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.
It's not easy being a dutiful maid of honor when you're a
vampire in the Sunshine State... Cesca Marinelli has been
slacking on her duties as a vampire princess, but she will
be the best maid of honor ever for Maggie's Victorian
wedding. However, when her mostly-human honey, Saber, falls
ill due to a magical construct called the Void, she knows
she'll have to go beyond the call of bridesmaid duty... The
Void is affecting every supernatural being in Cesca's
afterlife, including her shapeshifter ex, Triton. To counter
the Void's reign of terror, Cesca must fully summon her
vampire powers-which may lead to her own doom.
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