Finished First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost. This is the first book in a spinoff series from Frost’s popular Night Huntress paranormal romance books.

In this book, Denise MacGregor knows that creatures like vampires and ghouls exist. She just didn’t know that one of her ancestors made a deal with a shape-shifting demon. Now, Denise has to track down her lost ancestor in order to keep the demon from killing the rest of her family. Since her best friend, half-vampire Cat Crawfield, is out of the country, Denise turns to another vampire she knows — the oh-so-sexy Spade. Together, they set out to find Denise’s ancestor, but don’t count on the sizzling attraction that develops between them …

I’ve enjoyed Frost’s previous books about Cat, and First Drop of Crimson is a fine addition to the Night Huntress world/canon. Denise is a likable heroine, who struggles to be brave despite her guilt over her husband Randy’s death (something that happened in a previous NH book). I liked how Denise learns to overcome her guilt and aversion to vampires and realizes the inner strength that she has. Spade has his own demons as well, and I enjoyed getting more of the backstory on him, Ian, and Bones (I’m really interested to see who Ian gets paired up with). I also thought that Frost did some cool things with her world building/magic in this book.

Overall, if you like vampires or are just looking for a fun, action-packed read, try Frost’s books. Thumbs up.

Up next: Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl.

Books in my TBR pile: About 20.