The sixteen or so books that Ellora's Cave has published for Jaci Burton reveal a surprising range: from paradise, hypnosis, love among the elves, fantasy under-water worlds to a future under alien rule where sex is illegal to bondage erotica that really cooks. In Bite Me, Jaci takes on yet another interesting merging of genre. We have a story of a rubenesque thirty-year-old virgin, fan of a vampire show called "Bite Me." It is a brave attempt at an unusual heroine, and this is a heroine who wants and needs a different kind of hero.

Bite Me is a short quickie, but in spite of its length, this is a fully developed tale. Gina has a goal--to lose her virginity, and another goal--to celebrate her birthday to the max. We join her as she celebrates her thirtieth birthday at the annual Con of her aforementioned favorite television show. Fate steps in and she ends up the grand prize winner of a drawing that not only gets her into the exclusive black tie ball she hadn't dared to dream she'd attend, but also nets her a massage, new hair, a makeover and a designer dress, culminating with the opportunity to be at the table with the cast and crew.

What is especially good about this book is the reality of the heroine. She isn't some starry-eyed astronaut, or princess, or creaturess from the black lagoon. She's an ordinary secretary, a bit on the pudgy side, and she's not one who has to beat guys off with a stick. She's got a fantasy: to meet the star playing the vampire in her favorite show. How often does such an ordinary person find her wildest fantasy aspirations become tangible? And when it is none other than Deacon Black who pays attention to her, it seems a dream come true. Or is it? This is definitely a case of that old adage "Beware what you wish for because it just might come true."

So there you have it: Deacon Black, tormented hero, and Gena Capelli, frumpy secretary. It's amazing how fantasy lovers find perfect eternal love in a couple of hours. What I really would like to see is day two, after the fantasy is over and these two virtual strangers wake up together, look at each other and wonder what on earth they had been drinking and thinking the night before. But this is not literature; this is romantic fantasy. Don't expect lots of bizarre twists. This story is exactly what you think it is. But there is something to be said for a fantasy that is exactly what it sets out to be. Jaci delivers a shriekingly hot vampire fantasy.

Maitresse
© Dec 2004