Review: Isle of Night (The Watchers, #1) by Veronica Wolff

Is life offering fewer and fewer options? Then join the dead.

When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she's whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. To survive and become a Watcher, Annelise has to beat out every other girl, but she's determined to do so, because to fail doesn't mean dishonor-it means death.

I was so excited to start this series that I think I expected too much at first. The first two or three chapters just didn't grab me right away. Slow moving and hard to stay with was my initial impression. But... after that initial slow start, it changed and the pace of the plot right along with it. So looking back I think it was more me than the writing itself.

So once I was off and running I found myself truly engrossed in this plot. The gladiator style fighting theme, and mysterious surroundings kept things entertaining. It was like the girl version of Peter Pan's lost boys. Only these girls didn't ask or choose really to be brought to the Isle of Night. Girls with no family and nothing to return to at home, and their options were gone. Once these girls arrived it was survive or die. There is no leaving... only survival. Tough doesn't even begin to describe it.

These girls were no wall flowers, but nor were most of them ruthless killers to start with either. It kept this Darwinian theme of survival of the fittest right to the end. Scary stuff. This of course became another series I want to continue and am looking forward to seeing where things go from here.

So if you enjoy a good suspense and action packed adventure, you might want to look into this one. But it doesn't stop with the physical contests, mental fitness and agility were just as intense. I'm looking forward to seeing more in Vampire's Kiss (The Watchers, #2) coming out on March 06, 2012.

I gave Isle of Night (The Watchers, #2) 3 shamrocks!!!