REVIEW: Vampire Vacation by CJ Ellisson

Vampire Vacation

(The V V Inn #1)

by C.J. Ellisson

Just about 4 HEARTS

The Blurb

Meet Vivian. She's a 580-year-old vampire who exudes sex, has a talent for drama, and is passionate about two things: her human husband, Rafe, and their resort for the undead. Her ability to project physical illusions has created the perfect vacation spot a dark, isolated Alaskan hideaway where visitors can have their wildest fantasies come true.

Vivian knows the best performance requires perfect timing, but the powerful vamp is put to the test when she discovers a corpse in a locked guestroom minutes before the next arrivals. Always cool-headed, Rafe hides the body, convinced he and Vivian can find the culprit without disturbing their guests.

Juggling the increasingly outrageous demands of their customers while tracking a killer isn't easy. Will their poking and prodding give them the answers they need, or will it uncover secrets Vivian would kill to protect?

Warning: This story contains some explicit sex scenes and is not intended for readers under 18.

Vampire Vacation is the first book in CJ Ellisson's V V Inn series. This erotic fantasy series follows Dria (who goes by Vivian), a 580 year old vampire, and her human husband of over 60 years, Rafe. Together they run an inn located above the arctic circle in Alaska that caters to the undead.

One of the things that really impressed me with this book was Ellisson's ability to use details to make the setting just POP for the reader. All the great things about the inn were painted in an extremely vivid way. It was if I had a travel brochure in my hands. If I was a vampire I would definitely be vacationing at the V V Inn!

Seeing as this is the first in a series there was a significant amount of time spent on the world building. We learned a lot about the vampire culture as seen by CJ Ellison. It was neat learning about the vamp government and hierarchy. The was also handy glossary at the beginning of the book (where it MUST BE in an ebook or it's just wasted space). I love it when an author does that. When you've read as many vampire books as I have it can be hard to remember the finer points of each world. By having this glossary in the book Ellisson has made sure that her book doesn't get lost among the masses.

I think that the BEST thing about this book was the strength of the relationship between Rafe and Dria. They fit together perfectly. A real yin and yang type of thing. They share absolutely everything with each other, even Dria's dark past. Their's is a true partnership. Plus, their continued attraction to each other was kinda a turn on. Since this was written from Dria's POV her thoughts on her husband were stated quite clearly. Her inner musings about Rafe's physique made my mouth water.

Another great thing about this book was the pop culture references. It always makes me smile when I read something like that in a book. I believe that it helps to keep the book currant and provides the readers with something to connect to.

The drama/action in this was just so-so for me. While never knowing when or what the villain was going to do next was intriguing, I was much more interested in the personal issues of the characters. I'm not sure if that's the greatest thing in a book such as this. Hopefully in the next book in this series there will be more of a balance.

Although this book does fall under the erotic umbrella it didn't really get me motor running if you know what I mean. There was mondo heat coming of Rafe and Dria though. I can easily see other getting into it.

Vampire Vacation was CJ Ellisson's debut novel and you could hardly tell. She did a wonderful job with it and I can't wait to delve into her world again.

Hotness Rating

3 out of 5