Francesca Marinelli may just be busier than she's been in her long, long life. Maggie is getting married in a few short weeks and come hell or high water (or black tarry mass of vampire plague) she is determined to be the best damn maid of honor she can be. Maggie is the one who rescued her from her coffin prison not long ago, and more than that, made certain she could build a life in this exciting new world. If Cesca gets her way (and she often does) Maggie's wedding will be the most stupendous Victorian wedding the world has seen, and the bride's every wish will come true.

With Cesca's boyfriend, Saber, infected by the Void (that aforementioned black tarry vampire plague) life ramps up. With the help of Triton (Cesca's shape-shifting childhood sweetheart) and a couple of powerful mages, it is determined that the Void is a magical construct purposely set into motion to infect and ultimately destroy any vampire it can touch, spreading the plague throughout the world. Francesca is determined it will not take Saber.

With cake tasting and flower choosing during the day, and training in magic and combat skills at night, Cesca still manages to shoehorn in her job as an historical ghost tour guide. Good thing, too, as the ghosts may just have the information she needs to stop the Void and save Saber's life.

Nancy Haddock has found the delicate balance between relationship-based women's fiction and urban fantasy. In ALWAYS THE VAMPIRE Francesca's bond with Maggie and her other mundane friends is sufficiently explored, yet the horrific nature of the threat to the vampire world is also well-handled. Too often I've read books attempting a similar balance only to be disappointed at one or the other (or even more often both) sides of the tale, yet Haddock gives both full measure. Thanks to her top-notch alchemical blending skills, they each strengthen the book as a whole. I was extremely impressed and would recommend this book to those first venturing from the safe waters of contemporary romance out into the dangerous riptides of the paranormal world. Setting the series in St. Augustine, Florida also makes the books wonderful vacation reads. As Haddock's website states, they are 'beach books with bite'. Magic, I tell you.

ALWAYS THE VAMPIRE is the third in the Francesca Martinelli series.