As a young soprano in the eighteenth century, Octavia Voss was bitten by a vampire patroness during a sexual tryst with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and was imbued with the essence of his astonishing musical gifts. Since then, Octavia has enjoyed several careers as a celebrated soprano, taking on new identities to disguise her ageless beauty, and acquiring an assistant and companion in Ugo, a mysterious man who possesses a secret of his own.

Together they travel the world for her performances at all the great opera houses. But during a run at La Scala, Octavia draws the attention of a secret vampire hunter who will do anything to make her talents his own. [more info and prices]

Merry meet, fledgling. Welcome to a new life, a new world, and a new you. Welcome to the House of Night!

This might seem like a scary time, Fledgling, but never fear!

As you start your journey through the ancient halls of the House of Night, this indispensable handbook will aid you in your transition from human to fledgling. Within these pages you will find invaluable information about the history of vampyres. You will also come to a better understanding of your body’s transformation, as well as read words of hope from great vampyres of the past and learn essential foundations of rituals and lore.

Now, Fledgling, read on. A new life awaits you; your path to that magickal future begins here! [more info and prices]

Best Book Quote: “I’d never given much thought to how I would die – though I’d had reason enough in the last few months.”

If you are one of those “Twilight” fans who can’t get enough of the Twilight book, the Twilight movie, the Twilight t-shirts or anything else related to this phenomenon, then boy, do I have a treat for you. It’s called Twilight: The Graphic Novel and it’s written by Stephanie Meyer and illustrated by Young Kim. I have totally enjoyed all of the Twilight series books and movies released to date, so to see the content presented in a new format was a real thrill.

If you don’t know the basic premise of the Twilight series (where have you been?), the story follows a young woman, Isabella Swan, who moves to the overcast and cloudy town of Forks, Washington, to live with her father. There she meets Edward Cullen, a mysterious student at her high school who fully captures her interest and imagination – she can’t seem to figure him out. The storyline follows the development of their relationship and the issues that occur with having a vampire as your high school boyfriend.

The graphic novel presents essentially the same storyline except that illustrations replace the descriptive paragraphs of the book. I’ve never read a graphic novel before and I found that I liked it. Being new to this style of presentation, there were a couple of techniques that took me a couple of pass-thrus to understand but that was fine. Young Kim’s artwork is very detailed and well done. The majority of it is in black and white but her use of color for selected scenes added significantly to the reader’s experience.

This is Volume One but it doesn’t end where the first book ends. That tells me there will be a Volume Two which I will certainly purchase. For any devoted Twilight fan (or graphic novel fan), Twilight: The Graphic Novel is a must have. It will look awesome on your bookshelf next to all the other books and DVD’s that you’ve already likely purchased as a Twilight aficionado.

When you live in a town that’s run by vampires, where it’s not safe to be on the streets after dark, you’re thrilled at the chance to leave town and see some new sights. That’s the case in Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine, the latest installment in The Morganville Vampire series. Claire and her friends are given the chance to go past the city limits in order to let Michael make a demo CD in Dallas. Freedom from Morganville, they are all just too excited! Although that excitement is tempered a bit when they get their transit papers and they find out that Oliver, an enforcer for Morganville’s head vamp, is going along as their escort. Wow, that will really liven up the trip – NOT!

So, the two couples set out – Shane and Claire, Michael and Eve – along with Oliver on their way to music fame and fortune. Everyone is so excited because passes out of town are few and far between – you don’t leave Morganville without the okay of the lead vampire, Amelie. It is all going great until they stop for food in a small town that has more than its share of rednecks. When Oliver disappears on some mysterious mission and tells them not to leave the little town, things go from bad to worse. When rogue vampires from Morganville track them down, intent on having Claire and Eve for lunch, rednecks are the least of their worries. As Shane tells the sheriff, “we’re not the bad guys here”.

The writing in Kiss of Death transports you to small town Texas, letting you connect with the unique personality of each character. The story of joy-riding teenagers, happy about their freedom, being sidetracked by hating humans and malevolent vampires delivers an exciting read that never lets up on the action. Rachel Caine delivers yet another great installment in her Morganville Vampire series. If you are looking for a fun, fast-paced, road trip adventure, you’ve got to read Kiss of Death.

In Descent into Dust author Jacqueline Lepore creates a world where ancient Romanian legends meet early twentieth century England. It opens with the protagonist, Emma Andrews, suffering a strange and intense headache as she approaches a relative’s country mansion for a short stay. Constantly haunted by her mother’s past insanity, Emma tells no one of the bizarre and persistent headache.

It’s only after meeting a mysterious visitor to the estate, Valerian Fox, that her headache ceases. Even stranger, when viciously attacked by unknown forces she’s able to aptly defend herself with heretofore unknown skills. It’s clear that Valerian has knowledge that can bring light to these occurrences but he refuses to divulge any information when probed by Emma. But when an evil master vampire threatens Emma’s young cousin, the two adversaries become allies – even though Emma is still fighting with Valerian to get the answers she seeks.

Lepore’s masterfully handles the budding relationship between Emma and Valerian. Emma is a young widow who lost her older husband about a year ago and isn’t ready to give up her independence. Valerian is a man of mystery whose interest in Emma is obviously not just related to their fighting evil together. It should be noted that although Emma and Valerian’s interactions form an appropriate subplot to the book’s primary conflict, the novel’s secondary characters are brilliantly fleshed out and add additional depth to the storyline: there’s the foppish but fiercely loyal Sebastian; the pompous and demanding sister Alyssa; and Father Luke, the warrior priest with a hero complex. All three characters play an integral role in the good vs. evil element present throughout the book.

I found Lepore’s writing style befitting for setting a mood that matches the dark, gothic overtones of the novel. At times her prose is almost lyrical; it reminded me of great poetry. I found myself actually reading some of the passages out loud because I thought they were so beautifully composed.

Descent into Dust is a gothic vampire tale that totally captivated me. I was thoroughly entertained by this book and I recommend it to vampire lovers as well as the fans of gothic romance.

About Jacqueline Lepore
An avid reader of Nancy Drew mysteries, Jacqueline had written several short story collections by her senior year in high school. With the Emma Andrews series Jacqueline returns to one of her first loves: Gothic novels. The second book in the series is titled “The Cyprian Queen” and is slated for a March 2011 release. You can learn more about Jacqueline at her website: JacquelineLepore.com.

Some people love life so much that they refuse to leave it even in death. Cleona Conant (The Ipswich Witch), who died in 1721, has refused to give up the ghost. She has been body swapping ever since her death to remain here in the mortal realm.

In 1780, she devised an elaborate plan to cross the paths of her future granddaughter Raven (twenty generations down her line), with an ancient vampire named Alasdair. Aided by the use of spells, incantations and Uber-shadowing, her plan moved into motion in 1983, when Alasdair discovered Raven and set his heart on making her his companion.

Through a span of nearly seventy years, he guarded her, all throughout her mortal life. However, once he gave her his eternal kiss he ultimately, and without his knowing, led their lives down a path which neither of them had the ability or knowledge to escape from what lay ahead. Does good always conquer evil, or does evil win once in awhile?

Find out in DESCENDANT: Chronicles of the Ipswich Witch.

Imagine living in a town controlled by vampires, where it’s not safe to be on the streets after dark. You’d probably jump at the chance to leave town and see some new sights, right? Well that’s the case in Kiss of Death, the latest installment in the awesome Morganville Vampire series written by Rachel Caine.

In the book Claire and her friends are given the chance to go past the city limits in order to let their friend Michael make a demo CD in Dallas. They’re psyched until they get their transit papers and find out that Oliver, an enforcer for Morganville’s head vamp, plans to accompany them as an escort. Bummer.

So the two couples (Shane and Claire, Michael and Eve) set out with Oliver hoping for music fame and fortune. Everyone is super excited because passes out of town are few and far between – and you don’t leave Morganville without the okay of the lead vampire, Amelie.

Everything’s great until they stop for food in a small town with more than its share of rednecks. Add to that the fact that Oliver disappears on some mysterious mission and rogue vampires want to put Claire and Eve on the lunch menu and you have a situation that’s quickly turning from bad to worse.

The writing in Kiss of Death transports you to small town Texas, letting you connect with the unique cultural divides between the lead characters and the townspeople. The story of joy-riding teenagers, happy about their freedom being sidetracked by hating humans and malevolent vampires delivers an exciting read that never lets up on the action. And I love how she’s developing Claire’s character into a strong independent young lady.

Rachel Caine delivers yet another great installment in her Morganville Vampire series. This is a well-written fast-paced adventure that kept me engaged throughout. Kiss of Death makes a worthy addition to the young adult fantasy genre.

Got formats?
• Get Kiss of Death in paperback
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Vampire bachelor Samson is having problems in the bedroom. Not even his shrink can help him. That changes when the lovely mortal auditor Delilah tumbles into his arms after a seemingly random attack. Suddenly there’s nothing wrong with his hydraulics – that is, as long as Delilah is the woman in his arms.

His scruples about taking Delilah to his bed vanish when his shrink suggests it’s the only way to cure his problem. Thinking all he needs is one night with her, Samson indulges in a night of pleasure and passion.

However, another attack on Delilah and a dead body later, Samson has his arms full: not only with trying to hide the fact he’s a vampire, but also with finding out what secrets Delilah harbors for somebody to want her harm.

Samson’s Lovely Mortal is available in:
• Kindle format
• Other e-formats