Title: Taste
Author: Kate Evanglista
Genre: Young Adult
Number of Pages: E Book
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Source: Sent from the author
At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans. When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn't realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud. (goodreads
Phoenix McKay has become one of my favorite YA heroines. She is everything you expect a YA Heroine to be-tough, independent & doesn't take crap from anyone. At the same time though, she has a lot of things that make her vulnerable. She's still getting over the fact that her mom died & there wasn't anything anyone could do to save her and that her dad pretty much ignores her. The only way she get his attention is by getting into trouble.
Phoenix lands herself at Barinkoff Academy, at finds it different from other boarding schools she's been to. It only has one rule: no students on campus after curfew. If you are caught it's an automatic dismissal from the school. By falling asleep in the library, Phoenix becomes the first student to break curfew. Upon finding that she has missed the bus back to the dorms, she quickly learns why no students are allowed on campus after curfew. There's a whole other set of students who take classes there. They aren't normal students though. They are super beautiful, have super strength and as she finds out want to take a bit out of her flesh. She is rescued by Demitri who wastes no time in telling Phoenix what an idiot she is for breaking curfew. Phoenix though has other questions, and wants to know why and what these students are. While being rescued she has a run in with Luka, whom she is told she should just stay away from. Phoenix though, isn't good at following orders. Throughout the next day she can't stop thinking about the other group of students that attend the academy. She breaks curfew again and discovers that everything is not how it seems.
She finds herself agreeing to help the students that are there, and finds that Dimitri and Luka have problems that are greater then her own. Their race is dying, and she can help them. I loved this part of the book. Dimitri and Luka were great love interests, and Phoenix didn't let them boss her around. Both the boys stole my heart and I loved how this book had lots of action and emotion. The only fault I had with Taste was that it was never really explained why the school allowed day students, and there were a few characters introduced in the beginning that kind of disappeared only to appear at the end of the book when I had almost forgotten about them. All in all though Taste is a new twist on zombies and I have to say I liked it a lot. :)
