, but the animals don't like Ivy. Or maybe they just sense her fear. Either way, Ivy is really bummed that she can't seem to make the same connection with the place that Olivia does, and feels disconnected from her mother as a result.

Camilla, a huge sci-fi fan, has a different vision of the play, and has altered the setting and the nature of the Montague-Capulet feud. Her play will be Romezog and Julietron, a romance between an eight-armed alien and a robot. Olivia gets the female lead, but unfortunately for her, the male lead goes to Garreth (an obnoxious vampire character the reader has met previously, one of a group of boys called the Beasts). Jackson gets the role of Merc-X88 (Mercutio). Garreth is in it for the kissing; Olivia is nauseated by the idea. She does everything she can to get Jackson to kiss her before opening night because she can't bear the idea of her first kiss being with Garreth.

At the farm Ivy accidentally lets Lucky loose, and days go by without him being found. Brendan, who had made a surprise visit to the farm to cheer up his girlfriend, takes the blame for Lucky's escape, earning Aunt Rebecca's wrath.

In the end all is well. The horse is found, Brendan is cleared of blame, Olivia doesn't have to kiss Garreth, and she gets her first kiss from Jackson. Ivy learns some things from her mother's journal that make her feel like she is indeed her mother's daughter.

[Aliyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Sister is a Vampire Luck Break by Sienna Mercer is a book about twin sisters named Olivia and Ivy. This story’s point of view is Olivia the mortal twin. The other charters in this book are Camilla their friend and Jackson Olivia’s boyfriend. This book tells about a school play named Romeo and Juliet. Olivia is auditioning for the roll Juliet and her boyfriend is auditioning for Romeo. But there is one problem a school cheerleader is auditioning for the roll Juliet and a vampire is auditioning for Romeo and she and her boyfriend have to get the rolls or else they both have to kiss someone else.
My favorite part of this book is when their aunt Rebecca came over and she was acting all perky. That part was weird to me when I read it. My least favorite part was when the school cheerleader came to Olivia and acted like she ruled the school. That part was really mean. I would recommend this to a classes mate. I plan on reading the next book The Bat Pak.

[Mursal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an o-kay book. I thought it would be more exciting, but I actually read this in about 2 days, and I wasn't that excited throughout the book. The whole thing was based on the play with Jackson and Olivia and Ivy and Brendan didn't really have a lot of parts in the book. when they DID have part, they were very boring and slightly un-interesting. I'm not one to judge.... but this wasn't my type of book. I really enjoyed Take Two and Re-Vamped because they had full topics, and not little scattered things. I like a book based on one main, solid idea. But then again, better than anything I could ever write.

[Kelly Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was awesome. In some parts it gets boring but it is still really good! Mainly the book is about these sisters named Olivia and Ivy who needs to find their mother's horse named Lucky. I recommend this book to 4th graders and up.

[Fatima Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

i relly lik this book

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a good story, I like how they are either at school or at the farm. My favorite part is the play.