The Midnight Work

The Midnight Work is not a book about sexy vampires who have fun, screwing each other and only killing occasionally because doing so makes their hearts bleed. It's not Buffy, it's not The Lost Boys; the heroine isn't Anita Blake or one of Anne Rice's emotionally distraught characters. The heroine is just a plain old person, like you or me. Have you ever been so spitting mad that you wanted to kill someone on the spot? Ever thought it would be nice to take the position, money, and power that a coworker stole from you? Unless you're a saint, you probably have. Sophie is a normal person who, like everyone else, keeps her not-so-fuzzy impulses in check with her conscience. But when Olivier, a vampire who claims she's his long-lost love, shows up and turns her, all bets are off. Put very bluntly, Sophie and her friend Norah kill people. Sophie experiences pangs of conscience; Norah, who likes to play at being an evil overlord, does not. But even Sophie's doubts are couched in the knowledge that she's no longer human. She's just been handed immortality and a millenia-old legacy that she didn't ask for. Not only is she upset, but she's really damn confused, especially given that one of her friends has just disappeared and she's being pursued by an evil death fairy bent on revenge for something she did in a past life. This book is a tangled riot of magic, murder, sex, and life. It's about normal people who've suddenly had all their societal preconceptions stripped away. What would you do if you could do anything and society couldn't punish you? Sims asks this question and answers it in a unique way, weaving morality into an action-packed tale. The Midnight Work's strongest points are its unusual take on a familiar topic and the author's obvious love for her work. In general, Western culture has become remarkably complacent about the once-feared and abhored vampires. They've either been defanged or their evil is played down. Vampires are sexy and cool, and in many cases heroes. Sims never lets us forget that vampires have a tendency to kill people. A lot of people. And, she seems to tell us, you would too, if some creepy guy you met online turned you into one. She takes great delight in telling this story, leading us through the twists and turns of the plot and Sophie's own emotions. Her readers are never babied; not once does she compromise her characters to make the book fit a typical "romance". Most negative reviews tend to complain that this book was too dark or not romantic enough--it's not a schmoopy I-fell-in-luuuuurve-with-an-immortal-hunk-yay-me! kind of book. It's a book about one confused woman who gets immortality and a semi-stalker lover who writes bad poetry all in one night, and is damn confused about it all. Sims assumes we're intelligent; she's written a book that fully captures the confusion that comes with life. Not once, while reading this book, did I think "real people would never do this"--and that's rare. Unfortunately it's the

Kassandra Sims has an ability to turn a phrase like no one else. Her characters are funny and smart, and witty banter flies through most of this novel. I think you have to be of a certain age and mindset to grasp the concepts for the most part, but those of us in the 20 to 35 omg-fangirl genre should be (and, in this case, are) greatly pleased with the writing and flow of this book. Don't miss out on this one!

Another reviewer said this may not be for the over 40 crowd and that might just be true. I know for sure there's huge group of women out there, maybe 20-35 that will read this book and KNOW it's just for them. It's like the story of what happens when you and your friends you've been kicking it with for years suddenly discover that magic is real and the world isn't quite what you always thought it was. It's definitely a book for fangirls, the kind who describe themselves as such and make their own live less mundane for community they create and share online and otherwise (much like the characters in the beginning of the book). It's clear from reading the other reviews of this book that some people just don't get it. That's okay, some people don't get horror movies or why someone would want to watch Beverly Hills 90210 (ironically or otherwise). To each his own, and this book was definitely for my own. This book is about my friends. Maybe not exactly, but facing growing up together in a world that keeps turning upside down, my friends and I have made a lot of choices and a lot of mistakes. We've done it together and separately, feeling both supported and lonely. We've dealt by ignoring problems and going out partying, we've dealt by immersing ourselves in TV shows and books. We've dealt with it by building communities and alternate families for ourselves. In the book when Sophie and her friends find out vampires, fairies, zombies and host of other things are real they deal with it all the same ways. Full of pop-culture references and bits of lives a little less ordinary (even before the magic happens) this reads like a bunch of people I know finding out the world is totally different than they expected. It's a story about friends and love and trying to find out who really are even though you're always changing. I know a lot of people read to escape, and though this story has the hallmarks of escapism (fairies, beautiful heroic knights, vampires etc.), it isn't an escapist story at all. It reads like life: messy, dazzling, dark, surprising, full of accidents, and finding exactly what you need when you didn't know to look for it. The romance is realistic, which is to say, larger than life, amazingly hot, sexy and a little creepy and disturbing. If you're looking for traditional romance this isn't for you, it's very definitely fantasy, though even a little non-traditional at that and it's dark, though not grim, just full of subtle black humor. I don't think anyone will just sort of like this book, it's most likely love or hate. The characters aren't perfected ideals, they are just your friends: smart, funny and maybe a little screwed up. The story-telling is an unconventional style but works very well in this context. BtVS fans will certainly enjoy the punchy, off-beat dialogue and bouncing between the real and supernatural worlds. Very enjoyable, full of references that almost feel like in-jokes you make with your friends and fill

As a voracious reader, I find it difficult to ferret out books that measure up to what I would consider a "good read"-- I picked this book on a whim to help me bide my time until one of my tried-and-true authors published again. What I found instead was another author to add to that list of reliables. Kassandra Sims writes a clever modern tale with good dialogue, and well-written intimate situations, and a twist of historical background information. Her characters remind me of some of the quirky people I have met over the years and their antics had me in stitches through most of the story. While there are times that the situations turn grave, you can always count on at least one of the characters to break up the tension with an offhand, unexpected remark. It was interesting to follow along with the characters as they enjoy their reprieve from standard-issue morals... This is a book that people 40 and under would (perhaps) appreciate (and relate to) more than the older generations...if you appreciate modern humor and enjoy a good supernatural tale with some romantic spice, I think you'll enjoy this book. If you tend to think "What's wrong with kids these days?" (referring to anyone under 30) then I think you might want to try another author. As for me, I really enjoyed this book... I can't wait to see what Sims publishes next. I think her work rivals that of the already-established romance/fiction writers and she'll easily take the lead in the paranormal romance category. This is the first time an author has nailed my sense of humor dead-on...and her writing-style is all her own. Now I'm going to be drumming my fingers waiting for HER to publish another book.

In Chicago, though she knows how dangerous it is to meet a stranger, Sophie feels a connection with her chat line friend Oliver so she agrees to see him. Upon seeing her in person at a bar and combining that with the blog exchanges, he believes she is his destiny whom he lost about a millennium or so ago. She ignores his new Age fetish as he makes her come alive until an accident leaves her dying. When she recovers, she realizes she is no longer human; Oliver has changed her into a vampire, saving her "life". Shocked, Sophie is not sure whether she should hate her mentor or love him; she knows she still remains attracted to him. Still she has the time of her life due to him until she panics as she failed to feed the cat and runs away from her teacher. Oliver is scared, a new feeling since he became a bloodsucker, because he let his feelings interfere with his duty. He failed to warn her to avoid fairies at all cost. He is willing to die (except that he is already dead), to save his beloved who insists she must combat the dreaded death fairy. THE MIDNIGHT WORK is a fabulous paranormal tale in which there is an entirely different ethos system is in play. Killing humans for supper is acceptable as most of species vampire see them as cattle. Once converted, Sophie understands this as she needs to dine too. Other supernatural occurrences darken this eerie world as Kassandra Sims provides a lighthearted yet dark humorous tale. Harriet Klausner