Debutante by Thomas Galvin

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): The debutantes' ball has been a tradition at St. Rosemary's Preparatory School for the past hundred and sixty years. Held every summer, the Ball is an opportunity for the girls of St. Rosemary's to be introduced to the boys of St. Augustine's Academy for Young Men.

Brendan Clark has been in attendance each and every year. And each time he has selected a beautiful young girl, won her affections ... and fed on her blood. And then he slips away into the night, vanishing as suddenly as he arrived.

But when a ferocious vampire attacks the Governor's daughter – and leaves a pile of corpses laying at Brendan's feet – he will be forced to leave his bloodlust behind and become an angel of mercy to a girl in mortal peril.
If only she didn't look so delicious... 

MY OPINION:

Debutante is a novella, my paperback edition is just over 120 pages. I devoured it the same day I got it in the mail in one sitting. And that is a rare thing for me to do no matter how short the book is.

What I liked:

• The dynamic plot that just doesn't let you stop reading.
• Just the right amount of details to give you a good feel of the atmosphere and setting.
• Vampires. I love Thomas Galvin's version of vampires. There are bad ones and good ones. And I love that the good ones aren't humanised but they keep their edge.
• Brendan. I don't know how to describe him without giving to much away. But I liked him. A lot.
• Charlotte or rather her development from a spoiled princess she seems to be on the first impression to…, no, I'm not telling you anything else.
• And Mr. Galvin's distinct writing style, a bit raw (in good way), throwing in references and well-aimed sarcasms here and there.

In the end, I cannot remember anything I did not like. Debutante is a vampire story as it should be – suspenseful, adventurous, scary, gory, glamorous, and a little bit romantic, too.

RECOMMENDATION: If you like a good, short vampire read, Debutante might be just the right thing to pick up.