Book Shelf: Jessica Rules the Dark Side (Jessica #2) by Beth Fantaskey

The highly anticipated sequel to Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side.

It’s one thing to find out you’re a vampire princess. It’s a whole other thing to actually rule. Newly married Jessica Packwood is having a hard enough time feeling regal with her husband, Lucius, at her side. But when evidence in the murder of a powerful elder points to Lucius, sending him into solitary confinement, Jessica is suddenly on her own. Determined to clear her husband’s name, Jessica launches into a full-scale investigation, but hallucinations and nightmares of betrayal keep getting in her way. Jessica knows that with no blood to drink, Lucius’s time is running out. Can she figure out who the real killer is—and whom she can trust—before it’s too late?

Blurb from Goodreads.....


Review:

Jessica Rules the Dark Side was a terrific follow up to Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, a book that surpassed all my expectations when I read it a few years ago and made it’s my into my all time fave list!
I thought for a long time that Jessica’s Guide was going to be a standalone novel, so I’ve been holding out for this book ever since I learnt of it. It’s been one of my most anticipated books to get my hands on. It doesn’t officially release until January of next year, but one of my online friends who I just love to death, Jess of She Known As Jess was kind enough to lend me her ARC so I could quench my thirst for more of Jessica and Lucius.

There are noticeable differences with this book when compared to the first. It’s darker and has lost that popular teenage school vampire story feel. This is serious now for Jess and Lucius—its life or death and they’ve come a long way since the first book. They’re together, but are soon ripped apart and it’s up to Jess to save her new husband from a painful execution.
This book jumps back and forth in the POV’s of Jess and Mindy, as well as letters corresponded between Lucius and Ranerio during his incarceration. I admit that it was nice seeing more of Mindy. She’s really spunky and has her own personality. She’s Jess’s best friend and wants to be there for her, but she also has a certain problem--and bit of a broken heart--thanks to a certain surfie vampire I won’t name, but am sure that fans of the first book will know.

Life as a royal was never going to be easy for Jess. She didn’t have the same upbringing as her husband and isn’t used to the harsh world of vampire politics and law. She went from being a regular American teenager to a princess and a wife and who finds herself set to become ruler. In this book, Jess looses herself for a bit; gone is the confident and sure girl of the past, and instead is a vampire princess just trying to find her feet in a world where weakness is despised. I loved watching Jess find herslef in this book and truly become Princess Antanasia Dragomir Vladescu. She’s not without her vulnerabilities and often makes mistakes, but she learns and at the end of this book is ready to become queen! It was so nice watching Jess accept who she was as a princess and her place within the Dragomir line. There’s a lot of growth in her during this book and she doesn’t have Lucius by her side which forces her to stand on her own two feet.

The only issue I had with this book is that it lacked a lot of the constant romance I adored with the first book. Obviously there’s a reason for that with Lucius...well...being in jail and all (LOL) but I missed him a lot during this book. That’s not to say that he and Jess aren’t electric and oh, so in love when they’re together, they are....but I just would have loved more of Lukey! He’s so strong, and noble and fierce and so incredibly in love with his wife. Just the way he speaks of her in his letters to his best friend; that noble prose of his.....*swoon* There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for Jess and all hell would break loose if anyone ever hurt a hair on her head, but in this book he’s forced to let her discover strength within herself to rule and make to decisions without him being there to guide her.

There’s mystery surrounding this book, although about halfway through I was pretty sure who the culprit was. This doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the ride thought, because boy....did I ever! There’s no real cliff-hanger to this book, but it leaves you wondering and I for one would certainly love to see a third book, just to see what becomes of Jess and Lucius.


Rating:
Source: Borrowed from Jess @ She Known As Jess---thank you oh, so much girlie!!!
Format: ARC
Recommend: Yes
Recommend borrow or buy: Buy!
Cover: This cover is stunning, even more so than the first! Brilliant!
Read sequel/continue with series: Yes, if there's more books in the series, then I'm so there.

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