It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Molly Harper’s writing style. The humor and sarcasm is right on par with mine and her characters are so easy to like. THE CARE AND FEEDING OF STRAY VAMPIRES is no exception to that, even if I have been reading this series out of order. While there was nothing extra special about this book compared to Harper’s other ones, I really enjoyed reading this one is particular. Probably because her characters felt authentic and the interactions between them were so amusing.
In my opinion, Iris and Cal are a great addition to the cast of Half-Moon Hollow, the little Kentucky town were many of Harper’s books are based. For such a small town, it has a tendency to attract a lot of supernatural events. In this case, Cal is drawn to the town because of the uncharacteristically harsh vampire killing happening all over the country. Apparently some vampires are being poisoned by drinking bad batches of synthetic blood, which is making them go more or less crazy and kill whoever’s near them. And Half-Moon Hollow is the place to investigate because it’s the location of the first dramatic kill. Cal is hired to investigate what’s going on and he unwittingly becomes a target for poisoning himself. He ends up getting really sick and passing out on his kitchen floor after drinking blood from a town welcoming basket. Iris, the main character of the story, literally stumbles upon him as she’s dropping off a client contract for Cal to sign. As a “personal errand girl” for vampires and vampire needs, she usually does a lot of things for her clients but cleaning them up and caring for them (especially feeding them straight from the source) is not in her job description.
It goes against Iris’s southern upbringing to simply leave this vampire out in the sun and when he asks her to help him by lodging him in her house, she can’t refuse. The huge amount of money he offers kind of seals the deal… Laying low in her house and hiding from the vampire community while he recuperates is his goal but as he gets better, the investigation into the killings and his poisoning becomes a priority. When you have a very good looking vampire and a young woman living together, you can expect sparks to fly, especially when you’re reading a paranormal romance. Cal and Iris have a lot of chemistry and although their relationship is an odd one, it’s really fun to read the scenes with their hilarious banter. The sex scenes are just an added bonus.
Personally, I think what makes this book different from the author’s other books is the relationship between Iris and her younger sister Gigi. Orphaned as a teen, Gigi had to turn to her older sister for guidance and parenting. While their relationship isn’t a typical one, I think even if Iris plays the role of single parent, they’re sisters first and their relationship is one that anybody would wish to have with a sibling.
Southern charm, hilarious moments, and great characters are what I’ve come to expect from Molly Harper and she really delivers with this book. If you’re in the mood for a good laugh and a straight forward story, this is one to pick up. One of my guilty pleasures is a good chick-lit book and Harper has a knack for adding paranormal elements to chick-lit stories. As the first of a spin-off series, this is definitely a book you can dive into if you haven’t read any of Harper’s other books.
Lovely review, thank you. One day I will find the time to read these books.
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