Author: Bailey Bradford
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Pages/Word Count: 113 Pages
At a Glance: A sweet and funny follow-up to My Life Without Garlic.
Reviewed By: Angel
Blurb: Stakes, kilts and holy water—Andrew Meyer is in for the time of his life!
Radney’s tired of being the coven oddball. He had his reasons for being the way he was, and he let those reasons rule his life for centuries. Another mistake—almost harming a human he’d been sent to keep an eye on—has sent Radney on a mission of self-improvement. He’s going to conquer his issues and be the best damned vamp ever!
Maybe.
Andrew Meyers has the term paper from hell to write. It needs to be original and intriguing. What could be more so than people with a vampire fetish?
But when that fetish turns out to be one he has, for a very sexy, kilt-wearing, neurotic vampire, the tables are turned. Andrew isn’t prepared to find out that vampires are real, but he learns it anyway. With help from his twin brother, Erin, he just might be able to find a happy ending—or an ecstatic beginning—for him and his hot as hell red-headed vamp. If he’s careful, and patient, he might even find the vamp for him.
Review: This sequel, which takes place at the same time as Bradford’s novel My Life Without Garlic, is a sweet and funny addition to the Vamp for Me series. I enjoyed this tale, but was slightly disappointed that Bradford chose Radney to continue the series instead of one of the other vampires who had been more involved in the last book.
Stake begins with Claude, the coven leader, confronting Radney about his actions in the previous book, and reprimanding him. It is said that Radney is a bigot and not quite the brightest bulb in the bunch, and I think that rather does the vampire, who is supposed to be centuries old, an injustice. He is a bit immature and uncouth, but I wouldn’t say he is stupid. Radney changes greatly over the course of the book, especially after he meets Andrew, and it’s all for the better.
Andrew is a studious young man who, along with his hyper-sexual twin, Erin, manages to discover the common theme of this series: a vampire dating website and that vampires are real. Add in vampire hunters, some school boy humor and a bit of danger, and you have one entertaining and fun story.
I remember Radney from the first book, and while his story is cute and fun, his backstory isn’t. The book has touched on some issues about abuse and learning to let go, which are dealt with delicately in spite of the humor throughout this novel. Bradford also continues the quirkiness of twisting the vampire mythos with reality to an interesting degree, and I really like her take on the genre.
I am looking forward to more of her verse, hopefully with many more tales, especially Claude and Abernathy’s story. Thank you, Ms. Bradford, for an enjoyable read!
You can buy Don’t Stake My Life on It here:
