Undead and Unwed

This light paranormal romance from Tschida (Errands & Espionage) puts a tongue-in-cheek spin on the archetypal rom-com heroine by making her a vampire. Approximately 300-year-old singleton Tiffanie bought her current identity, that of Tiffany Amanda Blair, on the black market. When the real Tiffany’s aunt dies and leaves her niece a dilapidated B&B in the quaint town of Valentine, Vt., Tiffanie’s the one who receives the inheritance. So she heads east from L.A. with her neighbor, Heaven, whom she’s just accidentally transformed into a vampire. In Valentine, Tiffanie meets and starts crushing on local Christmas tree farmer Tyrone. It would all be straight out of a Hallmark movie if it weren’t for the vampiric element making familiar scenarios feel fresh. Both Tiffanie and Heaven chug coconut water to curb their appetites and safely mingle with humans, though Heaven’s bloodlust as a newborn vampire is much harder to control. Tschida milks this supernatural element for comedy that at times verges on the slapstick, as when Tiffanie, having accidentally ingested human food, vomits into a sack of toys at a children’s Santa photo op. The result is a playful but still heartfelt mash-up of beloved tropes. (Oct.)