Michele Bardsley, I'm The Vampire, That's Why

I'm the Vampire, That's Why

Michele Bardsley

Signet, September 2006, $6.00

ISBN: 0451219376

In Broken Heart, Oklahoma, Jessica Matthews, widow mother of two kids takes out the garbage when her fourteen year old son failed to do so, as always. However, this time dumping the trash leads to her assault by a starving vampire. When she regains consciousness, instead of the Pearly Gates, she finds she is amidst her garbage with her enlarged canines sunk into the thigh of a naked hunk, Patrick O'Hallorhan.

Jessica is irate, though at least at night she has not felt this healthy since she gave birth. However, tired of men using her like her late spouse who left her and their children for his secretary before dying in a car crash, she vows to avenge the bite, especially since she fears for her offspring. However, the cretin who bit her owns her sexually and more for at least a century. Her last commitment didn't last two decades, and besides, Patrick is the vampire her heart wants, even as she learns that her town is the center of eerie, with the Consortium battling the Wraith.

This is an amusing vampire romance told from the viewpoint of the heroine, whose asides bring a bit of a chick lit feel to the storyline. Jessica's escapades are fun to follow as she struggles with raising her children normally, getting involved with supernatural politics, hunting her predator and falling in love with her savior. Fans will believe that Broken Heart is the center of the paranormal on the mundane plane. as this bard provides a terrific contemporary tale.