Taste Paperback – April 30, 2012

Phoenix attends a boarding school where the one rule is no one is allowed in the school itself after curfew. She doesn't know why until she falls asleep and wakes up at night - only to find students who she has never seen before, who have a fetish - for her. Well, not her specifically, but more for her flesh.Kate Evangelista doesn't do her Zombies the way of 'Dearly Departed' or 'Warm Bodies' though. She did them in a way that was quite intriguing and which blended history, science, survival and, yes, romance together.The setting of this book was quite interesting - even though it was set at a boarding school, which sadly I feel is becoming very cliche, this was different. Maybe it was because it had been based under the school more than actually in the classrooms - which is where the story truly lied.The world-building of the Zhamvy people was done quite well. There are two factions - the Royal family and the government. But there are also conflicts between two families of the royal family as well. It tells the history of the Zhamvy, how the royal family had become divided and also how, in the end, two royal cousins worked together to stop something terrible from happening to their, and the human, race. The sad thing about the Zhamvy people is that they are a race that are slowly dying and Phoenix, being human, holds the key.The pitch is actually misleading. It kind of indicates a love triangle, but I didn't feel there was one. Phoenix very clearly only had feelings for one guy, and only considered the other one a friend. I won't mention names because I consider that to be a spoiler. You'll just have to read it yourself to see if you come to the same conclusion.I will say that this book does have its own little jealousies running amok among the characters. It was quite amusing, even if annoyingly obvious in how things were going to work out.I enjoyed the characters. Phoenix was a girl who was grieving for her mother, while being ignored by her dad. She seemed to be in a state of hurt and confusion over her father's actions, and it showed in her relationships at school. She was obsessively determined to find out what killed her mother and in that way she reminded me of Dray, another character.Usually, especially if there's some kind of love triangle involved, I favor one boy over another, but I loved both Demetri and Luka. They both had traits that had me favoring the both of them. And I have to mention Dray again. He was the one who, I felt, tied everything all together. He was, in his own way, the savior of his kind.Anyway, enough on the story and characters, there was something I noticed that I felt I should mention. The book needs to be proofread again. I found a couple of mistakes while I was reading it - one on the first page. I'm no grammar expert by any means, but these were obvious - even to me.'The tolls yanked me from my seated position to my feet like a pair of rough hands' - This to me is an incomplete sentence, plus punctuation is missing at the end.'They finally caught you didn't they.' - Incorrect punctuation - should be a comma between 'you' and 'didn't' plus a question mark at the end.I didn't note any others because I wanted to enjoy the story, but having an error on the first page does set the book up to be torn down - especially if the reader is a grammar nazi. If it was distracting to me, it would be worse for them.On the whole, though, this was an enjoyable read. Now for my rating:- four stars

Kate Evangelista debut novel Taste blew me away. It has everything I love in YA Paranormal Romance novel, a swoon worthy hero, hot chemistry between the hero and heroine, a feisty, kick butt heroine and beautiful world descriptions. Kate Evangelista has an amazing writing voice and is a master at storytelling. There are so many twist and turns that you never see what is coming next.Demitri has been preparing to be king all his life but all he really wants to do is travel the world. He is torn between duty and love as he does not want Phoenix in his world. He thinks his world is too dangerous for her and is protective, plus he is a tad bit jealous when ever Luka is around her.Luka is mysterious and hot. He is arrogant and never takes reasonability. He shuts everyone out and hides behind his arrogance. Slowly you get bits and pieces of why he is this way. The first time he meets Phoenix, he had me wanting more of him ASAP and I could not wait to read how he plays a roll in Taste.I get all tingly in my stomach when a hero will hold his gaze on the heroine while talking to another person."Human," he whispered.He reached out, and with a finger, followed an invisible trail down my cheek. I stiffened. His touch, cooler than Demitrifs, caused warm sparks to blossom on my face. He lifted his finger to his lips and licked itfs tip. He might as well have licked me from the way my body shivered.Luka's curious gaze held mine. "Leave us," he said, but not to me.Luka is drawn to Phoenix as she is the first person to catch his interest in years. He has a nickname for Phoenix it is Villyat. In his language it means little cat. Why? Because she is too curious for her own good. Just like a little cat. He is always in her personal space touching her cheek, grabbing her waist etc..Phoenix is amazing. I do feel bad for her as she lost her mother and her father keeps her at arms length. She is a strong girl who has gone through a lot, is very curious and this gets her caught up in a world full of Flesh Eaters.The bad guys a for sure bad. You can feel the creepiness when they are in a room. Phoenix can hold her own around them, she is for sure a smart mouthed."I'll give you the choice. Where do you want the bite?""You can bite my a---"I am torn between Demitri and Luka. They are both hot and swoon worthy. When Phoenix is with Demitri, I want her with him but then when she is with Luka I want her with him. When she is with Demitri it is more serious, but when she is with Luka it is more playful.I enjoyed the secondary characters. It was nice as they did not take away from the plot. Just added more to it.Ending was perfect. I only wish it was a series, I would of loved a cliffhanger and got to read more books with Phoenix, Demitri and Luka. I did not want their story to end. Only downfall I had was I wanted to devoured this book in a few days but was painting and had to read little by little. Taste is perfect and a keeper for me, I will be reading over and over again. Kate Evangelista is definitely an author to check out and I will buy anything she writes. I highly recommend Taste for all YA Paranormal Romance fans.Originally posted at Fallen Angels YA Book Blog

I loved it so much I didn't want it to end. I would love there to be a second one but now I think about it wouldn't be the same sort of story since Lukas ruling and Demitris human so maybe not. But just saying, if there was a second I'd definitely buy it!