Haven, by Kristi Cook (Winterhaven #1)

Violet McKenna thought she was crazy when she had a vivid vision of her dad’s murder—but when her premonition came true, her life fell apart. Then she found a new school: Winterhaven. There, Violet fits right in. All the students have special “gifts” like her own, and she quickly finds a close group of friends. But Violet’s attraction to an alluring boy becomes problematic when intense visions of his death start to haunt her. In her premonitions, the secret he is unwilling to share begins to reveal itself—and the unbelievable becomes reality. To Violet’s horror, she learns that their destinies are intertwined in a crictical—and deadly—way.

Violet has never fit in because of her psychic gift and is hoping that she will at her new school, Winterhaven. Shortly after arriving she finds out that everyone there has talents similar to hers. There are empaths, telepaths, telekinetics, shapeshifters, and a bunch of other interesting (and cliche) types of magical teenagers roaming around Winterhaven, but Violet is intrigued by one in particular-the mysterious Aiden. He's gorgeous, brilliant, and aloof to everyone but Violet. Then Violet starts having visions of herself killing Aiden. And her visions always come true.

I was severely disappointed in the Twilight-ness of this book. I started noticing the similarities early on but denied them because Violet actually does things besides look pretty, but as soon as the vampires entered I couldn't keep reading. I tried because of how ridiculous the plot had suddenly become, but the characters' inability to keep their mouths shut about what should be the most secretive of all secrets was just too much. Seriously-people don't just tell their secrets and their life stories to people they barely know which Kristi Cook hasn't yet taught her many hormonal characters. But teens in a special boarding school for kids with magical powers+vampires is one recipe for disaster and is, to make a long-winded explanation short, overkill. It was as if the author couldn't think of what to do next so she stuck in some more supernatural phenomena. The scientific aspect of the whole thing was interesting but also seemed like the author was trying too hard. If she's going to explain away the vampires scientifically, where are her explanations for all the teens with superpowers? The scientific angle works in tiny doses if there is lots going on or huge doses if they're going to take up most of the story. In Haven it just added to the giant mess.

1.9 stars. Someone, somewhere, must have enjoyed this book, but it certainly wasn't me.