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Thea #2
Thea II
Teenage life. Miles from home. And a taste for human blood.
Struggling to control her newfound bloodlust, Thea is taken to a secluded farmhouse by Kate, an experienced vampire with a dark past.
In the shadows, far from watchful eyes, a young life will begin to transform and leave behind the little girl she once knew.
For now, Thea is safe with Kate: her teacher, her friend, her protector.
But is this woman really all that she seems?
Struggling to control her newfound bloodlust, Thea is taken to a secluded farmhouse by Kate, an experienced vampire with a dark past.
In the shadows, far from watchful eyes, a young life will begin to transform and leave behind the little girl she once knew.
For now, Thea is safe with Kate: her teacher, her friend, her protector.
But is this woman really all that she seems?
175 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 26, 2017
9 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Steven Jenkins
34 books197 followersBorn in the small Welsh town of Llanelli, Steven began writing stories at the age of eight. His inspiration came from his love for ‘80s horror movies, and novels by Stephen King and the late Richard Matheson.
During Steven’s teenage years, as well as being a black-belt kickboxer, he became a great lover of writing dark and twisted poems – six of which gained him publications with Poetry Now, Brownstone Books, and Strong Words.
Over the next few years, and after becoming a father and a husband, Steven's passion drove him towards writing short stories, gaining him further publication with Dark Moon Digest: an American horror magazine. His terrifying tales of the afterlife and zombies gained him positive reviews, particularly his story, Burning Ambition, which also came runner up in a Five-stop-story contest.
Finally, in 2013, after years of hard work (and countless rejection letters), Steven got his debut novel, Fourteen Days, published by Barking Rain Press.
During Steven’s teenage years, as well as being a black-belt kickboxer, he became a great lover of writing dark and twisted poems – six of which gained him publications with Poetry Now, Brownstone Books, and Strong Words.
Over the next few years, and after becoming a father and a husband, Steven's passion drove him towards writing short stories, gaining him further publication with Dark Moon Digest: an American horror magazine. His terrifying tales of the afterlife and zombies gained him positive reviews, particularly his story, Burning Ambition, which also came runner up in a Five-stop-story contest.
Finally, in 2013, after years of hard work (and countless rejection letters), Steven got his debut novel, Fourteen Days, published by Barking Rain Press.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 21, 2018
NOTE: I am going to review both 'Thea' and 'Thea II' here (copying same comments in each), so if that interferes with your plans, skip this now. I'm doing so because both books are quite short (not novellas per se but only just) and I don't want to overly inflate my yearly count (as such, I'm counting them both as 1 book and setting my 'read' date for the 2nd book at last year)! 'Thea' will get a 3-star nod while 'Thea II' will only be rated with 2, as the latter is much less sympathetic and only relies on 2 characters throughout.
The cover of this book says: "Thea (II): A Vampire Story"... however, this is NOT a vampire story. Yes, we eventually get to meet one (or more) vampires, but otherwise it's ONLY a very realistic story of family life in the modern era with a tiny bit of vampire content thrown in for flavouring. Steven Jenkins creates an extremely accurate (I assume) portrait of a single mother struggling with kids, abandonment, addiction and even worse. It seemed all the more real to me to me as my own daughter is the same age as Thea and to be honest, shares some of her more typical teenage characteristics (age 14 going on 24). And yes, I've reached for a bottle of whiskey or two in the past owing to some of these 'blessings' she has brought us!
However, what the book achieves in terms of painting a typical urban portrait - which continues as well into 'Thea II' just in a different setting and a change of 'parental player(s)' - it fails in terms of setting up any conflict whatsoever. Sure, vampires are to be dealt with lethally when found but as the world accepts them as existing, that's not really an issue. The only 'villains' we face for most of either of these books are the aforementioned challenges of trying to raise a child in the modern world with all that entails. The fact that the title child is eventually 'vampirized' seems even secondary if not tertiary to the entire conversation. Yes, Jenkins has an interesting take on how these vampires are created - even brutally so in Thea II - but that is not enough by any stretch of the imagination to carry these tales.
What little is available in terms of action is unsatisfyingly brief and incomplete at best. And are the 'invaders' really bad guys when all is said and done? Disappointing for sure as I find Jenkins to be an excellent wordsmith. I think in many ways, my 'poor' rating is due to the fact that I have so enjoyed the first two books of his 'Blue Skin' series which is as inventive as it is spell-binding! I'll also be checking out the entire 'Burn the Dead' as my new Kindle subscription prices them all within my budget!
Bottom line is that these are 'well'-written books but without the need oomph to keep the reader involved with ALL the issues at hand. Jenkins is a better writer and especialy a better 'imaginist' than either of these books prove to be. You can't win them all.
The cover of this book says: "Thea (II): A Vampire Story"... however, this is NOT a vampire story. Yes, we eventually get to meet one (or more) vampires, but otherwise it's ONLY a very realistic story of family life in the modern era with a tiny bit of vampire content thrown in for flavouring. Steven Jenkins creates an extremely accurate (I assume) portrait of a single mother struggling with kids, abandonment, addiction and even worse. It seemed all the more real to me to me as my own daughter is the same age as Thea and to be honest, shares some of her more typical teenage characteristics (age 14 going on 24). And yes, I've reached for a bottle of whiskey or two in the past owing to some of these 'blessings' she has brought us!
However, what the book achieves in terms of painting a typical urban portrait - which continues as well into 'Thea II' just in a different setting and a change of 'parental player(s)' - it fails in terms of setting up any conflict whatsoever. Sure, vampires are to be dealt with lethally when found but as the world accepts them as existing, that's not really an issue. The only 'villains' we face for most of either of these books are the aforementioned challenges of trying to raise a child in the modern world with all that entails. The fact that the title child is eventually 'vampirized' seems even secondary if not tertiary to the entire conversation. Yes, Jenkins has an interesting take on how these vampires are created - even brutally so in Thea II - but that is not enough by any stretch of the imagination to carry these tales.
What little is available in terms of action is unsatisfyingly brief and incomplete at best. And are the 'invaders' really bad guys when all is said and done? Disappointing for sure as I find Jenkins to be an excellent wordsmith. I think in many ways, my 'poor' rating is due to the fact that I have so enjoyed the first two books of his 'Blue Skin' series which is as inventive as it is spell-binding! I'll also be checking out the entire 'Burn the Dead' as my new Kindle subscription prices them all within my budget!
Bottom line is that these are 'well'-written books but without the need oomph to keep the reader involved with ALL the issues at hand. Jenkins is a better writer and especialy a better 'imaginist' than either of these books prove to be. You can't win them all.
August 26, 2018
Although the ending killed me, I really enjoyed the 2nd installment of this series. Seeing Thea struggle with coming terms with who she is, trying to fight her urges, and all while clinging on to her old memories.
I liked the dynamic Thea and Kate had, just the ending destroyed me. I am really hoping for a part 3 because it did not end the way I would have liked.
Great short read!
I liked the dynamic Thea and Kate had, just the ending destroyed me. I am really hoping for a part 3 because it did not end the way I would have liked.
Great short read!
August 15, 2017
Awesom
The first book is free, and I highly recommend that you pick it up immediately! Very in depth and dark.
The first book is free, and I highly recommend that you pick it up immediately! Very in depth and dark.
May 22, 2022
Sooooo good. The perfect follow up to the first book and it was incredibly detailed. I absolutely loved it.
August 16, 2017
Top class modern take on a vampire novel. I loved the first Thea so was eager to get stuck into the sequel. It's really well paced and written in the first person which really enables you to get a feel for the character. This author is exciting and I'll be reading more of his work.
August 9, 2018
Good book little bit gory and graphic, not the best read when eating my lunch. Loved the ending... cant wait on the next instalment
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews