Midnight Brunch    by Marta Acosta Order:  USA  Can Pocket, 2007 (2007) Paperback      Reviewed by Martina Bexte It's been an eventful year for Milagro De Los Santos since her chance encounter with handsome doctor Oswald Grant. She's become something of a celebrity after surviving an accidental blood exchange with the good doctor. He's since become her main squeeze and Milagro has found a measure of contentment she never thought possible. She's also on good terms with his family, all of whom suffer from what they describe as a rare blood disorder. There are times, however, when she still feels like an outsider: neither Oswald nor his family is willing to share their clan history or insights about various ancient rituals including the upcoming midnight naming ceremony of Oswald's new niece. Milagro is in fact a bit miffed that she's been noticeably excluded from the festivities. When she's caught spying by Oswald's amorous cousin Ian (who still intends to claim the luscious Milagro as his own), Oswald's annoyance is obvious. He leaves Milagro to face his disapproving mother as well as condemnation from clan elder Willem Dunlop, who accuses her of being an aberration. Once the dust settles she decides to distance herself from the Grants for a while and heads to LA to attend her best friend's wedding. She meets various interesting characters at the reception, but little does she realize that there are those among her new friends who plan to use her for their own sinister purposes, one of which includes world domination. Midnight Brunch is the delightful sequel to Acosta's debut novel, Happy Hour at Casa Dracula. It's filled with another generous helping of smart and hip satire and a cast of characters who are as quirky as they are charming. The best part of the story is of course Milagro, whose zest for life is addictive. Her enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge propel the story forward and land her in pecks of trouble, but our feisty heroine doesn't let anything stand in her way. Acosta's vampires are also a nice change from the norm, content to live a quiet and unassuming existence, and denying they're vampires at all even if they do enjoy sipping blood with their wine on occasion - all of which makes Midnight Brunch even more appealing. Here's hoping that Milagro and friends will be back for a few more adventures. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews