Bound by Night

Ashley (Everlasting Desire) launches a vampire romance series with a fresh approach that goes sadly awry. Orphaned teen Elena Knightsbridge, stuck in a "nothing little town in Transylvania," flees her abusive uncle, Tavian Dinescu, and hides in a nearby castle, only to find it occupied by Drake Sherrad, a 500-year-old vampire estranged from his supernatural family. As early chapters consciously imitate "Beauty and the Beast," Elena's every wish is satisfied, but she's improbably slow to pierce the mystery of Drake's nocturnal habits and lack of appetite. The focus shifts abruptly as Drake is summoned back to his father's fortress to take his place as heir to the Coven and wed his destined vampire bride. Despite a promising start, the tale stumbles over poorly thought out vampires with arbitrary nontraditional powers, fade-to-black love scenes, and a disturbingly passive female lead who is more victim than heroine. (Sept.)