Title: Confessions of a Vampire’s Girlfriend (Ben and Fran #1-2)
Author: Katie Maxwell (aka. Katie MacAlister)
Genre: paranormal romance, vampires, witches, demons, ghosts, contemporary
Publisher: NAL Trade (an imprint of Penguin)
Publication Date: November 2010
Pages: 355
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis (from goodreads):
Meet Francesca. She’s in Europe, working in a
traveling faire along with psychics, magicians, and
other really bizarre people. Her life? Not-so-normal.
Her boyfriend, Ben? Not-so-alive. And in these two
novels, it’s up to Francesca to redeem his soul, find
something to wear on their very first date, deal with
her emerging psychic talent, and shake the warring
Viking ghosts she accidentally conjured.
My Review:
I’m a Katie MacAlister fan – her Dark Ones series is one of the first adult paranormal romance series I ever read. So when I found out that she had written a young adult novel set in the same world as her Dark Ones series, I was thrilled.
After being forced to accompany her mother to a European travelling psychic festival for a year, Fran is less than impressed. Until she comes face to face with Ben – a Moravian Dark One, also know as a vampire, who claims that she is his Beloved and the only one who can save his soul. A little bit insane perhaps but who is Fran to talk – she has her own odd little quirk and can tell the history of an item just by touching it.
From vampires and magical horses to demons and ghosts – this book really does cover a large range of the supernatural spectrum. The best part? Humour is involved at every turn. I was reading this book a few weeks ago when I was on a road trip with my sister… she didn’t appreciate my breaking out into laughter and giggles when she was trying to drive. Maybe I should have gotten an audio book so she could have enjoyed the story along with me.
This book is two smaller books (Got Fangs? and Circus of the Damned) in the same collection. The first one did a great job at setting the scene – Fran meeting Ben, introducing the rest of the Faire workers and having a bit of a mystery to tie it all together. But the second book was the one that made my day. I loved it. Fran was really coming into her own with regards to her abilities and her relationship with Ben was starting to move forward.
But what made me enjoy the book even more was the new characters – the Norse Warrior ghosts whom Fran accidentally summoned and was now responsible for their safe passage to Valhalla. They made me smile so hard I thought my face might crack in two. These are characters who consider nothing wrong with pillaging a local McDonalds so they can acquire Big Macs and then sacrifice the burgers in honour of the god, Loki.
I thought Fran was a fantastic heroine – sulky and sullen at the start but she begins to blossom into a strong and capable young woman. And Ben – gorgeous and wise… but also with faults that only make me like him more. I also liked their relationship with each other. Whilst there is incredible instant attraction between the two leads, there’s none of that instalove that I can’t stand. Their relationship grows as the book progresses.
MacAlister has managed to perfectly capture the funny and romantic vibes of her other series and perfectly tuned into the teen voice.
Note: I’ve read the third Fran and Ben story (In the Company of Vampires – Dark Ones #8) and really adore where MacAlister takes these characters as they grow a little older and see how their happily ever after really ends. It’s a little more adult and does contain sex and strong language so I’m not really recommending it if you’re a younger reader but I personally loved the third book in the series.
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I’m not normally a fan of paranormal books but this sounds fun! Love the fact that there’s humour injected and the characters seem fantastic. 😀
This book sounds really good! I’ve added it to my GR list right away, so thanks for sharing 😀 I love it when a book make me smile.