Review: The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen

The Vampire Stalker
by Allison Van Diepen

Summary:

What if the characters in a vampire novel left their world--and came into yours?

Amy is in love with someone who doesn't exist: Alexander Banks, the dashing hero in a popular series of vampire novels. Then one night, Amy meets a boy who bears an eerie resemblance to Alexander. In fact, he IS Alexander, who has escaped from the pages of the book and is in hot pursuit of a wicked vampire named Vigo. Together, Amy and Alexander set out to track Vigo and learn how and why Alexander crossed over. But when she and Alexander begin to fall for each other, Amy wonders if she even wants him to ever return to the realm of fiction.

Rated K+ for violence and blood

~~SPOILER ALERT~~

Amy Hawthorne is in-love with Alexander Banks, a fictional character in a popular vampire series, and she even writes fanfictions about the series. On her way home after a school dance, she was attacked by a guy who greatly resembled Vigo Skaar, the notorious vampire of the book, and was saved by Alexander Banks, in the flesh!
As crazy as it sounds, it turns out that both Alexander and Vigo had crossed a portal from the Otherworld Chicago, into her Chicago, and now she must help him track down Vigo, before more innocent people die in his hands.

Pros:
• Alexander Banks is awesome! (winks)
• The concept about a fictional character coming to life was something new
Cons:
• I can’t feel Alexander and Amy’s chemistry at all.
• The story is so predictable.

1. Cover -
I love the night theme as the cover. When I first looked at it, the first thing that I noticed was the red book, since it pretty much stood out of the picture. The girl holding the book gives a hint that she loves to read, and the man’s silhouette gives an aura of mystery. At first, I thought that the guy was a vampire, and the girl was the stalker. What actually enticed me to read this book was the summary, considering that there were already a lot of vampire novels out there.

2. Plot -
I decided to read this book because of the concept. The first few chapters really hooked me, but I slowly found it hard to continue as I read. I only finished reading this, just because I wanted to know what will happen. It lacked some action, and I wished that there were more of it. I was actually expecting some twists, like maybe Ms. P actually has an evil plot or something, but everything turned out to be so predictable. What I like in a book is when it keeps me guessing and thinking, but this one didn’t.

3. Character Development -
We all know that Amy is so in-love with Alexander as a fictional character, and when she finally meets him—and I mean the real one— I gave her a point for not spazzing or fainting. I found Amy boring. There’s nothing really interesting about her. Her only role in the story was helping Alexander track down Vigo, and really fall in-love with him, if that even counts. But over all, I can’t see any development with her character.
Alexander was the main reason I continued reading this. He was strong, determined—and gorgeous too! All he wanted was to avenge the death of his family. Throughout the book, you’ll see how much he had changed, from the brooding, serious type, to someone sweet and with humor.
As for Vigo, he’s just the typical bad guy who taunts our hero and causes havoc, but what I’m wondering was his motives. How did he become so evil when his sister was the complete opposite? That was something the book wasn’t able to explained since I know that every villain has a reason why he’s like that.

4. Over-all Rating -
This was yet another vampire novel with just a new concept. I love how the author wrote about every readers’ dream, for their favorite characters to come to life, but it lacked the “Oomph!” effect to really hook me in and crave for a second book. Over all, it was a light, and fun read.