Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.
Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.
Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.
As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina’s dreams…
But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.
One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.
By now everyone knows that a re-imagining/series sequel of the CW hit television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Joss Whedon) is in the works. As if that weren’t exciting enough, Kiersten White’s new series set in the Buffy universe is hitting the shelves on January 8th!
From what I’ve read on Goodreads, Slayer (Slayer #1) closely follows the Buffy comics and picks up shortly after the ending of the last comic in the series. I, however, never read or got into the comics and simply watched Buffy in real-time when it originally aired. Even though I was not familiar with the continuation of Buffy’s story arc outside of the show, I was still able to enjoy the book. That being said, I do not think it matters one way or the other if you have read the comics or if you have seen the show. You’ll still have a blazing good time getting to know these new characters and devouring this action-packed novel.
In short, the book is awesome. I found all of the characters engaging and reminiscent of the dynamic between the Vampire Diaries and Riverdale characters. The dialogue is witty, the characters are complex and completely relatable, the plot is thick (in a good way!), and the world building is on point. The diversity of the characters was refreshing and my little librarian heart was giddy every time I read a scene set in the library, that discussed research, or that described old books. Seriously, after reading Slayer, I felt driven to start a new research and kick-butt training routine.
You’ll want to pull out your old DVD of the 1992 Buffy film and give it a rewatch to set the mood before reading Slayer.
Image courtesy of Amazon
This book was straight-up FUN and inspiring. Through the trials and tribulations of Athena (Nina) and her twin sister Artemis, Kiersten White delivers a pretty profound message: The world, our worlds, are not binary; there’s always a third choice. (It’ll all make sense once you read the book. Aren’t you excited?!)
And just for fun….
After reading Slayer and immersing yourself back into the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you are probs gonna wanna get all kinds of BUFF so you can obliterate your own siblings demons. Here’s a workout video to help you get ready to SLAY:
Mix in the workouts below for advanced Slayer training:
Graphics courtesy of Pinterest
It’s time to train and SLAY!
Now go and pre-order yourself a finished copy of Slayer by Kiersten White after ENTERING TO WIN the ARC at the end of this post!
And just for MORE fun…
I *almost* slayed my television and Netflix account when I read that the FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC show Crazy Head was cancelled after one season. If you haven’t checked out Crazy Head yet and you are a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you MUST check this show out. It was streaming on Netflix a while back, but you may be able to find it on other platforms. Watch the short trailer below!
Slayer by Kiersten White 
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