Reviews

Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite Vampire Landlord is a dark urban fantasy novella written by Glenn Stevens. Lori wondered why her best friend, Vicky, seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. Vicky hadn’t answered any of her texts or voicemails, and she wasn’t answering her phone. When she failed to make their daily breakfast date at the coffee shop near the school, Lori decided to take action. She walked to Vicky’s apartment building to confront her personally but instantly noticed that Vicky’s name no longer appeared on the listing of doorbells nor was it on her usual mailbox. Vicky’s former landlord explained that Vicky had left after getting a notice about the rent hikes he was imposing. He was also looking for Vicky, as he wanted her to cover his loss of income from her departure. Lori did eventually catch up with her friend at their sociology class. She had a new landlord, whom she’d promised to help with some chores. Her landlady, Annette, was charming if a bit eccentric. Hearing about Vicky’s fabulous new place had Lori wishing for her own dream landlord, and she eagerly agreed to come and see Vicky’s new digs. Glenn Stevens’ dark urban fantasy novella, Vampire Landlord, is a droll and entertaining look at landlords and their propensity for sucking the blood out of their tenants. I loved how Vicky seemed to have traded one vampire landlord for another, even as I pondered whether her new penthouse situation wasn’t worth the price of a few pints of blood here and there. Stevens’ plot is engaging and fun, and his characters are well defined and credible. Vampire Landlord is a well written dark urban fantasy, and it’s most highly recommended.

Reviewed By Grant Leishman for Readers’ Favorite When college student Lori discovers her best friend Vickie is missing, she goes in search of her. In Vampire Landlord, author Glenn Stevens brings us a short story set to chill the bones. Vickie's old landlord has no idea where she has gone and is so incensed at her leaving without notice that he presents Lori with a bill for rent arrears to give to her friend. When Lori finally does track Vickie down, she discovers her friend has literally fallen on her feet, moving into a swanky apartment, rent-free, with her new landlord also helping her with school expenses and providing lots of extra luxury accessories for the young woman. There has to be a catch, right? Of course, there is and some unexplained bite marks on Vickie's neck, her general malaise and the odd appearance of Vickie's new landlord, Annette, tell Lori that everything is perhaps not as wonderful as Vickie makes it out to be. What have the two friends walked into here? Vampire Landlord by Glenn Stevens is a quick, pithy read that can be navigated in just over an hour or so. If you are looking for a vampire story with a difference and with some cunning twists, this may well be the perfect story for you. The landlord Annette was fascinating and the character showed a ton of potential. The author's style is relaxed and conversational, making the read quick and easy but I still felt there was room for more meat on the bones of this story. That having been said, in the context of a short story in this genre it was both satisfying and easily consumed. I particularly enjoyed the freezer room attached to Annette's bedroom and would have loved the author to explore that more fully. If you are looking for an entertaining read in the vampiric genre, this book will definitely suit your needs.