Ah...I see. I am truly unfamiliar with Vampire literature, but what I was simply thinking of was all the cliches that have been passed around such as holy water, sleeping in coffins, bats, etc. Things that tend to be associated with certain representations of Dracula. :)
And really what I found original (which you've debunked) was the "vampire family" that didn't hunt humans. So thanks for actually clearing that up.

And I agree with your "vampire sparkle" assessment 100%.

Also, I haven't read any summaries for the other books, but four is really that bad, huh?