chibichatter!

Is it just me or does there seem to be an awful lot of vampire media around at the moment? From Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga to anime, manga, movies and other novels, it seems just about everything is sporting something vampire related. I am still undecided as to whether I’m enjoying this new craze or not. Certainly I am enjoying the new portrayal of vampires being beautiful and humane, but I’m getting a sense of de ja vu’ coming through in the storylines. I feel like I’ve been trawling through the vampire content trying to find a story that is truly original and addictive – not this dark, angsty crap that keeps invading an otherwise good story. Sure, vampire stories are supposed to be dark – they are creatures of the night afterall, but it seems these stories keep falling into the same old tale of forbidden love, dark obsession and love triangles. I want something different!

Here’s a rundown of my recent vampire run-ins:

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Wow! Two posts in one day! (actually I wrote much of the last post yesterday…). I just finished reading Princess Ben last night so time for another book review!

Princess Ben

Princess Benevolence would infinitely prefer to be running around the town playing in mud with friends, and gorging herself silly on cakes and pasteries than being forced through princess training. However, when her Uncle the Crown King of Montagne is killed along with her mother, and her father deemed missing in the same attack, Queen Sophia is forced to accept Ben as the only remaining heir to the throne. Swept from her humble abode and thrown into the pompous environs of the castle, Ben quickly learns she is not cut out for Princess life. Embroidery, dance lessons, penmanship and restricted food portions drive her mad, and her lack of effort and improvement leaves her despised by her aunt the Queen. Ben soon finds her living quarters restricted to a tower cell where she miraculously discovers a hidden room of Wizadry. Teaching herself magic by night Ben uses the spells as an escape from her harsh life, but her new skills may prove more useful than not when their neighbouring country seems set on invasion, and total war seems inevitable. With all thoughts set to Ben being too incompentant to rule, she is determined to prove otherwise and puts in all efforts to become the Queen her country needs to survive.  

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