It’s hard to get a date -- much less hook up with The One -- even with vampere powers. Who would have thought finding a mate was so hard?

Incurable romantic, rabid fashionista, and eternal (literally) optimist, Countess Lilliana Arabella Guinevere du Marchette comes up with a brilliant idea to fill that niche: Dead End Dating (DED), a Manhattan-based dating service catering to the sophisticated dead. It was either that or Lil would end up working at Midnight Moe’s, her family’s all-night copy service.

Now all she needed was the perfect client. Geeky, undead Francois (Francis) Deville, of the Devilles, fits the bill to a tee…if she can revamp him, that is. If she can match him up, word would spread like wildfire through the community and the business would be the end-all-be-all of the dating world.

Just as things are looking up, she meets Ty Bonner, a made vampire and bounty hunter, hot on the trail of a serial kidnapper/killer. Being “made” and not “born” means the Texas hottie is off limits because of his inability to procreate, and that’s a big no-no in Lil’s snobby, elitist world. Little vamps are a must…but that doesn’t mean she can’t kiss him…right?

Fashion fic is not my cup of tea, but I'm willing to overlook that in favor of a good story line. Dead End Dating tested the limits of my patience. So many fashion references are used that it comes across as a cousin of Vogue instead of a novel. Nothing less than this season’s hottest cosmetics, shoes, jeans, etc. etc. ad nauseam will do for Lil and unfortunately, her romantic personality gets lost. It goes one step too far when a brand name is thrown into the middle of a love scene:

“…my skin tingled where Ty’s hand rested just above the waistband of my DKNY hiphuggers.”

It ruins the mood, to say the least.

Without these heavy-handed distractions, the author's capabilities shine through. The plot moves along quite well, the dialogue is hilarious, and the setup for the sequel is on target. It has a unique and imaginative twist with the dating service angle (hey, vampires need love too.)

As light reading for a couple of hours, I'd recommend this to fans of MaryJanice Davidson and Lynsay Sands.
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Publisher: Ivy Books (August 29, 2006)
ISBN: 0345492161
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