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ryleighl's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This was the most racist thing I’ve ever read.
thebookclectic's review
4.0
I loved this book. I read it after having watched "Rise of the Lycans", but the book is NOTHING LIKE the movie. I definitely prefer the book version of events. It's a short book, so if you are looking for a good story you can get through quickly, this is definitely one I would recommend. emnoir.wordpress.com
ghostlydreamer's review
2.0
Ironically, I think I'm in the minority with this book. Which I guess I didn't realize at the time I'd read this book.
So here's the thing. I read this as a freshman in college. I was 18. But I'd MEANT to read this book much sooner. I first got into the Underworld franchise when I was fourteen or so (a freshman in high school) and I was OBSESSED. I wanted to be Selene so fucking badly. She was a badass in every way. She acted like one, looked like one, talked like one... So you can imagine my excitement when I found out there were novelizations of the films. Only the first three, mind you (which were the only three out at the time: Underworld, Rise of the Lycans, and Evolution).
This was also before I started using Goodreads, but I DID know about Blood Enemy. But since it wasn't a novelization of any of the films, it wasn't my priority. I simply had to have the other three, and once I got my hands on them, I devoured them. As any fourteen year old would who was obsessed with a badass female lead, and a vampire no less! I even remember how we had to order them because we couldn't find them at a bookstore. This was probably in 2012, so it's not like ordering things was unusual, but it definitely wasn't nearly as commonplace as it was by the time I was a freshman in college, about to read Blood Enemy.
Anyway, all of that to say, I knew about this book back then and had wanted to read it, but for some reason, I never got around to ordering it. It wasn't a priority, I guess. I'd largely forgotten about it too, and written it off as one of those books that I probably wouldn't actually read despite having it marked on my to-read shelf for ages. But then I went to my local used bookstore and, by some miracle, found it! Didn't even have to order it, and that's when I was ordering EVERYTHING online, not even bothering to check the stores half the time. So of course I had to have it. And I'm pretty sure I got around to it very quickly. That means I didn't let it sit in my TBR for five years before finally digging it out. But, unfortunately, I didn't love it.
For those who don't know, this is an original prequel to the Underworld series. That means it's of the author's own making, and was written before Rise of the Lycans was a thing, if I recall corrections. It's a good look at what could have been, if the story had been handled differently. And some people really liked the way this book handled Sonja and Lucian's relationship. I, however, didn't. Why? Because Rise of the Lycans was my favorite of the films and I ADORED the novelization, so reading this alternative just felt...inferior. I guess that's the main thing. Nothing could compare to Sonja's badass portrayal in the film and book. Hell, five years later and I prefer Sonja to Selene any day of the week. But there are other reasons why I think this book fell a bit flat for me.
For example, I was well out of my Underworld obsession by this time. I was eighteen, and while I still loved Underworld, I'd found new obsessions and didn't feel the same connection as before. I think I would have loved this if I'd read it when I was fourteen, but by then I don't think it was capable of achieving the same effect that it could have in the past. That affected my overall enjoyment of the book quite a bit, because I figured if I wanted to read a prequel, I'd just read (or watch) Rise of the Lycans instead.
I don't think there was anything in particular that I hated about the book. It just wasn't all that interesting and didn't leave much of an impression on me. I don't remember it much and purged it from my bookshelves not long after (though I kept the novelizations of the films). I think it's an excellent story, but it didn't align with my tastes, and that's okay.
So here's the thing. I read this as a freshman in college. I was 18. But I'd MEANT to read this book much sooner. I first got into the Underworld franchise when I was fourteen or so (a freshman in high school) and I was OBSESSED. I wanted to be Selene so fucking badly. She was a badass in every way. She acted like one, looked like one, talked like one... So you can imagine my excitement when I found out there were novelizations of the films. Only the first three, mind you (which were the only three out at the time: Underworld, Rise of the Lycans, and Evolution).
This was also before I started using Goodreads, but I DID know about Blood Enemy. But since it wasn't a novelization of any of the films, it wasn't my priority. I simply had to have the other three, and once I got my hands on them, I devoured them. As any fourteen year old would who was obsessed with a badass female lead, and a vampire no less! I even remember how we had to order them because we couldn't find them at a bookstore. This was probably in 2012, so it's not like ordering things was unusual, but it definitely wasn't nearly as commonplace as it was by the time I was a freshman in college, about to read Blood Enemy.
Anyway, all of that to say, I knew about this book back then and had wanted to read it, but for some reason, I never got around to ordering it. It wasn't a priority, I guess. I'd largely forgotten about it too, and written it off as one of those books that I probably wouldn't actually read despite having it marked on my to-read shelf for ages. But then I went to my local used bookstore and, by some miracle, found it! Didn't even have to order it, and that's when I was ordering EVERYTHING online, not even bothering to check the stores half the time. So of course I had to have it. And I'm pretty sure I got around to it very quickly. That means I didn't let it sit in my TBR for five years before finally digging it out. But, unfortunately, I didn't love it.
For those who don't know, this is an original prequel to the Underworld series. That means it's of the author's own making, and was written before Rise of the Lycans was a thing, if I recall corrections. It's a good look at what could have been, if the story had been handled differently. And some people really liked the way this book handled Sonja and Lucian's relationship. I, however, didn't. Why? Because Rise of the Lycans was my favorite of the films and I ADORED the novelization, so reading this alternative just felt...inferior. I guess that's the main thing. Nothing could compare to Sonja's badass portrayal in the film and book. Hell, five years later and I prefer Sonja to Selene any day of the week. But there are other reasons why I think this book fell a bit flat for me.
For example, I was well out of my Underworld obsession by this time. I was eighteen, and while I still loved Underworld, I'd found new obsessions and didn't feel the same connection as before. I think I would have loved this if I'd read it when I was fourteen, but by then I don't think it was capable of achieving the same effect that it could have in the past. That affected my overall enjoyment of the book quite a bit, because I figured if I wanted to read a prequel, I'd just read (or watch) Rise of the Lycans instead.
I don't think there was anything in particular that I hated about the book. It just wasn't all that interesting and didn't leave much of an impression on me. I don't remember it much and purged it from my bookshelves not long after (though I kept the novelizations of the films). I think it's an excellent story, but it didn't align with my tastes, and that's okay.
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