Guest Review: Confessions of a Vampire’s Girlfriend by Katie MacAllister

Posted December 15, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Genres: Paranormal Romance

Mary‘s review of Confessions of a Vampire’s Girlfriend by Katie MacAllister (writing as Kate Maxwell)


I’ve been a huge Katie MacAllister for ages now (I have a bookshelf full of her dragons and Dark Ones novels) so I was super-excited to get my hands on this one. Granted, these two novellas were published under a pen name (Katie Maxwell) several years ago but they were new to me. Seems a while back, Katie wrote a couple of YA stories based on the world she created in her adult Dark Ones novels. But, as it sometimes happens in the publishing world, fate intervened and the YA line was no more. But, luckily for us, Katie MacAllister has some persistent fans and is a determined writer so, just before she published the adult Dark Ones novel, In the Company of Vampires, which star Francesca and Benedict, she re-released Got Fangs and Circus of the Darned.


Got Fangs?Got Fangs? 

When you’re traveling through Europe with psychics, magicians, and other really bizarre people, normality is hard to come by, but something Francesca longs for. Until she meets Benedikt. He’s actually taller than her, rides a motorcycle, and doesn’t think Fran is the least bit weird. On the dark side, he’s also a vampire—and Fran is supposed to redeem is soul. But when Ben’s kisses turn out to be anything but normal, Fran starts to embrace the freakiness that is her life.


You’d think that traveling around Europe would be something a teenager would enjoy. In this case, you’d be wrong. Francesca has been shipped off to spend some time with her mother while her father “gets to know” his new trophy wife. And Fran resents every bit of it. There’s no one her age to hang out with, she’s stuck with a traveling freak show, and, well, she’s feeling unwanted. She thinks, what guy would want someone who’s six feet tall and built like a linebacker? And, to top it all off, she’s got her own freakiness to deal with—she has to wear gloves or she’ll be overwhelmed with the thoughts and feelings of anyone she touches. Until she meets Benedikt.


At first, considering Fran is sixteen and Ben is somewhere around 300, I was a little skeeved out at Fran being Ben’s Beloved (and yes, I felt the same way about the Edward-Bella relationship.). But it wasn’t really like that. Sure, Ben needed her to save his soul and they were destined to be together but he knew she wasn’t ready. Ben was supposed to be all dark and tormented (it’s the job of a Dark One) but he was also very sweet, caring, and loyal. He took care of his sister, helped out a friend in need, and very gently wooed Fran, never stepping beyond the limits set by her mother or her.


And I really enjoyed Fran. She was snarky and brave, willing to use her gift to help out the circus that her mother loved, despite the fact that she hated to do it. GOT FANGS? was filled with Katie MacAllister’s signature wit and semi-bumbling characters. A quick and fun read.

4.5/5

Circus of the DarnedCircus of the Darned

With a witch for a mom. It’s no surprise that Fran might not fit in, but having a vampire for a boyfriend is doing wonders for her self-esteem. And now, even though she suspects Ben is keeping things from her, her only concern is finding some time—and something to wear—for their first actual date. But Fran’s own mysterious talents seem to get in the way when she accidentally conjures an entire battlefield of warring Viking ghosts. Two’s company—a dozen is a crowd…


Now that Fran is “dating” Ben, she’s feeling pretty good about herself, even though she hasn’t seen or heard from him for the last three weeks. Still, life with the circus is much better, and Fran finally feels like she belongs. When Ben comes back, he’s reluctant to talk about where he’s been and what he’s done. Still playing the tall, dark, and mysterious card. 


Again, Katie MacAllister’s style shines through. In this story, she throws in a super-hot Swede who also happens to have some magic of his own; Loki, the Norse god of mischief; and a pile of Viking ghosts who believe Fran is their goddess who will send them on to Valhalla. After they get in a good rape-and-pillage (Fran puts the kibosh on that right away. The only thing they’re allowed to pillage is the local McDonald’s).

The romance between Ben and Fran may have reached the official date stage but I still didn’t read a whole lot of chemistry between the two of them. Yeah, the kisses were great, and the tingles were there but I wasn’t swept away by their love story. It was almost like Ben knew Fran wasn’t ready for much more than those few kisses and a date. But the action never slows—with all those Vikings and a ticked-off Norse god, there’s always something happening.

4/5

This book is available from NAL. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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