Euphoria: Jourdan Alexandra

"Do you have a name, stranger?”

His face contorted briefly, giving an expression that suggested he hadn’t expected that, as if forwardness wasn’t something he was accustomed to. But if he had been caught unawares, he recovered in a timely fashion, and answered swiftly.

“Remaunt,” he told me, looking directly into my eyes, as if he could see beyond my green irises, into the deepest and most secret bowels of my mind. A strange current ran through my body and made my hair stand on end as he repeated his name, refusing to divulge a last. “My name is Remaunt.”

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Disruption. Initiation. The Unknowable. So say the Runes, the ancient Viking Oracle of marked stones ominously laid out before college freshman Riley Dawson a few days before her departure for Lyndon State College. Leaving the sun of her California childhood for the crisp northern air of Lyndonville, Vermont, Riley soon dismisses and forgets the Runes’ prediction of the choices she would make, choices borne of her own unseen nature, a nature invisible even to herself.

Dismisses and forgets that is, until she meets Remaunt: enigmatic, sensual, arrogant, and vulnerable. Describing him as the dark shadow of Adonis, his veneer of cool poise captivates Riley from the moment she meets him. Yet, even as Riley tries to deny her growing intrigue and fascination with her magnetically mysterious classmate, she ultimately finds that she cannot evade the truth of what he is. Remaunt is an immortal. Remaunt is a vampire.

And immortals have immortal enemies. As Riley soon finds out, Remaunt is not the only vampire residing in Lyndonville—and, after a few near-death encounters, she is forced to conclude that there are other vampires significantly more dangerous than Remaunt, and that they are not to be trifled with. Posing a formidable threat to not only Remaunt, they endanger her friends, the community, and, most importantly, Riley’s life itself.

With the crisis of disruption activated, the mystic power of initiation summoned, and the fire and chaos of the unknowable at hand, Riley finds herself as bait between several supernatural beings, locked in a war of wills fueled by revenge and anguish destined to a fate not even the immortals could envision.

Good Reads Summary

The first quality the reader will notice about this novel is the writing style.  Jourdan Alexandra is shockingly elegant and writes so the words the reader consumes are tangible.  The action takes place the most towards the end of the novel.  Until then, the reader may find him/herself reading a little slowly; however, he/she will be kept entertained by the antics and ignorance of Riley, the main character.  Riley is a bit of a hit or miss as a character, at times the reader may find him/herself enjoying Riley while at other the reader will want to yell at her.  Remaunt was not an easy character to get to know, he withholds himself from the reader and doesn't reveal many details.  This may make the reader angry or annoyed.  The secondary characters, on the other hand, really pulled the novel together.  They need to be developed more fully because the reader will want to know more about them (evil vampires Amelia and Charlotte, Riley's cousin Hailey).  Nick and/or Carter would make a great love interest for Riley, but the author may be leaning towards Remaunt.  Overall, the plot was pretty good and Riley was a well-developed character.  The reader will want to know more about the mysterious Runes and will wait for part 2 to emerge.  This novel is terrific for young adult/teens who enjoy a little vampire mixed with their everyday teen character. 

4 stars