Jeanne C Stein - The Becoming

My name is Anna Strong. I am a vampire. How I became one is the reason for this story. I tell it all the way it happened. It may not be what you expect.
She's a bounty hunter--tough, beautiful, and trained for the unexpected. Until the night she's attacked and left closer to death than she can imagine. She awakens to an indoctrination into a dark new world where vampires walk among us. But this time, a tight grip on a .38 won't stop what she's hunting for.
Existing between the worlds of the living and the dead, Anna is torn by her love for two very different men. Max, a DEA agent, all too human, and vulnerable. And Avery, a Night Watcher who's joined Anna in pursuit of the rogue vampire who changed her life that terrifying night. Now, as her two worlds collide, fate plunges Anna into the ultimate battle between good and evil where survival is not just for the living...

Comment: I've had this book to read for more than two years. Probably three... Anyway, it has been collecting dust until a few days ago, when I finally decided it was time to get it over with. But honestly, it wasn't one of those books you end up thinking why it waited for so long...

In this book we have the story of Anna Strong, a young woman whose job is a bounty hunter and one night things don't go as well as she thoughts and she ends up in a hospital not remembering everything...but one thing is certain, she isn't human anymore.
The book is Anna's adventure to know herself once more, to seek help and answers and to save a friend because apparently she's yet too human for her new condition...

No, I wasn't impressed with this story.
First, I wasn't delighted over the writing style. I understand the benefits of having a first person narrator and the goal in making Anna do so, but her "voice" didn't captivate me enough. Not that she was bad or anything but I wasn't always interested in what she was thinking; besides the biggest issue with this type of narration is we don't get to see what other characters are really thinking and the POV of things is always biased.

Anna shares her experience as a vampire and her struggle to understand her life now. But some things happen to her in the process that I had some trouble accepting, such as the how she was changed and what it entailed and further along, despite her words of commitment and trust towards her boyfriend, she doesn't think twice before doing something I found tasteless and avoidable. Yes, one can say she wasn't completely herself at that point especially if we consider how the book ended and after some light into previous scenes. But despite this, I'm a firm defender of conscious self behavior and it's always a no for me the type of actions Anna had, even with the discount she has because of being a new vampire and all that.

So, being put off not yet half way through the book, I thought I just wanted to get it over soon. Then, some things happened and I was led to believe certain things about one of the characters. I thought I had it figured but in this the author showed her talent because I wasn't expecting a particular twist. Still, after some time thinking about it, I have to say it was pretty obvious at a determined point, I guess I was just annoyed enough not to consider it possible. Apart from the mystery twist in the end, the book wasn't that special for me.

There's something I really wanted an answer to, but this means keep reading and honestly I don't feel like it at this point.
In the end, the plot plus Anna's behavior and take on things wasn't enough to compel me...I hope the following books are better and who knows, one (far away) day I might read the next one and see if it gets better...as apparently fans say it does. Until then, too many books to read already.
Grade: 5/10