Blood Born

This is a book that a younger version of myself would have really enjoyed and gone back to over again. While a very different story it gave me the same feeling that I liked when watching early seasons of The Vampire Diaries: darkish, broody, stylish, melancholy and dramatic in a way that only works in one’s late teens. . .  It’s taking something very familiar and often over done (Dracula/vampires) and making it something just new enough that you want to rediscover it. This has the right blend of wish fulfillment and angst to connect well with it’s intended Y/A audience. It also rides nicely the literary zeitgeist of unlikeable female. If you’re looking for a sparkly, romantic, Twilight style vampire book this is not for you. If you’re looking for something edgy and a bit darker with some teeth for that same teen group this is the way to go.

Blood Born is a modern-day retelling of Dracula by Renee Lake.
It centres around College freshman Maddie.
Maddie is excited about the new adventures college life will bring. She dreams of rallies, weird roommates and exciting courses of study. She's living with her girlfriend and making new interesting friends while watching out for her terminally ill brother. What she doesn't expect is mystery, tragedy, and heartbreak to befall her within the first semester. Is there a monster preying upon the people at her college? Will she betray her friends and succumb to temptation? Can they band together and fight the darkness? Or is the darkness that surrounds her not the enemy...but her only ally?
The story of Dracula has been retold to death (pun not intended), but the premise of the book had us really interested in reading it. You don't have to have read the original Dracula to read this book. The author pays homage to the original novel a lot,  Dracula you will know what we mean.  For us,  it all helped us to enjoy the story even more.
While we loved the plot, we sometimes struggled with the authors writing style, it made certain parts of the story feel a little flat and it caused the story to lose momentum.
Overall Blood Born is a  dramatic, dark and a gripping read.  The way the author uses devices like social media and diary entries etc, really add depth and layer to the characters, immersing you more in the story.
If you like Vampires, Supernatural and Romance then this a book you have to read!