The is the second Argeneau Vampires tale by Lyndsay Sands, if read in the author's intended reading order. This is the story of Rachel, a morgue attendant who is working her usual night shift when a dead man is brought in twice. Yes, it the same dead man. Etienne has been killed twice, once by a bullet through the heart and then again burnt to crisp. Rachel finds herself sickeningly attracted to what she assumes is a corpse. Things aren't as they appear of course and Etienne is a vampire. Rachel saves Etienne's life and then he repays the favor. The only way he can save her life though is to 'turn' her into a vampire. Etienne must than house her and teach her all the ways of the vampire. The portion of the book dealing with Etienne showing up in the morgue, revealing himself to her, and then saving and turning her is top-notch storytelling. I was enraptured by the book at this point and convinced I had found a winner. After Rachel is turned the book begins a downward spiral from which it never quite recovers. The tale becomes just plain silly when the focus turns to romance between the two vamps. This includes some of the cheesiest and just plain odd dialouge I have ever come across in my years of romance and/or paranormal reading. Even the sex scenes are yawn and cringe worthy. The end tries to recapture some of the book's earlier enjoyment with the showdown against Etienne's rival/stalker. But by this point, the book stumbles into another downfall. The ending delves straight into the old tried and true formula romance. There is a misunderstanding between the couple and one of the couple runs away. They spend some time apart, and finally come back together again, after both admit how miserable they were apart. Ok, I think we've all read that plotline a few too many times. Except for the beginning of the story, this book shows none of the comical fun and romance of "A Quick Bite". I must say, I am a little disappointed. ( )

Opening Sentence: "...Pudge squinted through the scope of his rifle..."

Pudge is a homicidal maniac who is trying to kill Etienne, a successful computer game designer, and a vampire. Dr. Rachel Garrett works in the morgue. She is on duty the first time Pudge kills Etienne - when she removes the bullet from his heart his heart starts to beat. Etienne uses vampire power to make Rachel believe it was just a dream. Then Pudge tries to blow Etienne up and he once again ends up in the Morgue - this time Pudge follows and attempts to chop off Etiennes head only Rachel gets in the way and is mortally wounded. All Etienne can do is turn Rachel into a vampire to save her - and she is pretty cute too.

Rachel is less than impressed when she wakes up and what follows is a very lighthearted look at her learning to be a vampire, trying to stop Pudge from killing, and falling in love with Etienne. Good fluffy reading. ( )

As I'm not a fan of romances, I've been getting tired of paranormal books that are simply a straight romance in a vampire wrapper. Fortunately, I can't consider this series in that category. There's definitely enough tongue-in-cheek humor and back story with a bit of suspense to keep things entertaining..

Each book in this series focuses on a particular member of the Argeneau vampire clan. And this one is the story of Etienne Argeneau and Rachel Garrett. Etienne is 312 years old, the youngest son and 2nd youngest child of the beautiful Marguerite Argeneau. As the story opens, Etienne is faced with a dilemma: Each vampire is only allowed to "turn" one human in his or her lifetime, and usually that option is reserved for converting a life partner. However, Rachel Garrett has thrown herself in the path of a mortal blow from an axe-wielding maniac in an effort to spare his life, and thus endanger her own. Though he's felt an attraction to Rachel since first waking up in the morgue where she works, he doesn't feel right about converting her, even if it's to save her life, without her permission. Because though his race is extremely difficult to kill, a beheading would definitely get the job done. But then again, since she's saved his life, he feels that he can do no less for her than return the favor.

When Rachel wakes up a vampire in Etienne's home, she goes through extreme denial as Etienne tries to explain to her what she has become. It's only after she meets the rest of his family, discovering the scientific facts behind vampirism, as well as the sexual "side effects", does she begin to grudgingly accept the fact. But since she must learn to control her blood lust, and hone her new talents while the conversion within her body completes itself over the course of the next week, Etienne has asked that she remain with him in his home for a while as she adjusts to these changes. The attraction Etienne has felt for Rachel continues to grow. And Rachel recognizes Etienne as the man who has haunted her dreams, in a strangely sexual way, for the past several nights prior to her turning.

The story is ultimately a romance, but as I said above, it's got enough other things going for it to keep it entertaining and amusing. And I'm looking forward to keeping up with this cute, light-hearted series. ( )

#86, 2004

Bwhahahhaha! This was a fun book. It was recommended to me by several of the folks in my local BookCrossing meet-up, and I'm glad I took their advice. The genre is listed as "paranormal romance," which was a new one to me . . . it's a vampire book, but cute and romantic. It's funny, and I enjoyed the characters. Plus, there's some sexual content (what I'd consider fairly standard romance-book sex, although since I don't read much romance maybe I'm not the best one to judge); not incredibly graphic, but definitely more than "they kiss . . . fade to black." I especially enjoyed the author's take on vampirism - it's a more "scientific" explanation than many I've heard, and I liked it (although I wish the author hadn't connected it in any way with Atlantis). Utter fluff, but fun. ( )

Second on Sands series about the Argeneau vampire clan. This one is a prequel to Single White Vampire and concerns Etienne and Rachel. Cute. ( )