Friday, January 4, 2008

Seventh Heaven

The Accidental Vampire
Lynsay Sands
Avon
Dec
ISBN 0061229687
Paranormal/Vampire Romantic comedy
****1/2



Victor Argeneau finds himself with the less than pleasant task ahead of dealing with a possible rogue vampire, ie, one that is biting people, not using bagged blood. When he arrives in the small town where she is, he seems to be expected, and the "rogue" is anything but what he expected. Elvi (short for her nickname - Elvira) is a very pleasant young appearing woman who is treated as something between a local treasure and pet. Her fellow townspeople treat her well and willingly donate blood. In fact, it's a local custom for boys to visit her for a birthday bite when they come of age. Living up to their expectations can sometimes be a trial, but Elvi takes it all with good humor. What's more, she has no idea how she became an immortal, what their laws are, or what she really can do. Victor finds himself teaching her and realizes that he can't kill her because she is innocent at heart and his life mate. He also has competition for her hand as several other vampires have responded to an ad the town placed to get her a husband, and someone else wants her dead. Finding out who and handling the personal situation that is prepossessing, will provide him with an interesting and, for us, fun time.



Without being silly, the humor in this book is kept up in a steady stream. Ms. Sands has given us the best Argenau book since the first one. I loved Elvi's naivte and the entireity of her town citizenry. There is a real warmth that infuses the story. What's more, new readers can jump in and "get it" without any past books being read, but please, if this is your first, go buy the first six. They are marvelous.

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