Date published: May 2011
ISBN: 9780425240885
Trade Paperback
Paranormal Romance
Reviewed by Tammy
Obtained via: publisher
Nancy Haddock’s third book starring Cesca Merinelli, a reluctant 200-something year old vampire, ALWAYS THE VAMPIRE, is lackluster and fails to hold reader interest.
Cesca’s best friend is getting married and she is busy with maid of honor duties. Meanwhile, a mysterious plague affecting the local vampires has shown up on her door when both her sweety, Deke and her oldest friend, Triton show symptoms. Now Cesca is determined to find the evil that created this plague, find a cure, heal her friends and protect the wedding party all in time for her friend’s wedding to go off without a hitch.
Nancy Haddock’s ALWAYS THE VAMPIRE was lackluster from beginning to end. Cesca seems more of a witch than a vampire. She never actually bites anyone and isn’t the least bit evil. She doesn’t even like the idea of drinking blood, preferring hers bottled and flavored to mask the taste. Most of the lesser characters also fail to inspire. Her ex-beau and childhood friend Triton could have been interesting, but mostly he and his new love interest were there to beef up the sagging storyline. The only real character of interest is Deke, her hot and sexy boyfriend. Then only because readers expect something more to happen with him when he appears to show symptoms of sickness. It doesn’t.
The plotline shows interest, but fails to produce. A mysterious plague is killing vampires, but it seems to be slow to develop (in her friends at any rate) and never really shows any sense of urgency to find a cure. The side-plot of the impending wedding and all Cesca’s maid of honor duties could have added some much needed humor to the story, but never really did, leaving that part of the story as background static that could have just as easily been written out. The story pace does pick up as the showdown approaches, but even that is not enough keep readers attention from waning.
Perhaps this reader is missing something by not reading Ms. Haddock’s first two books, but ALWAYS THE VAMPIRE, for this reader at least, failed to engross, entice and engage in any real meaningful way. There are so many really entertaining vampire series out there that this book just simply does not seem to warrant the higher $15.00 asking price. Sorry Ms. Haddock, this reader had really hoped for more.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.
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