The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires 

by Molly Harper

Published by: Pocket Books

My Rating: 

Iris Scanlon, Half-Moon Hollow’s only daytime vampire concierge, knows more about the undead than she’d like. Running all their daylight errands—from letting in the plumber to picking up some chilled O neg—gives her a look at the not-so-glamorous side of vampire life. Her rules are strict; relationships with vamps are strictly business, not friendship—and certainly not anything else. But then she finds her newest client, Cal, poisoned on his kitchen floor, and only Iris can help.

Cal – who would be devastatingly sexy, if Iris allowed herself to think that way – offers Iris a hefty fee for hiding him at her place until he figures out who wants him permanently dead. Even though he’s imperious, unfriendly and doesn’t seem to understand the difference between “employee” and “servant,” Iris agrees, and finds herself breaking more and more of her own rules to help him – particularly those concerning nudity.

Turns out what her quiet little life needed was some intrigue & romance—in the form of her very own stray vampire.

My Review:

I can always count on Molly Harper for a fun, entertaining read and The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires is no exception.  Iris Scanlon is a determined, focused woman who rarely takes time for herself. She spent the past 5 years raising her teenage sister and starting her business, which involves running errands and making arrangements for vampires while the sun is up.  One day, Iris accidentally trips over a client, takes him home to take care of him, and finds that her life may never be the same again.

I was hooked on The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires from the first line: “How did an internal debate regarding flavored sexual aids become part of my workday?”  I mean really, how could I possibly put a book down after that first line?  Molly Harper incorporates snark and humor into the entire story, even when situations turn dangerous.  I was surprised by Iris, she always seemed like such a no-nonsense character, but some of the “errands” she has to run for the vampires are outrageous and overall pretty funny.  Iris has a lot of responsibility in running her own business and raising a teenager by herself and she put those responsibilities above her own wants and activities.  As Iris’s sister, Gigi, is getting older and preparing to go to college, Iris is starting to realize that she might be able to rekindle her social life, and if her stray vampire was part of it, that could be interesting.

Cal is the vampire taken in by Iris, and at first I did not like him much.  He is a very old vampire and very set in his own ways.  He and Iris clash quite a bit, but those sparks stir some heat between them.  It takes a long time for Cal to really open up and for me to like him more.  I loved how he acted with Gigi, who forced him to lighten up a bit with her direct questions and wit.  Cal is in town investigating a deadly vampire problem, and it appears that the council might be involved.  Cal uses Iris to help his investigation and winds up putting both Iris and Gigi in danger, further complicating their relationship and making the investigation even more difficult.

My favorite part about The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires is the colorful characters.  The characters are full of life, interesting, and highly entertaining.  I can never wait for more books from the Half Moon Hollow world because I can never wait to see what the crazy characters are up to next.  The Vampire Council leader is a moody teenage-turned vampire, Jane Jameson is a vampire who owns a supernatural bookstore and makes appearances throughout the book, even Iris’s ex-boyfriend (a human) provided laughs and entertainment.

The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires may not be my all time favorite read by Molly Harper (I adore the Jane Jameson series, what can I say), but I thoroughly enjoyed the story and recommend this book to urban fantasy and paranormal romance readers, especially those of you who love books that make you laugh.  The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires brings in characters from the Jane Jameson series and is book 2 in the Half Moon Hollow series, but it could still be read as a stand-alone.  I recommend giving this book a try.

I read and reviewed The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires for the Cocktail Society Book Club!  Part of the book club means picking out a cocktail to go with the book.  Since The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires made me laugh and had some highly entertaining moments of “girl time” with Iris, Jane, Andrea, and Jolene, my drink pick this month is:

Skinny Cosmopolian!

Image and Recipe from AllRecipes

This is the way I make mine, I try to cut the calories wherever I can, and I do love my martini drinks… Recipe from AllRecipes

• 1-1.5 ounces of Citron Vodka
• 1 ounce diet cranberry juice
• .5-1 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1-2 tsp of sweetener (I use splenda) to taste
• 4 drops of orange extract (I use a splash of orange juice)

Fill shaker with crushed ice, add in ingredients, shake, strain drink into martini glass, enjoy!

Readers, thanks so much for stopping by today.  Did you enjoy The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires?  Are you a Molly Harper fan?  How do you like your cosmo?  

If you would like, you can visit some of the other readers from the Cocktail Book Society: Cocktails and Books, The Book Nympho, Rabid Reads, Romancing the Darkside

Happy Reading!