Rayne McDonald is finally a vampire. She’s more than just a vampire, though; she is also a slayer. Unfortunately, her last slayer assignment, which resulted in her new undead status, also left her with the nasty remnants of a virus developed to drain vampires of their powers. So, she may be immortal but she doesn’t have the cool powers that vampires have and, even worse, she doesn’t have her slayer powers either. She can, however, walk around in the sun, so things aren’t all bad. And she did end up with her own hottie bloodmate, Jareth.
Even though she has lost her powers, Slayers Inc. still needs her while they are lining up her replacement. Her new assignment is worse than anything she ever dreamed she’d face. A football player is missing, and rumor has it that the cheerleaders have been heard growling. Rayne must infiltrate the cheerleading squad by becoming one of them; a fate worse than death for a fishnet-wearing Goth.
This is the third book in Mari Mancusi’s Blood Coven series, and it just keep getting better. Ms. Mancusi has created a heroine that is strong, independent and endearingly flawed. Rayne is not afraid to speak her mind, which sometimes leads to disastrous consequences. By becoming one of the things that she despises most, she learns who she really is and who she wants to be. I am anxious to discover what secret Rayne and Sunny’s mother is hiding in her past that the end of this story seems to hint at. I highly recommend this series to readers of all ages.
Book Excerpt: “She’s a vampire. She’s also a vampire slayer. (It’s a long story.) And now Rayne McDonald, Goth girl, has to carry out her most deviant mission yet: trying out for the cheerleading squad.
Rayne already has enough on her plate: her twin keeps whining about whether or not to go all the way; her mom’s boyfriend is moving in; and her man, Jareth, who’s now allowed out in the sun, has turned from a dark, brooding hottie vamp into a surfer dude.
But this vampire slayer is still on the clock, and she has a new assignment. A member of the football team has disappeared-and her bosses at Slayer Inc. think the cheerleaders had something to do with it. Now they want her to infiltrate the squad and get the dirt. But first, she’ll need an extreme prep makeover. If only they’d let her wear fishnets under that revolting uniform.”
Book Stats:
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (October 2, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425217167
ISBN-13: 978-0425217160
To purchase a print copy of Girls that Growl from Amazon click here.
To purchase a print copy of Girls that Growl from Barnes & Noble click here.
To purchase an eBook copy of Girls that Growl from Barnes & Noble click here.
Rayne McDonald is a Goth girl in a preppy world. She wouldn’t give up her unique style for anything, but it does get lonely being so different from the rest of her classmates. She thought she had found the perfect solution - become a vampire - but when a case of mistaken identity lead to her so un-Goth twin, Sunny, getting bitten, Rayne was pushed to the bottom of the vamp waiting list. To make matters worse, her sister is now dating the vampire that was supposed to be her forever blood-mate, Magnus, leader of the Vampire coven.
If that wasn’t bad enough, turns out the school drama teacher is working for an organization called Slayers Inc. and guess who they’ve picked as the next Buffy? Is it even possible to be a vampire and a vampire slayer? Luckily, being a slayer does have some perks, like getting to go undercover with sexy vampire Jareth. He’s a good vampire and, as a slayer, she only has to go after the bad ones - big bad ones like Maverick who is poisoning the coven’s donors with a virus that strips vampires of their strength and power. It’s up to Rayne and Jareth to find out how Maverick is getting to the donors and stop him before the virus reaches Magnus.
With the perfect combination of humor and suspense, Book two of the Blood Coven series is as entertaining, if not more so, than the first. Rayne’s unique perspective and sarcastic sense of humor make her incredibly likeable. While she may have been all “tough girl” in Boys that Bite, Stake That gives us a closer look at the scared and insecure girl that’s hiding inside. The ending hints at the third book in the series and has me racing off to read it as soon as I finish this review. Obviously, I loved this book and can’t wait to read more.
Book Excerpt: “Sisters. They’ll swipe your clothes, your boyfriends, your destiny. But it wasn’t exactly Rayne’s twin Sunny’s fault. Magnus, a vamp hottie and coven leader, mistook Sunny for Rayne last month and bit her instead. Now they’re doing the inter-species dating thing.
Turns out that for every generation, there’s a Vampire Slayer-and this time around, it just happens to be Rayne MacDonald. Her first mission: infiltrate a seedy vamp bar downtown and expose its vampire owner for purposely spreading a blood disease he created himself-a task almost harder than passing trig.
After going it alone once, Rayne realizes she needs help. So Magnus sends his sexy Goth buddy Jareth to go undercover with her. And, frankly, Rayne wouldn’t mind going under the covers with him. Maybe fate doesn’t bite after all…”
Book Stats
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (December 5, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425212106
ISBN-13: 978-0425212103
To purchase a print copy of Stake That from Amazon click here.
To purchase a print copy of Stake That from Barnes & Noble click here.
To purchase an eBook copy of Stake That from Barnes & Noble click here.
Sunshine McDonald couldn’t be more different than her twin sister, Rayne. Sunshine plays field hockey and has her eye on the cute guy who plays the lead in all the school musicals. Rayne is totally into the Goth scene. When Rayne convinces Sunny to visit the popular Club Fang with her one night, Sunny finds out that Rayne has been hiding a lot from her. Rayne is planning on becoming a vampire. She’s gone through the required training and is supposed to be meeting her “bloodmate” that night to begin the transition.
At the club, Sunny catches the eye of a handsome stranger. She thinks the night is off to a perfect start, and when the sexy stranger leads her out to the parking lot to make out, she couldn’t be happier. There’s only one problem: the sexy stranger is a vampire named Magnus and he thinks that Sunny is her twin sister, Rayne. When Magnus bites Sunny, she realizes something is seriously wrong, but by that time, it’s too late. Turning into a vampire was so not what Sunny had in mind for her 17th birthday.
Boys that Bite is the first book in Mari Mancusi’s Blood Coven series. While Ms. Mancusi’s vampires might follow all of the stereotypical vampire “rules” (aversion to garlic and holy items, sleeping during the day, turning to dust when staked), they are not the scary creatures of horror films - more like the dreamy heartthrobs that seem to be the norm in today’s YA paranormal fiction. Ms Mancusi’s vampires, though, seem more realistic, making mistakes, struggling with their emotions and revealing their humanity.
Her heroine is just as well-written. Sunny is forced to deal with more than the normal teenage angst and choices that will not just change her life but the lives of everyone around her. Ms. Mancusi has her handle these challenges with a perfect blend of humor and “over-the-top teenage drama” that will entertain readers of all ages. Teenagers will be able to relate to Sunny and her sister while older readers will be reminded of their own high school years. All in all, Boys that Bite is an entertaining read, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
Book Excerpt: “Technically Sunshine can’t get killed-because she’s immortal. Well, not quite yet. Due to the worst case of mistaken identity with her dark-side-loving twin sister at a Goth club called Club Fang, Magnus, a vampire hottie, went for Sunshine’s innocent neck. Now if she doesn’t reverse it in time, Magnus will be her blood mate forever and she’s doomed to be a blood-gulping, pasty, daylight-hating vampire. That would seriously bite.
And now, after the unfortunate slaying of the vampire leader, Sunshine, her sister Rayne, and Magnus must find the one thing that can solve her problem: the Holy Grail. They wish it were a joke but it’s not. It’s absolutely necessary that Sunshine gets out of this in time, because somehow she scored the hottest prom date in her school, the mouth-watering Jake Wilder. So she just can’t be a vampire for the prom-let alone the rest of eternity.”
Book Stats:
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (April 4, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425209423
ISBN-13: 978-0425209424
To purchase a print copy of Boys That Bite from Amazon click here.
To purchase a print copy of Boys That Bite from Barnes & Noble click here.
Thanks everyone for joining me at my virtual release party for the Blood Coven Vampires series. Originally published back in 2006, the first three books in the series – Boys that Bite, Stake That, Girls That Growl – have been revamped with hot new covers and a fourth book in the series, Bad Blood, which will be out in January 2010.
The series follows two twins – Sunshine and Rayne – who, while identical on the outside, couldn’t be more different on the inside. While Sunny’s your typical, everyday high school girl who loves field hockey, drama, and cute boys, Rayne’s a goth girl who wants nothing more than to become a creature of the night forever.
Rayne’s networked, been on waiting lists—she even took a three month certification course to become a vampire. But when the night comes when she’s scheduled to be bitten and transformed…her vampire sponsor accidentally bites her twin instead.
Now Sunny – who never even knew even vampires existed before now – has a week to figure out a way to reverse the transformation. Or she’ll become a vampire forever.
While technically a YA, I wrote the series to appeal to both teens and adults alike and filled it with humor, romance and a whole lot of vampy angst. People have compared it to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is definitely a compliment to me – as that’s one of my favorite series ever!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll enter the Bitten by Books contest and check out the Blood Coven Vampires!
I have a few questions for you to get the party started:
1) If you had the opportunity to sign up to become a vampire — gaining everlasting life, riches beyond compare, and a sexy soul mate to spend eternity with - would you do it? Even if it meant drinking blood from donors instead of eating again and never going out in the sun? Why or why not?
2) Every vampire novel has its own “rules” about what vampires can or cannot do. If you created your own vampire world, what would your rules be?
3) Obviously there are a lot of vampire books out there. What keeps you reading them? (Or are you sick to death of them and wish the trend would be quickly “staked”?)
Read Reviews of her work here. To visit the author’s website go here. To visit the author’s blog go here.
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CONTEST: PLEASE NOTE THE NEW CONTEST EMAIL ADDRESS TO SEND YOUR ENTRIES TO BELOW. There are also revisions to the rules for this contest, please read them all carefully. Also, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FIRST AND THE INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME in your comment/post so we can give you the proper credit for your entries.
Readers, here’s how to enter the contest. You can do just ONE or ALL of these things, and each thing you do will give you additional entries at a chance to WIN. REMEMBER you have Until 11/15/09 at 11:59 pm Central to do the different things that YOU choose to do.
1. The easiest way to enter is by purchasing copies of Marianne’s books. Yep, it is true, if you purchase a copies of any of Marianne’s books by using these links here:
Good for 300 entries per book you purchase by using the links above.
OR you can use the Barnes & Noble link HERE to make your purchase of ANY kind of merchandise during the contest. You can also use the Amazon link HERE to shop as well. Good for 100 entries to the contest for EACH item you purchase. Not valid on past purchases.
It is NOT mandatory to purchase anything to enter the contests, there are plenty of other ways to enter and win. Just email us a copy of your purchase receipt to bittenbybooks.contests @ gmail.com(no spaces). Sorry no faxes or snail mail copies.
2. In order to be entered into this contest the ONE thing you ALL have to do is ask Marianne a question or leave a comment. It can be ANY question you like. No questions/comments = no entries! You can come by through 11/12/09 and ask Marianne your questions. Good for 10 entries. (max 2 questions that count towards entries)
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NOTE: if you post multiple links here, your post will not show up right away. If you don’t see it, don’t keep posting it, we WILL approve your entry later on in the day.
6. Makea purchase in our Bloody Cafe store here:http://www.cafepress.com/bittenbybooks. We are all volunteers so your continuing support is deeply appreciated.Email us a copy of your purchase receipt tobittenbybooks.contests @ gmail.com(no spaces). Sorry no faxes or snail mail copies. Good for 100 entries.
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Join The Blood Bank the Bitten by Books Community! Here: http://bittenbybooks.ning.com/then come back here and tell us your user name and leave the link to your page.
Add Bitten by Books to your blog roll or links page: http://bittenbybooks.com if you leave our link up permanently you will always be entered into our contests automatically. Just be sure to stop by each contest we hold and leave the link to where it is so we can give you your entry! Email us a copies of ALL of your verification emails tobittenbybooks.contests @ gmail.com(no spaces). Good for 150 entries each place you add us.
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The contest ends on 11/15/09 at 11:59 pm PDT and the winners will be contacted via email. You will receive your prize bag directly from the author. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FIRST AND THE INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME as well as a valid email where we can contact you. REMEMBER the more things you do, the more entries, the greater the chances of winning.
1. Please note, the prize stated IS the prize you will receive, there will be absolutely no substitutions or changes the prize is non-transferable. If you don’t want the prize being offered, please don’t enter the contest. If you ever win an electronic copy of a book, please note that it is ILLEGAL to forward, give away or copy it in anyway once you receive it. Doing so violates copyright. If we find out that it has been done, you will no longer be eligible to win any of our contests.
2. You have THREE days from the day the we contact you to claim your prize by sending your name/mailing address to me. Failure to contact me will forfeit your prize. BBB can at that time, choose either to re-award the prize to another entrant or not.
3. The prize stated IS the prize you will receive, there will be no substitutions, trades or changes. No exceptions. Please do not ask. If for some reason you do not wish to claim your prize, please let me know as soon as possible. Bitten by Books has the option to re-award it or not.
4. Contest is open to USA readers except where noted. The prizes are shipped directly from the author.
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Rayne McDonald is finally a vampire. She’s more than just a vampire, though; she is also a slayer. Unfortunately, her last slayer assignment, which resulted in her new undead status, also left her with the nasty remnants of a virus developed to drain vampires of their powers. So, she may be immortal but she doesn’t have the cool powers that vampires have and, even worse, she doesn’t have her slayer powers either. She can, however, walk around in the sun, so things aren’t all bad. And she did end up with her own hottie bloodmate, Jareth.
(6 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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(5 votes, average: 4.2 out of 5)
or a $100.00 
winner’s choice. The Amazon GC is open to worldwide readers the iPod is open to US readers only.