Michigan – Present Day

Sophie Hahn is worried about her friend Dao. Newly married, Dao is apparently content in his wedded bliss, but just doesn’t seem to be the same at all. Almost zombie-like, Dao, a writer, is honestly writing some seriously nasty stuff (purple prose ain’t got nothin’ on this...) and thinking it’s the next bestseller, while his new wife, Lisse, fairly keeps him locked in the bedroom as an apparent sex slave. It’s only after Sophie finds a scrap of what looks to be snakeskin lying on the floor of Dao’s house that she begins to investigate what’s really going on.

Taking the piece of...whatever....to her boss, Tim, Sophie is appalled, and a little disbelieving, to find out that Dao is slowly dying as a subject of a lamia, a blood-sucking seductress. If Sophie doesn’t do something to stop Lisse, she’ll kill Dao. But what does a mortal woman who really doesn’t believe in woo-woo do to save the day? Join forces with yet another paranormal...well, god. Ric is the dead-sexy hunk who happens to have the very book Sophie needs from the library. When he agrees to help Sophie find the relics that are necessary to put a stop to Lisse, they never intended for the relationship to go from mere friendship to sex with a vampire. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that -- Ric is several centuries old. And he’s a, yeah, you got it -- vampire.

Will they be able to save the day? Or will their hormones get in the way of Sophie’s playing hero?

REAL VAMPS DON’T DRINK O-NEG is a snappy little title that fell short of its potential to really amaze me. Tawny Taylor does a fine job of creating characters who don’t take themselves too seriously, and seem to fall into each other's arms at every possible chance. Now, I love paranormal romance books just as much as the next person, but it took a bit of imaginative disbelief to really see the connection between Sophie and Ric. They just didn’t seem right for each other to me. After a while, I got fed up with Sophie’s cute little remarks to herself about how simply gorgeous Ric was.

Maybe it’s just me, and since this is my first book by Tawny Taylor, I’m willing to give her another chance. I honestly don’t think she’s a bad writer, quite the opposite actually. But in REAL VAMPS DON’T DRINK O-NEG, the characters lack sexual tension and got in the way of a potentially entertaining read. If you’re a fan of the author, please don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me. I really would like to read Ms. Taylor’s other books before I form a solid opinion.

Amy Cunningham