Blood by K.J. Wignall

Just when it seemed like there couldn’t possibly be any more vampire+girl=love 4ever stories … K.J. Wignall’s Blood is here.

And while we do have the story an angst-filled vampire who meets the human girl destined to be his soulmate, Blood is not another Twilight wanna-be.

Blood tells the mystery of William, Earl of Mercia, who was turned into a vampire in 1256 (or “became undead” as Will likes to say). He sleeps in his crypt and emerges into the world every few decades only to feed and return.

The last time Will emerged was in the 1980s and, oh my, have things changed. Now there are “vegans” and “born-again Christians” and other such novelties – not to mention Eloise, a homeless girl who makes his heart race, or at least she would if he wasn't "undead."

As it turns out, Eloise is not exactly homeless. She ran away from her swanky boarding school in a fit because pretty much all her family and friends are on exotic vacations and nobody invited her along. Usually Will stays clear of humans (unless he’s hungry of course) but when he sees Eloise being attacked by a gang of boys, he rescues her.

Eloise is irritatingly naive. Immediately after learning that Will is a vampire, she begs him to turn her into one too. (Perhaps she’s been reading a little too much Twilight?). Will demurs. He tried that once before with a girl in 1394 and it didn’t work. Will also tried to kill himself once by impaling himself with a wooden stake – that didn’t work either.

However, Will and Eloise feel destined for each other and together they try to solve the mystery of why Will was turned into a vamp--, er, became undead in 1256 and why after all these years, ghosts are whispering messages to him and demons are attacking him.

I enjoyed Blood, especially the way Wignall took the time to develop Will into a multifaceted and winsome character. I especially liked Will's journal entries interspersed throughout which highlight Will's introspective and sensitive nature. But if you like your vampires tough, don't worry, there's some vicious vampire vs. vampire fighting too.

Eloise is a little too naive and spoiled for my tastes, but she is certainly fearless. You have to admire the pluck of a girl who tries to convince a vampire to "make out" (another phrase Will has never heard) and then teasingly asks after the kiss if she "tastes like dinner".

The ending of Blood indicates that there will be at least one more book featuring Will and Eloise, and, hopefully, Eloise can prove she's interesting enough to be Will's match.