LAILAH

Online writing community Wattpad’s popular love-triangle story about angels and vampires.

Francesca’s a mystery to herself—every time she dies, she “wake[s] up again” with only occasional glimpses of memories from her previous lives, such as the memory of Gabriel’s name and handsome face. A chance encounter with the badly wounded, good-looking Vampire Jonah draws “Cessie” into a world where a familiar figure—the Angel Gabriel—rescues Second Generation Vampires (humans who have been turned through Vampire venom, like Jonah) from their Pureblood masters. Her connection with Gabriel and chemistry with Jonah inspire jealousy in the two other female characters. Complicated Vampire and Angel mythologies and rules may inspire confusion in readers. The prose is plagued by awkward sentences, poor word choices and downright baffling sloppiness; for example: “My left arm lay heavy at my side; I could tell she hadn’t broken it, but she had at least fractured my bone.” The story has multiple mysteries—what, exactly, is Francesca, and how is she immortal; why are the Purebloods after her; what happened between her and Gabriel in her first life; and: Gabriel or Jonah? Unfortunately, the prologue answers the first question for all but the out-of-the-know characters, and Cessie’s back story heavily implies the second question’s answer. Her first-life mystery is more successful. Readers must wait for the next book to discover which guy she picks.

Overderivative and underedited.