It's a vampire sex carnival!

Title: My Wicked Vampire
Author: Nina Bangs  (who has an awesome name, btw.)
Genre: paranormal romance
Source: public library


Who wouldn't want to go to an adult theme park.....especially one billed to fulfill your dreams - whatever they are? Sounds good right? Now throw in a vampire or two, some mischievous cosmic deities, a wizard, a goddess or two, and don't forget the hybrid plants. Sounds even .....crazier? Better? This novel is all of that. Problems come from all angles, there is a lot of not talking about the important things, and some quite silly names ( the owner of the park is named Sparkle Stardust), but in all it is a fun to read novel.




What I like:
1. While it is technically the fourth book in the Castle of Dark Dreams series, it functions almost perfectly as a stand alone. I didn't know it was part of a series when I picked it up, and there were only a few places where I felt I wasn't getting enough information. I don't think it is necessary to read the others, but they are probably just as much fun as this one.

2. The setting is perfect. While I like imagining a world where the monsters are accepted as every day citizens, that is sometimes hard for me to buy. The idea that at least a few of them would band together and use their powers to create a business like the Dark Dreams fantasy park seems totally reasonable to me. They get to use their powers and show off whatever makes them different while the humans get to indulge in their fantasies and never truly know it is real.


What I dislike:
1. The names are truly awful. The seem to fit the fantasy idea, but in general the names are so ridiculous ....Sparkle Stardust, Cinn, Bain..  Nope no telegraphing character traits through their names here...nope none at all.

2. There was a lot of action and strange situations the characters had to overcome. This isn't the problem, per se. However, often the situations were seen coming miles off. There were so many contextual hints and clues as to what was going to happen that very little seemed surprising.


Overall: I had fun reading the vampire sex carnival that is My Wicked Vampire. It isn't a serious, thinking book, but is worth a shot if you're looking for a fun summer read.