We all know that it is tough starting at a new school. Lenah Beaudonte, who seems like a 15-year-old English girl, is about to prove how really tough it can be. She has just arrived in Lover's Bay, Massachusetts, where she is going to be starting classes at a boarding school named Wickham. With all of the changes going on, she almost feels like a girl out of time.

Of course, that might be because she really is a girl out of time. She has actually only recently awakened after being in hibernation for 100 years. Rhode, her vampire sire and companion, sacrificed himself in a ritual to return her to human form after she has been a vampire queen for more than 500 years. She now finds herself alone at Wickham without the man who cared most for her and little knowledge of modern reality.

Fortunately, she is quickly befriended by classmate Tony, an Asian boy with a strong interested in the arts. Not only does he quickly explain the pecking order at the school, but he also starts to provide her guidance as to the ins and outs of modern life. He just assumes that she is ignorant of a lot of things because she is not native to America, and it probably doesn't hurt that he quickly develops a crush on her.

While Lenah is more than happy to take Tony's advice, one thing she vetoes him on is Justin Enos. Justin is one of the "in" crowd at Wickham. He is rich and is dating one of the three most important girls, who have been dubbed the Three Pieces by their classmates, on campus. He and his brothers also like to live it large by racing boats and bungee-jumping, among other things. Lenah finds herself inexplicably attracted to Justin, something that creates some difficulties in her friendship with Tony.

The big problem for Lenah is that she doesn't only have to worry about fitting in at school and getting used to being human again. One of the last thing Rhode told her before he died was a reminder of the fact that the former coven over which she used to rule would be out to hunt her down. She did have some leeway since the coven knew she planned to go into hibernation, one that would last until Nuit Rouge. Us mortals know that as Halloween. That gives her about a month to get settled in and stay hidden.

The problem is that one of the five members of the coven has a particular interest in her since he was a former lover. Linah was also Vicken's maker, which has resulted in a strong bond that was magically increased when the coven was formed. When Vicken and the rest of the coven arrive, they quickly capture Linah and bring her back to her estate in England, where she is confronted with her past when Vicken brings her back into vampire-hood. This time there is something different about her as she appears to still have her sense of humanity/compassion.

She is fortunate enough to escape and races back to Wickham with the hopes of both helping her friends and getting their help to keep the coven away. The odds are against her, but she doesn't want to return to her old vampiric ways.

Maizel is actually a professor at the Community College of Rhode Island and has masterfully entered the realm of of the Gothic/paranormal novel for teens. She has successfully melded the impressive writing style of Anne Rice with the teen characterizations of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Rich with detail and strong characters, this novel is a strong first novel for the author. While the writing could have been a little bit tighter, Maizel has mastered Rice's ability to include rich description without being boring or distracting to the reader.

Readers will quickly be drawn into Lenah's story and want to cheer her and her friends on as she fights for them and for herself. Readers will quickly be looking forward to the follow-up, which will be entitled Stolen Nights and is scheduled for release in June 2011.