Jen's review of "Balthazar" by Claudia Gray

Balthazar by Claudia Gray

Publication date: March 6th, 2012

Publisher: Harper Teen

Number of pages: 374

Format: Paperback

Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

Description:  Haunted by memories from his first days as a vampire, Balthazar has spent hundreds of years alone—without allies, without love. When he emerges from his isolation to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, Balthazar has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Having learned of Skye’s powers and the remarkable effect her blood has on vampires, he plans to use her for his own evil purposes. As they stand together to fight the evil vampire, Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by Skye...just as Redgrave realizes that he can destroy Balthazar once and for all by taking her for his own.

The fans talked and Claudia listened. Since the beginning of the series, people have always wanted a story with Balthazar, and we finally got that wish granted. In what is his very own book, we get taken into the story of Balthazar and an old Evernight classmate, Skye. If you remember her as the one whose boyfriend broke up with her and she went to the dance with Lucas in Stargazer.

When the book starts, we are taken to Skye's home town where she stumbles upon some vampires who seem to be after her for a reason.
She has a savior though in the form of one Mr. Balthazar who got word that she might be in need of some protection, and once he discovers just who is after her.... well, he'll make it his life's purpose to protect her.
This threat against her is someone Balthazar knows well, someone from his very own tragic past and it takes him back to a place he wish he could forget.


The more time Balthazar spends with Skye protecting her and making sure that she stays safe, he finds himself getting to know her, and soon he finds himself being drawn to her very presence to a point where he starts to question everything he told himself he wouldn't do and wouldn't feel.
Can two hearts... even though they both are from different worlds, but also get drawn together by a common enemy find some kind of happiness?

I think this just might be my favourite, and including the whole EVERNIGHT series. The story Balthazar and Skye have is everything you could wish and hope for.
Even though they are in a lot of trouble as they battle individual and common demons, the chemistry between them begins to simmer and it stirs something up between that that I'm not even sure they even can resist.

You finally start to understand Balthazar a lot more than we did in the earlier EVERNIGHT books, and you even get to know Skye herself an discover that she has a unique force about her that makes her unresistible to vampires. She gets thrust into this world and she didn't even ask for it.. it just happened.

There are a few minor appearances from a couple EVERNIGHT original characters, but the main focus in on these two as they start to unravel just what it means to feel and fall in love.

                                                  Rating: 4/5