Connor and Grace are twins who live in a lighthouse with their father. When he dies suddenly, Connor and Grace are left to fend for themselves. Desperate, they steal their father's boat and take off for the high seas, a sea shanty their father sang their only comfort.

But a storm comes up and separates the two. Connor is rescued by pirates, but Grace is rescued by something else. Vampirates. She thought they were a fable, but she's on their ship. Will Grace and Connor find each other?

The first in a series, I couldn't put this down until I finished it. And anxiously waited for the second.

Definitely one of the more iriginal YA novels I've read in a long time. I'm just not sure yet if that originality works in its favor. I'm not quite compelled to pursue the second book in this series.

This book was an easy read and by 'easy' I mean it's light and you fly through it.

sadly, this book has more potential than it showed, the plot could have been deeper and the characters could have been more developed and this would have made a fantastic read.

I rated 4 stars instead of the 3 i though of because I did enjoy it and would read it again but it's lacking the depth for it to be on my favourites shelf.

for a younger audience this is a great book, great ideas, just could have done so much more with it.

I will never not go back and reread this series! I have been reading them since the first book came out, and even as an adult, they never disappoint! Captain Somper has the ability to take his readers on an amazing ride through the ocean with daring battles, humans and vampire pirates. There is always a sense of mystery and thrill as Grace and Conner navigate this world they are thrown into. Twins that have been together, thick as thieves, since birth now must find their own way without one another. Will they reunite or stay apart? The "Demons of the Ocean" has those answers!

3.5 stars. I read this book when it was first published in the US - I was about 12 or so - and I loved it then. For a book meant for kids, I think it was an interesting concept and wasn't executed in the best manner, but coming from a much different point in my life now and reading it makes my understanding of it much different than when I first read it. I'd probably recommend this to someone 8-12 who's interested in pirates and/or vampires because it really is a fun concept and it's written in a way that to me is kind of reminiscent of the tone of A Series of Unfortunate Events but with a bit more optimism. Overall, it's a fun, engaging read for a kid.

Well, we all know how much I like pirates, and vampires, so Vampirates was clearly written just for me! It was enjoyable, but left too much at the end. I guess I'll have to read the next book!

I started reading this as a sleep aide whenever my insomnia hit, which usually meant I would read 5 pages and then open youtube or else roll around restlessly until 1am... but once the world was established and the huge cast of characters began to take on some much-needed personality, this grew on me. I think I was 150 or so in before I was reading because I wanted to know what happened next rather than to pass out. This is middle grade, not my typical genre, but I would not be opposed to picking up the next book in this series should I find myself trapped on a ship with no answers (but maybe it won't take exactly *that* much danger and uncertainty to compel me). I still don't like pirates, though, but vampires? I'm listening...

I find the other reviews for this book hilarious. Vampirates is a series aimed at young teens, or those coming into their young teens, and is clearly written to be relatable to and hold the attention of that audience. As such, it’s set in relatively modern times, but still has pirates waving swords around. And the human pirate crew is clearly a caricature.

For those people disappointed with the lack of gore, it’s a book series for children. And we’re meant to relate to the protagonists, so of course the author doesn’t have them being all but adopted by savage sadists.

There are many of the usual tropes in this text. Orphans desperately wanting new family. Adventurous children who make silly decisions and don’t immediately die. And they’re twins!

I like the vampires. They aren’t all going around torturing people—this is meant to be a lighthearted adventure with positive messages, after all—but there’s some homage to the original lore. When I first read this book, I was thinking a lot about Stockholm’s Syndrome (which doesn’t really exist, but I didn’t know that then), so there’s definitely some of the sexual energy seen in Carmila and Dracula, but it’s certainly much tamer. I suspect it’s going to turn into a romance (and there’s an uncomfortable age gap there, even ignoring the vampire part), which isn’t my favorite, but I enjoyed it when I read the book to begin with.

There are some things I wish were different—Connor seems to become an expert at everything in about 5 seconds, for example—but most of the issues with the text are because he’s not writing Dune. Creating a believable setting for 12 year olds is a bit different than for adults. And I tried to read Dune at 12, and found it far too complex.

All in all, I’m a big fan of this book, and do recommend it, so long as the reader does not expect a text with a developed setting, or a lack of tropes or stereotypical characters.

I've noticed that this book seemed to have been getting bad ratings all the way down the line and I have to straighten this out. This was a great book but it was intended for middle-schoolers. Yes the concept is a bit cheesy at points but I think the problem that these people are having is the facts that they are adults trying to read a junior high book. So that being said this is an absolutely fantastic book and if you are 15 or below don't let the bad reviews from the adults prevent you from reading it.