WHEN I WAS GIVEN A copy of Stephenie Meyer?s ?Twilight? to read, I was dazzled. I sailed through the first book, plodded slightly through the second (?New Moon?), devoured the third (?Eclipse?), and impatiently waited for the fourth and final installment (?Breaking Dawn?).

Except that, when the last came out, I decided to re-read books 1-3 only to have a realization: Was ?Twilight? this cheesy when I read it before?

Despite its cheesiness (Twihards, don?t hate me!), Meyer has to be given her due credit. She sparked a teen vampire novel feeding frenzy the way ?Buffy the Vampire Slayer? (the TV series, not to be confused nor associated with the movie) did for my generation. Buffy and Angel?s chemistry was phenomenal, and they didn?t even have to refer to each other as a lion or a lamb.

I?ve always been a sucker for a vampire tale. The universal story of a tortured vampire with a good, yet undead heart who falls in love with a hapless human has always been a great way to hook me. Star-crossed vampire and human lovers, the paranormal equivalent of Romeo & Juliet, except with wooden stakes instead of poison.

Here are other books with bite that I?ve come across and loved, too.

?Vampire Academy?

by Richelle Mead

Mead?s fanged fables center on Rose, a dhampir, a vampire-human hybrid, and her human-vampire best friend (Moroi) Lissa, who she is also tasked to protect. The setting is St. Vladimir?s Academy, a secluded private school for the dhampir and Moroi. Moroi are vampires that are human, with a thirst for blood and an ability to wield elemental magic. They are considered aristocracy, and the strong, sturdy dhampirs are tasked to protect them from Strigoi, the evil, undead vampires who are out to kill their Moroi nemesis. Mystery is afoot as Lissa is the seeming target of a sinister plot, and Rose, together with her mysterious, muscled, bad-ass mentor Dimitri (who you know she?s going to fall in love with) race against time to get to the bottom of it.

?Vampire Academy? is engaging from the first book of what promises to be a six-part series (I am resigned to the fact that stories now cannot be told in just one book. It is an agonizing yet effective marketing ploy). As typical with any saga, you end up having favorite characters and as the books move toward the inevitable epic battle, you find yourself hoping no one major gets killed. Though the plot is nothing new, Richelle Mead does a great job at keeping you hooked and thoroughly engaged.

?Blue Bloods?

by Melissa de la Cruz

Melissa dela Cruz (yes, she?s Filipino, born but not raised) tells a slightly more complex tale of beautiful, dirty-rich teenage vampires set against the Upper East Side (yes, it?s rather like ?Gossip Girl,? but with fangs). Her take on the vampire mythology is pretty interesting and different from the rest (I won?t say what it is to avoid spoiling potential readers). Her plots can get a little too confusing sometimes, but her ?Blue Bloods? series is a worthy addition to any vampire fanatic?s shelf. The series is currently on its fourth book, and according to her website, she plans on wrapping up the saga after 10 tomes. Here?s hoping she writes fast because it?s very easy to lose yourself in the world of Duchesne and the Blue Bloods.

?Evernight?

by Claudia Gray

Another series set in a private boarding school (what is it with vampires and boarding schools?), this is the most Romeo & Juliet-esque of the series I?ve read so far. Bianca is a few steps shy of becoming a full-fledged vampire and she falls in love with her strong, brooding, mysterious classmate Lucas, who turns out to be a?surprise, surprise?vampire hunter on a mission to infiltrate the school. Love proves to be stronger than the urge to slay his mortal enemy and they start a clandestine romance, with all the angst of adolescence and the whole ?I love you but I must kill you? drama. There are interesting takes on the overused vampire scenario, too, so it doesn?t seem trite nor too cheesy. So far, only two books have been published, so there?s plenty of time to get yourself caught up before the next one arrives.

?Sookie Stackhouse? Series

by Charlaine Harris

Fans of HBO?s hit vampire TV series, ?True Blood,? know that the show was based on a series of books by author Charlaine Harris. It tells the story of Southern waitress Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire beau, Bill Compton.

The books are very different from the show, so don?t expect dark and moody with copious amounts of the horizontal tango (well, there?s also a lot of that, but not as graphic as the show).

Instead, Harris?s books read like a light mystery whodunit per title (she?s on her ninth with no sign of stopping yet). Still, the characters are endearing and you find yourself eagerly awaiting to see what Sookie will get herself sucked into this time.

?The Undead? Series

by Mary Janice Davidson

Think ditz and chick lit with a bite and you get yourself Mary Janice Davidson?s ?Undead? series.

Spanning eight titles so far, it tells the story of a ditzy girl named Betsy Taylor (real name: Elizabeth) who gets bitten by several vampires and turns out to be the prophesied Queen of the Undead. It?s a comic tale of mishaps and mayhem and you?ll find yourself entertained and even laughing out loud at how an airhead with a weakness for designer shoes ends up to be the all-powerful Queen of Vampires.