Just Wanna Testify

February 21, 2011
In her return to the West End, that fictional Afro-urban paradise in Atlanta, Ga., Cleage (Till You Hear from Me) has the everlovin' mysterious Blue Hamilton, "godfather" of the neighborhood where crime is unknown, pitted against the Too Fine Five, Amazonian African-American supermodels whose arrival in town spells trouble. Serena Mayflower manages the girls, or "vamps" (vampires, get it?), who are all part of a group that has moved its headquarters from New Orleans to an island near the West End. The good thing is they drink tomato juice instead of blood, the bad is that they are looking for some appropriate stud muffins for breeding purposes. They've hired five Morehouse College men for generous compensation, but the men neglected to read the fine print in their contract and have come to Blue for help. Seems that when the vamps are done with the men, the men will be done... for good. There's moments of kick butt fun, and although the plot veers toward hackneyed and the "Say what?" ending is a groaner, fans will be pleased.

February 1, 2011
Five sexy vampires show up in Atlanta, causing considerable consternation for local godfather Blue Hamilton and his wife Regina.

Led by the otherwordly Serena Mayflower, the "Too Fine Five" have a reputation that precedes them. An impossibly thin group of models who always appear together, they come to Blue Hamilton's West End turf to ostensibly shoot an Essence magazine spread. But their real purpose, as Blue intuits, is far more sinister. The girls are actually vampires come to collect five Morehouse college seniors they intend to take back to their island lair to use for breeding purposes. The boys made the deal in exchange for college scholarships, and want to get out of their contracts in order to avoid an ultimately grisly fate. Seems there is an expiration date on their stud services. They have a way out, but it hinges on a woman in each of their lives "testifying" that they are a good man. Unfortunately, the irresponsible lads have all burned those bridges, to Blue's disgust. He is left to intervene, by any means necessary, to save the guys. He even enlists his old friend Peachy, now married to Regina's clairvoyant Aunt Abbie, to help do the deeds. Regina, meanwhile, comes up with a risky plan of her own to send the ladies packing, by appealing to the human emotions they may have once had. Adding vampires to her familiar message of social responsibility, Cleage (Till You Hear from Me, 2010, etc.) sure seems to be having a good time, even if the integration of the two genres can be clunky.

Vampy romp best appreciated by existing fans of the West End series.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 1, 2011
In Cleages latest novel, after Till You Hear from Me (2010), Blue Hamilton, a fixture of Atlantas West End, attempts to quietly negotiate the release of five young men from a gaggle of vampires moonlighting as fashion models. (The seven-foot-tall vamps are able to stave off most cravings by drinking tomato juice, but theyre looking for a new crew of able-bodied men to help repopulate the species.) Since the men in question failed to read the fine print on their contract with the exotic group, Blue turns to unconventional vampire-disposal methods to save them. While Cleage invokes many traditional vampire tropes, the novels main focus is on the redemptive powers of love and loyalty. Cleages writing is warm and genuine, showing obvious appreciation for her Georgia roots and a well-tuned ear for snappy dialogue. Fans of Stephenie Meyer and Charlaine Harris might find the supernatural details coming few and far between, but the love story at the novels core should satisfy anyone hoping for a sweeter twist to the vampire yarn.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)