Mari Mancusi

Rayne McDonald, a goth vampire and vampire slayer, must go undercover as a cheerleader at her high school to find out what happened to the captain of the football team, who has disappeared, and to see if the peppy cheerleaders are really werewolves.

Girls that Growl

Briar's Reviews

Girls that Growl by Mari Mancusi is a great addition to the Blood Coven Vampires series.

This book continues this series in an excellent manner all the while expanding the universe even farther. Our lead, Rayne, grows as a character which is a nice change compared to many YA novels where our leads stay the same throughout the entire series. 

Mari explores lycan within this book alongside Rayne's character development. While this isn't my favourite book out of the entire series (this is actually my least favourite, when I look back at all the books - including the new one), I feel like this book does it's job - it moves the story forward so we can get to the next novels. Don't be turned away by this book - yes, it's not as great as the last two books but the following books get much, much better than this one. There always seems to be one book in a series that isn't as great as the rest (there has to be, not all books can be perfect) and this book is it in this series. The previous and following books are definitely worth reading this book so you can get to all the adventure and romance we love.

There is more Sunny in this book, but the main focus is Rayne. It's nice to see both girls have a bigger presence in this book!! There is also a bit more exploration of Jareth, for those who love him...

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Re-reading it was an excellent choice for me and I definitely suggest picking this book up!!

Five out of five stars.

Jessica Nottingham

As with the other books in the Blood Coven Vampire series, this one starts out with a recap of the previous book. Yes my friends, that means that even if you happened to pick this book up out of sequence, you'd still know what is going on. Isn't that fabulous? I thought so! Of course you'd then want to go and pick up the other two books before this. I'm sure you'd be craving more Magnus, more Rayne and much much more Jareth. Sexy vampires anyone?

This installment of Rayne and Sunny's misadventures focused on a new addition to their vampire world, the Lycan. I really enjoyed Mari Mancusi's close attention to the details that surround this lore, and was laughing out loud at the characters she crafted to fit this bill. Also enclosed in this gem of a book is a whole new Rayne. Oh no, I don't mean that she has lost her deliciously acerbic wit. Heaven forbid! Instead this book shows us a Rayne who is evolving, who is learning more about who she is and how she treats those around her. It was amazing to see her keep her same personality, while still being able to evolve. I now love Rayne even more!

What made this book a little difficult for me to read, and kept it from being my favorite in the series, was the extremely quick wrap-up of the overall storyline. I enjoyed the fact that the focus was on Rayne and her growth, but I missed the adventure part of it all. What made Stake That!, the book before this one, my favorite in the series was the rip-roaring storyline that it followed. I love following the twins on their crazy adventures, wrought with peril. Girls That Growl just felt like it ended too soon and I wondered where my butt-kicking, sassy Rayne had gone.

Overall I still completely enjoyed the book, and of course the ending once again totally roped me back in! Luckily I had the next book in the series right next to my bed and ready to go. Mari Mancusi definitely has a flair for the cliff hanger ending. I'm still in love. I'm still bitten and smitten!

For those of you who are already involved in this series, you'll find a lot to love in this book! For those of you who aren't....excuse me. Where have you been? Under a rock! Go out and get Boys That Bite right this minute! I'll wait.