The Vampire Girl Next Door
Paranormal Romance Vampire
Highgate Books
January 23, 2012
314
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Thirty-three year old Mark Sheridan lives in San Francisco. His life revolves around his job selling advertising at a newspaper and the time he spends at the gym with his best friend, Dave. The only real problem in his life is his next door neighbor who parties every night, making sleep very difficult for Mark. Things change for Mark drastically when his noisy neighbor is found dead and a new girl, Sylvia Martin moves in.
This is the third murder Mark witnesses. When he was attacked coming home from the gym, two of his attackers suddenly wound up dead. Mark couldn’t remember what happened because he had no memory of it, as if he was in a trance. Now with his neighbor gone, the girl of his dreams has moved in. Sylvia is a strange girl with a lot of secrets, secrets she is unwilling to reveal to Mark. His friend Dave and Dave’s fiancé Gail both are taken back by Sylvia’s eyes which are black. She also she wears a satanic symbol around her neck, which troubles them, as well. Unfortunately for Mark, all he can see is a gorgeous girl that he wants to be around all the time.
The fact that Sylvia doesn’t like to go out during the day doesn’t seem to faze him; her story about an allergy to light makes sense to him. Sylvia comes to Mark’s apartment every night, but in spite of her flirting and kissing, she refuses to have sex with him. Mark takes that as her desire to go slow–little does he know!
Sylvia is a vampire and for some reason, she wants Mark. She even painted a portrait of the two of them together years ago. Has she dreamed about Mark as he dreamed about her? Even when Dave and Gail get married and a priest, Father Callen advises Mark that Sylvia is a vampire, he refuses to leave her. Knowing that she is a vampire and a Satanist can’t diminish his love for her. Does Sylvia want to turn Mark? Will Mark let her if she wants to? Is he willing to turn his best friend away for a girl he has only known a few weeks?
This was an interesting take on vampires and it is told in the first person by Mark. Sylvia also has some very strange sexual desires and they are revealed in detail in this book. I enjoyed the story, it was an easy read, and Mark and Sylvia were interesting characters.