Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side Audiobook By Beth Fantaskey cover art

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

By: Beth Fantaskey
Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Author Beth Fantaskey injects a little humor into the vampire romance genre with this critically acclaimed debut novel. High school senior Jessica Packwood is a down-to-earth mathlete who's not sure what her future holds. What she definitely doesn't see coming is foreign exchange student - and vampire - Lucius Vladescu showing up at her door. According to Lucius, Jessica is actually vampire royalty, and they've been betrothed to one another since infancy.©2009 Beth Fantaskey (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC Dating & Sex Difficult Situations Fantasy Fiction Paranormal Vampire Witty Royalty Feel-Good Funny Heartfelt Romance

Critic reviews

"The romance sizzles, the plot develops ingeniously and suspensefully, and the satire sings." ( Publishers Weekly, starred review)

What listeners say about Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    192
  • 4 Stars
    160
  • 3 Stars
    101
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    19
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    207
  • 4 Stars
    111
  • 3 Stars
    51
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    155
  • 4 Stars
    115
  • 3 Stars
    75
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    17

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Surprisingly Fun!

Okay, I’m almost ashamed to admit that I enjoyed this much more than I should’ve. It’s an easy, at times silly and way over-the-top, and even satirical(?) take on the whole young girl meets dreamy vampire trope, but it was well done in that sense and very entertaining if you don’t try to take it too seriously. I actually didn’t want to put it down!

Of course all our characters could’ve been fleshed out more and their development and motivations could’ve been better..well..developed, but for what it is, it’s fun and a good listen as is.

The narrators, especially Katherine Kellgren, did a good job with bringing the fun and over-the-top atmosphere to the story. Where she lacked in giving some of the characters distinct voices, she made up for in acting out the various emotions in Jessica’s inner-monologues, which was fantastic! One of the best narrations, in that respect, I’ve ever heard. And I also enjoyed the narration of Lucius by the other narrator (forgive me, I don’t have his name in front of me). He does an amazing job bringing his letters to life and giving this character a lot more depth than he would have otherwise.

Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fun listen/read in the YA paranormal, vampire, comedic/satirical, romance genres. And although I got it through the Audible Escape membership, I think it’d be worth a credit.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

You get what you expect

I wanted an uncomplicated story, and this fit the bill.
I rather liked that Lucius' dark side has some genuine darkness and not purely teen angst.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

fun but corny

fun but corny. more of a romance than a suspense novel. great performance by the readers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great book

loved it!!!
such a great story and plot, the ending had the best twist to it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing

loved love book so so much going to start the next one cant with hope it's as good as this one

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My Thoughts

LOVED THIS BOOK!! Like some other people I thought it was going to be just another twilight, but I was SO WRONG!!!
It did not take me long at all to get swept away by the characters and their pulse pounding emotions... there are too many
oh my gosh and inside melty moments to pick just one but the moment at the dance when Luscious held Anastasia so close, both of them being swept away by passion and him nearly biting her!!! oohhh HOT!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A breath of fresh air

Seriously, this one is a breth of fresh air in the genre packed with "poor-me-I-need-hot -guy-to-save-me" main characters. Very entertaining and the second part is as good if not better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun Romance, Great Humor

I loved this book when I read it, and now the audio is even better. It's just plain fun! I think the narrator does a great job with the sarcasm and the humor.

My only complaint, and why it is a 4, not a 5 is the female narrator's Romanian accents are a little over the top, like listening to the old Dracula movies--although I am not sure how it could be done differently. The male narrator's accent is more even and more old world European rather than Bela Lugosi-like.

Overall, I am thrilled to have this book. The humor and dialog are quick and snappy and I find myself listening with a smile on my face.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Entertaining

I read this a long time ago and remembered loving it. I recently came across the audio on the Romance Audible Package, so I thought it would be great to listen. The narrator does an okay job, but she is too dramatic at times and her voice doesn't quite fit the characters. I still enjoyed it though. I liked the premise for this book, but the characters did annoy me a bit more this time around than they originally had. I didn't like how Lucius acts; mostly his actions with other girls, it was all too immature. It was all too immature, which I suppose didn't bother me ages ago when I first read this. It also takes way, way too long for both characters to catch a clue. I wanted more from the end. I do really enjoy the premise though and I think I'm just getting too old for this type of thing. I really think I just liked the ending of the book a lot, so the made me think I loved the book originally. There is some fun humor to the story and it's entertaining, so I'll go with 4 stars.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An Entertaining Listen for a Fun Story

I wasn't sure what to expect out of this book series. It sounded fun and lighthearted and I love Katherine Kellgren so I decided to give it a try. I have a had a series of bad books that I just had to stop listening to before my brain melted from all the stupid plot errors so I hoped this would be simple and straightforward without trying to be clever. And it was. If you are looking for a deep, complex plot with a deep meaningful message about society and all its ills, this book isn't for you. If you are looking for an entertaining read, a few vampires, a feisty heroine, and an excellent narrator then try this book and it's follow up. It's plot is fairly simple: Jessica is a lost vampire princess whose betrothed, Lucius, has come to claim her. She doesn't know she is a lost vampire princess and most of the book is about Lucius trying to convince her of her destiny. He is a pompous ass and she is in denial. A recipe for fluffy fun. I was especially glad of the lack of instant love in this book and while both characters grow, I was most fond of Lucius' growth into something other than a vampire jerk. It is a sweet romantic adventure that is all the more fun because of Katherine Kellgren's wonderful reading abilities. She has a wonderful voice that makes the characters come alive. When you are done reading this one, try the next book. And stick it out because it can be hard going at the beginning.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!