Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six / by Gerry Bartlett

Life is usually fairly complicated for Gloriana St. Clair (better known as Glory to her vampire friends), but now it's become a whirlwind. A vampire who owns an Austin boutique shop called Vintage Vamp's Emporium, Glory's been ordered by the Vampire Council to close her business becaused it's attracting too much attention from outsiders. Her personal life is also a bit rocky now that her boyfriend and fellow vampire Jeremy Blade has learned of Glory's recent affair with her former bodyguard Valdez. That she was possessed by a demon at the time of the fling matters little to Blade who's a bit of a dramatic when it comes to love.

To help her rep and to get her back on the winning team, Glory takes an opportunity to mentor a new member of the undead, Penny. Her new charge is smart when it comes to a lot of things but not when it comes to style. The girl has no fashion sense whatsoever and it's up to Glory to show her the ropes while simultaneously trying to mend her wayward romance with Blade, help get another friend back on the wagon and reconfigure some things within her shop to make her business seem less conspicuous. Just when she thinks she's balancing things out relatively well, Glory's life is interrupted by the devil himself who makes her an offer she may not be able to refuse--the chance to be a size six. This edition of the Real Vampires series is sure to charm and delight readers. Written by local author Bartlett (she's a League City resident), the plot gets moving in a hurry and doesn't stop as sassy vampire Glory and her wacky adventures never seem to slow down. Set in Austin, readers will be sure to recognize some familiar things about the protagonist's surroundings and shouldn't have a problem working around the backstory. Even with this being a seventh installment, the book could easily work as a standalone. (FIC BARTLETT)