Sugar Rush, The Ophelia Dawson Chronicles by Kimber An

Publisher:  Decadent Publishing
Page:  226

(October 21, 2010)

From the Cover:

Running and screaming will have to wait. A blood-sucking dead guy may be a vampire to you, but he’s an alien/human hybrid to Ophelia and she really must examine his olfactory nerve under a microscope first.

Ophelia longs to be free, free of diabetes, free of her ex-boyfriend, free to live.Something transformed Martin and made her his drug. If he has his way, she’ll never achieve the freedom to learn his true nature and origin.

Adrian’s the new guy in school. He faked his identity to get close to Ophelia, knowing the monsters who took his diabetic sister would try to take Ophelia, too. Then, he’d have them. But, he knew better than to get too close.

Oh, yeah, he did. Seriously. 

Ophelia was diagnosed as Type 1 diabetic at age eight, just like her father.  Her twin, Bianca was not.  It's the only thing different about them, other than their personalities.  Ophelia is the strong one, she's had to be, Bianca is the out spoken, the wild child, or at least she wants you to believe that.

Ophelia has a secret admirer, one who adds to her collection of Star Trek and Star Wars figurines, as well to make her day better.  Her ex-boyfriend, Martin Brynner, (whose Mother is the school principal and Father is the only law), won't hear that she no longer wants or needs to be around him, he's become an ass, forcing his presence when she least wants him to.  He's convinced that Bianca is behind their almost breakup, and he'd be right, but it's what Ophelia wants too. Martin has changed, calling her his "Sweet" clinging to her body, as if she might give him life.

Adrian, Ophelia's secret admirer, knows the Brynners's secret, and he's trying to protect Ophelia from them and what they want, a diabetic who possesses the sweetness of her blood and life to continue theirs, or so they hope.  There are creatures who live amongst the humans that are much scarier than one could guess.

Sugar Rush by Kimber An is the first of a new series centering around Ophelia, a diabetic teenager who attracts the Newbloods with her scent of sweetness, diabetes out of control.  But, is it out of control because of her habits or is it out of control from factors beyond her ability to control?  Are the Newbloods forcing her to become their "Sweet"?  The Oldbloods have grown too weak and too few to stop the Newbloods, but there are those willing to help the weaker humans, to prevent the Newbloods from trapping and eventually killing their prey.  In Ophelia's case, she really doesn't believe in vampires, she refers to them as alien/human hybrids, challenged by their supposed need for blood.  Regardless of how she feels about those drawn to the sweetness of her blood, they do intend to capture their "Sweets" and it's not a pleasant experience; caged, trapped, used.  Ophelia's father is also diabetic and his diabetes is out of control as well.  It's ruining his body, weakening him, making him vulnerable to those who wish to harm him, and they are in control of his small Alaskan town.

Sugar Rush is fast fun read and another new twist on vampirism, again helping to keep the genre fresh and moving forward.  I'm happy to read the differing ideas about how the vampire virus is created and perpetuated.  This book combines a little of the old with a some new twists, making it an interesting read.  The draw of the vampires in this book is that of the sweetness of the blood, but vampires don't always play by the rules, and neither should the humans they're hoping to enslave.  The Newbloods in this story are creating the perfect "receptacle" by forcing Ophelia's diabetes out of control, and the Oldbloods are being overrun by the Newbloods, unable to control this new form of vampirism.  The hero of this story is Adrian, who comes to Ophelia's rescue by distracting her ex-boyfriend time and time again, allowing for her escape from his greedy clutches.  Martin clings to Ophelia as if his life depended on it... and come to find out it kind of does.  But Adrian has his own motives as well, his sister has been taken by the Newbloods for feeding and breeding purposes... they're really only interested in the sweetness of the diabetic condition made worse with their scheming.  Only Adrian can hope to save Ophelia, but it may come with great sacrifice.  This story centers around Ophelia's imagination as well, she escapes her small enclosed town through her favorite books, movies, and TV shows, she's Buttercup to Adrian's Wesley (The Princess Bride), I love it!  I recommend this book to others looking for something different in the vampire genre, I don't think you'll be disappointed, I know I wasn't.  This is a YA paranormal romance with gorgeous cover art and a believable heroine in Ophelia, she's hoping to escape Martin and finds Adrian may be her only hope and her new love.  I enjoyed this new take on the genre and I'll be looking to see what happens to Ophelia in the next book, Crushed Sugar.  Adrian is a sweet and lovable character, so maybe there's hope that he'll return in the future books, after he gains control of this new being he's become.  I also really enjoyed Brandon, Ophelia's Oldblood protector, all are willing to sacrifice themselves to save Ophelia.  Sugar Rush is an excellent start for this new author, and I'll be waiting for the next in the series.

I received my ebook from Kimber An for review.  All opinions expressed are my own.