The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires (Half-Moon Hollow, #5)

by Molly Harper

"The thing to remember about a 'stray' vampire is that there is probably a good reason he is friendless, alone, and wounded. Approach with caution."

Iris Scanlon, Half-Moon Hollow's only daytime vampire concierge, knows more about the undead than she'd like. Running their daylight errands-from letting in the plumber to picking up some chilled Faux Type O-gives her a look at the not-so-glamorous side of vamps. Her rules are strict; relationships are purely business, not friendship-and certainly not anything more. Then she finds her newest client, Cal, poisoned on his kitchen floor, and her quiet life turns upside down.

Cal-who would be devastatingly sexy, if Iris thought vampires were sexy-offers Iris a hefty fee for hiding him at her place. And even though he's imperious, unfriendly, and doesn't seem to understand the difference between "employee" and "servant," she agrees. But as they search for who wants him permanently dead, Iris is breaking more and more of her own rules . . . particularly those about nudity. Could it be that what she really needs is some intrigue and romance-and her very own stray vampire?

• ISBN10: 1451641834
• ISBN13: 9781451641837
• Publish Date: 31 July 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

Loved it! So good to be reading Harper and Ronconi again!

[Melanie]

Listening to audiobook.

I keep trying to read Molly Harper books. I've heard such great things about them. So I try them when I'm looking for humor. They just are not what I'm really looking for. They aren't bad, but I'm just looking for something different. I've found that I do better with them as audiobooks. I can listen while I do other things. I do catch myself chuckling out loud at times. There is a Simpsons reference in this book that I loved. Overall all, this book is okay.

[EBookObsessed]

I really like Molly Harper and her Half Moon Hollow gang.

In this book we spend time with Iris Scanlon, who was the wedding planner for Jane and Gabriel's wedding and who owns the limo in Driving Mr. Dead.

I liked getting to know Iris and her teenage sister, Gigi, who Iris has been raising since their parents died.

Cal, our stray vampire, was a great character and I loved how he interacted with Gigi, including meeting her date at the door and giving him the once over and the fatherly type warning about bringing Gigi home before curfew.

We did get to spend time with Jane, Andrea and Jolene at the bookstore when Iris stops in to get some books, so that was a big plus!

See more at http://ebookobsessed.com.

[MurderByDeath]

I don't think I would have liked this book as much if it hadn't been placed in Half Moon Hollow and I hadn't read the "Nice Girls" series. Having said that, you definitely don't need to read the Nice Girls series to enjoy this one. Not at all. It's just that I loved the characters from that series: Jane and Andrea and Jolene - and it was great fun to see them make appearances in this book as well.

The chemistry between Cal and Iris is a little reminiscent of Gabriel and Jane in the Nice Girls series, so for me the romantic tension didn't come across as strong as it might for someone reading their first Molly Harper vampire story. I'm not a huge fan of plots that involve parenting either, but I have to say, Ms. Harper was genius with this. Truly, Iris is a diabolically effective parent/guardian to a teenaged girl. If I was a parent, I'd take notes. I laughed out loud at several points. And I really liked seeing a healthy family dynamic with genuine fondness for each other. Ms. Harper is a talented writer.

There's a bit of a mystery in this book as well, and the author did a fine job throwing in the red herrings and clues. I'd think I'd know the culprit, and the get thrown off course a bit so I doubted myself. I like that in a mystery.

Overall, a light, fun mystery/light romance/paranormal read. I'll definitely be on the look out for the book hyped at the back: Witch Hunt.

[Cocktails and Books]

Oh Molly Harper! She has a way of writing such witty, laugh out loud stories that I should know better than to have any food or beverage on hand when I pick up one of her books!

Iris Scanlon is a vampire concierge. That means she handles all the vampires needs that can't be done during their night time hours (for those that read the last Jane Jameson book, you might recognize Iris as the wedding planner). She's used to seeing all sorts of strange things. But she wasn't quite prepared to find her latest client, Cal, bleeding out in his kitchen from drinking poisoned blood or suddenly having a vampire house guest. But Cal needs her to be his daytime eyes and ears and he tries to figure out who on the vampire council is trying to kill him.

I really enjoyed Cal and Iris' story. Anytime a book starts with someone standing in the aisle at Wal Mart trying to pick out lube for someone, I have to keep going and find out what else will happen. The dialogue between Iris and Cal was witty, sarcastic and downright hysterical. They both seemed to thrive off of the verbal sparring matches and made it an absolute pleasure to "watch" them build that sparring into a relationship.

Jane, Gabriel, Andrea and Dick all make small appearances in the story, which helped to tie the two series together.

If you need something to read that will put a smile on your face and, at times, have you laughing out loud, this is definitely one you should pick up.