Review: Crave (The Clann, #1) by Melissa Darnell

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Savannah Colbert has never known why she's so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It's as if he's a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she's destined to fail.

For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back…different, and suddenly he can't stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences….

Review:

Crave is one book I've been looking forward to reading for a while now, but have been putting off due to its length (it's a little over 400 pages). However, I recently decided to give it a shot, and I'm so glad I did, because not only was it interesting and lots of fun, but also it was a book I just flew through at rapid pace even with its slightly large page count!

Crave is told from of the view points of Savannah and Tristan. Savannah is a girl who keeps to herself, trying not to bother anyone else. However, everything changes when she learns a surprising part about her family as well as herself. Suddenly, she has the eye of everyone in town in good and bad ways. It took me a while to warm up to Savannah to tell the truth. She was just a little too Ms. Goody Two-Shoes at times. However, as the book progressed, and I really got to see into her life, I started to like her a lot more. I loved how she was dedicated to dancing, even though she couldn't dance in the team herself, and I also enjoyed how far she would go to protect her family and friends. She truly was a sweet girl, and I can't wait to see more of her in the sequels. Tristan, on the other hand, is the typical high school golden boy who can do no wrong, but who his also severely disgusted with his own life. I liked Tristan from the beginning, because not only did he take risks for the things he loved, but he also had a lot of heart to him. Together, Tristan and Savannah were quite the couple, and while there love is nothing but easy, all the drama and twists that came from it was nothing but fun as well as intense!

With Savannah and Tristan came a variety of secondary characters, ones who I loved and ones who I didn't.  One of my favorites, though, would have to be Savannah's grandmother who was quiet the lady to say the least as well as Savannah's best friend Anne who was Savannah's rock in more ways than one. I also really enjoyed the addition of the Charm dance team, and I even liked seeing the Clann kids, because even though I didn't find them all that likable, the drama they caused still managed to provide lots of valuable plot development.

The basic premise of Crave is nothing new, but nonetheless, I enjoyed it quite a bit. For one, it was fun and thrilling. I also enjoyed seeing how everything worked behind the scenes at the Clann as well as what they were exactly. Another high point was Tristan and Savannah's relationship, because not only did it provide a major plot line, but I just loved the whole forbidden angle of it, even though it was just a tad bit cliche. The best part of the story, though, were the chapters leading up to the climax. They were eventful and exciting, and I have to say, I didn't see some of it coming.

In all, Crave by Melissa Darnell is a worthwhile debut, one that I highly suggest to fans of paranormal YA. However, once you're done with this one, you'll be DYING  to read the next one...trust me!

Grade: B+

Crave (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publisher via Netgalley (Thanks Harlequin Teen!)

More about the author/book: chapter 1/website