A Kiss With Teeth

I read this fittingly on Valentine's day hoping that it would make a somewhat romantic read. Surprisingly it was...heart warming (no pun intended). You see Vlad is a centuries old vampire and after being ‘caught' by a woman, finds himself in a domestic life with her (in New York!). A father to a son who is not doing well in school and a husband to a tough wife who just wants the best for all of them. We follow his awkward integration into day to day life as a ‘normal' citizen, discussing his son's academic state with the hot teacher, playing with him at the park and of course the everyday dilemma of a healthy vampire in today's society, hiding your fangs from the public. I liked it very much, by the end of it, it left me with all the warm and fuzzies. What surprises me the most is the fact that Max Gladstone is a fine prose writer. His writing glides like a poet, harking to the style of John Le Carre and the likes. This little gem is candy to readers like me who just loves excellent penmanship, added to that a story that tickles my heart strings, its just an all around winner for me.

Read via the Worlds Seen in Passing anthology.

Vlad is trying to fit in like a normal dad, but it's so hard, especially when his son's new teacher is tempting his inner beast so much. This whole idea of an ancient, powerful vampire trying to fit into normal suburban life with his vampire-hunting wife and his seemingly normal son had me sucked in from the start. I honestly loved the narrative voice so much, and would absolutely read a full novel about Vlad and his family.