Plot: Emma Woodhouse, beloved by all who live in her small town and matchmaker to humans and vampires alike, now has to fight a group of rogue vampires.
Emma has always been a carefree girl with nothing to vex her as far as society goes, mistress of her father's house, secure with a large fortune and never without a friendly ear. Her dear friend Miss Smith though seems to be a magnet for vampires wherever they go. It's not bad enough that Miss Smith has fallen in love with two already, now Emma must keep her friend from becoming dinner. Meanwhile, the town is abuzz with the return of another vampire gentleman, Frank Chruchill and an ever pale Miss Fairfax. Everyone is very much looking forward to the two strangers visits. Too bad it's at the height of vampire attack season.
Jane Austen and Vampires. Two of my favourite topics. This should be a given that I would love this idea.
But it's not.
I was greatly disappointed with this remake of Emma. There were plot points that just did not seem to go anywhere. Two major things were going through my mind during the course of this book, 1) why does everyone feel they need to have "vegan" vampires? and 2) why does this feel way too much like a missing script of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
I did like the new depth it gave Mr. Knightley, making him a vampire. It added a layer of understanding that you always felt was missing in the original character. As well, with Mr. Elton and Mrs. Elton being of the undead variety, their natural rudeness came across more appealing then ever their original characters did.
The metaphor of biting the newlywed wives on the wedding night was a nice touch, only the question then was are we to assume that the vampire can only feed off his wife once and only because she'd have been a virgin? The male characters keep thinking about how each other is in desperate need of sustenance and hoping each will marry soon. It was a subplot that made little sense to me, as you would think if half the town is inhabited by vampires, would there not be an "outlet" for such a thing?
I wanted to love Emma and the Vampires but sadly, I could not.
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