Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde

It's almost Halloween, and my mind always turns to dark suburban streets, and the rattle of dry leaves blown by the first cold wind of the season.  We all love creepy stories because we never think it could happen to us.  That's what Kerry thought too, and no good deed goes unpunished.  When Kerry's little brother asks her to go get the teddy bear he forgot at the laundromat, she figures the worst that could happen is a scolding from her father. Sure it was eleven'o'clock at night, and she didn't have permission to take the car, but it's just the laundromat.

When Kerry walks in, the laundromat is deserted and creepy, but she finds the teddy bear and turns to go.  Then a group of thugs burst through the door with a boy about Kerry's age, tied up and bleeding. Once they notice Kerry, they take her prisoner too while they try to determine is she's "one of them." One of what Kerry isn't sure, until they pull out Bibles and start talking about waiting until dawn.  They think the boy is a vampire, and they plan to kill him.  And Kerry too if she can't convince them she's human.  And that's just chapter one.  Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde is about making bad choices, falling in with dangerous people, and how hard it can be to tell a truth from a lie.  Plus, there's kidnapping, murder, and maybe a vampire.  These are a few of my favorite things.  Happy reading.
~ gothbrarian

This Book Sucks

In a vampiric way.  Wait - don't leave!  All bad jokes aside, the comic Life Sucks is actually pretty cool.  Assuming you like vampires of the non-sparkly variety. 

Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece have put together a comic exploring some of the less romantic sides of vampirism.  Like how you explain it to your mom and dad.  (You don't.)  And what sort of jobs are available for people who are permanently nocturnal.  (The night shift at a convenience store, for example.)  Also, the person who turned you is now your master.  (Which makes you his permanent wage slave.)  Dave Miller is not having the time of his undead life.  To make matters worse, the human girl he loves is now being romantically pursued by the guy he hates: psychopath surfer vampire Wes. 

Time for Dave to figure out how to get the girl and save the day.  Too bad he can only come out at night.

~ Book Ninja

How Afraid Are You To Die?

In a world where vampires have taken control over society, humans are divided into two groups--the Registered and the Unregistered. Registered humans are required to attend a bloodletting once a month in order to feed their vampiric masters. Unregistered humans are free from the obligation to "donate," but the freedom comes with a price; while Registered humans are provided with food cards, Unregistered humans are not, and the penalty for stealing food is death.

This is the world Allison Sekemoto survives in Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules. She lives on the edge of the city of New Covington in the slums, scrounging for food and trying to avoid becoming a vampire's prey. She vows that she'll never be anything like the soulless monsters that treat her species like cattle, but when a food raid goes terribly wrong and Allie is left dying in the street, she must make a choice--she can either die for good, or wake up again as the very demon she despises.

Get Ready for The Hunt

For all you paranormal fans The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda is a  delicious read.  It has been described as Hunger Games with vampires.  The vampires are not sparkly and golden but fierce, wild and dangerous.  They are also not seductive or sexy.  

In this world vampires rule and humans are slowly becoming extinct. Gene was taught by his father never to look or act human, never smile, make friends or show emotion.  Personal hygience is essential and shaving and bathing must be done often so the vamps can not smell them.

The Ruler decides there will be a Heper Hunt (heper is what the vampires call humans).  Gene and Ashley are sent to the institute for training and things get tense when they have no way to bath. The plot thickens and there are plenty of twists.  Expect gore, afterall these are bloodthirsty vampires!

Book Two:  The Prey

Tucson Festival of Books Author: Heather Brewer

Halloween passed and I was finally finished reading all the zombie/vampire/evil creatures of the night books I had checked out. I had just vowed to take a break from the supernatural/horror genre when Off the Shelf was commissioned to spotlight some of the authors that will be here for the Tucson Festival of Books. One of the few names I recognized was Heather Brewer, an author known for her vampire books and spectacular orchid colored hair. "The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" is a series I've been meaning to read for a while and after I read that she has a coffin couch, I was that much more excited about reading it.