"A mesmerizing supernatural romance"

Based on C.J. Dante's Book of Secrets Roxy and Joy head to the Czech republic ostensibly seeking men, but it is the in place for vampires. The two American females attend the Moravian Gothfaire on All Hallow's Eve at Drahanska Castle where they meet men claiming to be vampires. Of course these modern women reject the notion of someone drinking blood from a live mortal though the participants heat their blood.

However, Joy begins to envision weird happenings like blood drinking. She starts to wonder if a real vampire is sending her flashes as a means of courting her. Could that creature of the night be the human hunk Raphael St. John who makes Joy's blood boil or is someone else seeking her as his soul mate?

Readers who delight in satiric romances will want to learn the rules of A GIRL'S GUIDE TO VAMPIRES. For the most part the story line is an amusing farce that loses some steam when ironically the plot turns into a terse suspense murder mystery. Raphael is quite the hunk whether he is or isn't a vampire and the support crew like Roxy and another pal Miranda add depth. However this tale belongs to Joy, the six foot brick oven Amazon, who, no one in their right mind regardless of gender will want to fight without supernatural powers.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted October 23, 2003

Joy Randall's Top 5 Tips for Vampire Hunters:
1. Location, location, location. Remember, if you wouldn't be there, neither would a bloodsucker.
2. Trust your eyes. You know the handsome, annoyingly arrogant, self-assured man in the shadows with long hair and a cleft in his chin? He's your vampire.
3. No matter how tempting it might be, do not "accidentally" acquire a paper cut and suggest your vampire kiss your finger to make it better.
4. From here on out, play it cool. Don't offer to accompany your prince of the night on the talk show circuit and whatever you do, don't offer him your heart.
5. And most of all, remember--being a vampire is nothing to laugh about.

Summary

On a visit to the Czech Republic, Joy Randall (a skeptic of all things paranormal), is suddenly thrown into the dark, dangerous world where vampires known as Dark Ones stalk the night. Armed with nothing more than a wicked sense of humor and a bag of rune stones, Joy does her best to untangle the threads involving a serial killer, vampires (both real and pretend), and the handsome, mysterious man who may or may not be what he appears.