"All Cassandra Bick wants is to be left to get on with doing her job. But when you're a Sensitive whose business is running a dating agency for vampires, life is never going to be straightforward - " ok enough of the blurb from the back, you must read this book, it is FANTASTIC! I am reproducing my Amazon review here:

As my daughter put it, this woman writes ridiculously well.
I could imagine meeting Cassandra on a cake-run and getting on famously. She is real. She is good looking not stunning, independent but not a loner, a successful businesswoman but not by any means rich, and has a fantastic sense of humour based on witty, snippy comebacks - often at the wrong time. She has a cat - always a point in anyone's favour in my opinion, as cats don't stay in bad homes.
The book contains romance and sex - but in a real way, not in the usual 'paranormal romance' way (which is either near-porn for adults or sickly sweet forever soul-mates for youngsters). And it contains danger and bloodshed, but again in a realistic way (considering the protagonists!) with a realistic explanation of why our streets aren't running with blood. And that I think sums it up - these are OUR streets (if you are a Londoner), the people are the ones you see all the time and act as you would expect, and some of your suspicions are confirmed.
Why is it taking so long for the books to appear in paperback? I read this in one day, and can't abide kindles!

This is going out on a mini-ring, hence the status of travelling. It WILL return to me for my permanent collection, so I'm not sending it to anyone I can't track down and wrest it from!

Busy reading up a storm all day and it’s occurred to me - again – for I keep getting distracted by reading, a ‘caught’ Journal Entry long due, is now critical. Book details next as I use my BookCrossing records as a reading log.
---------------------

DARK DATES (Cassandra Bick Chronicles 1) by TRACEY SINCLAIR
ISBN-10: 1499326424 / 978-1499326420
Publisher: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform (1 May 2014 - 282 pages)

Cover: All Cassandra Bick wants is to be left to get on with doing her job. But when you’re a Sensitive whose business is running a dating agency for vampires, life is never going to be straightforward – especially when there’s a supernatural war brewing in London, a sexy new bloodsucker in town and your mysterious, homicidal and vampire hating ex-lover chooses this moment to reappear in your life…

Witty, sharp and entertaining, Dark Dates is a heady mix of vampires, witches and werewolves – with the occasional angel thrown in – and introduces Cassandra Bick, a likeable heroine destined to join the ranks of fantasy’s feistiest females.

‘Any fan of earlier Anita Blake or Darynda Jones is going to love it… This pure, joyful digging at ridiculous clichés of vampire culture…
Anne Rice, LKH, mentions of ‘supernatural’ and Buffy’… It was so much fun!’ NOCTURAL BOOK REVIEWS
---------------------

OK slow to start here as I didn’t realise this was waiting for me at the Post Office collection depot. It’s been picked up, is in my hands and there’s a wee wind whooshing away as I turn pages. Right I must get the address of the next person in this book ring. Meanwhile, (((three cheers))) to Wistfuldragon for putting this reading opportunity my way!

Early on I was thinking there’s a down to earth quality about Cassandra I appreciated and that it was great to find a heroine who isn’t all martial arts competent so deals with the monster attacks with a combination of fast thinking and good judgement. OK clearly there was quite a dash of luck in there too. Then further down the line Cassandra did move into a, very competent with martial arts, zone, so that popular cliché held here too. The references to vampire TV series did get a little irritating especially when I simply couldn’t recall their significance Wolfram and Hart pops to mind.

Dark Dates was certainly entertaining there is some very able story-telling going on here, with some great dynamic characters and some intriguing world building. Once I got my teeth into this I just couldn’t read it fast enough. Great Fanged Fun!
---------------------

Must whirl this into the post there’s only so much time before I have to be at the bus and heading toward the boat to Orkney, somehow the times got away from me…I’m posting this later today.

Arrived back from a short holiday in Glastonbury to find a very well-wrapped package waiting for me. Thanks Rainbow3 for sending it to me (and so well-protected) and Wistful Dragon for starting the Bookring. I will get reading!

Really enjoyed the book, I like the conversational writing style, the characters and the plot, which kept me hooked until the end. I also like the fact it is set in my home town.

Sent to the next person in the Book ring.

So sorry, Poodlesister - both books arrived safely a few days ago but I totally forgot to journal them! I have to finish Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell first (with limited reading time) but I'll get to these asap.

Books rec'd today - thanks!

I only started reading Vampire tales recently - winning the Supernatural Sweepstake meant a few came my way - & they’ve been a varied bunch from entertaining & quite good to downright dire! This one seemed as if it could have a hint of the Stephanie Plums about it (if only because Cassandra has two men (?) in her life) so IMHO that could only be a good thing.

Verdict? I loved it! Likeable characters, a good thread of humour throughout & an entertaining storyline made everything seem so plausible that I just accepted everything that was thrown at me as "real" - vampires, angels, magic, the lot! (though I found the Valkyrie was a bit more of a stretch for some reason)

Thanks for sharing :o)

On its way home....thanks for sharing :o)

Just received back home, although I hardly recognised it thanks to a new custom-made cloth cover! Many thanks!
I'm now marking this as permanent collection, although if anyone else that I 'know' would like to borrow it they will be welcome.