From Booklist:
All Joy Randall wants is a little old-fashioned romance, but when she participates in a "Goddess evoking" ceremony with her friend, Roxy, Joy finds out her future true love is a man with the potential to put her immortal soul in danger. At first the ever-practical Joy is ready to dismiss her vision as a product of too much gin and too many vampire romances, but while traveling through the Czech Republic with Roxy, Joy begins to have some second thoughts about her mystery lover because she is suddenly plagued by visions of a lethally handsome stranger. Then, when she and Roxy attend a local GothFaire, Joy meets Raphael Griffin St. John, head of security, and she becomes even more bewildered because the dark and dangerous Raphael seems too close to her dreams for comfort. Readers will gladly give in to the wickedly sharp bite of MacAlister's wit in this temptingly toothsome romance. With its superb characterization and writing that manages to be both sexy and humorous, this contemporary paranormal love story is an absolute delight. --John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the back cover:
Joy Randall's Top 5 Tips for Vampire Hunters:

1. Location, location, location. Remember, if you wouldn't be there, neither would a bloodsucker. They won't be found dead (ha!) in places like discos, ten-minute lube shops, or Switzerland. Check the Czech Republic.
   
2. Trust your eyes. You know the handsome, annoyingly arrogant, self-assured man in the shadows with long hair and a cleft in his chin? He's your vampire.
   
3. No matter how tempting it might be, DO NOT "ACCIDENTALLY" ACQUIRE A PAPER CUT AND SUGGEST YOUR VAMPIRE KISS YOUR FINGER TO MAKE IT BETTER. What you offer as a snack, he might take for a four-course meal.
   
4. From here on out, play it cool. Don't offer to accompany your prince of the night on the talk show circuit and WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T OFFER HIM YOUR HEART.
   
5. And most of all, remember--being a vampire is nothing to laugh about.

List of books in Katie MacAlister's Dark One series:
1. A Girl's Guide to Vampires (November 2003)
2. Sex and the Single Vampire (March 2004)
3. Sex, Lies, and Vampires (February 2005)
4. Even Vampires Get the Blues (May 2006)
5. Bring Out Your Dead (in the Just One Sip anthology, September 2006)
6. The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires (April 2007)

I originally read this book as a bookring in December 2006. See my entry and other readers comments here.

This wasn't my first encounter with the world of Katie MacAlister's Dark Ones, as I've earlier read her book Got Fangs?, which is about a teenage girl, forced to spend the summer travelling with the GothFaire, because her mother works there. Sounds familiar? It is, and it's not. The characters in these two books are totally different, so there must be at least two GothFaires touring Europe, but Got Fangs? is about a vampire who finds his beloved. (If you're interested in trying it out, I've got a bookring running for Got Fangs?, just pm me.)

When I started reading A Girl's Guide to Vampires, I was instantly annoyed by the two main characters. Fortunately I managed to mostly ignore it throughout the book, but I can't say I enjoy reading about two dimwits who constantly bicker with each other. Roxy was even more annoying than the narrator Joy, and I can't understand why Joy put up with her. Maybe that's why they had two hotel rooms... When I travel with my best friend, we always sleep in the same room.

When the girls travel to the Czech Republic, the book gets more interesting. I actually started thinking that I want to travel to Moravia too. The action takes place in the little town of Blansko, where they stay at the hotel Dukla. It's funny to note that Katie MacAlister has probably used the town's homepage for research, as everything she talks about in the book can be found from there...

Unfortunately, after a successful attempt to create an interesting athmosphere, the author manages to forget all about it, as the rest of the book could be taking place anywhere. Fortunately by that time the plot has picked up, and the book qualifies as good entertainment. Like other Katie MacAlister books, A Girl's Guide to Vampires is sometimes funny and sometimes annoying. She has a tendency to write a surprising amount of exasperating characters into her novels, and I wish I knew what Joy and her love interest had in common except lust. Although I must say I loved the cheerleaders.

I haven't yet grown tired of Katie MacAlister's style, and will continue to read her books. I want to know how Christian finds his beloved in the next book, Sex and the Single Vampire!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Lähetin kirjan polenkalle RABCK:ina. Lukuiloa!

Thanks for the book! The plot sounds very interesting, but we'll see how it turns out... :)

I don't really know what I think about this book. In the other hand, I felt the men and sex scenes were partly one big cliché, vampires didn't play as big a part as I thought, and I didn't understand, why all the men were drooling over Joy. In the other hand, it was quite funny and romantic book, and I read it very quickly. I guess that in the end I enjoyed it, but I haven't yet decided, if I want to read rest of the books in the series.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book is going to Elina as a rabck. I hope you enjoy the book!

The book is here, thanks polenka!