Bitten and Smitten

Author: Michelle Rowen
ISBN: 978-057-509-4000
RRP: $22.99

Sarah Dearly goes on a blind date, and the next thing she knows, she wakes up in the middle of being buried! Things only get worse when she discovers that her date has turned her into a vampire.

After fleeing her date (and a few crazy vampire hunters!) she runs into the gorgeous Thierry de Bennicoeur, your typical brooding, centuries old vampire, who is desperate to end his existence.

Thierry agrees to teach Sarah everything she needs to know about being a vampire, and help keep her one step ahead of all of those pesky vampire hunters, if she helps him finally end his life. Or maybe Sarah will be able to convince him that his life is actually worth living…

Michelle Rowen’s Bitten & Smitten isn’t like most of the vampire novels that we are seeing so much of nowadays. It’s a light, refreshing take on the usually dark world of vampires. Filled with quips and funny narration, it had me laughing from literally the first page! I think that I can honestly say that I haven’t read a book this hilarious in awhile. It’s definitely one for fans of Mary Janice Davidson’s Undead and Unwed series.

Twenty-something Sarah Dearly is such a lovable main character, and one of the most charming that I have come across in the paranormal romance genre. She has a really down to earth personality and it’s very easy for the reader to relate to her. While she’s quite ditsy at times, she still tries to hold her own amongst all the other vampires, and all the hunters. Her witty one-liners lighten even the most serious of moments and her complete lack of tact make for some hilarious moments throughout the book.

Although Bitten & Smitten is classified as a paranormal romance novel, I thought that the romance was definitely lacking. I’m not a fan of full-on romance novels, but in total there were only a couple of kisses in the entire book (although there were a few more imagined ones going on in Sarah’s mind)!

I definitely expected there to be a little more development of the relationships between the main characters. There is definite potential for a hot love triangle to be developed in the subsequent novels, as this book is part of a series.

Bitten & Smitten is admittedly not one of the best books I have ever read, but it’s definitely something great to pass a couple of hours with. There were actually quite a few unexpected plot twists, and the book was pretty fast paced. It works well as a stand-alone novel (while still making the reader miss the characters at the end), so I was surprised, and incredibly happy, to find out that this is a series and there are five other books that have already been released!

Bitten & Smitten is an amusing paranormal romance, best for readers who prefer their vampires cheerful and charismatic, as opposed to vicious and blood-thirsty!

mandy