
The Becoming by Jeanne C. Stein
If you don’t think about it too hard, The Becoming could be a fun book for the beach. It’s short, fast-paced, and suffused with a sun-drenched California atmosphere that’s unusual in a vampire novel. (Jeanne C. Stein’s vampires have evolved to tolerate the sun.) It's also nice that it's self-contained; there are sequels, but The Becoming is a complete story in itself. Unfortunately, there are all sorts of things about it that bothered me or fell flat with me.
Bounty hunter Anna Strong becomes a vampire after being raped, bitten, and left for dead. At first, she doesn’t remember the attack, but before long she’s having flashbacks. She remembers suddenly that, in the end, she enjoyed what was done to her. What’s creepy is that she seems to accept her supposed "consent" a little too easily and doesn't spend much time being upset about th... Read More