"Late-night radio you can sink your teeth into

Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin is trying to live the straight life, even if it means finding a (shudder!) real job. She takes an internship at a local radio station, whose late-night time-warp format features 1940s blues, 60s psychedelia, 80s Goth, and more, all with an uncannily authentic flair. Ciara soon discovers how the DJs maintain their cred: they’re vampires, stuck forever in the eras in which they were turned.

Ciara’s first instinct, as always, is to cut and run. But communications giant Skywave wants to buy WMMP and turn it into just another hit-playing clone. Without the station—and the link it provides to their original Life Times—the vampires would “fade,” becoming little more than mindless ghosts of the past. Suddenly a routine corporate takeover becomes a matter of life and un-death.

To boost ratings and save the lives of her strange new friends, Ciara re-brands the station as “WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll.” In the ultimate con, she hides the DJs’ vampire nature in plain sight, disguising the bloody truth as a marketing gimmick. WVMP becomes the hottest thing around—next to Ciara’s complicated affair with grunge vamp Shane McAllister. But the “gimmick” enrages a posse of ancient and powerful vampires who aren’t so eager to be brought into the light. Soon the stakes are higher-and the perils graver-than any con game Ciara’s ever played…"

What a fantastic spin on vampires! I loved every second of reading this book about Ciara, a con who discovers her morals by helping to save a group of DJ - Vampires. Ciara is a female lead who is completely believable, and despite not having any supernatural powers herself, she is a force to be reckoned with! Shane is the perfect match, and the rest of the cast of characters were all unique, fun, quirky and pure icing on the cake that is WVMP.

Jeri Smith-Ready's love of music is evident in this story as is her great world-building and story-telling ablity. I'm not sure if subsequent books are planned after this one, but if there are, it's a series I would gladly follow. I highly recommend this book to everyone. You'll find yourself singing through-out the book, I know I did. Run, don't walk, to get your copy when it hits the stores on Tuesday, May 13th!!  

UPDATE: I just received the news that the next book is Bad To The Bone and it will be out May 1st, 2009!!