"Another Rip-roaring "Dark One" Adventure"

Allegra Telford is an almost out-of-work Summoner, a woman who calls up ghosts on command. Esoteric knowledge, special instruments and British 'hot spots' aren't cutting it for her, though, and Allie's just about to admit defeat when she has a most remarkable dream.

Life rockets out of control and before she knows it Allie's dealing with an obnoxious, dictatorial male who insists on making decisions for her without any consultation, two women-friends of said dictatorial male who keep going on about destined lovers and Beloveds and a British psychic development center on her rear. Add to that a few ghosts (A new one joins her cadre every few days, but sometimes they come in packs!) and her own unruly longings for previously mentioned dictatorial male and Allie's got some real problems on her hands!

Now all she's got to do is defeat a few demons, settle a few ghosts, figure out what the heck is going on with often-mentioned dictatorial male and try to reclaim her job. It's all in a day's work for Allie Telford, Summoner. Right?

The fun-loving heroine and smoldering hero of Girl's Guide to Vampires are back in this sequel staring CJ Dante, lonely vampire/romantic author extraordinaire. As a direct sequel, there is no doubt that more enjoyment will be had by those who have read the first book in the series, but SEX AND THE SINGLE VAMPIRE is readable as a stand-alone novel as well. Unlike the other volume, this story leaves a few hanging threads to niggle at the reader's brain, but like the first volume, the rollicking pace of the tale makes you kind of forget about the details and enables you to focus on the fun, and sometimes painful, moments of romance. Ghosts are involved, as are demons, and a blatant nudge at Tanya Huff's Summoning novels, though none of the chaotic supernatural occurrences overrun the romance. It is worth it to note that the heroine is surprisingly self- sufficient, though still a little ditzy sometimes. Some more sober points are brought up when it is revealed that Allie is a domestic abuse survivor-a fact that MacAlister handles with deft (if perhaps a bit muted) realism. A definite must-buy for those who read and enjoyed book one in the series, and a recommended read for any vampire romance fan, at the very least to see how MacAlister has managed to turn the entire subgenre on its head-again.

Reviewed by Ann Leveille
Posted April 29, 2004

Allegra's Dictionary of the Paranormal

Dark One n. [Origin: Czech, also known as vampires] A Moravian Dark One is doomed to spend his liftime cruising the singles' scene in search of the one woman who can redeem his soul. You think dating is hard? Try it when you're nine hundred years old and you've used every pick-up line in the book. Forming a lasting relationship is even more difficult when the woman who makes your heart sing sees dead people and likes to play with demons.

Summoner n. [Origin English] Someone who summons ghosts, poltergeists, and demon lords. Summoners tend to hang around cities like London that are filled with portals to Hell, haunted inns, and other locations dishy vampires might be found lurking. Most Summoners are female, which makes for difficulties when it comes to explaining to the man who haunts your dreams and fills your soul with love why your pet ghosts can be found hovering around even the most romantic of circumstances.