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.

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.

The Compendium Monstrum is a guide to vampires, werewolves, and zombies. It’s small enough to carry around when you need a quick refresher on vampire indicators, read about the history of werewolves or brush up on zombie folklore. The guide has maps indicating areas of interest for vampire aficionados, maps showing werewolf information, and maps for possible zombie locations. These maps are not just fiction but are in actuality based on historical folklore. I totally pictured myself taking this authentic looking guide out while I’m standing in line at the bank, thumbing through it in a focused and studious manner. Wouldn’t that freak people out? Wouldn’t that be cool?

There are pages in the Compendium Monstrum for recording possible supernatural sightings during the owner’s journeys. There is also a wonderful list of further research information available for the true supernatural lover. And the handy index makes the compendium easy to use when looking for specific information.

The information in the book is taken from the historical notes of Herr Doktor Max Strum and Baron Ludwig Von Drang. I’m not sure who they are but they used to have Twitter accounts. I assume they removed the pages because Twitter is so popular with vampires and werewolves; after all, we don’t want the monsters to know that we’re on to them, right?

To accompany the Compendium Monstrum is a wonderfully illustrated journal and bookmark that vampire lovers will really enjoy. The journal and bookmark are illustrated by Victoria Frances, the Spanish illustrator whose Goth-inspired work has become famous around the world. As you can see from the photo they’re a matching set depicting a young girl (who might be a vampire) dressed in a long white gown, staring seductively at the reader. Holding a rose, she seems to be mysteriously saying to the viewer that she’s got something interesting in store for you. The pages inside the journal are made of acid free paper and there’s an inside front pocket to hold any special notes.

Giving the journal, Compendium, and bookmark together makes a great gift for the supernatural lover on your gift list, but individually, each stands on its own as a wonderfully clever gift.

Part Two of Breaking Dawn is written from the point of view of Jacob Black. The news has gotten around that Bella is pregnant and that the baby is not exactly normal, since the pregnancy is progressing rapidly. His wolf pack decides that they need to kill both the child and Bella and get rid of any risk that it may pose. Jacob, despite the fact that he hates that she married Edward, decides he doesn’t like this idea and forms his own pack with Seth and Leah Clearwater. When Bella gives birth, the baby injures her badly, breaking bones and causing her to lose a lot of blood, since she is still human. Edward knows that the only thing he can do is to change her, so he injects the venom right into her heart and makes her a vampire. Complicating things further, Jacob is there when the baby is born and imprints on her immediately, meaning that Renesmee is his soul mate.

Part Three of Breaking Dawn goes back to Bella’s point of view. She’s very busy now, considering she’s a new mom with a super baby and a vampire to boot. Things get worse when Renesmee is thought to be a child who was turned into a vampire, which is something that is frowned upon by the Volturi. After a meddling vampire named Irina tells the Volturi this, they decide that both Renesmee and the whole Cullen clan need to be destroyed. Facing certain doom unless they do something, the Cullens rally other vampire clans from around the globe and ask them to witness for Renesmee. After confronted with evidence that Renesmee isn’t a human child that was turned into a vampire, the Volturi carry out the immediate execution of Irina. They would have killed Renesmee as well if it hadn’t been for Jasper and Alice, who had located another vampire just like her. The Volturi back off and the happy little family is able to live happily ever after, a great ending to an enthralling series.

I predict that the Twilight Saga will become a classic vampire book, especially among the young adult crowd. Get Breaking Dawn, the last book in the vampire series.

If you are someone who loves the drama and angst of love triangles, you are going to absolutely love Eclipse, because Bella is town between two men that would do just about anything for her.

First, there’s Jacob – her friend, her confidant, and a guy who she only thought of as the cute little boy next door until he turned into a big fluffy fur ball who sprouted mega muscles along with fur and fangs. Jacob worships her and would do just about anything for her, and in a perfect world they probably would have been together.

Then there’s Edward, the man of her dreams. He’s gorgeous, he’s hot, and he’s never going to grow old. How perfect is that? As soon as he gives her the ultimate love bite they can stay teenagers and live happily ever after.

Making this love triangle more complicated than it already is is the fact that Edward and Jacob hate one another. And we’re not just talking about the fact that they are both hot for her bod. We’re talking about an ancient war that has been going on for centuries. You see, werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies, and usually they try and kill one another.

So what is it that makes these mortal enemies not exactly kiss and make up but simply put aside their differences? Nothing more than the fact that there’s another big bad bloodsucker on the horizon that made a bunch of new vampires to terrorize Forks. You guessed it. Victoria’s back with a vengeance and she is not happy. So these two creatures that everyone thought didn’t exist decide to join forces to rid Forks of these unspeakable horrors. Unfortunately, while the battle ensues and Bella, Edward, and Jacob hide out, Jacob accidentally overhears that Bella and Edward are engaged and that she’s going to become a vampire. He throws a fit, threatens to join the fight and get himself killed(hmm, kind of sounds like Edward going to the Volturi, doesn’t it?), and to appease him, Bella kisses him. She then realizes that she loves him as well. After a few more complications, the battle ends and the result is that poor Jacob goes running off with his tail between his legs.

Despite all the teenage angst and the love triangle, this was really a good book with a good plot. It moved along well and it holds the reader’s attention like the other two Twilight books. It’s definitely one of the Twilight books that is worth reading and one that keeps you guessing til the end. It’s one of the Twilight books that a lot of teenagers can identify with.

Eclipse is now ON SALE at Amazon for less than 6 dollars!

Here we go!

Deep In The Woods by Chris Marie Green
With the female master of the London Underground in her hands, stuntwoman-turned­vampire hunter Dawn Madison must fight off her followers, a vicious pack of undead teenage girls who put the vamps Dawn had to deal with in Los Angeles to shame . . .




Werewolf Smackdown by Mario Acevedo
A sure-to-be-bloody civil war is brewing between rival werewolf factions, and private investigator Felix Gomez will do anything he can to make sure it doesn’t explode into a vicious battle that engulfs all creatures, living and dead. Between that, the sudden reappearance of an ex-girlfriend, and a gang of other vampires trying to take off his head, this is one rumble that Gomez, a fanged detective extraordinaire, may find hard to handle.


and Falling, Fly by Skyler White
In a dark and seedy underground of burned-out rock stars and angels-turned- vampires, a revolutionary neuroscientist and a fallen angel must put medicine against mythology in an attempt to erase their tortured pasts…but at what price?

Olivia, vampire and fallen angel of desire, is hopeless…and damned. Since the fall from Eden, she has hungered for love, but fed only on desire. Dominic O’Shaughnessy is a neuroscientist plagued by impossible visions. When his research and her despair collide at L’Otel Mathillide-a subterranean hell of beauty, demons, and dreams-rationalist and angel unite in a clash of desire and damnation that threatens to destroy them both.


Key To Justice by Talia Gryphon
Psychologist to the paranormal Gillian Key has a new patient. He is a vampire who calls himself Csangal, but he is also a creature hiding his true motives-and his true identity: Dracula.






Death Blows by D.D. Barant
FBI profiler Jace Valchek was pulled into this parallel realm to hunt for Aristotle Stoker, a human serial killer who preys on vampires and werewolves. Now she works for the National Security Agency of the Unnatural States of America – and her boss is a vampire.

At a bizarre crime scene, Jace finds a bloodsucker murdered by magic, fried to the bone and dressed in the costume of the comic book hero the Flash – a character who isn’t supposed to exist here. Comic books have been outlawed for their powers, including crossover spells like the one that transported Jace to this world. Soon, she’s following a trail of dead bodies into the sinister underworld of black-market comics – where a deranged madman gives new meaning to the term “super-villain” . . .


Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
When Abraham Lincoln was nine years old, his mother died from an ailment called the “milk sickness.” Only later did he learn that his mother’s deadly affliction was actually the work of a local vampire, seeking to collect on Abe’s father’s unfortunate debts.

Using The Journal of Abraham Lincoln as a guide, the true life story of our great president is reconstructed for the first time—all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War, and uncovering the massive role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.


Never Cry Werewolf by L.A. Banks
The last fight between the werewolf clans spilled onto the streets of New Orleans—and now the whole city’s on red alert. Martial law has gone into effect. Mediums, ghost hunters, and other supernatural pundits have taken over the media, swarming the Big Easy to expose the hard truth about lycanthropes. And to make matters worse, a beastly killer is clawing up humans…

Secret government operative Sasha Trudeau doesn’t like what she’s seeing—a series of brutal and bloody slayings that appear to be wolf-like attacks. It might be the work of a copy cat killer – a vampire or fae. But while Sasha races to find suspects and motives, the panic level is rising—and the city’s human population is clamoring for an all-out wolf hunt . . .

This year, because vampires are so darn popular, I’m getting my friends gifts that are vampire-themed. If you have friends that love the undead, check out these cool stocking stuffers:

	Amazon Kindle. Read your vampire books on the Kindle. Now ON SALE!
	True Blood DVD: The Complete First Season (HBO Series). Give the True Blood DVD to friends who don’t have HBO! They’ll definitely get hooked!
	Twilight (Twilight Saga Book #1). This is the first Twilight book that started it all.
	Sookie Stackhouse Box Set (Books 1-8). Get your True Blood fix – the books and the TV show are VERY different!
	Twilight The Movie DVD, 2-Disc Special. The Bella and Edward craze started with this movie.
	J.R. Ward Box Set (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series) (Books 1-6). These books have smokin’ hot vampires and a great fantasy storyline!
	New Moon (Twilight Saga Book #2). This is the book that the current movie is based on.  Hot werewolves!
	True Blood 2010 Wall Calendar . Each month showcases a scene from the show!
	A Touch Of Dead by Charlaine Harris. This book is a compilation of Sookie Stackhouse short stories.
	Vampire Diaries: The Awakening & The Struggle (Books 1-2 ). This is a great young adult vampire series.

NOTE: most items on this list qualifies for free shipping. That means no tax, no shipping costs and it gets delivered right to your doorstep!