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

I must have been hit by the Good Book Fairy. The last several books I have picked up have been thoroughly enjoyable, and that thrills me no end. I love to do reviews when I liked the book. The book I'm getting ready to review was no exception, I started it and just gobbled it up! But, I'll get to that in a minute. First I want to remind everyone that there is still time to enter the contests we are running. For your chance to win a signed book by Serena Robar or Gena Showalter or TWO signed books by MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi all you have to do is leave us a comment or send us an e-mail to deeanddeedish@sbcglobal.net telling us what superpower/paranormal trait you would like to have and why. You can also win a copy (unsigned, sorry) of Playing With Fire by Gena Showalter by giving me a snappy title for this review. That simple. Just make sure all entries are received by Oct. 29th and you are in! And now on with the review!

I'm The Vampire, That's Why by Michele Bardsley
(BCC)

Does drinking blood make me a bad mother?

Broken Heart is the city with the highest rate of divorce and highest percentage of single parents in Oklahoma. And I, Jessica Matthews, have been a member of that club ever since my husband dumped me for his twentysomething secretary and then had the gall to die in a car accident.

Now I'm not just a single mother trying to make ends meet in this crazy world...I'm also a vampire. One minute I was taking out the garbage; the next I awoke sucking on the thigh of superhot vampire Patrick O'Halloran.

But though my stretch marks have disappeared and my vision has improved, I can't rest until the thing that did this to me is caught. My kids' future is at stake...as is my sex life. Once a vampire does the dirty deed, it hitches her to the object of her affection for at least on hundred years. I just don't know if I'm ready for that kind of commitment...

How would I rate this BCC? Not too bad. It isn't perfect, but then again, this isn't a YA novel, I didn't expect it to be. It's pretty darn close to hitting the nail on the head though. AND, although there are a few points I could argue with, they are all minor, and didn't distract me enough in the actual reading of the book to take offense on. So all in all, I give this BCC passing grades. It does the job of conveying the story within closely, and it also conveys the tone of the book fairly well. Blech, I really want to rip apart a BCC!

Like the BCC suggests, Jessica Matthews is a newly single mother of two. She lives in the small town of Broken Heart, Oklahoma where she spends her days the way most mothers do, cooking, cleaning and taking care of her kids. Jessica is my kind of mother, too. Just enough sass in her to keep me laughing, and all the love in the world for her kids.

When her son forgets (again) to do his only chore of taking out the garbage, Jessica gathers it up to take to the curb. The next thing she knows, she is being attacked by a stinky, hairy stranger and she can literally feel the life leaving her body. It is only the thought of leaving her children parentless that keeps Jessica from giving in completely. None the less, she stills finds herself meeting her end... "For those that know me, meeting my end among muttered curses and spilled refuse was not a great shock. But, shock or not, it was still a crappy way to go."

However, instead of floating away and standing at the Pearly Gates, the next thing Jessica knows, her mouth is latched onto the incredibly muscled thigh of the incredibly good looking (and naked) Patrick. Jessica then finds out that she is now a vampire and the supposed soul mate of Patrick.

But Jessica is not the only victim of Hungry and Hairy, ten other townspeople had been attacked and then saved by being turned into vampires, including the young tart that had had an affair with her husband. And if that isn't enough to deal with, Hungry and Hairy? Yeah, that would be Patrick's twin brother Lorcan.

At a meeting in the school gym, the newly turned town finds out that there is a group of older vampires and other paranormal creatures that make up the Consortium, and they have secretly been buying out the property in Broken Heart, so that they could turn the town into a safe haven for the paranormal. They also find out that there is a group of vampires known as Wraiths, that do not share their views and would like nothing more than to see them destroyed.

There is also a terrible disease called the Taint that is plaguing the vampires, and the Consortium has found a cure and the Wraiths want it. So on top of learning to be a vampire, getting their kids acclimated to a new lifestyle, and finding Lorcan, the new Vampires of Broken Heart have a lot to deal with.

Add to all of the above a jealous vampire Nara, who wants Patrick, to Jessica's troubles and you have an amazingly fast, fun, and touching read. One of my favorite quotes of the book is when Nara starts to get in Jessica's face and Jessica says, "I have faced down bitchy PTA presidents, power-hungry principal's, and Girl Scout leaders with cookie-sale complexes. Nara had no idea who she was dealing with." I'm telling you, Jessica is my kind of girl!

There were moments in this book that had me laughing out loud. There were moments in this book that had me sitting on the edge of my chair. And then there were moments in this book that just made sense - "Life's road often forked at unexpected moments." "...life is about choices. Sometimes you fight, sometimes you flee, but you never surrender." "Life is change. So what if you don't know what's going to happen next week or next century? You only have to live now, right now..." Are those quotes just not absolutely fabulous?

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book was how Bardsley explained the creation of vampires. In so many paranormal books that involve vampires, you get very little explination of the origins of vamps, and it is rare, when you get an explination that is really creative. Bardsley managed to make the creation of vampirekind (yes, that is a word. My word.) something interesting and imaginitive, but also a tie in to one of the central themes of the book - What would you do to protect your child and keep them with you? I think the answer to that question is without a doubt - Anything in my power.

I think I could go on and on about this book and never do it justice. It really did have it all. A bit of suspense, laughs, insight, oh and HOT, HOT, HOT moments between Jessica and Patrick. I'm telling you right now, make sure you have a fan handy when you read this.

I'm also glad to say, that this is only the first book of the Broken Heart Vampire's. In July of 2007, the next installment will be out, and from the little excerpt at the end of this book, it promises to be every bit as good. So, what are you waiting for, GO GET THIS BOOK!

Take Care