Author: Colleen Gleason {site}
Genre: Supernatural, Dark Fantasy, Historical Romance
Format: Adobe Digital Editions
Published: 24 May 2011
Disclosure: Received for review via NetGalley

Synopsis: {via amazon

Skilled in the seduction of men, both mortal and immortal, Narcise Moldavi is the greatest weapon in her twisted brother's war among the Dracule. Until she falls for Giordan Cale.

Her first searing encounter with Giordan brands them with a passionate love. But Giordan's vow to help Narcise escape her brother's rule is followed by a betrayal more agonizing than sunlight.

Wounded but determined, Narcise ensnares vampire hunter Chas Woodmore in her quest for revenge and to reclaim her life. He wants her, worships her, will kill for her. And the Dracule never forget a wrong – nor do they forgive.

Review:

Full disclosure, just right off, I loved this book!  By the end, I loved it almost as much as I'd loved The Vampire Dimitri... almost. It's well written, better than the other two, I'd say, and the story is well developed. Considering, that their story is partly told, from other points of view, before the book even begins because it's a trilogy, it could not have been better. I would say, however, that even if you've not read the first two books, you could read this one (or any of them, really) as stand alones, and you wouldn't be confused. You would miss the beauty of seeing it from other perspectives, and you would certainly miss the well-roundedness of the whole saga, but you would understand what was going on.

As for the characters, I began this book somewhat skeptical. Narcise, Cale, and Chas are all somewhat marginal characters in the other books. They're there, they're mentioned, they even make appearances, but I wasn't certain I'd care about them one way or the other. Now that I've read it, I freely admit that I could not have been more wrong. I love them all. First Narcise, despite having the whole "she's the most beautiful woman on the planet" stereotype going on, she's remarkably strong.  She also has flaws, which is important because she could so easily have fallen into the Mary Sue category. As is, she's a great character and I really liked her.

I liked Giordan Cale better than Chas Woodmore, but I felt bad for both of them to varying degrees throughout. This isn't to say that I didn't like Chas, I did, but I loved Cale!  Cale is so remarkable, he's strong and handsome, he has a heart.  The men in this story are the kind of men women want in a historical paranormal romance. They're perfect. They're not Dimitri (who is near the top of my fictional boyfriend list!!), but I loved Giordan Cale nearly as much, and that's saying something.

By the end of the story, I was happy that I had the whole story, but sad that it was over. I now when I really, really enjoyed a book because when it's over, I instantly mourn for having gotten to the end. That's how I felt about this book, but it might also be that it's the last book in the trilogy. It's the last one, there're no more, which I really regret. She could easily have made this a whole series and I'd have read every one of them.  Pretty strong end for a trilogy that began with a book I didn't initially enjoy.

Rating:




Check out my Review for the other two novels in the series:

• The Vampire Voss
• The Vampire Dimitri

Author: Colleen Gleason {site}
Genre: Supernatural, Dark Fantasy, Historical Romance
Format: Adobe Digital Editions
Published: 26 April 2011
Disclosure: Received for review via NetGalley

Synopsis: {via amazon}

Dimitri, also known as the Earl of Corvindale, should be delighted that the headstrong Maia Woodmore is getting married. His mortal ward and houseguest has annoyed—and bewitched—the Dracule nobleman too long, and denying his animal cravings grows more excruciating by the day.


Miss Woodmore's family has a rather…complicated history with the immortals and she herself possesses a keen sensibility far beyond mere women's intuition. Marriage will give her safety, respectability and everything else a proper young lady could wish for. Everything, that is, except passion.


In the looming battle between Dracule factions, all pretenses will shatter as Maia and Dimitri come together in an unholy union of danger, desperation and fiercest desire.

Review:

I could literally go on and on, gushing about how much I loved this book. I read The Vampire Voss in February, I even ended up enjoying it (thought I didn’t initially), but The Vampire Dimitri is so much better than it’s predecessor. Dimitri and Maia are much more likable characters than Voss and Angelica — truly it was Dimitri’s character that kept me reading Voss, I’d likely have quit at the start were it not for him. Truly, I have a thing for dark, brooding characters. Quick witted, rakish character’s are okay, but I enjoy the dark ones so much more. Dimitri is just that, he’s dark and self loathing, and one cannot help but love him for it.

I also love Maia, who unlike her sister Angelica, is not a giggling daisy of a girl. Rather, she is strong willed, opinionated, and has strength of conviction. She and Dimitri make a perfect couple. They’re both cerebral and love one another a little bit too much for their own good. I did enjoy the cameo’s by both Voss and Angelica in this novel, however.  I also enjoyed seeing Chas (the Woodmore brother) and Narcise, his vampire lover.  It made a nice set up for the final book in the trilogy, The Vampire Narcise — which I have recently gotten from NetGalley!!

This book was so good, in fact, that I read the entire thing in one night. I rarely do that, I’m entirely too busy to keep glued to a book for more than a few hours at a time, but this book swallowed me up whole and refused to let me go until it was finished, likely a reaction to my anticipation. So, if you love historical fiction, vampire stories, and romance novels, this book is an absolute must! This series is an absolute must. It’s certainly takes a new spin on an old formula.

Available for {paperback | kindle}


Rating:

Author: Colleen Gleason {site}
Genre: Supernatural, Dark Fantasy, Historical Romance
Format: Kindle (.mobi)
Published: March 2011
Disclosure: Received via e-ARC through NetGalley

Synopsis: {via amazon}

Voss, also known as Viscount Dewhurst, relishes the sensual pleasures immortality affords. A member of the Dracule—a cabal of powerful, secretive noblemen marked with a talisman that reveals their bartered souls—the mercenary Voss has remained carefully neutral…until Angelica.

Angelica Woodmore possesses the Sight, an ability invaluable to both sides of a looming war among the Dracule. Her very scent envelops Voss in a scarlet fog of hunger—for her body and her blood. But he is utterly unprepared for the new desire that overcomes him—to protect her.

Now Voss must battle his very nature to be with Angelica…but this vampire never backs down from a fight.

Review:

I've read a ton of vampire novels. You might say that I'm a vampire novel junkie. I love the Gothic, and vampires are a natural extension of the gothic -- heck, I'm doing my Master's thesis over the Gothic. So when I started this book, with a terrible feeling, I nearly put it down again.  The problem?  I didn't like it from the start. I didn't like Voss, at all, which made bearing him difficult. I didn't particularly like the Woodmore sisters, or Voss's vampire buddies, Brickbank and Eddersley, I didn't like any of them... except Dimitri. I loved him from the word go, which is what kept me reading.  It certainly wasn't Voss.

At least that's the way it began. I grumpily picked up my Kindle and kept reading, I made it my bedtime task to read a few "pages" (percent?) and try to get it read. That's when something happened... I actually started to like the book.  Somewhere along the line, Voss's character grew on me, Angelica grew on me, they all grew on me. Don't get me wrong, I still love Dimitri above all else, he's an amazing character and I cannot wait for The Vampire Dimitri to hit shelves.  Voss started, along the way, to become a sympathetic character, I began to connect with his emotional journey and the darkness under his rake-like shell. He became something more than a completely self-interested monster, he became a man I actually rooted for!  I wanted him to succeed, I wanted Angelica to want him.  I, quite frankly, couldn't stop turning the pages.

Of course, this is a review, so I'm not going to spill the ending. I'll just say this, I was very satisfied with how the novel ended.

Okay, now that I've spoken about my likes, I must say that there are things I didn't like, too. Mostly, those things go to formatting. Since the book's not out yet, and I'm not sure it'll be available for Kindle at all, I'm certain they'll fix the formatting. One thing I hope they make certain to fix is how the book goes from one point of view to another without warning.  No space, no astrisks, nothing... it just hops from one to the next and you're left trying to shift back and forth, it's almost dizzying.  Also, I found that the character names were quite distracting.  I never want to feel like the names in a supernatural novel are silly, it breaks suspension of disbelief in a major way.  I shouldn't be rolling my eyes at the names.

All in all, I really ended up enjoying this novel. I've already said that I love the Gothic, and vampires, but as a huge fan of historical romance, this book really pulled me in. Not from the start, but it did eventually keep me turning the page because I had to find out what happened next, and no so much because I was determined to finish the novel. Ultimately, I do recommend it to anyone who enjoys it's genres. It turns out to be a pretty good novel, well worth the read.  Definitely a good start to a new series.

Rating:






Available for {paperback | kindle (??)}

As a graduate student, working as a graduate assistant, my time for reading has to be carefully managed. Otherwise, I get nothing read, except the books for class.  As an avid reader, that's just acceptable. I have to be able to read for fun, too, else I go a little crazy! This is where my beloved Kindle comes in... I cannot believe there was life before Kindle.  How did I carry all those books around?!

With that in mind, here's what I have lined up for the next feel reads...

Currently Reading

Colleen Gleason's The Vampire Voss is my current read, and I must say, it's taking me a while to warm up to it. It's a vampire story, as the name suggests, and while I normally fall in love with vampire tales, I'm really struggling to connect to this book.  I'm trying, however, to reserve judgment until I've gotten it finished. So far, it makes really great bedtime reading (especially thanks to my Kindle's lighted cover).  It shouldn't be long until I have it finished and reviewed.  The one thing I know, without a doubt, is that I will be picking up the next book in the series The Vampire Dimitri when it comes out.  Voss is okay, but I am absolutely in love with Dimitri!!

The Vampire Voss is set to release March 22, 2011. I'm not certain what formats will be available, but I'll keep you posted.

Disclaimer: This book was made available to me via e-ARC through NetGalley.

Up Next

I've recieved several review requests lately (thank you!) and have queued up those novels for my next reads in the order that I received them. So, those up next include:

- New World Orders by Edward G. Talbot is next in line and I cannot wait to read it!
- My Sparkling Misfortune by Laura Lond
- The Summoner by Layton Green

Graciously, all of these books have been made available to me by the authors, for review, and I'm truly looking forward to reading each one (in the next few weeks, I promise!!).

So what about you?  I'd be interested to hear what others are reading!