Dead of Night by Lynn Viehl

Dead of Night by Lynn Viehl
Publisher:  Flux Book
Publish Date:  July 8, 2012
ISBN:  978-0738726465
Pages:   312


I received this book from www.netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.



I will say up front that I didn't read the first book in this series.  However, it didn't really seem necessary, there was enough explanation to help me along and until I got into it, I didn't even realize that this wasn't the first book!

So to catch us all up:  Cat and her brothers, Gray and Trick, are Van Helsings, but they want to lead normal lives.  Or at least her brothers do.  Cat is in love with Jesse - he's not exactly a vampire, but almost.

Powers: 
Jesse and his parents don't age, but they can't stand sunlight.
Cat - can command felines, of all sorts.
Gray and Trick - I can't keep them straight for some reason.  One has the power to track anything and one has the power to cover up your memories.

Cat and Jesse didn't make me believe they're in love.  The couple-ness just didn't touch my heart and the whole star-crossed lovers thing just didn't fly for me.  I was saddened, but I know that not all couples can be like Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes. :)

Trick and Gray, even though I can't keep them separate in my head, came across as more real than anyone in the story, I liked them.  I did feel like Cat came across as a bit of a spoiled brat - her brother, while trying to protect her and control her - still spoiled her to pieces. 

While not my bag of chips, you might like it if you enjoy the vampire/vampire hunter romance.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing
Publish Date:  April 19, 2011
ISBN:  978-0446563079
Pages:  352
Cover Art:  supplied by Grand Central Publishing



I picked up this book as I've always been fascinated by Abraham Lincoln.  He was a poor farm boy and 'pulled himself up by his bootstraps' to become President of the U.S.A.  Pretty impressive, eh?  Well, this book brings to light even more impressive feats by President Lincoln.

While we applaud President Lincoln for freeing the slaves and saving the Union; his other side, the Vampire Hunter, was hidden.  That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith got his hands on Abe's secret diaries.

The beginning of the story was a bit rough, I found myself skipping through a bit, hoping that the rest of the story was good.  I'm happy to report that it is!  The story is fast paced with great dialog and fascinating tidbits about Abe's life - both real and fictional.  The fictional bits flow seamlessly and you can see where the story is believable.  I think this story worked well as it wasn't trying to shove vampires and vampire hunting into a pre-written story.  Instead the author wrote a biography of Abe's life, adding the vampire hunting in as it went.  It definitely worked!  As you read excerpts of speeches you can see where he could be speaking of the threat of vampires to the U.S.  The extra photographic evidence in the book adds to the story and is amazing.  Poor Abraham, no wonder he seemed like such a driven man.  The ending was quite a surprise and I'm not sure I liked it, although it was a bit amusing.  If you go into it looking for a fun read, you'll love it.  Can I say that the cover slayed me?hahahahaha