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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Captivating and Brilliantly Original Series that Can Only Get Better, February 11, 2008
Colleen Gleason continues to prove to her editors and readers that she is a cut above other mass-market romance fiction novelists. In her latest installment of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Gleason has once again shown that she can lay a complex buffet for her readers to feast on. Who else could have come up with the premise of a Regency heroine vampire slayer that is originally and legitimately well done?
The Bleeding Dusk takes us to Rome this time, where Victoria must find a way beyond the trauma and chaos of the past year, and delve into her strength to become the new Illa Gardella. Armed with two vis bullae, she, Max, Sebastian and her Venators must prevent the combined dark forces of demons and vampires from opening La Porta Alchemica or the Door of Alchemy. It is path fraught with sacrifice. Gleason is not into pacification. She is not going to give us an easy read where we have the end game in our sights.
Gleason deliberately toys with us with regard to Victoria's love interests and more, stops on a dime, and reverses in another direction. In many ways it works.
Throughout this entire series, I was strongly reminded of Ken Russell's movie "Gothic" intermeshed with Buffy. And I haven't seen such painstaking attention to detail since Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.
Gleason tamps down the romantic element-this series reads stronger as sci-fi/fantasy, not romance (even though its marketed as romance), though there are elements of it-but that won't detract readers by any means. This is how the genre is evolving. Romance seems to be an area of growth for Gleason, and I eagerly anticipate seeing it flourish. Particularly in balancing the romance aspects with suspense. The current conundrum of Sebastian and Max is a bittersweet torment-especially with the sacrifice that Max has to make. The finale...well... it's quite a finale. Grossly enrapturing.
Those watching should bear careful consideration: Gleason can only go up from here.
Unbelievable that this is a Signet Eclipse...which is a gentle warning to her editors....at this skill level you might not have her for long...Copyright(c)Nicola Mattos
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gaining substance, February 10, 2008
I read the first two books in Colleen Gleason's Gardella Vampire Chronicles ( The Rest Falls Away: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles (Signet Eclipse) and Rises The Night: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles) and thought they were good enough to keep reading but not really anything special. This latest installment, however, has totally changed my mind.
Victoria has spent the past year and a half fighting vampires and learning to deal with the trauma that comes along with her dangerous calling. She still mourns for her husband that she herself staked, is coming to terms with the fact that a man she trusts killed her beloved aunt and wants to give in to the passion she feels for the mysterious Sebastian, whom she knows will just as soon betray her as love her. Now a dangerous daemon, a long-lost secret in alchemy and a demanding vampire lord are thrown into the mix and the vampire hunter needs people she can trust more than ever.
This book is sexy yet plot driven, action-packed yet tender, and a whole lot of fun to read. While you do really need to read the first two books in the series to understand what is going on in this book, the characters, plot and dialogue shine brighter in this than the previous two.
Like Ann Rice's Interview With the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles), this book explores the battle between good and evil and the gray area in between. There is a definite Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Seventh Season (Slim Set) vibe, but the story it truly unique and the characters are surprisingly relatable. While it takes place in the Regency era, Victoria is no Emma (Penguin Classics) or other Jane Austen heroine.
It's like watching a great TV action series only better. I did only give this book four stars because I still felt some of the exposition dragged, and I got a little tired of all of these seemingly strong male characters falling all over themselves to get at Victoria. But I can't wait to find out what happens next as I am sure Gleason's style and exciting tales will only get better.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The third time is a charm, February 5, 2008
I sit here having just finished a marathon reading of The Bleeding Dusk and my heart is pounding so strongly that if there really were vampires out there I would be announcing loud and clear that it is feeding time! My heart is in my throat and I am so tense I feel like I need to take a warm bath to relax...maybe get out a glass of red wine and put on some lite rock. Heavens above, the last 100 or so pages of this novel felt like riding on a roller coaster with a never-ending plummet! Whew, what a rush.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous two books in this series and am thrilled to say that Colleen Gleason's craft has kicked up another notch with The Bleeding Dusk. Speaking from a man's perspective, this book lives up to the heart-racing promises of the cover image and then some. I am not kidding. The tension of the last 100 pages wore me out.
The Bleeding Dusk continues the adventures of Victoria Gardella, vampire slayer, not long after the events that ended Rises the Night. In this book Colleen Gleason is even more skillful in giving recaps of the previous story without making it feel like one is reading a book review. Events from the previous two novels are woven into this story with a deft hand, only included when they are an integral part of the story being told now. I was very impressed.
As in Rises the Night, the events of The Bleeding Dusk take place in Rome and this time involve a crumbling mansion, a mysterious door, and the inclusion of an interesting cast of characters, many of whom are familiar because of the previous novels. Multiple mysteries abound in this story which is so much more than a tale of a group of people fighting ultimate evil. I found the plot of this story to be so engaging. Each time I was sure I knew where Colleen was going with a storyline (sometimes in ways that I was sure I wasn't going to be happy with) she would turn the story a completely different direction and just sweep me off my feet.
Interwoven into the action and adventure there is a surprising amount of sadness and sacrifice. I found myself being very conflicted about the characters, even Victoria at times, and I chalk that up to the fact that these characters are becoming more real with each successive novel. My feelings on what should happen to various characters when this series ends are more jumbled than ever. To hint at anything more would spoil the experience for you.
I found the historical and architectural aspects of this book particularly interesting. I was excited to read that Colleen Gleason based the Door of Alchemy on a real object. It made the whole experience seem that much more authentic. And her descriptions of the hidden lair of the Venators, with its hall of trophies, brought so many interesting, detailed images to my mind. Those objects and their history, though just hinted at, give the story such a sense of time and ignite my curiousity to the point that I long to hear their story.
In all sincerity I found this to be an exciting and engaging read. As she has proven to do over the course of now three novels, Colleen Gleason balances the historical and romantic elements very well with the action and adventure of a story about a vampire hunter. With The Bleeding Dusk Colleen Gleason seems to lean even farther away from what I consider stereotypical in the romance genre and much more toward the style of books that are often shelved in the fantasy section of bookstores. As I have said before, this is in no way a comment meant to disparage the romance genre. What I am trying to communicate is that if the idea of reading a book shelved in the romance section of the bookstore turns you off, don't let that prejudice keep you away from this series. The romance is there, but Colleen weaves those threads into the story so well that you don't feel like you are reading a bodice-ripper. Make no mistake, there are a few spicy scenes in the book that one would expect from this genre, but Colleen writes those titillating scenes with such skill that they strike the necessary cord without being silly, obvious, or overdone. Those scenes are sensual, not sensational, if that makes any sense.
The Bleeding Dusk is a fantastic continuation of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles. Colleen Gleason certainly leaves you hungry for more at the end of The Bleeding Dusk and I am glad I don't have to wait an entire year to have my suspense be quenched. Well done!
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