A couple of weeks ago I found myself at my friend's cottage right on Lake Champlain in Vermont. No computer. No cell phone service. None of my normal distractions. I had nothing to do but eat, sleep and read. It was the perfect time to break out The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason. The first book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, it's been described as Jane Austen meets Buffy. It had been sitting on my shelf since December, patiently waiting for me to read it.

Victoria Gardella Grantsworth comes from a long line of vampire hunters. Her coming out will not only launch her on society, but it's also to be the night of her first kill. She has to perform double duty, searching for a husband as well as for those that live in the night, knowing that one day she must come face to face with their queen. Along the way she encounters flirtation and love. She is trained by her aunt, a master vampire hunter. Her hunting partner is the dark and disapproving Max. As the season heats up so does Victoria's life. In the end she will she choose her obligation or her heart?

I was taken by surprise by two elements in this novel. The first would be the humor. It not often that books make me laugh out loud (anything written by Christopher Moore being the exception), but there were times reading this where not only did I chuckle but there was more than one audible "ha!" I do love a book that makes me laugh. Victoria had a sharp wit and she and Max shared some wonderful barbs.

The second thing that surprised me was the steaminess. Ok, fine I know that this is shelved in the "romance" section. But I kept hearing that Jane Austen part of the comparison in my head. And as much as I love Jane (and y'all know I love her a lot) steamy sex scenes weren't really her thing. But in The Rest Falls Away? Steam. Definite steam.

Humor + steaminess + vampires + corsets = fun. The second book in the series, Rises the Night comes out in just a few weeks. Perfect timing for summer beach reading. You can read an excerpt here and while you are there be sure to check out Colleen's blog.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.