strong and sexy, meet weak and sallow. and like it.

With the commercial success of Twilight, vampire novels have dominated the bookshelves, in both teen and adult literature. No matter your feelings about that, the fact is that there are so many it might be difficult to choose one, were you so inclined, not only because of variety, but because, let's face it, there are some not-so-great reads in that pile, just riding the wave.

Whether you're looking for a vampire read or not, I still suggest Catherine Jinks' The Reformed Vampire Support Group.If the title isn't enough to grab you (yep, I literally judge books by their covers), let me give you a little description of the main characters.

The vampires are not the calm, ruthless terrors of Bram Stoker's Dracula. They are not the glittery romantics of Twilight, or any sort of sexy as embodied in the media today, whether books, television, or movies.

No, the vampires are, as protagonist Nina bluntly states, dead, and get all the perks that come with that.

And when I say perks, I'm being sarcastic.

Can only go out at night, and only with the added precaution of sunglasses. Weak bodies. A million ailments. An eternity of hiding the fact that you have eternity.

A pretty mediocre, depressing eternity, at least for Nina, who still hasn't fully accepted her disease.

Nina has been trapped in the un-aging body of a fifteen-year-old since the seventies, and still lives with her mother. Every week, she attends the Reformed Vampire Support group, with vampires who have given up biting people. Instead, they take enzyme supplements and drink the blood of guinea pigs... and woe to the person who has to clean up if they don't hit the vein just right.

To complete the irony, Nina makes a living as an author, writing about sexy, glamorous vampires who actually do things-- and heroic things, at that.

Nina finally gets her chance to prove that vampires aren't boring and useless when one of their group is staked. Along with her friend Dave, another vampire, Nina is on a mission to find and stop the murderer before he can find the rest of them-- a mission that's severely complicated when they run into a dangerous, gun-toting werewolf trafficker along the way.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group is funny, exciting (lots of action, adventure, and solving-the-mystery, with only the very slightest touch of romance), and totally clever. Jinks turns the vampire novel on its head by writing about the less-than-glamorous side of being undead, and Nina's voice is the perfect way to do so. Nina's blunt, sarcastic voice is amusing and perfect for the book.

Neither she or her fellow vampires are sexy (see the pic, above), but all of the characters in Jinks' novel work. So many are likable, such as witty Nina, steadfast Dave, and Nina's human, chain-smoking, elderly mother, who still devoutly cares for her daughter and puts up with the rest of Nina's undead posse. The cast is fairly large, but it provides an eclectic, well-rounded group-- after all, anyone is at risk for being bit, from dim-witted George to Bridget, an eighty-plus nun-- that is often hilarious.

Great characters, voice, and an interesting mystery/action plot. Go on, give the decrepit vampires a chance. They're not just riding the wave.

Trust me, even though they're from Australia, they couldn't surf anyway.

(And hey, remember-- if you have an original review you'd like posted for a mid-list book you love, email me at doingitwrite@gmail.com).