While going through the slim pickings in a small English-language bookstore in Italy, I unenthusiastically selected Single White Vampire, a cheesy-looking book by a writer I'd never heard of before, Lynsay Sands. I'm not a big fan of vampire romance novels, but I wasn't seeing anything else and it was only two euros, so I shrugged my shoulders, took it up to the counter...

...and was happily surprised. By the end of the trip, we'd all read Single White Vampire. I'm not saying that the book was great--it wasn't--but it was cute and funny and reasonably well-written, and that's nothing to sneeze at. I'm not going to rush out there and buy Ms. Sands' entire back catalog, but I'll definitely add her to my "When there's a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket and I have nothing else I want to buy" list. She's a solid pick for any romance fans out there looking for some enjoyably silly beach reading.


Above left: The Brat, Ms. Sands' latest novel. Not exactly the world's most elegant-looking book, but an undeniably eye-catching combination of title and cover art.

Labels: Lynsay Sands