A Girl's Guide to Vampires

Author: Katie MacAlister
Published: November 2003
Category: Paranormal Romance

This is the first of Katie MacAlister's paranormal romances, and it was pretty good for her first one. In this one, Joy Randall sees a witch who scries for Joy's true love. Joy is a typical MacAlister heroine: she's spunky, not afraid to go for what she wants, and is no damsel in distress.

While in the Czech republic with her best friend, Joy's dream hunk walks through the door of her hotel bar. The problem is, he just might be a Moravian Dark One (aka: vampire). MacAlister's Dark Ones are vampires without souls. These vampires search for their Beloved, a woman to save their immortal souls. So while Joy tries to figure out if her hunk is a bloodsucker, there are a series of murders taking place, and someone is trying to frame Joy.

To add another monkeywrench into the mess, another Dark One is trying to claim Joy as his Beloved. The problem asks the question some people wonder: Is there only one soulmate for me? I think they asked that question in a Sex and the City episode. You can't help but feel sad for the Dark One who doesn't find his Beloved, but it would be unfair to keep a Beloved who doesn't care for you the way you care for them.

A Girl's Guide to Vampires is a bit more than your usual fluffy romance. It's got a little mystery, a chunk of romance, and a dash of melodrama (for the love triangle). Good fun!