The first in an all-new series by New York Times best-selling author Kendare Blake continues the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer featuring the next generation of Scoobies and Slayers who must defeat a powerful new evil.
A new Slayer for a new generation…
Frankie Rosenberg is passionate about the environment, a sophomore at New Sunnydale High School, and the daughter of the most powerful witch in Sunnydale history. Her mom, Willow, is slowly teaching her magic on the condition that she use it to better the world. But Frankie’s happily quiet life is upended when new girl Hailey shows up with news that the annual Slayer convention has been the target of an attack, and all the Slayers—including Buffy, Faith, and Hailey’s older sister Vi—might be dead. That means it’s time for this generation’s Slayer to be born.
But being the first ever Slayer-Witch means learning how to wield a stake while trying to control her budding powers. With the help of Hailey, a werewolf named Jake, and a hot but nerdy sage demon, Frankie must become the Slayer, prevent the Hellmouth from opening again, and find out what happened to her Aunt Buffy, before she’s next.
Get ready for a whole new story within the world of Buffy!
MY REVIEW – 3 1/2 stars
I can’t remember feeling quite so conflicted over a review before. The writing itself was good, and the story entertaining. But here’s my dilemma …
If you’re a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, to the point you grew up watching the show (back when DVR and streaming services weren’t a thing – you were home to watch it or you were out of luck), and have read the comics, there’s a lot in this book that will be hard to swallow. Quite a few times I found myself screaming “that would never happen” or “what the heck was that?” … A time or two I contemplated not finishing the book. If you pick up this book and expect it to follow the Buffy-verse canon, you’ll likely be disappointed. Or outright angry.
That being said…
Once I realized all the things that happened in the comics, beyond the TV series ending, hadn’t even been taken into consideration when this book was written, I decided to try and enjoy it as a separate series altogether. If I had never been a Buffy fan, what would I have thought?
After tossing aside all my expectations, and reading this as someone who wasn’t familiar with Buffy, I enjoyed quite a bit of the story. I loved the addition of the Countess and Grimlock. With the new “scooby” gang in place and an unfinished story ARC, it’s clear there will be more to this than just one book. So many questions are left unanswered. The writing style was easy to follow and I could picture the scenes in my head. There was just enough description to let my imagination fill in the rest.
Frankie doesn’t feel like a strong character starting out. She’s quiet. Very much a “behind the scenes” sort. Until her slayer powers are activated. Even then, she’s so focused on how much she’s not like Buffy, she doesn’t stop to enhance the skills she has that are uniquely hers. It was enjoyable, watching her grow as a character. I also enjoyed the secondary characters of Hailey, Jake, and Grim.
I think teens will enjoy this story, and it’s clean enough for even tweens to read it, even if there are a few bloody scenes and quite a bit of fighting (hello! Vampire slayer!).
*Disclaimer: I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Disney Hyperion for the chance to review this title. The review above is only my opinion.