EmberShane

*New Adult/Paranormal/Speculative Fiction*

Up until I got to the very end of this book, I kept thinking a good way to describe it would be a YA/NA "alternate" vampire book.  Senza Fyne is young and beautiful with her whole life in front of her, but that's not enough for her.  After her grandmother and later, her best friend, die, Senza becomes terrified of death.  Cue mysterious stranger who offers her eternal youth.  Similar to a vampire, Senza must feed, but not with fangs.  In order to sustain herself, she must steal heartbeats.  One here, one there, not enough to be missed, but enough to keep her going endlessly through time. 

The writing in this novel was superb.  The story begins in 19th century England, one of my favorite settings, and continues forward to a much more modern time in America.  The only thing I wished there was more of in this novel was romance.  There was one time period, fleeting as it was, where Senza finally has a real romantic interest, but I craved more.  At the end of the story, some of my hard feelings toward Knell (the mysterious stranger Senza always pines for but doesn't connect with again) were greatly lessened.  The reader goes through this long journey with Senza and sees how lonely it is and can't help but feel angry with him for leaving her alone year after year.  I enjoyed the ending very much.  Not only did you get the reasons for Knell's actions, but there's a satisfaction for how you believe Senza's storyline will ultimately play out.

Five stars, and I would definitely read something else by this author.