Xoe: Vampires, and Werewolves, and Demons, Oh My!

Xoe Meyers #1

by Sara C. Roethle

Xoe Meyers had a normal life. So she was stuck going to high school, and she only had a few friends to call her own. She liked her normal life. Things were about to change though, because there's a new guy in her small town, and he is anything but normal. Before Xoe can say, "Werewolf," her best friend's life is in peril, and Xoe's world is turned upside-down. Then, of course, there's Jason. Xoe doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him, and given that he's a vampire, she'd have to be able to catch him first.

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult, Fantasy, Vampires, Werewolves, Romance, Urban Fantasy

264 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2009

About the author

Sara C. Roethle is a Fantasy author and part-time unicorn. She enjoys writing character driven stories in various fantasy realms with elements of Celtic and Norse myth, humor, and metaphysical ponderings.

Her series include:

Tree of Ages
The Thief's Apprentice
The Moonstone Chronicles
Xoe Meyers
Bitter Ashes

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

I freaking loved this book! I can't wait to read more of the books! I hope they are as good as this one!

Xoe and her best friends Lucy, Allison and Brian are all in high school together and share many of the same classes. They hang out all of time and are typical, get on your nerves, teens.

Then there is a new guy named Dan who suddenly appears at lunch one day. He is sitting with Max and staring at the three girls who always have lunch together. He's really creepy and constantly staring at them. Welllll.... Allison is the bold one of the group and goes over and gets him to join their little group. He still acts all creepy but talks some. Allison invites him to go shopping with them and to a movie. As if Xoe isn't mortified enough at having to go shopping, Allison invites the creepy guy.

It just gets creepier from there. I will not give away spoilers!

So, they eventually becomes friends with Max and another new guy named Jason. Now we have this little group of peeps that are having some major issues and trying to get them all figured out while dodging the parents.

I loved it so much! There was just something about it.

Now, can anyone figure out which one is the werewolf, vampire and demon? :)

Fin!

[Phrynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually read this because I needed a book starting with X for a challenge and there are not many of them around! It turned out to be an okay read but it irritated me in the many ways it copied Twilight. Is this another of those many books based on fan fiction? It certainly reads like one.

Leaving that to one side I found I was not especially interested in any of the characters and I did not feel any sparks between Jason and Xoe. There was a lot of excitement towards the end which kept me reading but I do not feel the need to continue with the series.

[Jammin Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this first book in the Xoe series. Set in Shelby, Oregon, a small city, the book focuses on three friends, Xoe, Lucy and Allison and how they end up with werewolves, vampires and demons in their midst. A fun read.

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really would love to see Xoe ask her mother about her father.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexondra Meyers, or Xoe as her friends call her is a seemingly normal teenager who lives with her single mother in a small town, she's never known her father. Lucy and Allison have been her friends forever and that's all she needs, she hasn't been interested in boys or expanding her social circle.

When a new boy enters the cafeteria and stares at the girls Xoe immediately thinks there is something strange about Dan but Allison invites him over to have lunch with the trio. Lucy and Allison then proceed to invite Dan out with them to the movies despite Xoe thinking it's a bad idea. Things don't go as planned of course and the girls are introduced to a world they never knew existed outside of the movies.

My first thoughts when starting this book is it reminded me a lot of Twilight which wasn't bad as I enjoyed Twilight. The girls meeting Dan in the cafeteria at lunch after he had stared at Xoe was a reminder of Bella and Edward but there was no instant attraction, instead Xoe had more of an instant hatred if anything of Dan. Other than the cafeteria scene the story had a complete life of it's own though.

If it weren't for a few typos here and there I may of even given this a five star rating. Rather a fun read bringing normal teenagers into the world of supernatural beings of Vampires, Werewolves and Demons. While this didn't end on a cliffhanger there are more books in the series and would be interested in reading Xoe's story further some day.

Overall, great, quick read that fans of Twilight might enjoy. The first book is available for free on Amazon for download if anyone would like to check it out.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland

I was excited to start reading Xoe even though it is not my normal read, but oh my goodness were these kids stupid. It was like every two pages I was just thinking seriously? Why, why would you do this? This makes no sense! Do you want bad things to happen to you? Yeah, it was not for me. *spoilers ahead*

Xoe is a high school girl who only has a few good friends. Nothing special, until a new guy, Dan shows up. He creeps Xoe out. Something is definitely off with him. He keeps staring at her and is just not right. He says things that are not cool, but then tries to be like they were just a joke. She doesn't like him.

If only her two friends wouldn't throw themselves at him and invite him along on their movie plans for the weekend. Lucy and Allison just love Dan even though there is something off with him. Xoe is the only one who seems to pick up on it, though at times her friends agree (particularly Allison). It was odd as they would be oh he's so dreamy, wait no there is something odd with him I don't know about him, wait he is so dreamy. I didn't understand why they would be so wishy washy about it.

So why are they all so stupid? Well that first day when Dan shows up Xoe and Lucy are walking home from school through the woods and they get chased by something. They never saw it, but it was scary. So they should probably stay out of the woods right? So then at movie night they are just like dude, creepy guy, we are totally going to go hiking in the woods, just Xoe and Lucy, just so you know. Cause you are hella creepy so why wouldn't we want you to know we are going out there by ourselves? Okay they don't tell him like that, but they might as well have. They just make the plans while he is listening/staring intently at them. Later creepy guy scratches Lucy which really freaks them both out and they think okay, maybe he is a werewolf! I know what we should do to calm down - go take a hike in the woods like we told creepy guy we were going to do today. I mean maybe creepy guy will be there and he can attack both of us! Wouldn't that be fun? *bangs head against desk* Seriously they go into the woods on a hike after Dan attacked Lucy and are surprised to find Dan there. It is just like really? Why would you be surprised to come upon him all alone in the woods? He knew your plans...

Then they think Lucy might turn into a werewolf the next night with the full moon so they need somewhere to chain Lucy up so she doesn't hurt anyone. Somewhere with no one around, so Xoe's house is out because of her mom. Lucy's house is empty since her parents are off somewhere so I guess that only leaves them with the woods. Yep, they planned on going into the woods in the middle of the night with crazy bad werewolf guy in there somewhere to chain up their friend. Yeah, that is a great plan. It was just like seriously? Do you have brains? Better not use Lucy's house since no one is home. Nope the woods are a much better plan....Thankfully Jason, the guy who saved them from Dan when he attacked them in the woods, is there to tell them what an idiotic plan they have (though not really for the woods part of it...). He is really the only reason any of them are still alive. Geez.

So throughout this all Xoe keeps getting super angry at nothing. Her anger issues are insane. She finds out she is probably half some supernatural being, but she doesn't know what. At least this explained why she would get super pissed off at nothing all the time. And with it she gets this cool being able to burn people/things when she is mad! Yey. Only when they are in the big showdown at the end after Lucy gets kidnapped by the bad werewolves she is all not angry and has no idea what to do. They almost kill her and her friends before she is like wait a minute...I have these crazy powers. How about I get angry now that I was stupid for long enough. Yeah it was lame. It didn't fit with the rest of the story. Someone would say some slight thing before and she is beyond angry, but these people take your bff and you cannot even summon a little anger over that? They hurt your friends and you don't get mad? They talk about killing everyone you love and you do not get angry? Really? Okay. Sure. I buy that.

So the storyline was frustrating as I don't know how these girls survived as long as they did. Without Jason and Max (a good werewolf) they wouldn't have that is for sure. So besides the storyline I also just didn't like the way it was written. It was way bogged down in useless details. I thought if I just got through the first chapter and met all the characters it wouldn't be so bad (they were all described in way too much detail), but no, the whole book is like that. Want an example? Okay!

"The rest of us sat eating out pancakes, Jason and I on one side of the table, Brian on the other, and Lucy at the head of the table. Allison waltzed in ahead of Max, wearing a lavender tunic-style top and skinny jeans and black ballet flats. She tossed her black and silver overnight bag on the floor in a corner of the dining room, then sat down next to Brian as Max sat on the other side of Jason. "

Did you get all that? It was important that we knew what Allison was wearing and what color everything was cause without that crucial information this would be way less bogged down in details. It was like every room and article of clothing was described in detail. Way too much for me. And in the above, where everyone is sitting, just comes off as awkward since it didn't really matter to the plot where everyone is. They could have been sitting anywhere and the story after would have been the same. A lot of the writing was just this over detailed descriptions of things which I really don't like. It makes it hard to get into the story.

So overall not a great read. There are more books after this, but I am going to skip them. I don't know that I can deal with the details and the stupidity.

[Mandy Sickle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xoe's life has been normal aside from the dreams of fire but with the arrival of a new guy in school who can't stop watching her everything is about to change. Raised by her mom she's never known her dad but she's alright with that and doesn't need him since she has two best friends. However, her friends are all over the new guy even though Xoe knows something isn't right with him.

When a girls movie night turns into inviting the new guy who's attached himself to one of her friend Xoe has to go to protect her friends. When Lucy ends up scratched they find out that she is going to start turning furry with the full moon. At least they have some help by a handsome stranger who's shown up just in time to protect the girls from the rogue wolf, but they will have to work together if they want to get rid of him for good.

I like Xoe a lot she's a sweetheart who is willing to risk her own life for those of her friends which I think is a great quality to have. She's not perfect she has issues like her dreams that leave her running hot, or that when she get's angry people can get burned. I like Allison and Lucy a lot they are all different but find a common ground to make their friendship work. I wasn't sure about Jason but he seemed to fit in with the group just like Max does when Lucy needs his experience.

I actually forgot that I had this one on my kindle until I saw the new cover and had to read it. Xoe: or Vampires, and Werewolves, and Demons, Oh My! is a fast paced whirlwind story. Loaded with crazy werewolves, sexy vampire and newbie demons who didn't even know at the time they were. I like the concept while it's not new the author has added her own unique twists creating a captivating story. The characters are easy to connect with I really liked all of them. I truly enjoyed turning the pages diving deeper into Xoe's world, the author has done a lovely job telling an enchanting story. I even have the next two ready to go on my kindle, I'm looking forward to see what is in story for Xoe and her friends. Highly recommend if you like young adult paranormal with just enough romance and action.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow...I am really surprised by the high ratings that this book gets. I didn't find that there was very much character development. In the end, I found myself not caring about what happened to them. I almost didn't even finish.

I had a little trouble with the writing as well. It didn't really seem to flow or transition easily between conversations.

I would definitely say this book is geared strictly toward YA. I didn't get much out of it.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Twilight" fans will eat it up…we older folk… probably not so much, even if you are a closet fan of vampires & werewolves and your best friend is a shape shifter. It wasn’t a bad read...rather interesting in places.. and didn’t take huge chinks out of my reading schedule, but it was extremely predictable. If you are older than 12 you will probably be able to tell how the whole thing is going to end by page 50 or so. But hey…I needed a book with a word starting with an “X” in the title and this one whispered to me and said “choose me… you know there’s not that many of us”.

[Sjc218 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in about a day and a half..... I was hooked! I love the characters and the surprises I wasn't expecting! This is a great book to read!

[BookNerdette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book for my favorite shelf, as I absolutely LOVED it from the beginning. This book seem to call out to me from the others and I'm so happy I went ahead and read it next. Even though I had just gotten it.

Even though their teens, the characters were strong - imo. Alexondra was a strong young woman, and I look forward to watching her grow and mature in the upcoming books. I was so glad all worked out with Lucy. I enjoyed how this author gave her characters the ability to *Believe*

Roethle had a good story, in addition with your writing flow mixed with wittiness that pulled you along. It was hard for me to lay the book down, and when I had to do so I wished I'd gotten the audiobook.

Oh btw Roethle, I also liked your cover very much. You left room for imagination the look of Alexondra and that is a big plus for me.

~Blessed be,
Tresa da BookNerdette

[Jody McGrath · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. The main character was spunky and her friends were all cool too. It was really predictable though. Nothing at all surprised me or seemed very original. I was a little disappointed in her "friend" Brian. I might read the second book. I hope the plot is a little more riveting. If it wasn't for the characters I probably wouldn't bother.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xoe was an interesting adventure with paranormal characters galore. Even with the many characters, Roethle managed to give each one an unique personality. I really enjoyed the variety of paranormal characters-Vampires, Werewolves and Demons-in the story. And others were mentioned, too. Maybe that is a hint of what is to come in the rest of the series. Roethle punches you in the gut with overwhelming emotions as the characters respond to their unbelievable situation. Believable characters, real emotions, and adrenaline-packed fight scenes have me jumping and screaming for more Xoe Meyers!

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a fast read and I didn't want it to end.

Xoe.. I love her. She is an amazing character. She didn't need some guy to save her and when it came down to it, She was not going to let that happen. She faces things head on and deals emotionally with it later when everyone is safe. I loved that about her.

I can't wait to read the rest of this series. This one just left me wanting more.

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

Generic YA twaddle attempting to emulate the inexplicable success of Twilight but failing miserably.

Mary-Sue without a brain, hot guys with shockingly coloured eyes, tiny town with pine surroundings... Sound familiar? Also full of mistakes like misused words and phrases; dull storytelling, coupled with little characterisation. But you knew that already.

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I thought it was going to be awful but it ended up being a pretty fun read.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young woman, Xoe, is starting her junior year in high school. She has three obvious friends (as in, she mentions she has a few friends and no more, but is slow in mentioning who they are; in such a way that at first I thought she only was friends with Allison and Lucy, but then her next-door-neighbor Brian got into the mix as well - potentially there are more 'friends' out there).

During the school day a new student intrudes into their little circle (that being Lucy, Allison and Xoe - but not Brian). A young man named Dan. Allison and Lucy find him attractive and give off signs of lusting after him. Allison, the bolder of the lot, wanders over, grabs Dan, and drags him back to their table (I should have mentioned somewhere along the line that this is all happening at lunch time - well first meeting). Xoe, though, finds Dan to be super creepy. What with his constant staring. And general . . . creepiness.

Allison invites Dan to come along on the groups shopping trip, though now it's morphed into movies. Dan goes along. His creepiness rises higher when Xoe wanders off to get some popcorn, and he confronts her. Grabbing her arm roughly and glaring at her, demanding to know 'her game' (or whatever he said). She's confused and annoyed - especially as it's been Dan doing all the staring all the past week and stuff.

Group outing continues. Eventually the group head to eat food - Lucy and Dan traveling in one car, Allison and Xoe in another. Which is important to note. For reasons. Eventually the night ends. everyone goes home, sleeps, goes to school, stares moodily at each other and are very emo and stuff. heh, no. When Dan dropped Lucy off at her place he scratched her arm. More like clawed it. And his hand looked like a wolf's paw. Lucy, naturally, is freaking out.

One thing leads to another and both Lucy and Xoe, independently of each other, come to the belief that werewolves are involved (with Lucy believing that Dan is one, and Xoe assuming that since werewolves are fictional, that Dan believes that he is a werewolf and stuff).

The point is driven home, though, along the way that things are weird. For various others come out of the woodwork. Vampires, werewolves, and demons. I'm suddenly being vague, I know, on purpose.

Interesting story. The level of maturity and 'plodding along' works when you consider everyone is around 16/17 years of age. Would work less well if everyone was older. So . . that young adult thingie works to it's own advantage. Or something like that.

Curious how the rest of the series unfolds.

Rating: 3.8

December 31 2016

[Carla-Everything Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review (By Jessica G. - Book Monster Guest Reviewer)

This book follows Alexondra Meyers, a high school student in Shelby, Oregon. When Alexondra, whose friends call her Xoe, begins another year of school, she and her friends meet Dan, a new kid at school. Xoe feels something is wrong with Dan but her best friends Lucy and Allison do not agree. Xoe, Lucy, and Allison hang out one weekend with Dan. He acts strange toward Xoe when her friends are not around, telling her he can “smell her” and wants to know “what she is.” Xoe has no idea what he is talking about and brushes him off. That night on the way home, Dan scratches Lucy. Lucy gets scared and goes right to Xoe, telling her Dan had claws. Xoe begins to think that Dan is a werewolf, though Lucy and Allison are skeptical. Then they meet Jason, who just transferred to their school. They befriend him, though Jason has a few secrets of his own. Xoe is determined to find out both Dan’s and Jason’s secrets and find out whom she really is.

It is a very fast read, keeping the reader intrigued throughout. Xoe is a great lead character as she is relatable to young girls. Her friends, Lucy and Allison, are also terrific characters as they both have very different personalities from Xoe. Any girl could connect with at least one of these characters. This would make a great tween book. As the first book in this series it sets a great opening narrative for what is to come in future books.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars

[Ginny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this young adult fantasy/horror book as a First Reads Giveaway.

I was originally drawn to this book by the fun title and was excited when I found out I had won a free copy, and was even more excited when it arrived in the mail the day before I was leaving on a family vacation.

Synopsis: Xoe lives in a small town with her single mom who is away on business alot. Xoe has a few close friends: Lucy, Allison & Brian. All is "normal" until a new guy starts at their school. Something about him freaks Xoe out... and lo and behold, it turns out he's a werewolf. From there Xoe's life gets a little less "normal".

Xoe and her two gal pals were likeable, though I felt some of the other characters weren't as developed as they could be. The story line was well organized and easy to follow, however it was often too easy to predict what was coming next in the story, and the few potentially good twists were overly foreshadowed. Overall, it was a fun, quick read. I would generally recommend more for the tween crowd. I think my neice may enjoy it more than I did.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abrupt endings are not endearing. Xoe and Jason's relationship feels forced. I still don't know if I like Xoe. Dan burning to death was great. Lucy and Allyson are good friends and temper Xoe's personality down. Max is nondescript. I definitely would not say Zoe is a badass half demon at all. She's a meh half demon. More to come if I can remember lol, I would rate this book a 2.75. I don't recommend this series, I couldn't even imagine paying to read the subsequent books.

[Shayla Yvonne Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG

OMG

this book I would give it teen stars if possible.Teens would like this it's a mix between fantasy and romance luv it get it make the 2nd book free please.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A movie in my head. Great book.

captivating fun intelligent witty and twists. Twas a fun short read. Definitely got my attention and I'm buying second book.

[Sherri Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

New to me author Sara Roethle offers up a passable story about a high school student who learns that supernatural beings exist in the most abrupt and shocking of ways. Xoe Meyers is a typical teenager, though her life is about to become the most untypical of lives trying to deal with the knowledge that werewolves, vampires and demons exist among us and the danger this knowledge puts her and her friends in.

I thought this was an interesting take on werewolf and vampire fiction. Xoe is a likable character though she comes across as anti-social. Her friends Lucy and Allison are polar opposites of Xoe and I marveled at their compatibility, but it worked well. Xoe’s trust issues are clearly evident from the start and learning that her father abandoned her and her mother when she was a baby sheds a lot of light on Xoe’s personality. Unlike Xoe, I liked Jason from the start and was glad that he is an ally.

I had some issues with the Dan character. He could have been fleshed out more to give the reader more clarity and understanding about his intentions and motives. He comes across as very mysterious and intriguing in the beginning and when we begin to see him for who he really is, it felt like there was a large hole that needed filling but was left empty, leaving this reader flat with unresolved feelings.

I also had some issues with Xoe’s friend, Brian. I found him to be very likable and I wish he were brought into the circle and told what was going on. This is the first story in a series of eight (so far) books, so having cliff-hangers and conflicts with no closure are to be expected. Brian and Xoe’s friendship presents one such conflict offering no closure that I hope will be addressed in the series.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this is a good start to what appears to be an interesting series. It is important for the reader to have patience as there is a lot to learn yet about all of the characters. For me, there were a lot of unanswered questions about what transpired in this story so I will continue the series.

[Liam Hale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start by saying this book wasn't *completely* terrible. But it sure wasn't good, either.

Xoe, straight from the beginning, is a whiny, spoiled, entitled character. She is rude and hateful to her friends, who put up with her nonsense for whatever reason. Her mother is basically an absent parent who works too much.

Conversely, Lucy is a delightful character but what the hell is with her prison warden parents? Lucy is never allowed at friends houses, especially overnight, and at the end of the story, she even mentions her parents check on her through the night. Are you for real? Does she live in a mental hospital? Prison? Get these people some Xanax, my god.

The plot is completely predictable and one dimensional. The idea that the girls would just ~accept~ that Dan is a werewolf, that Lucy was turned and Jason is a vampire is absurd. The lot of them get into wild shenanigans that their parents evidently don't care much about, even when said shenanigans land two of them in the emergency room with pretty intense injuries.

There are parts of the book that don't make sense to me, are over dramatically written, or are just completely unnecessary. The constant outfit changes and descriptions made me feel like I was at a fashion show, not reading lousy vampire fiction. At one point, Jason holds the door for Xoe and Xoe flips her absolute shit about it. What?? Has nobody ever held a door for her before? In the scene where Xoe is running through a forest, she trips on a tree root and breaks her arm, which is apparently made of glass, by falling onto the ground. I can tell you, I, at 340lbs, have fallen many times in my life. Never have I broken an entire bone doing so. Then there is Dans previous pack arriving after everything was said and done, making them effectively useless to the story.

Point being, it was hard to get into this story because the writing was shallow and uninteresting and there were so many spelling and grammar errors. The plot line was predictable. I finished book one, but can't bring myself to trudge through the next two.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reading this book to mark off the letter X from and A to Z book challenge. Surprisingly it was the only book I had that begin with the letter X. Anyways, I didn't hate the book but I didn't really love it either. The characters were kind of interesting but there wasn't any real back stories on anyone and Xoe seemed to accept things about herself and others very easily, her friends as well. But the book did help me mark off the letter X in a book challenge and I got the word rice cake for a scavenger hunt, so all in all not too bad.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't determine whether I just don't like Xoe or I just hate her. She believers herself the best of the best without actually blatantly saying so. Otherwise, story was fine, but not well developed.

[Alex Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 17 complete.

[Katy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 Stars

Initially, I just picked this up to fulfill an A-Z Challenge and I'm really glad I did! Some of it feels a little bit cliché, especially given the location coupled with the subject matter. I mean, really? Again with the vampires and werewolves frolicking about in the American Northwest? Not to mention the MC's last name is Meyers...hmmm

BUT

I personally liked The Twilight Saga and this wasn't a carbon copy by any means. I quite enjoyed Zoe, Lucy, & Allison's interactions. Lucy reminded me somewhat of Lucy Westenra from Dracula in the way she was targeted by the most nefarious character almost immediately. Thankfully things worked out better for this Lucy thus far! I was, of course, a great fan of Jason as well as Max addition to the girls. As for Zoe's mom, I most definitely like her but I'm a little curious/suspicious about her "business trips"... I do kind of want Zoe to meet her dad; I think she's going to have to at some point. Of course, I'm just nosey! I also hope Zoe and Brian can mend their friendship.

The only reason I rated it lower than 5 stars is because the author, while clever and fun for the most part, tended to overuse random words (you know when you think "Did you just learn that or something? Retire it already, please. 'Kay thanks!"

Plus, she managed to create a subtitle that kind of 'spoils' the book and really has no bearing on the story since it's in no way related to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I do get it. Once again, it's clever, funny and cute and there are Vampires, and Werewolves, and Demons! {well, a half-demon but whatever} (Oh, my!) It's not a gigantic deal of course. Just a pet peeve of mine. In Roethle's defense, the book is for a younger fan base and was quite predictable anyway. That didn't make it any less fun though! I can honestly say I found it to be rather un-put-down-able!!! (That is, when I wasn't sick...) I'm seriously considering continuing the series...

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Xoe” is a light-hearted romp into the world of werewolves, vampires and their ilk (I’ve always wanted to use ilk in a sentence….I feel so much better for having achieved this small accomplishment!)

For the most part, it’s pretty uneventful, with much of the action going on the head of the 16yo or 17yo MC (e.g., who’s the new hot guy?, what’s the hot car the hot guy is driving?, why is my best friend suddenly wearing makeup?, is my other best friend overdressing for a movie to impress a guy?). Along the way to discovering werewolves exist, the characters are more concerned about whether their parents will find out they skipped school one day than they are about learning about the supernatural and how it affects them.

Being based in high school, I overlooked most of the silly bad judgement calls. One though, did disturb me. To anyone who is physically attacked by a creepy guy, leaving a serious wound, it is NOT okay to deal with this by agreeing to go to a deserted warehouse with a different guy you just met so he can handcuff you. It is ESPECIALLY not ok to think it perfectly normal when he shows you several syringes of clear liquid, with which he intends to be ready to inject you in case you might turn into a werewolf. Once you’ve turned into a werewolf, or if you’ve actually seen any other werewolf, well, ok. But this is just not appropriate first date behavior in high school. I think I’m going to deduct at least ½ point in my rating just for this disturbing scene!

In the second half of the book, we learn that werewolves, vampires and demons are real, and that there are good and bad ones. The kids have an adventure. Yeah, that’s kinda about it. We don’t really get to know much about any of the characters. This being the first book in a multi-book series, I suppose that’s what the other books are for, but I would have liked to care enough about the characters that I would want to see where the series leads. I guess I don’t.

I bought this book on Audible for only $1.99 after getting it for free on Amazon for Kindle. At those prices, and after reading a great review for #2 in the series, I didn’t look closely enough to realize it’s YA hetero. Not generally on my reading list, but I tried hard to keep an open mind. It’s not really a coming-of-age story, and the monsters adventure wasn’t really terrible, it was just unremarkable. I guess that means meh. I’m not sure how to work in my ½ point deduction, but I’m ending with a 3* rating.

[Alejandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Xoe, Alexondra, Meyers has lived a fairly normal boring life. She’s lived with her mother, since her dad abandoned them before she was born, and lived down the street from her best friend Lily. Everything is going as usual until a new boy moves into town. Dan, the new hunk in town, won’t stop staring at her and gives her a weird vibe. Dan starts to hang out with Xoe and her freinds, Lily and Allison, and seems to have a romantic interest in Lily but still keeps on staring at Xoe. Weird things begin to happen now that Dan is in town and Xoe can’t help but feel that Dan is behind it.



What I liked:

-The way the author wrote was different from most paranormal authors. You know how recently male characters have started growling when angry, aroused, etc. ? Well here’s a small snip from a growling scene in this book:

Pg.22

“Something that sounded like a low growl trickled from Dan’s throat. Brian blinked, the defensive look on his face slipping back into a confused one.

‘Did you just growl at me?’ Brian asked Dan, almost laughing.”

Or how about this part:

After Dan has claimed Lily and Max has claimed Allison,

” ‘What about me? I interjected. That confused look crossed Max’s face again.

‘What?’ I asked snarkily. ‘You said that Dan claimed Lucy and you could have Allison, what am I, chopped liver?”- page 66 “

-Haha I loved that she was angry that she wasn’t claimed because I feel that I would have reacted the same way if all my friends had been “claimed” and no one claimed me. I’d be like what is wrong with me? Why did no one want me?

-OH and Xoe isn’t head over heals because of a guy and she thinks a bit more realistically than a lot of female heroines.

-I got this book for free on Amazon last week, I checked back today and it’s now up to $0.99, what a steal!

What I didn’t like:

-I wish it was longer! I love long books, if they’re good.

-I wish the characters were older, I want characters I can pretend to be!