Review – What Kills Me by Wynne Channing

Title: What Kills Me

Author: Wynne Channing

Series: What Kills Me #1

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Published: June 6^th 2012

The Blurb

The fight for survival begins.

An ancient prophecy warns of a girl destined to cause the extinction of the vampire race.

So when 17-year-old Axelia falls into a sacred well filled with blood and emerges a vampire, the immortal empire believes she is this legendary destroyer. Hunted by soldiers and mercenaries, Axelia and her reluctant ally, the vampire bladesmith Lucas, must battle to survive.

How will she convince the empire that she is just an innocent teenager-turned bloodsucker and not a creature of destruction? And if she cannot, can a vampire who is afraid of bugs summon the courage to fight a nation of immortals?

My Review

I won my copy of What Kills Me and Liz @ Fictional Candy has told me numerous times that I must read it now! Well, I have finally stopped putting it off and boy, I wasn't disappointed! Once I started reading I couldn't stop until that final page and I was left wanting more!

A human girl will be re-born a vampire. She will shed the blood of all who walk in darkness and bring about the death of the entire vampire race. —Ancient vampire prophecy

I really enjoy vampire books which have prophecies. What Kills Me begins with the prophecy stated at the beginning of the first chapter. After I read that, I knew I was going to enjoy this book, it will have vampires, humans and mystery all rolled into a fun book!! That is exactly what I got and plenty of action too!!

Axelia (Zee) has been sent to Italy for two months by her parents to study Italian. She is boarding with Sofia and Giuseppe and another student Miyuki. When Zee goes out exploring, she becomes lost and meets a boy, Paolo, who offers to help her find her way home. They hit it off straight away and even arrange to catch up the following evening. Looks can be deceiving as Zee is about to find out, as Paolo double crosses her and her life is about to change forever.

This may be a bit of a spoiler, but it is obvious from the quote above that Zee is the human girl that is re-born a vampire and now she has to adapt to her new life. She is taken in by a Vampire family – Noel, Lucas and Jerome. Noel is the father and he is a very compassionate man is willing to help Zee as much as he can. Jerome is a sweet boy who is excited to have someone new to talk to. Lucas is a little more cautious about Zee and doesn't trust her at all. In fact, he really doesn’t like Zee and he thinks that she will invite trouble to their simple life, which is exactly what happens. Zee is hunted by other Vampires and in the end has to flee with Lucas.

Zee is a great character and I liked her immediately. She is quirky and is always looking at the brighter side of things. I was constantly laughing with some of the things she said or thought, for example:

Pretending to look back at the clock, I glanced at the fountain. The guy was gone. I searched the piazza but didn’t see him. Too bad. He might have been cute. Would his trying to pick my back pocket count as second base?

She has never had a real boyfriend before and gets excited about the prospect of a boy liking her. It is cute to watch her interact with boys, even if they are jerks! Paolo starts off as a nice guy and turns into a jerk, where Lucas starts out as a jerk but turns into a good guy!

Zee never asked to become a Vampire; however, she takes it pretty well. She has to learn quickly as they are constantly on the move. She learns how to fight, drink and act like a Vampire. Lucas turns out to be a good teacher and the more I saw of him, the more I liked him. He has been a Vampire for some time, so he knows how to defend himself and has the contacts to keep himself and Zee alive.

What Kills Meis a very fast-paced read and I couldn't help but continue to read it until I got to the abrupt ending!! I was so captivated by the storyline that I didn't realise I was so close to the end. It wasn't a big cliff hanger, but more that it was left open for the next book. Zee's new life as a Vampire is only just beginning. I loved the whole book, but I would've loved a few more swoon moments for Zee, because with everything that she has been through, she deserves some love!! I can't wait to see what will happen next!