Anita lite. I'm tired of these variations on vampire books, they feel like the author saw an oppurtunity in the market place and wrote to order, rather than had a story grow inside them that needed to be told... ( )

Nancy Haddock has written a wonderful debut! This book had everything! It was romantic, sexy and full of action!
Cesca Martinelli was trapped underground for 200 years but has now been discovered by her closest friend, Maggie. But now that vampires have been changed to a protected species, she finds that times have changed, plus she has to run around with a tracker chip in her arm. But now someone in town seems to want to see her dead. And it's up to her to figure out who that is before something terrible happens.
Cesca started doing ghost tours for a local company and finds that the same people want to be at her tours, probably because she's a vampire, but then one of them turns up dead. And there is a creepy guy running around trying to scare her, but with the help of an ex-slayer Deke Saber they will soon discover that this murder has a lot more twists and turns than they anticipated!
This book hooked me from the very first page. You have a vampire who is the most human vampire you'll ever meet and she surfs! Who woulda thought! LOL This book certainly is one of finest debuts that I have ever had the pleasure to read!
So what do you gotta say to that? ( )

Ok- when reading a book such as this, the reader is required to suspend belief. This doesn't work if the characters are cardboard, or the world is so badly written that you are always questioning it. In this book its the characters. The book feels like it was fan fiction, and the fan is writing from a script, without the deeper understanding of a characters motivation.

Francesca is a 2 hundred year vampire who was recently unearthed. She likes shopping at Walmart, surfing, and drools over hot men. Unfortunately, Francesca should have a few moral hangovers about modern society, a hard time adjusting to modern conveniences, and have a slightly different vocabulary than my 13 year old cousin.

But, the world is quite interesting - its a world with vampires, ghosts, and the were creatures are now extinct. With a little bit more darkness and characters that fit with their background, it could be a very good series. ( )

Haddock has created a pretty enjoyable bunch of characters here. Francesca is a nice heroine and her love interest, Saber, fills the requisite sexy Alpha-man shoes nicely. Likewise, the secondary characters, such as Cesca's best friend Maggie and vampire-hater Gorman, are interesting enough. The problem is that nothing much in these two novels sticks with you once the book is finished.

For what it is though, the novel is decently written. The plots are okay and the progression of the story arc is fine. As far as character development and world-building - there's not much to it...

...To continue reading this review, head over to my blog - Undercover Book Lover. ( )

When vampire Francesca Marinelli is unearthed after 200 years, she is not about to let the grass grow under her feet. She is ready to live a modern afterlife. She is into TV, surfing and furniture. She also has a job as a tour guide on a local historic ghost tour, who better than one of St. Augustine's earliest residents. But when a frequent tour attendee ends up dead, Cesca finds herself under the spotlight, a place no vampire wants to be.

I liked this book. Cesca is a very likeable character and the story is pretty interesting. The main mystery is finished off handily but another story about an old love is just getting started. I already have the next one ready to check out of the library. ( )