In The Beginning, There Was Evolution by Sam Kadence

There are such beings as vampires, some of us have evidence that they exist. – Bram Stoker

I haven’t decided yet whether it’s a brave move to introduce yet another vampire tale to the already brimming paranormal fiction pool, or if the Twilight and Vampire Diaries furor has finally died down enough that the market is ripe for a new influx of the teenage blood-sucking undead. Whichever is the case, I do know one thing for sure: as far as I’m concerned, there’s always room for stories like Evolution, a book that introduces a traditional vampire mythology, borrowing from canon across the genre, and delivers a fresh and exciting beginning to a series I know I’ll be anxiously following to its final word.

This is a story of evolution, both of the band and of the band’s lead singer Genesis Sage, a seventeen-year-old boy who is one small step away from being homeless when his life is turned inside-out by Kerstrande Petterson, the smartarse boy Gene hits with his car one night, an accident that really wasn’t his fault. Seeing dead people can do things to a guy’s equilibrium, after all, so really, it was simply a case of Kerstrande being in the wrong place at the wrong time—or maybe he was exactly where someone wanted him to be. At any rate, one thing is certain; Gene had no idea at the time that he’d just run over the guitarist rock god of the band Triple Flight.

Evolution is told in dual points-of-view, primarily Gene’s, but the reader gets the opportunity to spend some time in Kerstrande’s head too. There’s more to the guitarist than meets the unsuspecting eye. But the same could be said for Genesis as well; he is a mystery and an enigma and a conundrum all wrapped up in the body of a talented boy who just wants to sing his music with his friends, Rob and Joel. But fate has other plans for Gene, and suddenly, hitting Kerstrande becomes a matter of Genesis being in the right place at the right time, because his destiny is so much more than simply becoming a famous rock star. He’s a boy whose destiny is one of eternal inception.

I have to say I’m a little crazy-excited for this new series about the monsters and men who populate New York City, and especially am invested in the Yin/Yang full-circle alchemy that makes up the bond between Genesis and Kerstrande. Sam Kadence’s briskly paced and tightly plotted introduction to this world has tucked me neatly into the bloody and fantastical city these character’s populate, but a word of caution here: don’t get overly invested in the hope that the end of this book won’t leave you hanging. There is an evil cliffhanger, but hey, what’s life without a few loose ends?

There’s angst and drama galore to be found, and a little bit of horror thrown in too, just to satisfy my love of Urban Fantasy and to give some added complications to this Young Adult romance.

You can buy Evolution here: