New Vampire Releases for May 2011

It's a couple of days late but here, finally, is the list of new vampire books for May. My favorite title for this month is

Attack of the Vampire Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales

Almost Final Curtain: A Vampire Princess Novel (Vampire Princess of St. Paul) by Tate Hallaway NAL Trade, May 3, 2011 Craving the spotlight is in her blood. Ever since high school student Anastasija Parker discovered she was vampire royalty, her life has been sort of crazy. The half-vampire- half-witch just wants some normalcy, and trying out for the spring musical seems like the perfect fix. But when the ancient talisman that stands between vampire freedom and slavery to witches is stolen, Ana has to skip rehersal and track down the dangerous artifact before someone uses it to make this year's curtain call her last...

Always the Vampire by Nancy Haddock Berkley Trade, May 3, 2011 It's not easy being a dutiful maid of honor when you're a vampire in the Sunshine State... Cesca Marinelli has been slacking on her duties as a vampire princess, but she will be the best maid of honor ever for Maggie's Victorian wedding. However, when her mostly-human honey, Saber, falls ill due to a magical construct called the Void, she knows she'll have to go beyond the call of bridesmaid duty... The Void is affecting every supernatural being in Cesca's afterlife, including her shapeshifter ex, Triton. To counter the Void's reign of terror, Cesca must fully summon her vampire powers-which may lead to her own doom.

Applewood by Brendan P. Myers By Light Unseen Media, May 15, 2011 When a mutilated body is found in the woods near the central Massachusetts town of Grantham, Scott Dugan comes home for the first time in more than twenty years. He returns to the decaying house where he'd grown up, one of many derelict homes in the long-abandoned neighborhood of Applewood. More than two decades earlier, Dugan and his tightly bonded group of friends had been struggling with the same pains that plagued millions of teens like them--bullies in school, broken families, money problems, relationships. But the evil that revives to spread through Grantham confronts them with a far darker and more destructive adversary. In 1861, Grantham sent its own home town war hero, Colonel Alexander Pope, and a company of locals to fight for the Union cause in the Civil War. Marching through the isolated rural regions of Georgia, the Colonel and his soldiers discovered a horrible secret hidden behind the lovely facades of the plantation mansions. When the veterans of Grantham came home, they brought something else with them. Now that something else has awakened once more to grow and feed. Dugan and his friends are among the few who realize what's happening to their town. They band together to ferret out information about the history of the Colonel and to fight the threat. But victory, if it's even possible, will come at a terrible cost. Some, like Dugan, will never be the same. Ascension: A Dark Breed Novel by Sable Grace Avon, April 26, 2011 The gates of hell have opened, and one woman will stand in the crossfire as the Dark Breed—vampyre, demons, shape shifters—and mankind fight their last battle for survival. Kyana is half Vampyre, half Lychen . . . and the last of her kind. Determined, dangerous, and damned, she has no love for the mortals who have imprisoned and misused her. But when the Order of Ancients entrusts her with a mission—to find the key that will send the Dark Breed back into Hell for eternity—Kyana has no choice but to accept. She is furious to learn her assignment comes with an escort . . . Ryker, a demigod and fierce warrior who long ago found a way under her skin and stayed there. In a shaky alliance, they discover an ancient cult with dangerous motive and a god who seeks to destroy all others. And as Kyana begins to feel the heat that threatens to bind her to Ryker, she knows she has to resist. For it could only mean the undoing of them both . . .

Attack of the Vampire Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar Starscape, May 24, 2011 A boy steals a ticket to an amusement park and gets the ride of a lifetime—literally. The first day of middle school turns into a free-for-all when the gym teacher offers a “get-out-of-gym-free” card. Sick of his sister’s vampire wannabe friends, a kid decides to teach them a lesson at their next party. But the tables are turned when some surprise guests show up. Critically acclaimed author and master of the macabre, David Lubar, is back with thirty more warped and creepy tales for fans of his bestselling Weenies story collections, which have sold more than 1.7 million copies to date. Don’t be a weenie. Read these stories. If you dare!

Bite Club (Morganville Vampires, Book 10)
by Rachael Caine
NAL Hardcover; 1 edition (May 3, 2011)
Young Adult

After discovering that vampires populate her town, college student Claire Danvers knows that the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble.

There's a new extreme sport getting picked up on the Internet: bare- knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against each other-or humans. Tracking the remote signal leads Claire- accompanied by her friends and frenemies-to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville...

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 11)
by Charlaine Harris
Ace Hardcover; First Edition edition (May 3, 2011)

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows...

Empire of Fear: An Epic Vampire Novel by Brian Stableford Skyhorse Publishing, May 31, 2011 “Richly detailed . . . sure to fascinate history buffs—alternative and otherwise.”—Publishers Weekly In an epic novel the Washington Post called “riveting,” Brian Stableford brilliantly imagines a world ruled by a powerful aristocracy of vampires: long-lived, extraordinarily handsome humans who are immune to pain but must drink the blood of their common subjects. The story begins in seventeenth-century London and spans three hundred years—moving from England to the heart of Africa, to Malta, and finally to the New World. Edmund Cordery, Mechanician to the court of Richard Coeur-de-Lion, believes that vampire beings must have a natural explanation. But when his discoveries make him dangerous in the eyes of his masters, Edmund entrusts his learned secrets to his son, Noell, who in turn becomes a fugitive. When he returns to Europe he faces the awesome might of Coeur-de-Lion and the infamous Vlad the Impaler. This classic has been translated into five languages and “turn[ed] the typical vampire story on its ear” when it was published, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. [Reprint of a classic!]

Forever Freed by Laura Kaye The Wild Rose Press, May 3, 2011 A heart can break, even one that no longer beats. I stalk my new neighbors, a single mother and her child, drawn by the irresistible scent of their joy and love. I crave their blood, starved for some healing respite from my ancient grief. Now to lure them into my grasp. But they surprise me. Little Olivia accepts me without fear or reservation-talking, smiling, offering innocent affection that tugs at my long-lost humanity. Her mother, Samantha, seeks me out when she should stay away, offering sweet friendship, and calling to the forgotten man within me. They lure me instead. Ah, Dio, Lucien, run and spare them while you can...

Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 4)
by Chloe Neill
New American Library; 1 edition (May 3, 2011)

Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters  announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against  supernaturals-and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest  signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors,  things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan  Sullivan are...tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and  Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp  attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get  your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom  of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her  side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark,  and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the  attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's  supernatural society-a world full of vampires who seem ready to fulfill  the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that  you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands...

Jace (Shadow Wranglers) by Sarah McCarty Berkley Trade, May 3, 2011 He had one need. She had one hope. Together they have one chance... Vampire Jace Johnson was not a family man until he met Miri. But their forbidden relationship ended when she disappeared. After a year of searching, Jace finds Miri in a Sanctuary enclave. After a year of cruel experimentation by the Sanctuary on her werewolf form, Miri is no longer the passionate wife Jace remembers. She only lives to rescue the daughter Jace never knew they had. Now, they must overcome the tragedy of their pasts if they are to reclaim the future they both desire...

Jane Jones: Worst. Vampire. Ever. by Caissie St. Onge Ember, May 10, 2011 For Jane Jones, being a vampire is nothing like you read about in books. In fact, it kind of sucks. She's not beautiful, she's not rich, and she doesn't "sparkle." She's just an average, slightly nerdy girl from an ordinary suburban family (who happens to be vampires.) Jane's from the wrong side of the tracks (not to mention stuck in the world's longest awkward phase), so she doesn't fit in with the cool vampire kids at school or with the humans kids. To top it all off, she's battling an overprotective mom, a clique of high school mean girls (the kind who really do have fangs), and the most embarrassing allergy in the history of the undead, she's blood intolerant. So no one's more surprised than Jane when for the first time in her life, things start to heat up (as much as they can for a walking corpse, anyway) with not one, but two boys. Eli's a geeky, but cute real-live boy in her history class, and Timothy is a beautiful, brooding bloodsucker, who might just hold the key to a possible "cure" for vampirism. Facing an eternity of high school pressure, fumbling first dates, or a mere lifetime together with Timothy, what's a 90-something year-old teen vampire to do? Fans of the Vladmir Tod Chronicles, You are So Undead to Me, and Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side will feast on this deliciously readable, smart, and fantastically funny debut.

Vampire Kisses 7: Love Bites by Ellen Schreiber Katherine Tegen Books, May 17, 2011 As a mortal girl dating a vampire, Raven knows that love isn't always easy. And will Alexander ever make their love immortal? It's a couple of days late but here, finally, is the May list of vampire book releases. Now that Alexander's parents have returned to Romania, Raven and her dreamy vampire boyfriend are happy to resume their cryptic romance. But soon another visitor comes knocking: Sebastian, Alexander's best friend, arrives for a stay at the mansion. At first Raven is wary, and then thrilled—this is the perfect chance to learn more about her darkly handsome boyfriend and his past! Sebastian could be her guide to the love habits of Alexander and his kind. But when Sebastian falls for a particular Dullsvillian, will another mortal beat Raven to the bite?

Vampire Kisses 8: Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber Katherine Tegen Books, May 17, 2011 The morbidly monotonous Dullsville has finally become the most exciting place on earth now that Raven is madly in love with her hot vampire boyfriend, Alexander, and a crew of vampires has taken residence in Dullsville's old mill. Raven discovers Jagger's plan to open a new club, the Crypt, right here in Dullsville. But is it her dream come true or her worst nightmare? Raven and Alexander have to figure out what the nefarious vampire has in store for Dullsville's teen and vampire population. Can Raven convince Jagger to listen to her plans to make the Crypt the morbidly magnificent dance club it could be? Will it be safe for mortals and vampires alike? And as Sebastian and Luna's relationship heats up, Raven wonders about her own amorous fate: Will Alexander ever turn her? Does he crave her and does he want to spend eternity together? And what does she really want? With cryptic secrets and cravings, this eighth installment in the Vampire Kisses series is a romantic and mysterious thrill ride.