It’s not very often that I find a novel that completely captivates me, but The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn did exactly that. I know a lot of people have been saying this about various books lately, but honestly, the whole vampire mythos and the main character, Kismet Knight, are very refreshing for the vampire genre.

Kismet Knight is a psychologist and she’s a scientist to the core. Meaning, if it can’t be logically explained, then it doesn’t exist. This is especially true of anything paranormal and is usually the result of a delusional mind seeking an avenue of escape. Then she meets Midnight who introduces her to vampires, and one in particular, Devereux. Kismet isn’t falling for the vampire storyline and she begins to envision a new case study so she goes along with the delusions of Devereux and Midnight. It doesn’t take Kismet long to realize something is going on and she’s somehow in the middle of it.

This time around, our heroine doesn’t believe in vampires and she doesn’t magically believe in one day. In fact, Kismet doesn’t actually acknowledge the existence of vampires until the last couple of chapters of the book. Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of vampire stories where the vamps are already out in society or the heroine knows they exist; so it was interesting to read about a character who goes through the ordeal of struggling to understand something out of her comfort zone. As a psychologist, Kismet has seen all types of disorders, so when someone comes in saying they are a vampire, it’s nothing new and something she hasn’t been able to get around in the past. What do you do when you know something doesn’t exist, have seen similar behaviors before and gotten the individual out of it, but then it shows up and shoves itself in your face. That is what the vampire world does to Kismet and it’s a lot to handle all at once. To see her go through each step of understanding, from absolute disbelief to doubting to questioning to reluctantly acknowledging the possibility and finally to acceptance of vampires is such a new concept that it engages the reader in a whole new way. You want to see how her mind is working through all the new scenes.

It is also really refreshing to have a character who doesn’t kickass and is a slayer of the undead. Not that there is anything wrong with this stereotype, but when you come across a heroine who has to depend on her vampire lover, who calls the cops for a bloody gown, then it adds a little realism to the story. If any of us were to experience the events that Kismet goes through, would we do anything different? Would we be able to pick up a stake and kill a vampire? Or would we run screaming to the nearest psychologist?

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and I can guarantee that I’ll be at the bookstore when the sequel, Dark Harvest, comes out in October. I’ll be interested in seeing how Kismet copes with knowing there are vampires and she’s now a part of their world. She really only accepts them at the end, so we don’t know how she reacts or what kind of relationship she has with Devereux. I can’t wait to see how this story pans out and I would really recommend this novel to anyone who asks.

http://www.literaryescapism.com/2008/... ( )

With the title I thought this book would be more silly than it actually was. Well I did laugh when I read the main vampire, Devereux, can travel to other dimensions. Kismet is a psychologist who is seen by a young women who not only believes in vampires and hangs out with them, but is trying to decide if she wants to become one. Of course Kismet does not believe that vampires are real and spends half the book talking herself into not believing no matter what happens to her or what she sees. Even before she decides vampires are real, Kismet advertises herself as the "Vampire Psychologist". She also gets herself involved in some gruesome murders and a psychotic stalker. I enjoyed the story and look forward to the next in the series, Dark Harvest. ( )

I don't read paranormal romances for the plot or character development, but I was puzzled by far too much in this book. And I'm not interested in reading the next installment to find out.

That said, a human psychologist treating vampires sorely in need of help is an interesting twist to the genre. ( )