by Lynsay Sands and Jeaniene Frost

William Morrow, $19.99, 370 pages

It’s that time of year again – the Christmas trees are going up, houses are decorated with lights, and vampires abound, looking for holiday cheer. Well, at least they are in The Bite Before Christmas, a joint venture between Lynsay Sands and Jeaniene Frost. The book is split into two stories: the first is an Argeneau vampire series spin-off that finds vampire Katricia stranded in a snow storm with Sheriff Teddy Brunswick. Combining vacation cottages to survive, they come to realize that they may be a perfect match for each other.

The second story by Jeaniene Frost comes from her popular Night Huntress series with characters Cat and Bones. Looking forward to a quiet family holiday, they instead find themselves fending off demon possessions, hostile takeover attempts, attempted murder and, most horrifying of all, Cat’s cooking. This is a fun book for the holiday season – great for reading on a winter’s evening by the fire with some eggnog. Fans of either series will enjoy this book.

Barbara Cothern