Review: Pretty in Black by Rae Hachton

Pretty in Black (Pretty in Black #1)
By Rae Hachton
Published October 26th, 2011
Publisher: Teen Pulse
Paperback, 312 pages

Some Things are Pretty. Some Things are Black. Love is both.

[Ellie Piper]

She wanted to die. He arose from the grave. He was sent to kill her. She was trained to kill those of his kind. But fate had other plans. He searched for 119 years to find her. & There's no way in hell he's letting her go. Dead or Alive. They're fated.

[Marcus Marble]

How far would you go to be with the one you love? Would you die for her? Would you kill for her? What if the only reason you're still alive is because of her? What if the reason you came back from the dead, was to be with her? But what if your job was to kill her, but you fell in love instead? And now you're being hunted by your own kind?

Destroy? Or be Destroyed?

Review 

Pretty Dark and gloomy cover, right? I do admit it, I judge books by their covers. It's the cover that attracts me to a book, and makes me read its summary to see if its something I might like. This book would normally be one I wouldn't look at (its cover is just too dark and not very appealing), but it was recommended to me by a friend, so I had to give it a chance. Luckily enough, the summary snagged my interest, and I decided to read it, and I'm glad I did.  

Pretty in Black is a beautiful gothic love story. The main character is Ellie, a girl who has recently faced many hardships, including the murder of her sister, the divorce of her parents, and her boyfriend cheating on her. She is pretty depressed and wants to die. However, in comes Marcus Marble (I love his name), with whom Ellie is immediately attracted too. You can see where this is going, right? Well it may be a more typical romance, but the paranormal side is quite fascinating. Hachton puts a unique twist on vampires, creating an original paranormal story, which can be hard to find in today's market.

Marcus Marble, how his name  and its alliteration just rolls off your tongue. It is definitely catchy. He is quite the mysterious guy at first, showing up at a cemetery, and being seemingly everywhere Ellie is (not that that isn't weird at all). And of course, he is gorgeous, but what male love interest isn't? The atypical love story that you might think of (after reading the summary) is this: boy meets girl, they are helplessly in love but try to stay away from each other, but eventually realize they are soul mates. That was what I was thinking too, but was for the most part, proved wrong. Marcus knows that his love for Ellie is dangerous, but he pursues her anyway, and his feelings only get stronger as the story continues, Marcus is very honest about his feelings and that is very refreshing. It is only Ellie who is hesitant at first, understandably so, after all she did meet him, a random stranger, in a graveyard, and suddenly he is everywhere she is.


My favorite part (besides the paranormal part), is the writing. Not only does the writing enhance the story, but it really sets the mood, leaving you with an impression of this dark and sweet story of two people in love. It also made the book fast paced, and I was very surprised how little time this took me. It's 312 pages are deceiving, but enjoyably so, I didn't put this book down and just sped through it. I am very excited to read the sequel. What a cliffhanger at the end. All in all I would recommend this to anyone who has a taste for  dark romance, or anyone else who is looking for a lovely book you're able to fly through.

Purchase this book at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble /The Book Depository