Companions of the Night

It all begins when Kerry's little brother Ian asks her to go to the laundromat to get Footy, his stuffed koala bear, which he'd left there earlier that day. Kerry is reluctant to go, since it's 11:00 at night, she has a test the next day on a book she hasn't finished, and she doesn't have her driver's license yet. But she can't resist her little brother's pleas, so she goes anyway. The action starts when a group of men burst into the laundromat while Kerry is there, dragging a tied-up and bloodied young man who they believe is a vampire. Kerry, knowing there is no such thing as vampires, helps the young man escape.

But the next day when Kerry's dad doesn't pick her up from work, she's worried that it has something to do with the events of last night. But then the young man, Ethan, shows up to give her a ride home... where she discovers that her dad and brother have been kidnapped by a crazed vampire hunter. Having run out of options, Kerry asks Ethan for help in finding her family--and learns that vampires do exist, and Ethan is one of them. Can she trust him to help her rescue her family, or is he using her to get at the vampire hunter? She doesn't know who to trust, or even whether she'll live through the night.

Companions of the Night is filled to the brim with action, suspense, romance, and even a little humor. It instantly became a favorite, and I am looking forward to buying it and reading it again and again. If you like vampires, romance, and a superb hard-to-put-down story, this book is just the thing for you.


It looks long, but read my review plz!!   October 13, 2002
Jodi (CANADA)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

This is the only book I have ever read more than once! If you've read The Silver Kiss, Shattered Mirror, or any other Vivian Vande Velde books, or vampire books for that matter, you're guaranteed to love this! There are no one, or two star ratings, and that's gotta tell you something. Many of the other reviews of this book end in people saying they want a continuation, and trust me, in the end, you'll well agree. This was the book that got me interested in vampire books, and it's so well written. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that I never could picture what Ethan really looked like, even though she descirbed it very well, and I tried countless times.
It's about a sixteen year old girl named Kerry Nowicki, who, at eleven at night, can't resist her brother's pleas for her to retrieve Footy, his stuffed koala bear, from the 24-hour laundromat he left it at earlier in the day. Kerry's father is sleeping, and her mother left their family for another man. She only has her learners permit, so she has to do this quick.
When she gets there, she finds Footy, and is just about to head out the door, when, all of a sudden, three men come in dragging a fourth, Ethan Bryne (who by the way is really, really hot, his charater is mysterious, incredibly seductive to Kerry, and he's a bad boy, so this is a good book for bad boy fans), who's gagged and bloodied. They spot her, and she has no time to escape. She learns the men believe that Ethan is a vampire, and they think she may well be one also. They allow her to help Ethan with his wounds, so as not to make a nuisance of herself, she doesn't believe anything they say, Ethan seems so helpless, and she has no reason to doubt that he's innocent of everything they're accusing him of, so, she decides to....read it to see what happens.
If you've never read this book before, ENJOY it the first time, I couldn't bring myself to give any of it away, that would ruin it, and you don't want this book ruined the first time you read it. I wish I could read it again, forgetting everything that happened, because the first time is a once in a lifetime thing.
If you don't even like vampire books, this'll change your mind. It's a combination of suspense, and romance, with murder, kidnapping, stealing, vampires, and thrill after thrill, what more can you ask for in one book? I don't think you'd be reading this if you couldn't read, but if you can GET. THIS. BOOK. AND AS I SAID BEFORE, ENJOY IT THE FIRST TIME.
You may never feel the same about any other book, I looked for some more vampire books, but none look this good!!


Not Your Ordinary Vampire Tale   September 19, 2005
Jarrod T Thompson (Junction City, KS)
18 out of 21 found this review helpful

Several months ago I began reading Cirque Du Freak and got hooked on the vampire genre.

Companions of the night is not your ordinary vampire tale. The mystery of whether Ethan is or is not a vampire at the beginning of the book makes it intriguing. What really makes the novel interesting is that it is hard to tell who Ethan really is, how old Ethan really is, and whether or not he is on Kerry's side, or if she might become a vampire, or half-vampire by the end of the book.

Vivian Vande Velde does a good job keeping the book interesting from start to finish. There are always questions of "what if" all the way through the novel. I always like the different ways authors of these books decide to state what is "real" and fake for vampires and their kind. Vande Velde does this too and it makes you think for the briefest moment that maybe these vampires are for real.

The suspense is good up until the end. Kerry's dreamlike state and curiosity and passsion toward the vampire race makes the end worthwhile. I enjoyed this novel and look to read the other works of Vivian Vande Velde. Good book!


Best romance/horror/vampire book EVER   August 29, 2002
Abby Twain (Chicago, IL United States)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

When I read The Silver Kiss (Annette Curtis Klause), I was positive that it couldn't get any better than that. I was wrong. This book definitely takes the cake in it's genre. When Kerry, an average 16-year-old, with a learner's permit and a Mom who abandoned her family, grudgingly drives to a laundromat late at night to retrieve her little brother's stuffed koala bear, she unknowingly gets involved with a world of mystery and vampires when she meets Ethan, gagged and bloddied, and suspected of being a vampire by a group of vamp hunters. Which, of course isn't a good thing for Ethan. Her beliving there are no such thing of vampires, she helps him escape, and she assumes she'll never see him again. She's wrong. When her family goes missing, Ethan is the only one who can help her find them, and Kerry is the only one who can help Ethan get the revenge he wants on the vamp hunters. Things get more complicated when Kerry realizes she's fallen in love with Ethan, and... oh yeah, he really IS a vampire. The characters are well developed, and the plot has tons of twists. The many facades and uncertainties that surround Ethan will keep you guessing throughout the whole book. if you like vampires and romance, buy. This. Book. Now. I cried at the end, probably due a combination of the way the book touched me so deeply, and the fact that there is no sequel yet. Because, not to give away the ending, but it is wide open for a sequel. Unfortunately, it was written in 95', and we're still waiting ....but I haven't lost hope! Good luck trying not to read it in one sitting ;-).


Opinion of a College Student   June 15, 2006
Ashley Pittman
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

While reading through the reviews of for this book, I've come across quite a few really negative ones. The main reasons seem to be because of the simplistic writing and the lack of concrete vampire details. I strongly disagree with those reviews and will have to add my vote to the much greater number saying what a wonderful book this is. I first read this book six years ago when I was 14, and loved it. Just recently I came across it again, and my love has become, if possible, greater. After reading quite a few Anne Rice books since this one, I think I prefer the simple writing displayed here to that of Anne Rice. Don't get me wrong, I love Anne Rice's books passionately, but I don't much like being interrupted at the climax of the story for details of a rain forest for five pages. The writing in CotN is easy to read, but the author did not sacrifice wonderful writing for the simplicity presented. The imagery is still strong, and her characters are brilliantly portrayed. That is in fact probably what I love most about the book: the characters. The plot is interesting, and the dialog is realistic and witty. As for the lack of vampire details; that is part of what gives the book its edge. As the reader you're learning about this world of vampires along with the main character and are forced to keep guessing just like her. The ending does leave a little to be desired, but its realistic and rewarding in its own right.

Basically, whether you're 14 or 20, if you like vampires and are interested in a quick and interesting read, I highly recommend this book.