“{Lifeforce} reminded me of Grey’s Anatomy, but with vampires, werewolves, and witches. “

Review by Rayleigh Setser

Sixteen-year-old Gillian Cassidy couldn’t save her mother. That was the day immortality lost its appeal. Eight years later, and now a powerful witch in her own right, Gillian has an unwanted visitor haunting her dreams: Sean, her first love. He’s immortal, thanks mainly to her, and seems determined to be with her for eternity. Has she created a monster?

Scared and desperate to escape her nightmares, Gillian must rely on her friends for help. Should she turn to Addie, her mom’s best friend and a short-tempered vampire? Or should she consult Forrest Wolfe, a lycan who’s looking more handsome every day? Gillian is in trouble, and this time, magic can’t fix it.

I received this book from the author for free. All comments and opinions are entirely my own and this review is voluntary.

Lifeforce feels like a classic, early 2000s vampire/werewolf teen romance.

It's a very easy read, I read it in a single morning and felt committed to Gillian's story and her perilous situation. While I do love a good werewolf romance, the entire reason for my interest in this book, I am not a huge fan of the teen angst style of romances.

I felt like the characters were all just super childish and in their own little worlds. Addie and Forrest both had really interesting backstories and obviously had lived for quite a while, yet they acted like 16-year-olds. Plus, they were doctors so I expected adults who had the maturity accompanied by their life experiences to handle situations better than they did. I was completely shocked when Gillian--who had hardly lived through anything drastic at all--had to explain very simple things to both of them like they weren't war doctors who literally had the knowledge to perform surgeries and saved lives on a daily basis. It just felt inconsistent, one minute they were these war hero adults and the next they were very naive children. (Some people may hate me for this comparison, but it reminded me of Grey's Anatomy, but with vampires, werewolves, and witches. So if you like the doctor drama plus supernatural romance, this may be right up your alley.)

The story progressed well, like I said, it's a very easy read. It has a great illustration of sacrificial love and I think it portrays the angry type of grief accurately. Overall, if you'd like a nostalgic trip back to the early 2000s and want to experience a brand new teen werewolf romance with a splash of doctor drama, you may like this book.

Content Ratings:

6. Strong action/gore (most action sequences describe blood loss and the injury to a clear picture, albeit brief or infrequent). 

3. Moderate content (heavier kissing, but no grabby hands). See below for additional details. 

6. Strong cursing (mild cursing paired with 3-10 strong words).

Other Trigger Warnings:

Content warnings: Cursing- A few minor curse words accompanied by some f-bombs towards the end of the book. Gore- very present, the vampires carry around thermoses that are filled with…well their “lifeforce”. Romance- primarily just spicy kissing scenes, this is a teen romance after all, but there is a connection of “euphoric feelings” when the vampires feed on people, so there is a not-so-subtle s*xual undertone even though things are never shown on paper.

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