Overbite by Meg Cabot

Overbite is out! The sequel to Insatiable, Meg Cabot's spin on Bram Stoker's Dracula, was released earlier this month.  I thoroughly enjoyed Insatiable (for those who missed my Insatiable review).

The blurb:
Meena Harper has a special gift, but it's not only that anyone's ever appreciated it.  The Palatine Guard-- a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican-has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan.  With Meena's ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palantine finally has a chance against the undead.

Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Antonescu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness.  But htat was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames. Now Meena's sworn off vampires for good. . . at least until she can prove her theory that just because they've lost their souls doesn't mean demons have lost the ability to love.

Meena knows convincing her co-workers including her partner, the uber-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf-that vampires can be redeemed won't be easy. . .  especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just the lives of the Palatine, but Meena's friends and family as well.

But Meena isn't the Palantine's only hope. Father Henrique-aka Padre Caliente-New York City's youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case.

So why doesn't Meena-or Alaric-trust him?

As she begins unraveling the truth Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings bare. . . and temptations she never even imagined existed impossible to resist.

This time, Meena may have bitten off more than she can chew.

Review:
I'd been looking forward to Overbite, the continuation of the love story between Meena Harper and Lucien Antonescu.  After all, he seemed like such a romantic figure - smuggling Meena into the Met to look at his favorite painting.

But Overbite takes a different direction altogether. It focuses more on Meena Harper and her new life as a member of the Palatine Guard, her friendship with Alaric Wulf, and the struggle against the vampires.

Although we discover that the Prince of Darkness, Lucien Antonescu, hasn't given up on Meena Harper.  He doesn't appear that often in the novel.   No one sees him since his dramatic disappearance, except he shows himself the one time that Meena's life is threatened. 

We do learn more about Alaric Wulf and his fascination with Meena Harper.  Meena is torn. She enjoys her work for the Palatine Guard but she is painfully aware that her ex-boyfriend Lucien Antonescu is now out of bounds.  She can't be with a vampire not knowing what havoc and destruction they can cause, have caused.

Meena keeps Overbite interesting.  Although Meena's interest in Alaric isn't as fun as her romance with Lucien.  We get to know the famous vampire killer Alaric Wulf better in Overbite - his history with the Palatine Guard, his resentment of the glamorous and popular Padre Caliente.

But Meg Cabot's Overbite has the playfulness of Insatiable.  Those of us who loved Insatiable will enjoy learning how the love story between Meena Harper and Lucien Antonescu ends. 

ISBN-10: 0061735108 - Hardcover $22.99
Publisher: William Morrow (July 5, 2011), 288 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author:
Meg Cabot was born in Bloomington, Indiana. In addition to her adult contemporary novels, she is the author of bestselling young adult fiction series The Princess Diaries.  She lives in Key West, Florida, with her husband.