I know, it is a surprise. : )
Just finished reading Insatiable, by Meg Cabot.
I’m going to admit something here….this is the first Meg Cabot book I have ever read. If you have read my blog at all, you probably know that a lot of what I read has fantastical elements, and usually considered “for kids” or teens….I was (until recently) unaware that Ms. Cabot was not only very funny, but also a pretty versatile author. I knew the Princess Diaries from the movies, and my daughter had read some of her books. It wasn’t that I was not interested, but just had such a long TBR (to be read) list that no matter how many great things I read or heard about 
MegCabot, her books were really not on my radar. Welllll….then a funny thing happened. I started reading her blog, following her on Facebook, much like I do with several other authors. I like to keep up on what is what in the world of fiction, particularly YA and younger. It is what I do. I read lots of author blogs, and book review blogs and such things. I’m rambling, aren’t I? Ok, so Insatiable has things that piqued my interest….I dig vampires but I had decided a while back that I would read no vampire book not written by Anne Rice….and Bram Stoker…..and maybe Charlaine Harris. *sigh* Haven’t I learned by now not to make rules for myself in regards to what I will and will not read? I usually end up breaking these rules anyway.
My husband asked me not long ago how long it had been since I read an “adult” book. After resisting the urge to punch him, I scoffed at “labels” and said “why can’t we just read a good story for the sake of reading a good story?” Promptly followed by finally getting my hands on Insatiable, which is not a YA or younger book, but most definitely a book written for adults.
I got sidetracked….back to reading/following Ms. Cabot on the net. In doing so, I learned at least three things. 1. Meg Cabot is a funny lady! She cracks me up! 2. She has written about the paranormal before this. 3. She grew up reading some of the same books I did. (which I mentioned in a previous post)…and Harry Potter. : )
I saw some of the book trailers, like the one above (I love book trailers) for Insatiable, and decided to read it…after I stopped laughing.
Here is another one.
I requested that our library buy it, and even went so far as to ask, nicely, if I could be the first to check it out. It was purchased, prepped, cataloged and viola, I just finished reading it.
I am going to sidetrack myself again. I have read and heard “it was so good I read it all in one sitting/night” so many times about many different books. This is what I have to say about that kind of reading. 1. that is great! If I were young, single, not a parent, no job, fewer responsibilities, or a vampire I would probably do that too. Maybe. 2. I like to enjoy a good book like a good meal. Savoring it. Re-reading bits if necessary. Ever eat something so fast you wonder where it went? Can’t really believe you ate so fast, and don’t really remember eating it at all? This is how someone I know reads. She reads so fast that she really doesn’t even remember why she liked it, just that she did. But enough about her, back to me. More importantly, back to Insatiable.
Meena is a dialog writer for a popular, long running soap opera entitled Insatiable. She is currently single, and sharing her apartment with her brother, who is also currently single but also unemployed, and her dog Jack Bauer. 
Ok. The dog is one of my favorite characters in the book. Who wouldn’t want a little dog who reminds you of Keifer Sutherland in 24,
complete with angst-y facial expressions? Meena has the ability to foresee when and how someone is going to die, this has not exactly been an easy ‘gift’ to live with and has cost her at least one relationship. Meena is also NOT a vampire fan. She is sick of the hype in popular media about vampires and their penchant for young attractive women. In one day Meena is passed over for a promotion, learns that she must write a vampire into the show, and is rescued from a ‘bat’ attack by a handsome stranger. Ok, technically that spills into the wee hours of the next morning. Don’t be so picky. Things go from bad to worse when Meena learns that not only does she have to live with vampires on her beloved soap opera, but that they are, in fact real. And she has fallen in love with one, and not just any vampire. Their Prince, also known as the son of this guy.....you may have heard of him.
Well, this guy really.... 
Plus, there is this vampire hunter……So now we have a fun heroine and her brother (Meena and Jonathan Harper……an homage to Bram Stoker?), attractive European men,
excitement, treachery, romance (sexy times)….this is a fun, witty, well rounded story. OH, and Jack Bauer. The dog.
I really enjoyed that the ending (nope, no spoilers….well, not really) is not all neat and tidy. We are left with a sense of “hmm…I wonder if down the road _____ happens?” I like endings like this. They open up the imagination to the possibilities. (That speed reader person I mentioned earlier…..hates that stuff. She wants to be told what happens. Can you see me roll my eyes?)
Next? Who knows. Paranormalcy, by Kiersten White, and Kenny and the Dragon, by Tony DiTerlizzi are on my desk. Reckless, by Cornelia Funke comes out tomorrow! I am looking forward to that. I also still have some "retro-reviewing" I want to do. Books I love that I haven’t yet had opportunity to mention.
I would like to thank Mr. Goran Visnjic for standing in for the hot European men. *Sigh* He's dreamy...
