I’ve been reading a lot of vampire stuff lately. A lot. I finished up the other two Lynsay Sands books in the Argeneau series, Vampires are Forever and Vampire, Interrupted. I like that series a lot, and I’ve always enjoyed reading related stories, so the idea of stories based on a whole family of vampires is pretty cool. I definitely intend to get the rest of the series.

I read Bad Blood, by L.A. Banks. I’ve read her Vampire Huntress series, and enjoyed those, but I liked this one even more. The MC is a strong, kick-butt-and-take-names military girl, who just so happens to be a shadow wolf. There’s a lot of action in this book, and the werewolves…well, they’re just not nice. I’m looking forward to the next book.

Next up is Rogue, by Rachel Vincent. Loved it. Loved the first one, Stray. I hated how this one ended, however. It just stopped! I wanted to run right out and buy the next one, except, oh yeah, it isn’t out yet. As a reader, I hate it when the book just stops (as opposed to ending). As a writer, I think “Wow. I wish I could get my readers hooked in like that.” Rogue has a good mystery, lots of action, and some surprising character developments. You should definitely read it.

Embrace the Night, by Karen Chance, is the third book in the Cassie Palmer series. This is an excellent series. The MC is interesting and accident-prone. In fact, she’s like a magnet for trouble. Her sidekick, the ghost Billy, is great, too. She’s always getting herself into some sort of predicament. I hope this isn’t the last book with these characters.

I read Shanna Swenson’s Once Upon Stilettos and Damsel Under Stress. Can I just say how jealous I am of this idea? I think the concept is great, and really original. I love all the little details, like the gargoyles being the security system. The MC, Katie, is always entertaining. She’s so doubtful of herself, but she always manages to come up with something to save the day, even if it’s purely accidental. Some of the things in these two books had me laughing out loud and thinking “That’s the kind of thing that would happen to me.” (Except for, you know, the whole magic thing.). The supporting characters are great. Owen, who’s too smart for his own good and way too shy. Rod, who uses glamour to make himself look hot instead of putting any effort into his personal appearance. And of course, the CEO, Merlin. Can’t wait to get my hands on the next one.

I decided to try some new series I’ve been hearing about, so with that end in mind, I read The Devil Inside by Jenna Black. Interesting premise. I haven’t read much with demons lately, so this was a nice change of pace. I like the MC, who is definitely flawed (and knows it). She’s an exorcist who has been possessed by the ruler of Hell, except she doesn’t know it, and the demon isn’t strong enough to control her. She gets caught up in the struggle for power in Hell. Her demon, Lugh, is pro-human, and the opposing factions are trying to burn her alive to destroy Lugh. Lots of action. I intend to buy the next book in the series. A note of warning: some of the sex in the book could be a little disturbing to some people. I consider myself open-minded, but I was caught off guard a little bit when they went to the exhibitionist (for lack of a better word) demon club.

My next foray into a new series was Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews. This book had an entirely different vampire concept. And I did not like these vampires at all! Yuck. Strong heroine with lots of mystery surrounding her, which is probably the main reason I’ll be reading the next book in the series, just to find out about her. My favorite character was the Beast Lord. I thought he was great.

Last, but far from least, is Glass Houses, by Rachel Caine. This book sucked me in from the very first page. I couldn’t put it down. It had a ton of things to interest me. First of all, it’s set in a small Texas town. How many vampire stories have you seen with that kind of setting? It’s got a goth girl who’s making fun of the vampires, evil b*tches after the MC, Claire, a nice mystery line. Pretty much everything you could ask for. Claire is a super smart sixteen-year-old who graduated early but her parents wouldn’t let her go off to any of the big schools just yet. So she goes to this small university, and gets on the bad side of Monica, the big dog on campus. And Monica tries to kill her, so Claire runs away from the dorm, and ends up in a cool, Gone with the Wind style house, where she meets Eve, Shane, and Michael, who try to protect her. The vampires in this story are mostly bad, as near as I can tell, and give their protection to families in town in return for blood donations. You should definitely check this book out! I’m getting the next book this week!