Isle of Night By: Veronica Wolff

When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she's whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. To survive and become a Watcher, Annelise has to beat out every other girl, but she's determined to do so, because to fail doesn't mean dishonor-it means death.



I have had my eye on this book for a while now and couldn't pass up the opportunity to read it this last month.    Annelise is a smart girl.  So smart she decides to graduate early and go straight to college.  She packs up her things and drives to campus to register and get settled.  Once she gets there she is told that her state just passed a new rule that all seniors had to pass a swimming test in order to graduate (she can't swim) so techically she is still a high school student and she can't enroll.  Lost about what to do she walked back to her car only to find that it won't start.  Can't anything go right!!!  This is when she meets Ronan.  He offers her a "scholarship" opportunity at a private school if she will only go with him right then.  With no other alternatives she follows him to a luxurious private jet to wisk her away to her new future.

After a long flight she makes it to the school and the headmaster informs all of them that vampires exist and that all of the girls in attendence are to train on how to be watchers (protector to vampires).  Leaving is not an option, at least not if you are still alive. 

Annelise has a few trials to overcome, one being that her new roommate hates her and tries to make life miserable for her.  She is put into classes about battle stategy and weapons and even has an extra study period all about learning how to swim.

I liked the characters in this story,  there were all of the cliche high school aged characters.  You have the shy girls, popular girls, jocks, nerds and athletes.  With the added drama of people dying and learning combat I always find it interesting that the people involved seem to adjust to life and just move on with each day as though nothing is out of the normal when people are injured constantly and death is very possible.  I guess life just goes on...

This is the first book in a series and it is packed with action and a hit of a romance but nothing is concrete.  The next book is scheduled to release in March of 2012 and will definitely be on my TBR shelf.