Thursday, June 24, 2010

Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Nina Harrison has been 15 years old since 1973 because she is a vampire. She and the members of the Reformed Vampire Support Group break the mold when compared to the accepted vampire lore that has been around since the time of Count Dracula. They are not beautiful, strong, powerful, rich, or in control. Instead they are sickly, struggling just to stay alive, living on the blood of the guinea pigs they keep, and making the best of their affliction. They have all vowed not to drink human blood or be responsible for the creation of another vampire. But Nina hates her boring, uneventful life, which changes drastically when Casimir is staked and the group, realizing that the killer knows who and where they are, all move in with Nina and her mother, a non-vampire.

With only a silver bullet as a clue to track the vampire slayer, Nina, Dave, and Father Ramon, who sponsors the group, set out on a dangerous journey. Along the way they rescue a werewolf from an illegal fight ring, deal with a villainous father/son team, and discover that their immortal lives might have more to offer than they ever thought.

Set in Sydney Australia we get a real flavor of the city plus how uneventful life is if you are a vampire. Imagine if you were only awake during the night - it would really limit your work potential. Plus they even had to wear sunglasses at night as bright lights would make their eyes bleed! Yuck.

I wanted to like this but honestly the characters are so whiny and prickly it was hard to even care if they lived to the next day. But I finished it the end as I try to give most vampire books at least a try. I was grateful that it wasn't very violent and believe there was nothing romantic or sexy about being a vampire in this story. The redeaming factor was the ending chapter when it is revealed that Nina has written their story but changed names and descriptions and places to protect everyone.  So it felt more authentic then the rest of the story.