Being Human-Patricia Lynne

Blurb:

For Tommy, there is only one thing he needs to do: survive.

Only surviving isn’t that easy. The hunt for blood can be tricky when humans know to fear the night. Desire sits on the edge of his mind, urging him to become the monster humans think he is. Vampire Forces, a special branch of police, is determined to turn every vampire to ash. Tommy included.

The only human Tommy can trust is his twin brother. A bond connects them, and with Danny’s help, Tommy starts to understand the human world he struggles to survive in. He’ll learn what friendships means and feel the sting of betrayal, find that sometimes the worst monsters are very human, and come to understand that family means more than blood.

Tommy just wants to survive and he knows what he needs to do. But with the number of humans that mean more to him than a meal growing, Tommy learns there’s more to life than simple survival. He’ll discover being human doesn’t mean being a human.

Review:

I’m not a huge vampire story lover, but this book really grabbed me. Why? Because it’s not the typical vampire story most of authors write about (a human falling in love with a vampire), it’s something very different from what I’ve read before. Being human is a story about bonds and trust. It’s a story about a boy waking up to realize that he’s not a human anymore, but a vampire. Tommy’s survival instinct and his blood thirst makes him murder his own parents. The only human he can trust is his brother, Danny, the older twin who’s constantly guiding him, the one who tries to keep him human.

The story is built up around the 15 years old Tommy who has to learn that sometimes the worst monsters are very human, family means more than blood and being human doesn’t mean being a human. Even though he’s a vampire now, the bond between him and his twin brother still exists. There’s something that makes Tommy trust a human being and Danny help his twin brother understand what true friendship, but most of all, what trust means. Without wanting to give away too much about it, I want to say that it’s all so realistic; at some point I was questioning all my knowledge about vampires, whether they exist or not, or if they can go back to being humans. All I can say about the characters is that they’re realistic and finely crafted. Besides Tommy and Danny the one character I really liked was Jamie (or Sunlight as Tommy called her). She was the damaged, sad and kind of depressed girl that made the vampire boy fall in love with her, somehow trying to make him hold on to what was left. Jamie is just one of the side characters, there are many more, like Tommy’s niece and Danny’s wife, but it’s up to you to find out their story.

The ending is remarkable! I didn’t know whether to smile or get really emotional about it. Also, it left me wanting to know what’s going to happen next. Overall, it’s a great book! I love the plot, characters and the cover. And let’s not forget about all the emotions it made me go through. If you like vampire stories that are slightly different, or you have a vampire sibling (just kidding, or not?), give this book a shot, I promise you won’t regret reading it.

Places you can find the book:

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