Almost Everything
Praise for the
Vampire Princess Novels
Almost Final Curtain
“These books are tightly plotted and contain enough intrigue and action to satisfy any reader of paranormals.” —CA Reviews
“
Almost Final Curtain
is a fast-paced tale of young love, emotional strength, and figuring out who you are—even if it’s not exactly human.” —Book Fetish
“An enjoyable, fast-paced adventure that will leave readers looking for more.” —Monsters and Critics
“An exciting fantasy that kept me reading until the very last page. Tate Hallaway brilliantly brought together the ideas of forbidden love, attraction, and pure mystery.” —A Novel Menagerie
Almost to Die For
“Hallaway’s witty, fast-paced series starter cheerfully details the horrors of magical war and high school life.” —
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“Hallaway throws her expertise into the popular teen vampire genre with an original twist that adds witches and vampire servitude to the mix…. Fast moving, filled with fun, self-depreciating humor, this sparkling teen read features plenty of attitude.” —Monsters and Critics
“Put me under its spell and didn’t let go! A great story and characters I can’t wait to meet again.” —
New York Times
bestselling author Rachel Caine
“Ms. Hallaway deftly handles the life of a teenager and weaves in paranormal elements to make for an exciting story that’ll captivate you….
Almost to Die For
will hook you with its deft handling of teenage angst and supernatural problems, and leave you anticipating a sequel.” —Fresh Fiction
“Take
The Princess Diaries
, sprinkle on some
Charmed
and a dash of
Twilight
, and you’re ready to enjoy
Almost to Die For.
” —
Justine
“[It will] keep you turning the pages not because you want to get through it, but because you can’t help yourself…. Hallaway gives readers young and old what they want from a YA romantic heroine.”—The Green Man Review
“Ana is a fighter and her story follows many twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting. The dialogue is quick and the settings are vividly described. The anticipation of which guy she will choose and who is best for her is fun, and I am looking forward to the next book.” —Page Turners
“Filled with plenty of teen angst and high school mishaps, this novel is on par with the many other vampire series out there … well written and fun to read.”
—Library Journal
Praise for Other Novels
by Tate Hallaway
“A fast-paced, hilarious paranormal romance … the story captured this reader from the very first page, and is a must read for paranormal romance fans.” —The Romance Readers Connection
“Well paced and lightly written, mixing magic, romance, and humor to good effect … perfect for lazy summer-afternoon reading.” —Love Vampires
“This paranormal romance overflows with danger, excitement, and mayhem; however, whenever things become too stressful, a healthy dose of irony or comedy shows up to ease the way. Tate Hallaway has an amazing talent for storytelling.” —Huntress Book Reviews
“A truly enjoyable read if you like a jaunt into the paranormal … and enjoy humor as well as the more serious side of life!” —
WritersAreReaders.com
“What’s not to adore? … Tate Hallaway has a wonderful gift.” —MaryJanice Davidson,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Undead and Unfinished
“Tate Hallaway kept me on the edge of my seat … a thoroughly enjoyable read!” —Julie Kenner,
USA Today
bestselling author of
Demon Ex Machina
“Will appeal to readers of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series.” —
Booklist
“[Hallaway’s] concise writing style, vivid descriptions, and innovative plot all blend together to provide the reader with a great new look into the love life of witches, vampires, and the undead.” —Armchair Interviews
The Vampire Princess Novels by Tate Hallaway
Almost to Die For
Almost Final Curtain
Almost Everything
Everything
A
V
AMPIRE
P
RINCESS
N
OVEL
TATE HALLAWAY
NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY
N
EW
A
MERICAN
L
IBRARY
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, February 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © Lyda Morehouse, 2012
All rights reserved
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
:
Hallaway, Tate.
Almost everything: a vampire princess novel/Tate Hallaway.
p. cm.—(Vampire princess; 3)
EISBN 9781101574904
1. Teenage girls—Fiction. 2. Vampires—Fiction. 3. Witches—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3608.A54825A77 2012
813’.6—dc23 2011033388
Set in Minion
Designed by Alissa Amell
Printed in the United States of America
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
For Shawn and Mason, FTW
Thanks go to my fabulous and stalwart editor, Anne Sowards, and my awesome and tireless agent, Martha Millard. My poor writers’ group, the Wyrdsmiths, sees less and less of my novels as my deadlines grow shorter and shorter, but I couldn’t survive without their constant moral support. Particularly critical are the Wednesdays with the Women of Wyrdsmiths—Eleanor Arnason and Naomi Kritzer—at the Coffee Grounds in St. Paul that help keep body and soul together. Speaking of Naomi, thanks to her and to Sean M. Murphy for their usual, though no less amazing, oh-my-god-I’m-running-up-to-deadline critiques. The book would be much less than it is without them.
My family, too, deserves praise, especially my son, Mason, who cheers me deeply every time he reads out loud a sentence from one of my Ana books with shouts of joy, like he does with all his other favorite books. My partner, Shawn Rounds, I should tell you, is, in all honesty, mostly responsible for all the cool plot twists and revealing character moments. I just write the words down. She makes them sing.
Everything
Y
ou’d
think one of the perks of being half vampire would be a resistance to weather. No such luck.
Or, considering that I, Anastasija Ramses Parker, am the vampire princess of St. Paul, you’d think a title like that would come with some supercute servant boys waving fans over my body and feeding me ice-cold bonbons.
Again, this doesn’t seem to be happening.
Instead, I’m melting because my college professor mother doesn’t believe in air-conditioning.
Minnesota summers are surprisingly hot and humid. I kind of forget how awful it can be until the first ninety-degree day with eighty-percent humidity hits St. Paul.
The oppressive stickiness in our house sent me out to the porch swing. At least there, with the brutal July sun finally sinking into brilliant orange and lavender streaks, there was a slight breeze.
It was too warm to even read. I pressed the sweating glass of lemonade into the hollow between my breasts and pushed a strand of hair from my eyes. Other girls complained about how the weather made their hair frizzy and unmanageable, but for me the problem was sticky flatness. This morning I’d tried to pull my past-the-shoulders deep black hair into one of those fancy French braids, but by this point in the day, bits kept slipping out and clinging to my neck and face.
A few gawker pedestrians strolled down the broad streets of my Cathedral Hill neighborhood, trying to act casual as they surreptitiously peered through the lighted windows into the Victorian-era mansions that lined our block. I guess our house, at least, suited my supernatural rank. With its ivy-covered brick and castlelike tower, it looked like the sort of place you might expect a vampire to live.