DESCRIPTION:

Some vampires are destined for greatness. Herbert Knudsen isn’t one of them.

When the truck stop diner cook and mediocre bowler becomes a vampire, his once simple life gets a bit more complicated. He’s stronger, a little sexier, and a heck of a lot better at bowling. Even Lois, the girl of his dreams, is starting to notice him. But he can’t drink beer, the bodies are piling up, and his best friend Dallas isn’t just getting suspicious–he’s getting jealous. When Lois is caught in the middle of the two friends’ escalating rivalry, keeping his dark secret becomes the least of Herb’s concerns.

Booze, bowling, bake sales, bar fights, blood and karaoke… Who would have thought that being undead would make life so exciting?

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Wisconsin Vamp is a great read for fans of Rick Gualtieri (Bill the Vampire), D.M. Guay (The Graveyard Shift), and Christopher Moore (Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story).

MY REVIEW:

I ran across this book in a newsletter, and since my friend was from Wisconsin, and it sounded interesting, we decided to read it together.  

What I loved about the book were the inventive, outrageous metaphors the author uses throughout the book for everything.  Some writers try to be cute with them and fail.  He did not.  Some of them blew me away, and they really added to the story. 

As for the plot?  When I got to the middle of the book, I realized there wasn’t one. There’s no clear story arc, no defined villain.  Oh, some readers would say it’s Dallas that’s the bad guy.  No, he is not.  He’s just a guy stuck on himself and who surrounds himself with inferior people to make him look even better.  That’s not a villain.  Sadly, that’s just being human.

Then Herb meets his Maker and it all clicked.  Herb is actually the good and bad guy.  It’s his mediocrity and turning into a Vamp that ends up being the antagonist.  Still, I felt there was a lot of unnecessary scenes that didn’t add to the plot, or lack of one.  

Did I like the story?  Yes, I did.  When I was reading, I couldn’t put the book down.  But after I quit reading, I could go days without even thinking about the story.  It didn’t consume me or pester me to pick the book back up. 

Would I recommend the book?  Yes, I would.  It’s entertaining, and a different spin on the vampire-turning aspect, and I will be reading the 2nd one.  I give it 4 stars.