I have to admit, I decided to review this book because of the title. Vampires and sex, how much more intriguing can you get? Indeed, the book does become as interesting as the title, but unfortunately you have to get through the first couple of chapters of overstuffed inner monologue from the main character for the plot to take off into a fun and suspenseful novel.

Allie is a summoner; a person who is able to beckon ghosts, poltergeists and demons. New to the field, she is visiting one of the most haunted cities in the world, London. Allie limps, has two completely different colored eyes, is independent, and, oh yeah, she’s also stubborn. Even though London has plenty of haunts, she hasn’t yet beckoned a ghost. Time is running out for her to prove herself capable. Then, as luck would have it, her spell works and a long-dead cat appears in her hotel room. Unfortunately she can’t seem to get rid of the animal, and so she’s stuck with her first in a long line of spirits. Allie is not too surprised when out on a later mission she runs into a gorgeous man lying in a basement with bleeding wounds. The sight is so bizarre that she naturally assumes that that he too, is a ghost. Obviously, she must help the man go toward the light.

But Christian, whom we first met in A Girl’s Guide to Vampires, is no ghost. He is, however, stunning and intriguing, and Allie is immediately attracted to him. He is more than just some crazy, gorgeous man bleeding in a basement. He is a Dark One; a sort of vampire doomed to spend his life searching for his one true love while feeding off blood and prowling the streets at night. But Christian’s immediate goal is to find his best friend who suddenly disappeared. This, though, is rather hard to do after Allie barrels into his life, interrupting everything. As much as Allie drives him crazy, there is also something about her that he just can’t deny. Could his friends Roxy and Joy be right; could Allie be his one true love, his beloved?

She certainly is not what he expected his beloved to be; she is stubborn, independent and constantly snapping at him and making sarcastic comments. But Christian isn’t the only one surprised by his attraction. Even though Allie obviously believes in ghosts, she always thought vampires were a myth. But even more surprising is her growing attraction to Christian, a vampire. She doesn’t want to have a relationship with the man – she gave up trusting men long ago. Christian does not want a stubborn, crazy female with a host of ghosts for his beloved. But fate has other ideas. Christian needs Allie, not only to determine if she truly is his beloved, but also to help him find his missing friend. She agrees to help, albeit reluctantly, and soon Allie and Christian find themselves in a race against time to rescue Christian’s friend from evil and save themselves in the process.

Though there is suspense in this book, it’s not the heart-pounding, page-turning type of suspense. Not because the evil-doers are flat characters but because we don’t know enough about them and their dastardly deeds to truly be repelled by their wickedness. In fact, the characters are the book’s best feature; they seem entirely novel and out of the ordinary. Allie comes across as very atypical even if her physical oddities sometimes come close to overwhelming the plot. The love scenes between Christian and Allie were full of heat, but I remain undecided as to whether he loved her for herself or because he simply accepted his fate with her as his beloved.

Comical and peculiar secondary characters round out the story. I did have my reservations about the book since it is both first person and comedic, both of which can be difficult to portray without overwhelming the storyline. In the first few chapters Allie’s comments were more silly than witty as we are immediately taken inside of her thoughts. But the inner monologue and humor did eventually level out. The comedy smoothed out into an amusing tale, especially where the multiple ghosts who plague Allie were concerned. The intimate scenes are intense and I marveled at how Christian’s drinking Allie’s blood was rendered romantic.

It may take readers a few chapters to settle in with Sex and the Single Vampire, but patience is a virtue. This is a well-paced and well-balanced book of comedy, action, and romance.