April Is For #Vampires: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer

One of the recent YA vampire series that I've enjoyed is The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer. I enjoy a lot of things about this series, including the fact that it doesn't shy away from action. The characters are great and I think this is probably the first vampire series that was originally targeted at teen boys. The main characters are guys, including the title character, Vladimir Tod. Vlad walks the line between the living and the dead, so to say, as he was born as half human and half vampire. He can walk in the sun, but still needs blood. He's also being hunted by a Slayer, Joss, who is also his friend. That makes for some interesting tension. I also love the references Brewer uses...Vladimir has the same name as Vlad the Impaler, his last name, Tod, means 'dead' in German, Vlad lives in Bathory, named after the very bloody Countess Elizabeth Bathory, on Lugosi Trail to be exact, and there is a kid at Vlad's school named Eddie Poe.

I'm interested to see the spin-off series, called The Slayer Chronicles, due out in September, 2011. I'm currently reading the final title in the Vlad series and it looks to be exciting!