Finished After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros. It’s a historical romance with a strong paranormal bent.

Caroline Cabot is suspicious of her sister Vivienne’s suitor, Adrian Kane. Rumor has it that Kane is really a vampire, since he keeps late hours and no one’s ever seen him outside during the day. Caroline decides to find out the truth — and ends up falling for Adrian herself.

This is a wonderful romance, full of great dialogue and appropriately eerie, Gothic descriptions. Medeiros keeps the reader wondering for some 200 pages whether or not Adrian is really a vampire — not an easy task to pull off. The twist she throws in isn’t too hard to figure out, but it only adds to the conflict between Caroline and Adrian. 

Medeiros has written a strong, sympathetic heroine in Caroline, who yearns for Adrian, but is determined to step aside so her sister can have a chance at happiness. You’ll find yourself hoping for a happily ever after — for everyone.

I sometimes get tired of historicals and the limited plots they seem to have, but I really enjoyed this one. Thumbs up.

Up next: Shadow Touch by Marjorie M. Liu. She’s another author like J.R. Ward that people always seem to be buzzing about. Liu is in Romantic Times like every other month! I wish I knew her secret …