American Vampire

by Jennifer Armintrout

Graf's stuck in a town where no-one enters...and no-one leaves. As a vampire Graf's free to indulge his every dark, dangerous and debauched whim. He was just looking for a good party, until a road-trip detour trapped him in the cursed town of Penance. The eerie community affects Graf in ways he never expected and he soon finds himself going against his very nature to protect town outcast Jessa from a sinister attack. Keeping her safe is a surprising impulse, yet working with the human girl could be Graf's only hope of breaking the spell that binds the town. That is, if he can keep his lethal urges and deadly desires under control.

• ISBN10: 0778328783
• ISBN13: 9780778328780
• Publish Date: 22 February 2011
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 330
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

I thought this was a decent urban fantasy one-off that wasn't limited to one "species". Graf is a vampire who is driving through America's heartland when he stumbles into a town that he can't quite get out of. And to make things more interesting, there's a monster wandering around, eating people.

This monster seems to be especially attracted to one woman, Jessa, who has been left to live alone in her family's farmhouse. And, it turns out, Graf is also attracted to her. After he saves her life, he guilts her into letting him sleep (or, hide from the sun) in her basement. Together, they realize that things are escalating and their choices are to either find a way out of town or a way to kill the monster.

I think this is the first Jessica Armintrout I've read, and I'm sure I'll read more. It was a nice break from some of the heavier books I've been reading.

[wyvernfriend]

Graff McDonald never intended to end up in Penance, it wasn't part of the plan, the plan was to head for his sire, Sophie's, party and party hard. However Penance is cursed and he's stuck in it, there he finds Jessa who has been surviving in this town for the five years it has been cut off from the rest of the world as best as she can, they're attracted but can they survive the stress everyone is under.

I found it an interesting read, the characters were well-drawn and the situations believable (for certain limits of believability). I enjoyed the read, it kept me engaged.