It can’t have escaped the attention of even the most casual of romance readers that there are an awful lot of paranormals out there right now. Some are good. Some are bad. And quite a few of them – like this one – fall somewhere smack dab in that oh-so-forgettable middle ground.

Cindy Harper is an ordinary young woman who just happens to have lived for nearly 300 years. Having absolutely no idea why she has defied all human aging, Cindy opens an inn on the edge of the New Jersey pine barrens that she calls – believe it or not – the Woo Woo Inn.

Sceptical of the supernatural, Cindy sees her inn as a haven for those who think they’re vampires and witches and werewolves and it is. But the Woo Woo also, not surprisingly, manages to attract the real thing – like sexy vampire Thrain Davis.

Unlike Cindy, Thrain does know exactly why Cindy has lived to such a ripe old age: She’s the daughter of powerful and legendary vampire Darach Mackenzie (Master of Ecstacy). Though his task will be a difficult one since Cindy is clueless about her vampire heritage, Thrain’s plan is to lead Cindy to the truth about her family and reunite his onetime friend with his long lost daughter.

My eyes started to glaze over a bit with all the exposition in this book, including way too much information about the tangled relationship of Thrain and Darach, not to mention yet another author’s version of vampire mythology. I could deal with all that and still find a book better than average, but the author’s unfortunate tendency towards cutesiness cemented Night Bites right in the middle of the C range. Need an example? A mischief-making paranormal creature with the real name of Sparkle Stardust tells Cindy her name is “Prada”. Please. Every time I read that name – and at least 650 times would be a conservative estimate – my eyeballs rolled w-a-a-a-y back.

On the other hand, the author’s prose is readable and there is an appealing cat thing going on (I’m always a sucker for a feline character). And, okay – I’ll give it away – the legendary Jersey Devil makes an appearance. I haven’t come across the old Devil since a supremely forgettable episode of The X-Files and, heck, I thought it was kinda cool.

Is Night Bites for you? If you love Vampire Romances or other Paranormals and aren’t that picky about where you get your fix, you might find this one satisfying enough. But, before you lay out your money, don’t forget that this one is – in a word – average. Still, just as there are times when you’d rather watch an undemanding (and probably stupid) TV reality show instead of The Soprannos, sometimes a not-too-challenging book might be exactly what you need. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.