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]

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.

Best Book Quote: “Morning. I open my eyes and the last miniscule of hope that everything is just a dream evaporates with a tiny, melodramatic scream. Good Riddance, I think. I’d rather deal with reality – no matter how bleak – than have some ridiculous, forlorn hope distracting me. Yeah, and I hate kittens and puppies too.”

In the supernatural fantasy, Dying Bites the author D D Barat has taken the creative writing spirit to new heights. This is the first book in a new series entitled The Bloodhound Files. As I was reading it I found myself constantly thinking about what a wonderful imagination the author has – the alternative universe she creates opens up endless possibilities; you never know where this wonderful adventure might lead you.

The lead character in the story is Jace Valchek, a top notch successful FBI profiler. One day she’s living a normal life but then, mysteriously wakes up in an alternate universe where humans are an endangered species. But that’s not all; the person responsible for her journey is a vampire.

It seems that David Cassius, the vampire head of his universe’s National Security Agency, needs her expertise in dealing with a human serial killer that’s targeting vampires and werewolves, the creatures that make up most of the population. The supernatural beings in this new world, where magic is the norm and humans are nothing more than blood bags, have no experience dealing with insanity and they need Jace to find the killer. It’s because Jace is such a strong and skilled woman that she’s able to function in this new world and help David with his problem.

Now, the descriptions of the murder scenes are not for the weak of stomach. However, although they’re very graphic they’re not overdone. Since the murders are an integral part of the story the descriptions help the reader understand the compelling nature of the crimes. I would not really call this book a romance but there is enough hanky panky going on to keep paranormal romance fans interested. Dying Bites provides a unique spin on a not-so-common storyline that many fantasy readers will enjoy.

A young woman with a sketchy history tries to go straight. Looking for a respectable job, she interviews as an intern at a radio station. But the job has a lot of odd requirements, such as:

-the DJs don’t work during the day
-she can never enter the locked room in the basement, and
- each DJ is uncannily aware of his/her decade of music

Thus begins a great novel titled Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready. Meet Ciara Griffin, reformed grifter who needs a job badly and who’s willing to take on the strange crew at WWMP in order to make ends meet.

What she doesn’t know is that the reason these DJs know their music genre so well is that they are vampires that were turned in the decade of the songs they play – that’s why they’re such experts.

Just when Ciara gets into the groove of her new job a nationally syndicated radio giant decides to buy WWMP, ruining the life that these vampires have built for themselves. so Ciara comes up with a radical idea – tell the world that the DJs are vampires as a marketing gimmick and hope they can make enough money to hold off the wolves. Changing their name to WVMP, the vampire DJs pretend to be vampires for their human listeners and it’s a rousing success. Unfortunately, their ruse attracts the attention of an ancient vampire cult whose members are less than happy at the visibility WVMP is generating for their kind . . .

Wicked Game is a cleverly written book with lots of unique and interesting characters that keep you engrossed. From the very beginning, Ciara is attracted to Shane, the DJ for the grunge rock era, but she’s also quite wary of him – seriously, can a human truly have a relationship with a vampire? Adding the other fun characters in the story, from bizarre vampires who only live in their decade to the mystery buyer who wants their radio station, Jeri Smith-Ready brings us an excellent tale of friendship, mystery, and love. Pick this book up and be prepared to be reading for a while, it’s hard to put down.

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.

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

Some backstory on Nathanial: while aboard a ship as a sailor in 1867 he, and other members of the crew, were attacked by a vampire. Although many of the crew members died, Cade did not. Instead, he’s transformed into a vampire himself. Unfortunately, as a new vampire he’s unable to quell his thirst for blood and ends up killing several of his friends aboard the boat. When the ship arrives in port he’s convicted of murder and would have been killed until the current President, Andrew Johnson, decides that Cade’s special skills could be put to use on behalf on the government.

There’s just one minor flaw with this logic: how do you control a vampire? Johnson solves this problem with the help of a voodoo specialist who puts Cade under an oath that binds him forever – hence the title Blood Oath. Cade, who’s had suicidal thoughts about being a creature damned for all eternity, is more than willing to take an oath that binds him to the President and his staff; it gives him a sense of purpose and redemption.

The primary plot of the story centers around a mission to locate and thwart those intent on assassinating the current President. Cade and his liaison, agent Zach Barrows, have their hands full dealing with all sorts of baddies. But not the type you’re probably imagining. Just know that in Blood Oath, terrorists make use of the supernatural in order to further their causes.

The set up for this book reminded me of reading a great Robert Ludlum spy thriller, but with supernatural elements thrown in. What pulled me in immediately was how Farnsworth incorporated the supernatural into a real world thriller setting – without making you feel like you were reading fantasy. As such the book has major crossover appeal; fantasy, mystery and thriller fans alike will love this one.

Christopher Farnsworth has written a story that flows quite nicely, giving us Cade’s history without bombarding us with too much past information. Combine superb character development with a fast-paced plot and you have a book with the makings of a great Jim Butcher or Simon R. Green novel; the quality of Farnsworth’s writing is that impressive. Here’s hoping there will be more books in The President’s Vampire series – I for one am eagerly awaiting additional installments.

I first began reading Rachel’s books when she started her Weather Warden series. From there I started reading her Outcast series and then “discovered” her Morganville Vampires books. I like everything I’ve read by her thus far. Rachel writes books that have plenty of action, which I love, but even better her characters are always really interesting. You grow to care about their fate. This is probably because she wisely develops main characters that have flaws, I mean, no one’s perfect right? That’s what I like about her books.

Here’s a snippet about Kiss of Death, the latest Morganville Vampires book:

“Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big time producer who wants him to cut a demo and play some gigs – which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he’s been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael’s all-too-human friends. With that mix of personalities, this is going to be one road trip from hell . . .”

Rachel will be promoting Kiss of Death by visiting bookstores in the US signing copies of her books and answering questions from fans!

Here’s where she’ll be next:

Friday, May 7th
6:30 PM
Murder by the Book
2342 Bissonnet St
Houston, TX 77005

Saturday, May 8th
2:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
1430 Plaza Place
Southlake, TX 76092

For updated information on her schedule and other fun events (like free book giveaways), check out Rachel Caine’s website.

And check out these reviews of Kiss of Death.