Meena Harper is a soap opera writer turned psychic demon hunter who still carries a torch for her vampire ex, Lucien Antonescu—Dracula's morally ambivalent son. Not only is Meena caught between her love for the elusive vampire and her attraction to the hot, but cryptic, demon hunter Alaric Wulf, she's also torn between protecting innocent humans and saving Lucien's soul. Now Lucien returns with a dangerous and mysterious new scheme, while a troop of gung-ho Vatican vampire hunters roll into town. Written in Cabot's usual charming style, this sequel to Insatiable bears the marks of second book syndrome: pages spent awkwardly retelling past events; aimless wandering from subplot to subplot; and the inclusion of characters from the previous book who turn out to be irrelevant to the current story. Full of riffs on everything from The Vampire Diaries to Anita Blake, the book is never quite gripping enough to work as a real vampire drama or funny enough to work as a parody, but may still delight Cabot diehards and vampire completists. (July)

In Insatiable (out in paperback, Jun. 2011. ISBN 9780061735080. $14.99), soap opera star Meena Harper met Lucien Antonescu, son of Dracula. That relationship is so over, as is Lucien himself. Now Meena works for the Palatine Guard, a demon-hunting division of the Vatican, which prizes her ability to predict how people will die. To counter the latest threat—a particularly nasty clan of vampires called the Lamir—Meena is working with top Lamir killer Father Henrique. And for some reason she doesn't trust him. Cabot sure has come a long way from The Princess Diaries. Should be in demand; with a 100,000-copy first printing and a six-city tour.