I love living in the Savannah area. Not only has it been rumored to be the most haunted city in the south, but it also has a bit of everything right along the riverfront. When I read the book blurb of Sally Painter's All I Need, I had to snatch it. Not only because it's based in Savannah, but because, for the first time in a long time, here was a vampire novel that didn't have the vampires living in New Orleans or in Europe and bemoaning their eternal existence.

Danielle is on the cusp of thirty, of leaving her youth behind, and accepting the fact that she still hasn't found a man. She has been divorced three years, and just can't get back into the swing of dating. For her birthday, her two best friends in the world are taking her out to the hottest club in Savannah: Armondés. They've even brought her the clothes she is to wear at the club.

Armondés Tresnávé is 2075 years old. He suffers from a curse that states he must marry a woman at the last minute of her twenty-ninth year or else his body will match his years. And he is not too keen on the idea of looking all of this 2000 plus years. A hitch in the curse is that if his bride should die, he must remarry before the one-year anniversary of her death, or his body will age. They got him coming and going.

This is unlike any other vampire fiction I've ever read. The vampires do not bemoan their lives, they don't spend all of their time wrapped in old lace and silks and talking about their human lives. Don't get me wrong, I love those books, but there is only so much you can take before screaming for mercy.

I devoured this book in one sitting; I just couldn't tear myself away from it to do anything other than find out what happened next. Even if you're not a fan of vampiric fiction, this book is definitely something that everyone can enjoy. But here's a warning: It will leave you wanting to take a trip to Savannah to get a taste of the nightlife that is so deliciously captured in this novel.

Reviewed By Marissa
© February 2005