Review: Taste by Kate Evangelista

Title: Taste
Author: Kate Evangelista
Publication: April 30th 2012 by Crescent Moon Press
Genre: Young Adult ~ Paranormal
Source: Won via Jen @ A Book and a Latte
Format: Paperback, 272 pages
Cover Rating: 4/5
Content Rating: 3/5
First sentence: I jerked awake to the first note of the bell in the east tower.

~Synopsis~

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans. When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn't realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.

My thoughts: 
The reason I got interested to read Taste by Kate Evangelista was when I got contacted by the author to post the book trailer and excerpt reveal. I read two excerpts of it and got hooked by them. So when I finally was able to acquire a copy of my own I was definitely excited to start it. The post of the trailer and excerpt reveal can you find by clicking here. Taste seemed to have it all for me. A mysterious boarding school, 2 hot guys who would compete for the main character and a paranormal twist to it all.

Starting off reading Taste I thought I knew what to expect. A typical YA paranormal book where you can guess right away which guy the girl would pick. About that I was right. But other than that it was completely different than what I expected. I loved the fact that it's a zombie book because I've been dying to read one finally. The thing that kept me reading was that I, just like the main chararacter, Phoenix, wanted to learn more about the zombies or the Zhamvy as they are called in the book. It found it very original and we got lots of information about where they lived, their history and what happened to th exiled king.

I have to say I don't really relate to Phoenix and I didn't seem to like her all that much. But the girl has fire, i have to say that too. She's brave and didn't back down from anything. I get that she really wanted to help the Zhamvy kingdom and if I have to like something from her it's that. But mostly I thought she was a little bit too dramatic and kept whining about her past. It's very sad what happened to her but that shouldn't be a reason for the things she does.

Taste would've been a 4 star book if not for the lame ending. I felt that somehow it was way too rushed and it didn't fit. I would've liked it more if we were actually there when everything suddenly turned out right than just this one character telling Phoenix about it. The writing seemed a little plain to me. But that wasn't a big factor for me so I'm letting it slide. Another thing I hated was the romance. It was so confusing. First she's making out with Demitri and the next thing I know she's kissing Luka. Of course I guessed who she was gonna end up with and that's also something I dislike. The obviousness of it. But I did love Luka. He was my favorite character. He's playful, sexy, a little mischievous and he had a sad past that makes him even more likable. I hated how he wasn't even in the end. He only got mentioned and what happened to him was big! *sigh*

I think some people will enjoy this book more. I've seen some 4 and 5 star reviews but in the end it wasn't all that for me. Too bad but still 3 stars isn't that bad. I did enjoy the story because of its originality and it was a fast read so that counts for something.

~Quote~

“Luka, the king—"
"Hail the king!" he playfully interrupted.
"Why does everyone say 'hail the king' every time I mention Darius?"
"Tradition." He winked at me from over his shoulder. A grin stretched my lips.
"So, if I say king—"
"Hail the king!"
I tried again. "King?"
"Hail the king!"
"King."
"Hail the king!"
"K—"
"Stop it!”

~About the author~

When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did 
the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters worse, she took Master's courses in creative writing. In the end, she realized to be a writer, none of what she had mattered. What really mattered? Writing. Plain and simple, honest to God, sitting in front of her computer, writing. Today, she has four completed YA novels to watch out for. To learn more about Kate, visit her at: http://www.kateevangelista.com
Find her also on: YouTube ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter

~Book Trailer~