Model, Vol. 1

Ji Ye is a Korean art student who comes to Europe to study. Her brushstrokes aren't going as well as she would like, but sheâ??s determined to make it as an artist. One evening her friend brings a drunk man over to crash at her pad. That night she has bad dreams that the drunk is really a blood-sucking vampire. But when she wakes up, she realizes it wasn't a dream! Unafraid, she's suddenly bitten by the creative bug, and starts to paint his portrait. His beauty and alluring preternatural energy lets Ji Ye's artistic juices flow, and the two strike a Ji Ye will allow the vampire to feed on her, and in return he will pose for her. This could be exactly what Ji Ye needs to finally succeed as a painter-- but at what price?

Grade 8 Up-This second book in the series has great appeal to those with very specific tastes, and not much to those without. A tale of vampire romance, it is primarily shoujo (for girls and women) and populated with bishounen (pretty boys). In the first volume, Jae, a young art student, meets the elegant, androgynous vampire Michael. He has agreed to pose for her on two conditions. One, that she lives with him in his gothic mansion, and two, that she allows him a taste of her blood. In this follow-up volume, Jae's interest in Michael (both romantic and otherwise) extends to his equally androgynous but arrogant son, Ken. Further complicating the love/hate relationship that forms between Jae and the enigmatic Ken is Eva, the cold housekeeper. Also on hand is a chic new guest (with some secrets of her own) who reveals Eva's own mysterious past. Secret histories and gothic passions are the mainstay of Model, and the characters, with their elongated bodies, brooding eyes, and flowing hair, are the quintessence of supernatural romanticism. Some readers may view the world of Model as clichéd and built on style rather than substance, but fans of gothic literature, especially Anne Rice's works, will find themselves right at home.