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L.J. Smith
SECRET VAMPIRE (YA)

Night World Series Book 01
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Who recommends: Preeti, Lori, Shelley, Tanya, Linda, Isabel, Laurie, Edith
Who discommends:

...for sheer fun, L. J. Smith's ongoing YA 'Nightworld' series (they're teen romances with at least one of the protagonists being a vampire or a were-beast, very amusing and light, at least one HEA per book within the constraints of the genre, and *intelligent* teenagers with real-world problems which they confront with a mixture of supernatural skill and typical learning-by-mistakes).--Tanya (30 Jul 99)

I just read SECRET VAMPIRE and loved it. Poppy and James have been friends since kindergarten. She has always secretly loved him and is convinced that she will marry him someday. Then she finds at the beginning of the book that she has cancer and is going to die quickly and painfully. James, who has always tried not to acknowledge his real feelings for Poppy, cannot watch her die. Even though it's against all the Night World rules and could be the death of him, he must tell her what he really is and save her by making her a vampire too.

There's a lot more to this than just a simple story. The whole Night World scenario is fascinating. The reactions of Poppy's family and twin brother, the transformation process, and Poppy and James' realization that they have found their soulmate, were intense. I wish they had had books like this to read when I was a teen. But then again, I think my mother would have gotten a bit worried if she had seen me reading them.<g> --Linda (27 Sep 99)

After that, I ploughed through the whole Night World series. They were short and fun reads although I liked some books quite a lot more than others. The soulmate principle helped with the instant attraction but I still preferred the ones where there is some kind of previous history between the hero and heroine. I think Linda has pretty much covered the plots so I'll just add that SECRET VAMPIRE and HUNTRESS were probably my favourites and DARK ANGEL my least favourite.--Isabel (20 Oct 99)

I did manage to start L.J. Smith's Night World books. They are so much fun and I really look forward to reading them in between the thicker books. So far SV is my favorite. I was so surprised at how emotional, romantic and readable it was and, best of all, I was able to finish it in one sitting. I got the series for X-mas with the exception of DARK ANGEL which is no longer in print. After reading the comments on the SF/Rom site it doesn't seem like a must read anyway.--Laurie (17 Jan 00)


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