I really enjoyed this book. I liked that the author put her own spin on the coexistence of humans and vampires, and created a world that is not too far out of the realm of possibilities. The vampires are “out”, and under control by the Vampire Protection League. It keeps them from getting to aggressive, as well as protects them from “the Covenant” which is basically a vampire hate group. To me, it makes it all seem a little more real. In this world Vampires have jobs and run businesses. Some are friendly, while some are they typical power hungry jerk. The characters themselves are entertaining. They have a sense of humor and act like normal people (or vampires). Francesca Marinelli is a 227 year old vampire who was buried by King Normand (a former Vampire king), along with his treasure, and forgotten about. During a recent renovation on a house that had been built on her burial site historic St. Augustine, she is discovered by Maggie O’halloran, who then acts as her “sponsor” and best friend. I personally love the history of St. Augustine, and enjoy reading about a city that I have actually been to. Francesca or “Cesca” as she is called by friends is a fun and sweet vampire. She has morals and wants to be a good vampire, but really does not like that she is a vampire. Due to her religious views, she will not kill herself by walking into the sun, so she spends her time with her dream job of guiding Ghost tours through St. Augustine, surfing, playing Bridge, and having fun with her best friend. She is one of the few vampires that have the gift of “day walking” which is what allows her to surf. During her tour one night she meets several interesting characters such as “the Jag queens,” which is a group of retired women who are enjoying themselves to the fullest and happen to be huge fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars football team. She meets a French couple who is quite obvious in their romance and romantic practices. She meets a member of the Covenant who is intent of proving that she is the horrible vampire he thinks she is. After she discovers the body of a woman from her tour group, she comes under suspicion and is then paired up with the yummy sounding Deke Saber, who is very much a drool inducing hottie. This book was a fun and easy read. It had a good mystery and enough back stories to round out the characters. There is enough romance to be noticeable, but not so much that it takes over the story. I think it was a good balance of all the elements and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. I picked up this book at a discount book store in st augustine. I got hooked right away, I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that im familiar with st augustine, so the setting was easy to picture. i thought it was a cute book, funny, chicklit type vamp book. I quickly grabbed the next one, then waited patiently for the third one to come out, I like tihs series, and i've met the author, who is awesome. I recommend this one to anyone who likes chicklit, with a little bit of vamp but not a lot of blood (since shes squeemish about blood)
