The Twilight Effect

In much the same way that JK Rowling changed the face of children literature forever with her fantastical (yet strangely believable) wizard world, Twilight changed teen books forever.

Gone is the straightforward Girl meets Boy scenario; replaced with Girl meets Vampire. The aftermath of the books (all four of them) is that the market has been flooded with a huge amount of variations on this theme. And also the audience has changed. From just being for 11 - 17 year olds, the readers now could be from as young as eight through to eighty.

We think this is The Twilight Effect - books with a strong fantastical romantic theme - read by just about anyone. And especially by me. I have mentioned more than once in my book reviews that I loved the Twilight books. I love fantasy, science fiction and romance. I really like it when they all intersect and my brain gets turned off for a bit. So I read all these books in the name of ‘research’, and it had nothing to do with the fact that I just like reading them!

So here are six current books that fall nicely into that Twilight category. Our next article will be about more of those books - but with a more "adult" theme (they are definitely less chaste). These are all the nice chaste ones that pretty much anyone can read.

So we start off with Illusions by Aprilynne Pike. This one is faeries instead of vampires - and it is the girl that is a faerie, and the boy who is human. Laurel is a faerie brought up by humans. She is torn between the two worlds, and between her faerie-guard Tamani and her human boyfriend David. These books are very much for the teen set - anywhere from the younger ones through to the 16 year olds. There is romance with both Tamani and David, intrigue in the form of Yuki, and danger in the form of Trolls (and there is no charming parallel with werewolves - trolls are just vile and evil)... This book is the follow on from Wings and, the first two books in the series. ILLUSIONS by Aprilynne Pike is published by Harper Collins. It is $25.99 - and it is available now. The fourth and final book in the saga has just been released. Destined by Aprilynne Pike is available now and retails for $24.99. These are all a nice easy read, light and uncomplicated. It is definitely a five out of five for its chaste rating.

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton is a slightly different kettle of fish (as it were). Silla is a young girl, lost and devastated after the brutal murder and apparent suicide of her parents. She lives with her brother and grandmother. This is the intertwined story of her and the Hot New Boy, Nick. Running alongside this is another story involving the mysterious Deacon. It takes a while, but eventually the two stories intersect with tragic and long lasting effects... This is a fast-paced and dark book with the path of true love running surprisingly smoothly considering all the death, loss and grief. This was a hard book to put down, and at just over 400 pages it is a long one. It can be a little wordy at times, and the cutting and bleeding thing a bit icky, but overall – a good read. Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton is published by Random House. It retails for $9.99 and is available now. Please note, this book is available as an e-reader. It is suitable for older (read adult Twilighters) readers as well.

Born Wicked: The Cahill Witch Chronicles by Jessica Spotswood could do with a different cover in my humble opinion. The Born Wicked title and the sultry photo on the front don’t give you a clear idea of what the book is actually going to be about. You would get a better idea if you watch (yes that’s right, watch) the book trailer, which I discovered while on the Internet. There now appears to be book trailers, so you get a moving trailer version of the back cover synopsis of the book. The story is about Cate, the eldest of the three Cahill sisters, whose mother was a witch. She died leaving them alone in a culture (it isn’t clear exactly when, and where, the books are set) that is ruled by the Brothers. Women are to be seen and not heard and witches especially are to be hated and destroyed. The love triangle is between Cate, Paul the Old Family Friend, and Finn the Handsome Gardener. This is a well-written, fast-paced book with lots of tumbles and turns with the story line. This is a book written in a Victorian-type era, so it has hardly any kissing let alone anything else. It could be read by any age. Born Wicked The Cahill Witch Chronicles by Jessica Spotswood is published by Penguin Books. It is $21 and is available now. This is a slightly more adult in tone.

Fateful is by the prolific Claudia Grey, who has written the popular Evernight series. Fateful takes the Twilight course a little more closely, with the young Tess Davies a young maid on the ill-fated Titanic. How is it close to Twilight? Well, there are no vampires, but there are werewolves. And as with Twilight, there are both good and bad werewolves – is the mysterious (and handsome) Alec being stalked by werewolves? And why? All will be revealed, in this easy to consume book that every 14 year old I have given it to has loved. This has a four out of five for its chaste rating. The book is published by Harper Collins and retails for $29.99. It is available now.

PASSION is the third novel in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. Luce would die for Daniel her one true love – and through the ages she has, with every re-incarnation she and Daniel live through. PASSION continues to follow Daniel the fallen angel and his earthy love Luce. This book follows Luce and she ducks through time watching each of their incarnations to see if there is a way to break their curse… and allow them to be together forever. With another book to follow, this will only be part of the story. Not as gripping as the first book, but better than the second. And the chaste factor is high… can be read by anyone. PASSION by Kate Lauren is published by Random House and retails for $29.99. It is available now.

Anya Brighouse
12 June 2012