Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

This is the second novel in the Jessica series by Beth Fantaskey. 

Click here: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side to read my review of the first novel.

There will be spoilers to the ending of the first novel, just to forewarn you before you go any further!

Now that Jessica has turned into a vampire and her and Lucius have gotten married, Jessica finds herself as the new vampire princess in Romania.

At first, she was unsure what to do. What does a newly graduated high schooler from America know anything about running a government?

Things get even worse when Lucius defends Jessica during an Elder's meeting, and the man he threatened was found dead the next morning - with his blood on Lucius's stake!

Jessica found herself ruling the vampire world on her own, without Lucius after that. Thank goodness his cousin, Raniero, was helping her at the request of Lucius before he was taken in confinement.

Along with Raniero, Jessica also had help from her best friend from America, Mindy. She and Raniero had a fling for awhile before finally breaking it off, but Mindy was in Romania to be with Jess and figure out her life.

The longer Lucius was in a cell, he was growing very weak. He was not allowed to get blood, which after a few days would put any vampire into a coma - only worse.

With little time to find the real killer, Jessica must start acting like a ruler - a queen - rather than a scared high school graduate.

Will Jessica, Mindy, and Raniero be able to find the right murderer and save Lucius before he loses his mind? Or will Jessica be without a husband and find herself ruling the vampire world alone? Read Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
When I first picked this book up, I was a little hesitant. I really liked the way the first novel ended and was unsure where Fantaskey would go with this novel.

I'm glad I only hesitated for a few minutes! This is very different than the first novel. Now that Jessica has claimed her vampire heritage, she needs to start acting like it.

Only it's a little difficult for her to do that. How can one change from a high school graduate to a ruler of a species?

Well, when her husband is convicted of a crime he didn't do, that's how. Seeing Jessica transform completely was incredible. I was so proud of her and was definitely cheering for her the whole book.

This was told throughout 4 viewpoints: Jessica (Antanasia), Mindy, and, though letters to one another, Lucius and Raniero.

I was very irritated with Mindy as a narrator, because she uses the word "like" and "totally" far too often that I wanted to pull my hair out, but it was nice to get a different perspective of the vampire world through a human's viewpoint.

I was very pleased with this second novel, and I think fans of the first novel will enjoy it as well. We get to learn more about what happens after Jessica and Lucius get together and see Jessica because the leader that she was truly meant to be.

For anyone who wants a paranormal/supernatural story about vampires in a new twist, I would definitely recommend these books.