Bitten & Smitten

This is the first in a series I stumbled onto in a used bookstore & fell in love with! Sarah Dearly is a fun and dynamic character with a depth that is so well written she is easily see in your mid's eye. Her descriptions and dialouge are so vivid it is easy to see her and hear her when you are reading the book. The great thing is that all of the chracters in the book are as equally well written. You feel for Sarah and even Thierry as the book goes on ... Sarah can be a handful! This book was fun & easy to read & I am so glad I found it and took a chance!

Witty, sarcastic and fashion-conscious Sarah Dearly has joined the vampire race, albiet unwillingly through a blind date gone horribly wrong. Michelle Rowen has taken an unusual subject (vampires being the good guys) and presented it with fascinating characters, laugh-out-loud scenes and a master vampire that few can resist! Highly recommended, even after sunset.

I'm not a big fan of vampires in general, so it was with some trepidation that I picked up this book. And you know what? After finishing this book, I couldn't remember what my problem with vampires was to begin with. Michelle Rowen's first book is simply delightful. The language sparkled, the characters were lovable, the plot was engaging, and it had so many funny, memorable lines. Sarah Dearly, the protagonist, is a *girlfriend* with three snaps and a head shake. She made me want to pack my bags and infiltrate the Toronto vamp scene. This book should be made into a movie. I am looking forward to Michelle Rowen's next book. And the one after that, and the one after that.

Sarah knew her date with Gordon was going badly, but really, when he starts burying her in a grave, that is going too far. Still, she didn't mean for the guys she met in the graveyard and asked for help in escaping the psycho who claimed they were both vampires to kill him, much less go after her! Her first bit of good luck is meeting Thierry, who also happens to be a vampire, and suicidal, but is willing to help her adjust to this new life that facts simply force her to accept. Suddenly, Sarah finds vampires or hunters everywhere she goes. Her problems continue to pile up; she is fired for attacking her boss, her friends and family are being affected by her little lifestyle change, and she's been accused of dating everyone but the guy she wants to date, Thierry. Now, a vampire hunter turned vampire wants to find the cure for them both, no matter what the price, and Sarah has to find a way to stop the fallout from the guy's crisis. This has got to be the worst week of her life. ***** Ms. Rowen has created a laugh out loud new version of the vampire legend. Whether or not there will be a sequel is not clear, as the story's loose ends all seem to be tied up neatly. Whether Sarah's adventures continue or not, this is a writer to watch. ***** Amanda Killgore

Sarah Dearly has the worst luck with men. She wakes up from her blind date with Gordon to find herself being buried! Gordon tells her she is now a vampire and that they'll live together forever. Of course, Sarah thinks he's a psycho and runs from him. Unfortunately, her band of rescuers turn out to be vampire hunters and naturally they want to kill her after they kill Gordon. She is then rescued by Thierry de Bennicoeur, a master vampire trying to commit suicide. Sarah fights her vampiric nature (after all, how can a girl apply makeup if she can't be seen in the mirror) and runs away from Thierry to a bar where she meets Michael Quinn. Unfortunately, Quinn is a vampire hunter and she's in a vampire hunter bar! She only escapes when Quinn's father begins berating him, not realizing that someone clad in pink yoga pants and a sparkly Diva shirt could possibly be one of the vampires he is berating Quinn for not killing. Meanwhile, vampire hunters are wiping out vampire bars throughout the area and Thierry's bar is on their list. Sarah copes with wearing an incredibly ugly bridesmaid's dress in her cousin's wedding while discovering who the vampire traitor is. This was a hilarious tale that kept me laughing throughout the novel. I kept wondering what else could go wrong in Sarah's life-- and then it would go wrong! I highly recommend this to fans of the vampire series of MaryJanice Davidson, Lynsay Sands, and Katie MacAlister.