Monday Give Away: MIDNIGHT MANZANILLA!
With less than a month to go until Pink XI, The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla, appears in stores… it’s time to put my final advance copy up for grabs!
Here’s the official blurb:
In the latest Pink Carnation novel from national bestselling author Lauren Willig, rumors spreading among the ton turn deadly as a young couple unites to solve a mystery….
In October of 1806, the Little Season is in full swing, and Sally Fitzhugh has had enough of the endless parties and balls. With a rampant vampire craze sparked by the novel The Convent of Orsino, it seems no one can speak of anything else. But when Sally hears a rumor that the reclusive Duke of Belliston is an actual vampire, she cannot resist the challenge of proving such nonsense false. At a ball in Belliston Square, she ventures across the gardens and encounters the mysterious Duke.
Lucien, Duke of Belliston, is well versed in the trouble gossip can bring. He’s returned home to dispel the rumors of scandal surrounding his parents’ deaths, which hint at everything from treason to dark sorcery. While he searches for the truth, he welcomes his fearsome reputation—until a woman is found dead in Richmond. Her blood drained from her throat.
Lucien and Sally join forces to stop the so-called vampire from killing again. Someone managed to get away with killing the last Duke of Belliston. But they won’t kill this duke—not if Sally has anything to say about it.
There have been several waves of vampire craze that I can recall: Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire
As much fun as it is to spoof, I will confess, I’ve always been a little bit fascinated with vampire lore, from Bram Stoker’s iconic Dracula
So, for a copy of The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla, here’s your question:
Vampires: intriguing or irritating? (Or just plain icky?) And which is your favorite vampire novel or movie?
The winner will be announced on Friday.
The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla appears in stores on Tuesday, August 5th!
The Michae Thomas Ford trilogy starting with Jane Bites Back, featuring a vamp Jane Austen, are hilarious. Vampires can be fun…
My new favorite vampire movie is Only Lovers Left Alive, which is basically two hours of Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston being ethereally beautiful and talking about love and music and art, while occasionally drinking blood. Also, John Hurt is vampire Christopher Marlowe (really). Good stuff.
Vampires can be fun though I think they’ve becvome a bit overused the last couple of years. My favorite vampire book remains the original Dracula but the Maggie Shayne Wings in the Night series is also fun!
Back in the late 60’s I went to a double feature movie and the ‘B’ movie was titled The Fearless Vampire Killers. I don’t remember the featured movie but this vampire movie I’ll never forget because it was directed by none other than Roman Polanski, who also acted in it along with the impossibly beautiful Sharon Tate. It addressed just about every legend and lore about vampires that was known. Remembering a movie after 50+ years attests to its staying power and excellence.
Before the Twilight craze, intriguing. After, icky. Not to sound too much like a hipster, but once everyone jumped on board, I jumped off. Favorite “vampire” book would have to be Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. It’s not really a vampire book, but the protagonist thinks her sister’s suitor is one because he never shows his teeth. Turns out he just needs braces 😉
Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (with Spike and Dru being close seconds)!
I think they can be good if written right. And actually I find Dracula by Bram Stoker really hilarious at times. Twilight is even sillier, but people forget how silly Dracula can be. The cowboy anyone?
My favorite vampire novel is The Historian. It is one of my favorite books in general and it’s scary, romantic, etc. Everyone needs to read The Historian.
Definitely intriguing! In fact, I remember trying to convince my 5th grade teacher that Dracula would be the perfect novel to adapt for our class play. Sadly he disagreed, but it remains my favorite vampire book!
I must admit that the Twilight craze did turn me off somewhat for a time. I’ve since renewed my faith in the vampire genre with Jim Jarmusch’s gorgeous film, ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’. Adam and Eve are intriguing characters (not to mention Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are two of my favorite actors) and John Hurt as Marlowe…amazing!
My favorite book in them vampire genre I still think is ‘The Vampire Lestat’.
Irritating in general when they veer towards spooksville, but when gothic is done right and there are metaphorical vampires…it is so good.
I think the vampire is intriguing. Over the years I’ve enjoyed Spike and Angel from Buffy, the Sookie Stackhouse novels, and the Anne Rice vamps.
I am not a huge vampire fan.
Am sure I will love Sally’s story though !
Intriguing. Vampires (at least in the classic sense, not the sparkly new presentations) are suave, elegant, cunning, seductive, and yes, lethal. My favorite Vampire novel is still the classic: Bram Stoker’s Dracula. However I also greatly enjoyed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
Definitely intriguing. My favorite is still Dracula, but the short-lived remake of Dark Shadows from the early 90s was the first vampire show I ever watched. I loved it, even though it scared the crap out of me as a kid.
I think vampires are intriguing (except the ones brought forth by the Twilight craze). My favorite vampire novel would definitely have to be A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I also enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse books, that is up until the last one.
Not a huge fan but did live in Romania for 18 mo and visited many times the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler whom the Dracula story is impaired by. I am looking forward to your next book, though. Sure that the whole vampire theme will be done well.
I’m a Buffy freak from way back (like fourth grade way back), so vampires hold a special place in my heart. I still read the comics that take the show forward into its 8th and 9th seasons.
However, I generally find vampires in literature irritating because they are EVERYWHERE and authors use the same tropes over and over again. It gets so repetitive. Or they try too hard to be creative and you end up with the Sookie Stackhouse series (which I read and can confirm is terrible).
Vampires have become overused some but I still think they are fun! Twilight was my first experience with vampires but then I read Dracula and I never looked back! Definitely my favorite.
I love Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles! They are intriguing and they teach you vocabulary as you’re at it. I think my favorite one was Memnoch the Devil, where the vampire Lestat meets the devil, and tells him how everything came to be. Just because they are vampires doesn’t mean they are evil. I am from Moldova originally, and my country borders Romania that is the home of Transylvania and castle Dracula. I was always interested in how vampires were depicted. I never read Twilight, or watched true blood or anything like that because I believe that vampires aren’t so simple. Much of the novel Dracula was symbolic. Spike and Angel were the last vampires that I really connected to in a humane level. Overall everything about vampires is great, just overuse is the downfall of it.
I love vampires and always have. I loved Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV show and my favorite vampire book is Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs because it is snarky and funny but with vampires. I am super excited for your book!
I tried really hard not to join the latest vampire ‘craze’. I think ‘Angel’ was the last ‘vampire’ show/movie/book I’d seen; until I started reading Lynsay Sands books — her historicals first, but I’m a sucker for anything funny and after ‘Single, White Vampire’ I was hooked — which eventually lead to Christine Feehan, Jeannie Frost, J.R. Ward …
I’ve always been intrigued by vampires. I think immortality is appealing to most people, but they are also so mysterious and sophisticated for a “monster.” I think of all the history you could wittness firsthand over the centuries (albeit only the nighttime)! However, some of my favorite memories are of watching old monster movies with my best friend, when we were in elementary school. It was macabre and we were a little strange compared to most 7 year olds, but we were ourselves. Bonding over those movies and building one of very few friendships I shared in a very cliquey and cruel environment at school was priceless as a child. Therefore, Bela Lugosi always has a special place in my heart.
Can be intriguing but definitely icky post-Twilight. There was a show on CBS, “Moonlight,” that came out and was quickly canceled just a couple of years before the Twilight craze. I’ve been trying to get my hands on that because it looks good, and I’m a huge Alex O’Loughlin fan.
I saw a few episodes of that when it first came out. I enjoyed it, despite not being into vampires all that much.
I’ve always found vampires intriguing. I’ve read everything from the Twilight series to the Sookie Stackhouse series. I think my favorite series for its randomness and humor though is the Undead series by MaryJanice Davidson.
He’s not from a book. originally, but my favorite has to be Barnabas Collins, from the tv series when I was a teenager.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is excellent. Also, I missed the initial Twilight craze; dismissing it as juvenile but then I watched the first movie, which intrigued me. Then I bought the books and could not put them down. YA books bring out the adolescent in me 🙂
Intriguing! I am hooked right now on the Chicagoland Vampire series by Chloe Neill. They’re fun with a great female lead.
I’ve always tried to like vampire novels, and I go through phases where I attempt them. But in the end, they never hold my interest for very long. I lost interest in the Twilight series after New Moon, I gave up on the Sookie Stackhouse series after a while. So my vote would be for intriguing but only for short spells.
In the pre-Twilight craze era, I would have said that vampires were intriguing… now I think they’re sadly. over-used. In high school, I love Robin McKinley’s vampire novel “Sunshine,” as well as Bram Stoker’s original. Also, back when we were in college, my now-husband and I totally bonded over that horrible TV show “Moonlight,” which we unexplainably both watched and somehow enjoyed.
I’ve always found vampires intriguing. My favorite is Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie).
It truly depends. My favorite vampire movies are Interview with the Vampire and Nosferatu. They don’t make them “creepy” anymore. I’m not a fan of the tv series and Twilight.
Intriguing! I read the Dark Shadow books as a child ~ campy but fun. It holds a special spot in my heart. Dracula is still the best though.Looking forward to reading Sally’s story.
A Discovery of Witches and The Historian are awesome vampire novels. My favorite on screen vamp would have to be the latest Dracula reincarnation on NBC with Jonathan Rhys Meyers. So sorry it was cancelled.
Vampires done well-intriguing. Vampires done a la Twilight- icky. I tend to like vampire novels that leave you wondering rather the vampire was real or not better than the overt vampire novels. But my favorite is still the Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
Before the whole “Twilight” craze, I was intrigued. Now, I get a bit irritated seeing all the vampire novels on the shelf at B&N.
My favorite vampire novel is “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova. This book is one of the few audio books that I could listen to over and over.
Never been much of a vampire fan. However gotta love me some “Lost Boys”. My favorite vampire is Jody from Christopher Moore’s vampire triology.
My new favorite vampire series, although it is about witches as well as vampires, is Deborah Harkness’ All Souls series – A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night.
I’ve never been a fan if vampire stories. I avoided them. And then I read Deb Harkness’ A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and her subsequent SHADOW OF NIGHT. The final book in the trilogy, THE BOOK OF LIFE will be released next week. Very intelligent books. And not young adult. I love them.
Well…I used to like vampires. Sort of. OK, I lie. I hate vampires. I’m much more interested in ghosts and witches. I have to say that even if I liked vampires, though, I’d be so sick of the sparkly, sucking creatures now that I often want nothing to do with them and much of the time if I see that the main character is a vampire I won’t even give it a shot. (this obviously is not going to include anything by Lauren Willig, LOL)
On that note, however, I will say that The Lost Boys is one of my all time favorite movies, even if I can’t come up with a book.
I think it depends on the Vampire. I couldn’t stand Twilight. It was just ridiculous. I think my favorite Vampire is Matthew Clairmont from A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. Swoon worthy right there. I can’t wait to see what Sally and Lucien encounter though!
I do love a good vampire story. I think I got hooked as a kid with Dracula and Anne Rice’s Lestat, even read the Twilight books, but my favourite vampire story is probably either The Historian or the entirety of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise (comics included)
Intriguing!
And wow, to pick just one?! Bones from Cat and Bones fame from Jeaniene Frost, I think.
Whoops. I lied again. I love, love, love, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On the other hand, it might be because she’s killing all those vampires. Or because Spike. Om nom nom.
I really liked the Chinese movie the Vampire effect. It kinda makes fun of itself as a vampire movie. Typically I don’t enjoy the modern vampire stories (Twilight, True Blood, Vampire Diaries etc.) However there is a great book series “The Parasol Protectorate” that is set in Victorian Times that include Werewolves, Vampires, Ghosts, who actually have a division in Parliament! If you also like steampunk fiction it is a great read.
I like vampires but they’ve been overused since twilight. No favorite though
I have to say intriguing. I enjoyed Dracula and read Twilight when I was a reading tutor for 8th graders … somewhat embarrassingly I think I ended up enjoying it more than my students!
Intriguing if it’s not twilight, Lucius from Jessica’s guide to dating on the dark side.
I find the trend intriguing, it is interesting to see how this phenomenon is able to be explained in literature. I also know that it comes and goes in literature in phases. I enjoy the classic Dracula.
I don’t read much about
vampires, but I like them
when they are a good character
and noble. Don’t have any
favorites.
Carla from Utah
Some of both! Teen vampires? Irritating. Adults? Usually interesting. The Historian and Discovery of Witches were great reads. I enjoyed Sookie Stackhouse. And Buffy the Vampire Hunter was a lot of fun, especially Spike. How can you not love a vampire who likes bar food. I am a sucker (ha!) for Dead (And Loving it) with Leslie Nielsen. Louis Jourdan’s version of Dracula that was on TV years ago scared the crap out of me. I couldn’t sit and watch it.
Vampires – intriguing! I love Deanna Raybourn’s “The Dead Travel Fast.” Though it’s not necessarily a vampire novel, it is definitely implicated with a lovely sense of danger and mystery!
I like the newer type of vampire that’s just another paranormal being rather than the older, intent on killing humans type. I enjoyed the Jane Bites Back series.
Somewhat intriguing, but I am so sick of Twilight! My daughter forced me, forced me I say to watch the first 2 movies! Blech!! I do like Linda Lael Miller’s Black Rose Chronicles.
How could I forget Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate! There are hilariously foppish vampires in those books. Read them if you haven’t already. Fun stories and all kinds of supernatural creatures, but all interacting normally in society.
As long as the vampires don’t sparkle then I’m a-ok with the genre. 😉
Icky in general in the spooksville sense. I’ve actually enjoyed the interesting twists done on vampires with Twilight and the Sookie Stackhouse series. I also really enjoy the way Jim Butcher divides vampire types in his Dreaden Files books – Black Court (your typical scary undead but like…falling apart physically as they age and age and age), Red Court (blood sucking and immortal, powerful), White Court (feed off emotions and sexual energy, super fast and gorgeous), Jade Court (Asian, don’t know anything about this court yet). I’m told A Discovery of Witches also has an interesting take on vampires that I’ll check out. I’m just not into the traditional sense. I get nightmares, and I hate horror. I’ll go on record saying even though I watched it, I’m not a Buffy or Angel fan. Meh. 😉
Boring at this point. Until someone does something new with the genre, I tend to pass on Vampire-themed books and movies.
That being said, I did enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse book series.
Def irritating! Especially since the whole Twilight thing
Fascinating… Although I have fallen out these few years, there was a time when vampire novels were all I was reading… That’s when I discovered Kerrelyn Sparks’ Love at stake series, in which good vampire, feeding on synthetic blood, fight off a bunch of bad vampires who think that feeding off humans is their birthright and drinking synthetic blood is for fake vampires who don’t deserve to “live” (or un-live)… so they fight to kill.
But the good guys manage to find true love in the process! 🙂
The first ones were absolutely hilarious! The last ones though were a bit off… As if she was stretching the series. She announced the very last installment for Xmas and it’s a good time to stop, before it gets too much…
Vampires: intriguing! My favorite intriguing vampire novel is Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches. (Also a huge fan of Angel, Spike and Dru from TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer!)
Ok so it deleted the rest of my post lol I do think The Historian is intriguing and of course Lauren Willig can do no wrong so I’m very very excited about this book and I’ve never been excited about a “supernatural” book lol
Mostly I find them irritating but that may be because of the explosion in their popularity recently. I did really like The Historian by Kostova.
I think I’m more intrigued by the vampire craze than by vampires… Can’t think of any vampire books I’d term a favorite, mostly since I’ve never done a lot of reading of them
Love or hate them depends on the story line.
I think they might be a bit overdone now but I still like them! Angel and Spike from Buffy are my favorite on screen vampires, but I also really like True Blood (yes, still!). In books I loved The Parasol Protectorate series 🙂
Depends on the vampire – love the Chicagoland vampires, like Sookie, but hate Twilight.
I LOVE vampires!! Goodnight Kiss by R.L Stine will always have special place in my heart as it was my first vamp novel and opened the door to so many others. But my absolute cannot live without it, FAVORITE Vamp novel is “How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire” by the wonderful Ms. Kerrelyn Sparks. It’s romance and humor all wrapped up into a fun little novel. The entire series (all 15 currently) have permanent spots on my shelf. Already on 2nd and 3rd copies as mine have gotten so worn from re-reads.
I am generally indifferent toward vampire stories, but can be easily swayed one way or the other. Bram Stoker’s Dracula swayed me in the direction of “Like”, only to be swung completely in the opposite and negative direction by Twilight. I suspect Midnight Manzanilla will make me love Vampire-esque tales wholeheartedly.
I love vampires-not icky but intriguingly mysterious! But I’ll admit I have a hard time finding novels that don’t make them come off cheesy. I agree with Chelsea G. about “How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire” a nice lighthearted read.
Try Nocturne by Syrie James – really great!
Mostly intriguing, Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains my favorite and I enjoyed some of the Sookie Stackhouse books.
Vampires are always fun because they have been characterized in so many different way and given various traits~ from rabid blood thirsty beings to “vegan” living, or demons vs. conscientious beings~ over the years in both literature and film.
As girly and obvious as this choice may be, my favorite vampire series will always be Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Sarah Michelle Gellar. The way the vampires are explained as demons inside the human body in which the former soul no longer resides, and yet the demon still possesses the same humanly traits and memories as its former self, is fascinating to me. Plus who doesn’t love David Boreanez as Angel. *swoon*
I am currently reading, and thoroughly enjoying, the Sookie Stackhouse novels.
Intriguing! I loved The Historian, but truthfully I much more enjoy watching my vampires (Eric in True Blood, anyone?) rather than reading about them.
I tend to lean towards irritating, but I think that’s mainly due to the Twilight craze of a few years ago! I haven’t read many books with vampires so the only recent one I can think of is a Discovery of Witches, which had enjoyable parts but overall wasn’t my favorite.
I would have to say I am pretty uninterested in the general vampire craze, but then again, I cut my teeth on Dark Shadows on television many years ago. That whole scene was definitely more funny than scary, although my mom insisted that it gave us bad dreams and we only managed to watch it on the sly!!
Mostly intriguing, but perhaps overdone lately. I enjoy the Undead series by Maryjanice Davidson. They have humor, which appeals to me.
I’m enjoying the vampire craze, for the most part. I liked the early Sookie Stackhouse novels (still watching the show, even though it deviated nearly 100% from the novels, for better and worse), but I grew up on Buffy and Angel, so Angel will always be my favorite vampire. Deborah Harkness’s All Souls trilogy (only one more week until the final book!) are amazing, and I highly recommend them. The Parasol Protectorate series are another favorite (steampunk + supernatural = awesome). The Vampire Diaries books (again, very different from the show) were also decent for the first few.
Intriguing when done right, but very overused right now. The historian and the first several sookie stackhouse books are higher up on my list of favorites. Buffy is a favorite too.
Definitely intriguing despite the market having been over-saturated lately.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is my favorite vampire reading experience by miles and miles!
Intriguing: Nick Knight (Forever Knight) Eli (Let the Right One in)
Irritating: Twilight
Icky: Twilight clones
Fabulous beyond all belief: Lord Akeldama (Parasol Protectorate)
I love The Historian and I can’t help myself… Twilight
Totally forgot to mention Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie)! I love it and will always watch it when it’s on. Totally hilarious and has great music. And I got over Sookie real quick (like after she dumped Bill who is perfect IMO).
Not a huge vampire fan. Never got into Twilight or Anne Rice’s vampire series.
I’m going to list another vampire spoof as my favorite “vampire book.” Rhys Bowen’s Royal Blood. Lady Georgie goes off to a spooky Romanian castle for a royal wedding.
Really looking forward to the new Pink book. Lucien sounds absolutely devine–and I have always loved the name Lucien. 🙂
I must admit that I’m not a big fan of the vampire genre. Read the Twilight books and saw the movies and that is quite enough for me.
Looking forward to the new “Pink” book, though!!!!
Intriguing! I think they’ve been done well by some and terribly by others, just like everything else. My favorite vampire book is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It will definitely make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up! Super eerie and smart without being gory or over the top.
Favorite is Stefan in Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series. Also Mercedes Lackey’s Andre and Tanya Huff’s Henry Fitzroy. Can’t say I’m a big fan of “modern” vampires, but I do find Jim Butcher’s fascinating.
my favorite and who got me hooked was barnabas collins from dark shadows! i would run home from school everyday to watch! loved him and josette! theres always a love story with vampires, probably why i have been hooked ever since!
Irritating.
Intriguing! I have a soft spot for the Dracula book because I found it so addictively creepy. Ooo, but Angel and Spike are good, too!
Usually boring but when they are almost belivable like The Historian, creepy and mind turning.
Fascinating. Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
I think vampires are intriguing; its the whole persona. My favorite vampire was Bela Logosi from the original Dracula movie. He played the character so that you weren’t afraid of the big bad vampire and instead you wanted to get closer to him and get to know him.
Vampires can be fun and sexy if done right. I’m currently enjoying the Gardella Chronicles by Colleen Gleason about vampire hunters and vampires in Victorian times. Dracula on NBC this spring was pretty good.
I do like the vampires in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s St. Germain novels.
Vampires are hit and miss. There are the terrible ones from Twilight that I can’t stand, but he classic ones–like Dracula–I LUV. Joss Whedon’s Spike and Angel are my particular favorites, and I’m actually looking forward to Luke Evans’ “Dracula Untold” film, which will be released in October!!!!!
I steadfastly avoid detailed book descriptions because I like to know nothing about the plot when I’m reading a book, so I had no idea until now that vampires feature in any way in The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla.
I find vampires irritating and never knowing read books which include them. I’m going to hope that since you also say “spoof”, The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla doesn’t *really* feature a vampire, as nothing is going to stop me reading it!
Intriguing! My favorite series to read is The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward. She is awesome! I’m not into the movies too much but Bram Stoker’s Dracula would be my favorite!
The only way I still really enjoy reading about vampires is if there is a big focus on history – like in the second All Souls trilogy book by Deborah Harkness.
Favourite vampire, hands down, no holds barred, it’s the irrepressible Spike … Angel never stood a chance once that mouth on legs strolled into Sunnyvale.
I loved the short lived Ultraviolet. But apart from that, vampires tend to bore me .
I love Terry Pratchett’s Discworld vamps. As any Igor would say, “Now there are thome vampireth with real clath. They know jutht how to give a touritht a real thow.”
Intriguing depending on the book. There’s a lot of irritating vampire stuff now! I will always love Anne Rice’s vampires, particularly the book Pandora.
Vampires–highly over-rated. That said, I love the Dresden Files, but have no attraction to the vamps at all. They are the bad guys, and I like it that way.
I’d say it depends on the vampire, and the author. If you want to preserve the mystique of vampirism in your reading, avoid Laura Resnick’s excellent clinical description of how being bitten would actually play out. “Vamparazzi” and the rest of the Esther Diamond books are awfully good fun, though.
It’s just a brief description, btw. Esther’s a busy New York actress with no patience with long-windedness or pretentiousness.
Slightly intriguing but can be irritating very quickly if done wrong (for example, imo, Twilight was irritating).
When it comes to vampires, Buffy all the way. Vampires are dangerous and will kill you. But if we’re going for a romantic one, then Spike. Angel was the precursor to Edward, Spike underwent huge amounts of change for Buffy, even saving the world. Spike all the way.
I’m okay with vampires, depending on who writes them 😉 I’m with Chelsea – I’m pumped to see “Dracula Untold.”
Eh…I don’t know. Mostly I think they’re overused right now. I don’t dislike them, but when I see a book featuring vampires, I just think meh.
Irritating… but who say no to David Boreanaz as Angel? 🙂
Good or icky depending on how they are presented. My fav vampire series is a manga series called Vampire Knight an in that series they are awesome
I think they are intriguing. My favorite is still the Bram Stoker classic. I loved the use of letters and journals to tell the story. And it was so creepy when I was reading it the first time back in junior high, that it would only read it at the library. I didn’t want to take it home and risk reading it after dark!
Tanya Huff’s Henry Fitzroy (Vicki Nelson series)is the literary vampire I like best. I have The Historian in my TBR pile. I added more books to the list after reading everyone else’s comments.
Still intriguing. Hard to pick a favorite, but I do love Robin McKinley’s Sunshine.
I think they can be intriguing. My favorite Vampire books/ movie of all times is Interview with a vampire by Anne Rice, She doesn’t romantize them like Stephanie Meyer does in the Twilight series.
bah! i dont like vampires but im looking forward to this book partly because my son is named luchien… hah go figure 🙂
Just not into them for some reason! But I’m excited to see how you spoofed them in the book 🙂
Intriguing! I’m not a huge fan of Twilight, but I do love the vampire worlds of Anne Rice and Deborah Harkness. ^^
Not strictly vampire books, but they do appear in one of my all time favourite series; the parasol protectorate by Gail Carriger. Lord Akeldama rocks!
Like anything else, it depends on if they’re done in an interesting way. I mostly read vampires in the context of their being one supernatural race being dealt with out of many, e.g. Jim Butcher or Kelley Armstrong, but I did read and love The Quick by Lauren Owen recently.
Vampires are intriguing – never more so than in Hotel Transylvania. Who can resist Yarbro’s St. Germain and his path through history?
I would have to say the movie “Lost Boys” which came out when I was in middle school, I think. In high school we went to Santa Cruz and went to the railroad tracks from the movie!
Vampires can be very intriguing. I especially enjoyed Gail Carrigers parasol protectorate series!
In the hands of a good writer, vampires can be intriguing. Favorite book: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
Intriguing! The Vampire Chronicles was the first adult book series I ever read. Ever since I’ve always given them a chance. Long live The Vampire Lestat!
I don’t think I’ve ready one yet! Looking forward to changing that.
I love the novel by Bram Stoker. The way the story is told fascinates me, as well as the characters. The Twilight craze (and those that followed) killed my fascination because vampires got so overdone so quickly. I maintain an interest in the mythology, but prefer the scary to the sparkly.
I love the vampire genre. I was really enjoying the Dracula TV show until it was cancelled. I don’t think I’ve ever read a vampire book that I haven’t liked and that includes Twilight and even The Vampire Diaries.
Liked the first Twilight book but the rest got progressively worse as the series went on- the last was awful!
Vampire stories are hit and miss with me. But I’ve really been into the Discovery of Witches series by Deborah Harkness. It’s still fun and romantic but obviously not a teeny bopper book. I highly recommend it!
I feel like they could be intriguing, but I’m often disappointed. The best book and movie I’ve encountered is Interview with the Vampire, probably because it effectively examines the price of their immortality. Still, I guess I’m waiting for something fun.
Vampires have the potential to work, I think. I really liked Sunshine by Robin McKinley!
It is a toss up between who the author is. Some are really good but others are not. I would say my favorite vampire book would be hands down, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova! This book was so good and scary!
Vampires can be a fun addition to a book! I’m a little weary of the overuse/less than original vamps in some books, but Gail Carrigers vampires are a lot of fun!
In general I’m wary of Vampire fiction but sometimes you find intriguing stories that just happen to have vampires in them. I really enjoy Lynsay Sands Argeneau series and Jeaniene Frost Night Huntress series.
I love Vampires and the movie I liked the best was Van Helsing!
Intriguing. I feel in love with Anne Rice and Lestat in high school. I would ask my friends whether they wanted to become a vampire in your prime or live your life and die. Grew out of that phase but still love Lestat.
Both–sometimes annoying (Twilight), sometimes very interesting, with the right author! Favorite is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
Irritating! I have only read some of the twilight books, so i am not a fan of any fictional vampires!
Liked the movie of Interview with a Vampire, watched at a friend’s house & ran home with my hands over my neck! Dracula with Gary Oldman is the best vampire movie ever because I think he’s awesome!
Irritating versus icky depends on the writing, for me. Certainly better than zombies. My favorite vampire novel is probably Robin McKinley’s _Sunshine_.
When done well, interesting… but a lot of the recent ‘vampire craze’ novels have been so poorly done that they fit firmly in the irritating column.
Though I’m not particularly fond of vampires, the kid version of me is jumping up and down for Buffy and my first tv crush Angel
The vampire story has been getting overdone lately. I enjoyed the first Twilight book, but was done with the story after that. I loved the tortured TV Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows (not the boring Johnny Depp one). I have had The Historian on my bedside table for forever; given the responses here, I had better get to it next!
I love Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In general I find the vampire myths interesting. I really like Deborah Harkness’s books as well.
Intriguing, BDB series by JR Ward
Intriguing. I read all of the Twilight books and enjoyed them and the movies. The original Dark Shadows was also something I was hooked on and watched regularly.
Read Dracula last fall for the first time and was glad I did. As for my favorites, I would list Deanna Raybourn’s The Dead Travel Fast – lots of twists in this one; also Nocturne by Syrie James – I couldn’t put this one down and recommended it to so many people. Syrie writes Jane Austen books, which drew me to her. However, Nocturne is a modern day story and well worth the time! (What is modern day for a vampire?)
Thanks for reminding me about Syrie’s Nocturne, Betty S. I also couldn’t put it down.
Vampires are intriguing! While not a movie, I LOVED the vampire series Moonlight, with Alex O’Loughlin. It only lasted one season on TV, but it was by far my favorite vampire anything.
Vampires, to me, are kind of meh. When it comes to the supernatural, I’m more interested in witches and witchcraft. If I had to choose my favorite vampire book, it’d probably have to be the original Dracula.
Humorous, sexy, non scary vampire stories are fun. I read to laugh, escape but not to get scared. So Maryjanice Davidson’s “Undead” stories fit the bill. They were the only vampire stories I have read so far. Just started “Commedia Della Morte” by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and am liking it.
But I am just spending time until August and the newest read of my all time favorite spy series is available.
I find the lore and mythology of vampires intriguing (but to be honest, I am a bigger fan of werewolves). There have been so many interpretations, some that are very good and some that are better left forgotten about.
As for my favorite novel or movie, it is rather difficult to choose. The top three would be Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos, haunting, beautiful and a great modern-day/fairy tale spin. Nosferatu which I think is the scariest vampire( those claws and teeth, EEK!) THE film original. Last was a hard choice but I had to go unorthodox(sorry Angel & Buffy)so I went with Fright Night both the original & remake (the remake makes the list because of David Tennant in leather pants). Wish I had a book to add to the list!
Liz,
If you like werewolves, you might be interested in Heather Hildenbrand’s series beginning with Dirty Blood. Heather is a self-published author whom I met this year as she is the parent of one of my 5th grade students. I read the first in the series (bought it in paperback as I wanted it autographed). Downloaded the second one Cold Blood on my nook, but haven’t read it yet. Her books are reasonably priced and there are often deals for the ebook format.
Definitely Intriguing! I have always loved a little of the dangerous darkside and vampires are right there and so mysterious:)
My favorites in the genre would have to be The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostokova, and Deborah Harkness’ All Soul’s trilogy. I also liked the Twilight series (gasp! I know other readers might be appalled. Ha!) I’m excited to try out a few listed by other readers now, too.
I used to be ambivalent owards vampires, but with the influx of series with uninspired vampires, I do not quite like them as much. However, I remain amused at the notion of Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights fame being a vampire.
I never tend to read supernatural/paranomal books, but I did enjoy the Korean film called “Thirst.” It is a good watch.
towards*
Anne Rice’s are fascinating with there experiences as the progress through history, experiencing the advent of many centuries of progress and change in the cultures of the world. Especially fascinating are Marious and Pandora, and reading their takes on humanity throughout the ages.
Looking forward to your next book – vampires and all! Everyone threw out such serious books/movies (which are all great), but I didn’t see anyone mention this classic that must be mentioned – Love at First Bite – w/George Hamilton. See YouTube for a snipit of it. It’s nothing but cheese… 😉
I knew I could not be the only one. Love At First Bite is a definite classic that deserves a mention. 🙂
ha! I didn’t see this before I replied below. George Hamilton creeps me out. ::shudder::
Vampires are definitely intriguing. A little overplayed nowadays, but the real vampires from Ann Rice’s Vampire Chronicles are complex and fascinating. The whole concept of what you would do if you could live forever… and had to drink blood to survive.
Vampire are intriguing! I use to read so much books about them but now I don’t. I haven’t read any vampire books in a few years now. I blame Twilight…it ruin the genre for me.
I fortunately already have an ARC of Manzanilla, so I am not commenting for the contest. While I see plenty of books, movies, and tv shows I enjoy, I do not see my favorites. Of course there are a lot of comments and I may have missed, my apologies if I did. My favs go back to my firsts. Favorite movie is Love At First Bite. Favorite book, but I also loved the movie is Bunnicula.
FYI – Manzanilla is wonderful! Sally & Lucien complement each other so well. I definitely have a crush on Lucien.
I have noticed that a lot of people are making fun of Twilight. And while there is certainly plenty to make fun of, I enjoyed that there were new spins on the traditional vampire lore. I like vampires when done right I think… but sometimes they are just creepy.
I love Buffy and like some vampire novels (I’m nearly finished the Sookie Stackhouse books, but have never read Twilight) – but it’s a fine line for me, and vampire themed stuff is everywhere and feeling a bit over done in some cases. Looking forward to manzanilla though – because I know it’ll be a fun take on it.
I find vampires a bit irritating. I am still watching True Blood since it is this last season and I loved Buffy back in the day but I’ve had a bit of vampire overload. I still get sucked (haha vampire pun) in though when a vampire story is well written and brings something new to the genre.
My favorite vampire novel is Sunshine by Robin McKinley. It is so beautifully written.
Never been intrigued by vampires. Maybe because my first exposure to it was George Hamilton. 🙂
I love the vampire genre! The Historian has to be my favorite vampire novel. It was just so good, though I may be a bit bias seeing as that I am in graduate school to become a historian 🙂
Also Buffy is hands down my favorite vampire show.
Not sure either “intriguing” or “irritating” accurately describes my reaction to vampires, but the movie/book, etc thing is much easier to pin down: Buffy, and Dracula!
The Historian is my favorite vampire book! It was long on kind of, sort of mentioning Dracula, but not really because then he would send his minions to find you. I thought him a very intriguing character.
Depends on the vampire legend, some of them are romantic and sexy other cringe to think of them. My favorite is the “Vampire Dairies” the books. Maybe it is my teen nostalgia but I always liked the brother.
I’m thoroughly intrigued by vampires, but I tend to be quite picky about them. My favourite vampire is hands down Dracula, and I highly recommend The Historian to fellow fans. And I have to echo those who mentioned Only Lovers Left Alive — absolutely gorgeous, brilliant, wonderful film.
Not a fan of the modern adaptations of the folklore.
Though not a “vampire book” I love Jane Eyre and how she alludes to the myth… very gothic.
I’d have to go with a combination of intriguing-icky. Love the dashing figure they cut don’t love the blood sucking bit 🙂
Bela Lugosi will always be the one
Intriguing! I love the Immortal Rules series by Julie Kagawa.
The Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Count St. Germain books are the vampire books for me!
Nora Robert’s Circle Trilogy. Love vampires sexy not scary. Thanks for all the suggestions for reading!!
Not a fan, although I could just be irritated that they’re so overdone
I only watched the vampires on TV, weekday afternoons on Dark Shadows.
I think intriguing. Sadly the only vampire book I remember reading is Twilight.
I think vampires are fascinating, but that is probably because I study the skeletal remains of people buried as potential vampires during the 17th century. Being a child of the 80s, my favorite vampire flick is “Lost Boys.”
Never cared much for vampire novels. How about a children’s comic classic (since I’ve been a children’s librarian) – Bunnicula, the Vampire Bunny.
Vampires have always intrigued me growing up, but I find the genre has been a little overdone by just about everyone nowadays. You were my favourite ‘grown-up’ author in my late teen years, and so I think I’d enjoy your book! Like Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey, I do love a good scare. 🙂
I find the vampires fascinating along with other supernatural entities. Who doesn’t love the thought of external life, even if a fantasy. Some of the books can be a bit annoying if badly written. I enjoyed Francis Ford Coppolas Dracula movie. The Ann Rice series was really well written and had great characters but I like The Historian more the plot twists were fabulous. I even took a trip to Transilvania once but was a bit disappointed not to find a scary castle to tour.
I find vampires fascinating. I think it is the immortality and the history that is intriguing. Imagine having lived through some of the great events of the past thousand years!
My all time favourite is the TV series Forever Knight. It had such gripping stories, marvellous historical flashbacks and a large dose of black humour. What’s not to love.
I also loved the books of Dracula and Interview With The Vampire. I didn’t like the sequels to Interview, they were a bit too icky. I haven’t liked any of the films of Dracula. In my opinion not one has captured the story and the atmosphere of the book, which is a classic.
I’m not a huge fan of vampires, but I don’t avoid them either. I think this book is going to quickly become my favorite vampire book. :0)
Dracula the classic!
I find them intriguing! Mostly from a distance though, I shouldn’t like to meet one.
I find them intriguing. . . but only if they don’t sparkle!
Vampires are icky. But if I had to choose I would choose Dracula: Dead and Loving It with Leslie Nielsen and Mel Brooks
Intriguing if done well. My favorite is a series. Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy.
They can be intriguing. I’ve been enjoying the Jane Austen Vampire series by Thomas Michael Ford as some fun (not-deep) backyard summer reading.
Intriguing or irritating depends on the story. My favorite vampire series is the Sookie Stackhouse books. Not great literature but I found them highly entertaining.