I just had one of the most enjoyable reading nights in a long time – all due to meeting a new character, Tara Daston, in the fantasy book Midnight Reflections by author Katrina Michaels.

Tara was funny and witty and, even though she was made a vampire against her will, she never lets it get her down. In this novel, vampires, werewolves and other mystical creatures are a recognized part of society. The rules governing vampire behavior is fairly traditional: a vampire cannot go out in daylight and they cannot enter your home without an invitation. They own bars and have jobs and, in this particular world, people are quite accepting of the vampire lifestyle. It’s nice to think of a world where people accept you and are willing to live equally with you, even though you could potentially suck them dry of blood or eat them on the next full moon.

The story begins with Tara going on a date to a vampire bar with her casual boyfriend of two months which she plans to break up with. He takes the breakup pretty hard; he kills her – yes, kills her. But his reason for committing murder isn’t entirely related to being dumped, no, he kills her because Tara refuses to recommend him for a job at her uncle’s business. What a jerk. Loser. Creep. Did I say that I didn’t like him?

Panicking at his carelessness, Tara’s idiot date begs a local vampire to “turn her” before she dies. Luckily for her, the vampire decides that letting such a beautiful, vibrant person like Tara die would be a waste and he agrees to bring her over.

Tara wakes up from her transformation to meet her sire, Alexander, a 300 year old vampire whose real motive for turning Tara lies in the fact that he yearned for the companionship of another child. Alexander wants to take care of Tara as he would a daughter. He is kind and thoughtful, he never lets her feel sorry for herself, and he teaches her how to fight. A good thing too because some monstrous creature stronger than any vampire or werewolf ever known is on the prowl, and it’s become fixated on Tara.

When this mysterious monster kills a friend’s boyfriend Tara is determined to find out who or what it is. She’s stopped at every turn by a vampire private investigator named Tom who’s also investigating the mysterious murder. He finds her interference incredibly irritating and likewise, Tara claims no romantic interest in him. However, did I mention that he looks like Hugh Jackman? ‘Nuf said.

I really love Tara’s character. She can kick butt and joke about it at the same time, making her my ideal heroine. She’s confident, intelligent and makes practical decisions. Although working with Tom is a fringe benefit, Tara holds her own during the investigation and turns out to be a pretty good sleuth in her own right. And although Tara frequently puts her life in danger during the investigations she plays an integral role in Tom’s attempts to identify the creature responsible for the murders.

Go Girl Vamp Power!

I sincerely hope there’s a sequel in the works for Midnight Reflections because I want to read more about Tom – and see Tara outwit him again!

Overall this fast paced and fun book is rife with endless possibilities; here’s hoping Katrina Michaels has “Book 2″ in the works!

Midnight Reflections is available from online retailers like Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.