Mo Merrydew is a serious and hardworking teenager with a life plan stretching ahead of her. Imagine her surprise when she is accosted on her way home from her best friend Lou's house by a stranger who materialises out of nowhere and tells her she has been chosen to become The Vampire Queen of Britain. Bogdan explains he has been sent by the King of the Vampires of the East and he is eager to meet her. Just one bite will transform her and give her immortality. Mo asks for some time to think this over. Her conundrum is that she a vegetarian and doesn't drink blood, she does not believe in undemocratically elected leaders and vampire traditions are definitely not feminist. Plus vampires don't exist, do they? On the plus side a female leader would be a good proposition and Mo might hold some power over the annoying school bully, Tracey.
At first Mo refuses Bogdan's offer but when Bogdan's familiar, who turns out to be a dreamy and gorgeous floppy -haired boy called Luca, knocks at the door to tell her Bogdan must have her decision soon, Mo has a change of heart. She decides she might be able to get away with faking being a vampire after all.
The voice is pitch perfect in this hilarious comedy of errors. It's a great twist on the familiar vampire genre for slightly younger teens with a rom-com element thrown in. There is action and suspense aplenty and some suitably blood-thirsty descriptions without there being any dreadful danger or peril, even though there are a few nearly fatal misses. Bogdan is a particularly hilarious character, desperate to retire to the Bahamas and trying hard to blend in, wearing joggers and relaxing in the local Premier Inn. The plot does get a bit far-fetched in places and the ending is a little hasty but for sheer laugh-out-loud fun this is a brilliant read for young teenagers.
-- Jane Churchill * Books for Keeps *
Mo is a young woman with a plan: top grades, university, internship with the UN then a job in politics or human rights. Even her best friend and fellow Mini Battenburg gourmand Lou thinks she works too hard, and her very existence irritates school bully Tracey Caldwell, so when she's accosted by a vampire with the news that she is 'the Chosen One' and destined to become the Vampire Queen of Great Britain, Mo isn't as pleased as some others might be.
It doesn't fit with The Plan, and she really doesn't fancy the vampire diet. There are some pros though, mostly gorgeous young (human) Luca, who will become her familiar if she takes the role. Can smart Mo find a way of having it all, the vampire lifestyle and the career she dreams of? She's ready to give it her best shot.
The set up allows for lots of opportunities for comedy, and no shortage of thrills either as Mo prepares for the arrival of the Vampire King, but there's humour too in the relationship between Mo and Lou. Simmons successfully mixes Gothic horror into the familiar, loving knockabout of teenage life and friendships and to great effect.
-- Andrea Reece * Love Reading *
The Reluctant Vampire Queen by Jo Simmons sees 15-year-old Mo proclaimed Vampire Queen of Great Britain against her democratic, vegetarian principles. Think
Geek Girl with a supernatural twist. -- Fiona Noble * The Observer *
