Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs

Half-Moon Hollow, Book 1

By: Molly Harper

Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi

Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed $25 in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead. And thanks to the mysterious stranger she met while chugging neon-colored cocktails, she wakes up with a decidedly unladylike thirst for blood.

Jane is now the latest recipient of a gift basket from the Newly Undead Welcoming Committee, and her life-after-lifestyle is taking some getting used to. Her recently deceased favorite aunt is now her ghostly roommate. She has to fake breathing and endure daytime hours to avoid coming out of the coffin to her family. She's forced to forgo her favorite down-home Southern cooking for bags of O negative. Her relationship with her sexy, mercurial vampire sire keeps running hot and cold. And if all that wasn't enough, it looks like someone in Half Moon Hollow is trying to frame her for a series of vampire murders. What's a nice undead girl to do?

Love in vein: bite into more of Jane Jameson's paranormal exploits.©2009 Molly Harper White (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hysterical laughs are the hallmark of this enchanting paranormal debut....Harper keeps the quips coming without overdoing the sarcasm, and her take on vampire lore will intrigue and entertain even the most jaded paranormal fan." ( Publishers Weekly)

Somewhat Entertaining

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

While occasionally funny and moderately entertaining, it would not make my list of recommendations to friends. I put it in the category of potato chip books???OK enough to read but you wouldn't want a steady diet and not terribly memorable.

Great Find

Molly Harper's humor is much like the glitter on a gypsy wedding dress ,,, all over the place and way over the top. Her books are sort of like listening to the Librarian of the Damned channel Tina Fey (or the way 'round) I thoroughly enjoyed every word.

Jane Jameson is my Go To Girl (book)

I couldn't possibly say enough about this book or the whole series for that matter or Amanda Ronconi's narration thereof. The book is funny - laugh out loud funny - even after several "readings." The characters are all immensely charming - even the antagonist, in her own way. When I finished this book I IMMEDIATELY listened to it again (because it was so good) and then downloaded the next one in the series.

This book is the first in the series, and it's definitely more enjoyable read in order, but they are all terrific stand-alone stories. Reading in order lets you see the progression of both an overall plot line and the interaction between characters - a repeat "ensemble" cast of endearing personalities in impossibly improbable situations.

This whole Jane Jameson series is romantic, funny, witty, clever, charming, engaging, without cliches, and never predictable. As of this writing, I have over 400 hundred titles in my Audible library and this is the book (series) that I download several times a year: my "go-to- books" when I want to listen to something I know I will enjoy - literally time after time.

Ms Ronconi's narration amps up the liveliness of Ms Harper's writing and this amazing team is the epitomy of synergy, as the "parts" are already superb. If I could give more than five stars I would - to both Ms. Harper (story) and Ms. Ronconi (narration.)

Love, love, love Molly Harper

Would you consider the audio edition of Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs to be better than the print version?

Amanda Ronconi is a great narrator. Her voices for the different characters always stand out and she really gets into it. I'm always happy to listen to anything the narrates.

Have you listened to any of Amanda Ronconi’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes and she is GREAT at her job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, unfortunately I kept having to go to work. I finished it in about two days.

Any additional comments?

This series is written well and keeps you wanting for more.

Love, love love this series!

I love it when a book can make me laugh out loud! I can't wait until the next book is released!

Funny but not all that sexy

Molly Harper is without question a talented comedic writer and I laughed out loud more than a few times when I listended to this one. Gabriel was the character I had the most issues with - - I just wanted the character to be more developed and I wanted to WANT them to be together. I didn't really care if they were together and I didn't even think Gabriel was particularly sexy. I don't even remember a great description of what he looked like.

While I did like the Jane Jameson character that the narrator created, I just didn't think she did anything for me in terms of the other characters. Her male characters all sound exactly the same, which also sounds like Jane Jameson's "angry" voice.

Delightfully funny

My first listen was in 2013. This review was written after my most recent listen 4/13/19.

Setting: Half Moon Hollow, KY Contemporary to 2009
Genre: Rom-Com
After being let go from her position as the children’s librarian at the Half Moon Hollow Library, Jane Jameson took her “severance package” of a coupon for Shenanigans sports bar, and proceeds to get drunk. During her drunken ramblings she was joined by a movie-star gorgeous man named Gabriel Nightengale. After sobering up she left the bar to drive home. Unfortunately, her car broke down, and , as if her day couldn’t get any worse, she was mistaken for a deer and shot by a very drunk Bud MacElroy. Three days later she woke up, a vampire, in the home of the man she had met at the bar. Almost immediately very bad things start to happen to her such as accusations of murder, having her car vandalized, and attempts to re-enter the job market with horrible results. What follows is a funny tale of Jane’s adjustment to the nightlife and the mystery of who is out to get her.
This is a good book. The plot is interesting, the characters are well-developed, and the dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny. The only draw-back is that it is dated by all the pop culture references. It was published in 2010 and it is already challenging, with many of the allusions being passé. In five or ten years a reader may need a pop culture dictionary to get all the jokes.
EDIT
I just gave this a re-listen 7/9-10/2020. The pop culture references are increasingly noticeable. At what point will the “Dick Cheney “ gag mean nothing? When will other quips lose their comedic punch? It’s like watching old episodes of Saturday Night Live - not in content, but in datedness.

The narration is delightful. It seems that Amanda Ronconi is the go-to narrator for all of Molly Harper’s books, and her matter-of-fact tone with the first-person point of view is easy on the ears. It’s like she becomes Jane telling you about something that happened to her, rather than reading a book. She differentiates between characters with the use of tone, accent, and pacing. A good audio experience.

Great!!!

loved every word!
cant wait to read the next book. Great Narrator Amanda Ronconi

very enjoyable

Listen to all 3 and highly recommend. A LOL book. Her sarcasm is great.

Love the humor

In one book Molly Harper has entered my favor author list. Loved the humor in this book. Not only will I follow the adventures of Jane in subsequent books, but the sub-characters can easily stand on their own. Amanda Ronconi's narration is delightful. Harper and Ronconi are an unbeatable combination!