Fantaskey Fantasy Fantastic!

Beth Fantaskey may have her writing origins in journalism, but apparently that helped her create an eye for the progression of relationships because her two books to date are both solid reads.  Jessica's Guide to the Dark Side may be (pardon the groan) a vampire romance book, but the story stays a little more true to the Dracula mythology than some others out there and is actually a compelling read with rounded characters.  Meanwhile, Jekel Loves Hyde takes a new spin on Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by placing a curse on the title characters' modern day teenage descendants while also drawing them closer together.  In other words, both of these books are high quality paranormal romance with a twist, just perfect for anyone looking to read something that's not that other vamp series on the market.

Jekel Loves Hyde hinges on the idea that Jekyll and Hyde really existed and they have relatives living today (or, at least, around this current time period).  More like, Hyde had kids who had kids and so forth.  Jekyll just had relatives so the main character, Jill Jekel, is not a direct descendant, but is somehow related.  Tristan Hyde, however, comes directly from Mr. Hyde's line and, lo and behold, there's a curse.  And it's taken multiple lives already.  What happens when Tristan and Jill decide to take on a chemistry project to recreate the great Dr. Jekyll's experiment?  For Tristan the stakes are obviously higher, especially since his mother disappeared under suspicious circumstances several years past.  But for Jill, it's no walk in the park.  Her father was killed only months previous and she's still reeling from the shock of it.  However, the two come to find they are tied much more closely than they could have ever expected.  Not to mention the science project is certainly not proving to be easy.  As Tristan explains to Jill after rereading part of Stevenson's text, "Jekyll tried to recreate the formula to kill Hyde once and for all, only to learn that the original potion contained a tainted salt.  The formula could never be repeated" (100).  But if that's true, then Tristan could rid himself of the monsters in his mind and at home that he's been dealing with since his mother's disappearance.  The story is very much about Tristan and Jill and the experiment, but also how they end up closer to each other and the progression of their relationship.  At times they couldn't be more distant, but at other's they're very close and push one another farther than intended to reach the truth.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, as mentioned previous, is a vampire romance.  However, Jessica is a bit of a country bumpkin.  In fact, she's a little like Mia from the Princess Diaries - thrown into a situation she never could have imagined herself.  Jessica, it turns out, is really a princess and a vampire one at that.  Lucius has been betrothed to her since she was born, or near abouts.  The two of them end up in an elaborate routine of her trying to ignore the fact he's living in the barn outside her adopted parent's home and him trying to get her to fulfill her duty as a princess.  "Our two warring clans at peace.  Prepared to join together," Lucius tells her of why they need to wed (67).  For Jessica, it is almost as if he is following her everywhere, from English class to home.  But over time she starts to see him for what he really is and not the bratty, obnoxious, vampire prince he was raised.  At the same time, he starts to drift away from the original plan as he finds out there is more to be a teenage vampire than duty.  The basketball team is a small distraction, but one of the local girls is just as dark as he is.  With the help of her vampire uncle who shows up just in time, Jessica goes after what she realizes is still rightfully hers to what could be disastrous results.  Lucius may be annoying at first, but, like Jessica, he really wants to be a normal teenager for a while too.

One of the best parts of each book is that the relationships between the characters never feel forced.  The progression is natural in a way that only teens could have it.  First the two main characters hate each other or don't get along, but circumstances come to find them seeing eye to eye, or at least tolerating each other.  The other best part?  Neither story is drawn out.  Fantaskey's style sticks as much to the premise as possible and very rarely strays, which creates some fantastic, seat-of-your-pants storytelling lacking in a lot of quickly published books these days.  While the writing may not be perfect and some cliches are likely present, at least it is crisp and clean and very accessible.

I actually read these in reverse publication order (Jekel first, Jessica second) due to when I had time to get them, but I was so grabbed by Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side that I found myself unable to put the book down.  While Jekel Loves Hyde felt like it had bigger stakes, the story was slightly less compelling and felt a little more same-old, same-old in comparison to the other book.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side is a Must Read for any vampire or paranormal romance reading.
Jekel Loves Hyde is Recommended Reading for its clever use of a classic.

Works Cited.
Fantaskey, Beth.  Jekel Loves Hyde.  New York: Harcourt, 2010.
---.  Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side.  New York: Harcourt, 2009.