Book Review: Insatiable by Meg Cabot

INSATIABLE
BY MEG CABOT
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (June 8, 2010-US & UK)
Language: English

Sick of Vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them.

Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die (not that you’re going to believe her; no one ever does).

But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side . . . a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, he already is dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future . . .

If she even has one.

Definition: in·sa·tia·ble
adj.
Impossible to satiate or satisfy: an insatiable appetite; an insatiable hunger for knowledge.

Meena Harper is having a bad week. Instead of having the type of precognition that could actually be useful, say like picking winning lottery numbers, Meena's gift is more like a curse. How would you like to meet someone and instantly know how they are going to die? Not exactly a great way to make new friends either. To make matter's worse, her recently unemployed brother is squatting in her apartment and her annoying neighbor Mary Lou seems to be stalking her at the elevators. But it gets worse. Meena was passed over for her dream job at the soap opera she currently writes for. Now, thanks to new boss and archenemy Shoshana, Meena's got to write about the one subject she can't stand- vampires.“Get over it, Harper, Shoshona had said.

They’re everywhere. You can’t escape them.
It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t she escape stupid vampires?”- page 284

Things just couldn't get any worse, right? Wrong. No, better yet- Dead Wrong. Meena’s whole world comes crashing down the night she meets Lucien. He's a man that seems to have it all- he’s a prince, gorgeous and did I mention filthy rich? At first she thinks she hit the jackpot. Then Meena soon learns all that glitters is not gold. In fact in Meena's case, you could say, all that lives, doesn't always have a pulse. Getting involved with Lucien puts Meena in a world of danger she never imagined possible. If she survives long enough to avoid the Palantine vampire hunting guard hammering at her door, not to the mention hordes of killer bats on the loose, will she lose her own soul in the process?

"When she got through all this- and she would, indeed, get through all this. She was going to have to.

What other choice did she have?- she was going to write a book. She had to get the word out there. It was the only way she was going to save other women from what she was going through now.

Women are From Venus. Vampires Are From Hell.” – page 328

Meg Cabot couldn't have chosen a better title for this book. I devoured all 563 pages in twenty-four hours and was still not satisfied. Just like it's namesake, I felt INSATIABLE, wanting more and more!

Meg Cabot took a subject completely over-saturated in the media right now and wove her own original twist into a fresh story line. I loved how the narrative unfolded between the alternating viewpoints of the different characters. There were so many well-defined, quirky personalities that it constantly kept the plot buzzing with excitement and humor. Alaric was by far my favorite one. I loved everything about his character; his rock-hard abs, his penchant for Betty & Veronica comics, his fondness for Senor Sticky, and his no-nonsense outlook on vampires. But more importantly, I loved the way Alaric's scenes sizzled with Meena; so much that I could practically hear them crackle and pop. The way they constantly fired zinger after zinger back at one another reminded me of a well written slap-stick comedy from an era gone by. Supporting characters such as Meena’s well-meaning, bumbling brother Jonathan, best friend Leisha and socialite Mary Lou added even more oomph to the book for me. Meena’s precognition was also really interesting; I loved how she used her gift to try and help people in a way that was realistic and at times, often poignant.

Instead of jumping on the vampire bandwagon, I believe Cabot sought to gently poke fun at our collective obsession with them. Cabot did a great job deconstructing our society and how/why so many people are enamored with vampires. Consent is a prevalent theme in this book. It takes three bites to become a vampire; people have a choice if they want to keep going back for more. Meena may have hated vampires but not everyone shared the same opinion. I liked that even as she struggled with her own attraction to Lucien, she still didn't want to be indoctrinated into their world. Sure guys like Lucien may be attractive and want to whisk you away on romantic vacations to Thailand, but it's important to remember that under all that glitz and glamor, they're still just a bunch of soulless demons wanting to suck your blood.

I've read numerous vampire novels, both within the YA and adult genres. This book was by far one of the most entertaining and downright addictive vampire books I have read in a long time and I highly recommend it.
Read excerpts of Insatiable.

Meg Cabot(her last name rhymes with habit—as in, “her books are habit-forming”) is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over twenty-five series and books for both adults and tweens/teens, selling over fifteen million copies worldwide.

Meg lives in New York City with her husband and their one- eyed cat, Henrietta.

Visit Meg Cabot's Official Website