Customer Reviews

The Rest Falls Away (Gardella Vampire Chronicles Book 1)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It has been a long time since I have stayed up past the witching hour to finish a book, but what better time to be reading about vampires? Within the first few chapters this book had grabbed ahold of me and would not let go.

Let me start by saying that it has been a long time since I have read any book that would be shelved in the romance section, 15 years or more. Initially, as the first chapter sets the scene and introduces the characters, I struggled a bit with the romance underpinnings of the story. By the time the chapter ended...with a very nice twist...I was immersed in the world and in Colleen's language. Chapter Three was the point of no return. By that time I was lost in the story and understood well why my wife tore through this book so quickly. By the end I could practically feel my own blood coursing through my veins, my heart beating with the anxiety of the final pages.

Let me add that guys should not shy away from this book because it is classified as a `romance'. There is a reason that this book is being and will continue to be compared to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you enjoyed that series, or at the very least the idea behind it, you will enjoy The Rest Falls Away.

If Jane Austen were alive today and rewrote Pride and Prejudice with visits from the undead, the result, in part, would be The Rest Falls Away. I enjoyed the conventions of historical romance juxtaposed against Buffy-esque vampire hunting. While mostly serious throughout, Colleen inserts some very entertaining societal humour reminiscent of Austen's work. Victoria Grantworth is a worthy heroine whose struggles against the demands of society and her vampire hunting legacy are skillfully wrought by Gleason's hand. Whether dancing at a ball or staking vampires, there is never a dull moment in this entertaining tale.

The Rest Falls Away is truly an amalgam of genres: historical romance, horror, mystery, adventure, suspense, comedy...all are present and yet they flow together so well that it feels natural, not forced. And while there are homages to tales both classic and modern it never feels as if Colleen Gleason is copying anyone. Her style and voice are uniquely her own. There is something in this book for everyone and reading it one realizes that shelving it in only one section of the bookstore would be a huge mistake.

And while I respect everyone's opinion and right to their opinion I disagree with the other reviewer's remarks on there being too many characters. There are really only a handful of characters in the book, the majority of which are given enough time for the reader to form a picture and opinion about them. I personally did not find the book meandering. Is it non-stop action. Thankfully no! The Rest Falls Away achieves a nice balance of action with dialogue and more contemplative moments that help establish the various characters and their relationships, allowing the reader to both take a breath and to get to know who these people are who inhabit Colleen Gleason's world.

After having the pleasure of staying up late, anxiously turning page after page, caught up in the suspense as The Rest Falls Away reaches its climactic end, I highly recommend this book. Once finished you, like me, will be anxiously awaiting the release of Rises the Night this June.

I'd just read several paranormal contemporaries in a row and it was hard to get into the historical set language. But, IMO, that's a good thing because Gleason did it right.

Anyway, after my initial stumble in the first fifty or so pages, I fell into the story. This is a historical, yes, but it's got a decidedly modern feel - and it's done well. Gleason treads the line between historical accuracy and modern vampire hunter novel with skill. I liked Victoria a great deal even though I often have a hard time identifying with characters in regency romances who are so very young. But Victoria, while wanting a normal life, didn't storm off and cry about her fate, although she did challenge it and yes, with some tragic results.

The meta story of the Venators was really well done and interesting and I want to know more. I loved the backstory about Victoria's great aunt and I hope to hear more in the next book. The vampires are baddies, which was delicious and most of the characters were not so much virtuous or evil but flawed, as humans can be. The secondary characters were memorable and not so many you lost count.

I loved this book. I loved the spin Gleason gave the vampire genre, keeping it alive and interesting. I will definitely be back for more!

I had the chance recently to finally sit down and read Colleen Gleason's The Rest Falls Away and I have to say it is one heck of a book.

I cut my teeth in the romance genre back in my teen years. I bypassed the lighter, contemporary fare that so many of my peers read and headed straight for the lusher historical epics by romance mavens Kathleen Woodiwiss and Johanna Lindsey. I read every one I could get my hands on but eventually moved away from the genre when someone put the Dune chronicles by Frank Herbert in my hands. They, along with many other sci-fi books, fed my need for meaty reads, especially book series. I've read other types of books as well - I enjoy non-fiction and am particularly fond of the Scarpetta book series by Patrica Cornwell - but it was many, many years before I returned to reading romance books, and it's been even longer since I read a historical one.

Enter The Rest Falls Away.

In this, the first volume in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Colleen spins a wonderful, suspenseful and sexy tale that left me wanting more. Indeed, I can't wait for the second installment in this series. (Note to Colleen: I'm not usually one for the bad boys, but Sebastian ... what a very hot and naughty fella. The darkness in Max is also rather ... stimulating ... yes, that's the right word, stimulating. There's definitely a story there. )

I devoured each page of The Rest Falls Away and was reminded of how much I had loved reading about different time periods, the way people dressed and behaved, even spoke. It was always like looking through a window into the past, albeit a sometimes fogged one from all that action between those hulky heroes and lovely heroines. The Rest Falls Away gave me the chance to look back again, this time into 19th century London, moving back and forth between high society balls and parties, and midnight raids as part of a secret battle between good and evil. What great fun!

Victoria, our tough, fiery and passionate (damn, that Sebastian knows what buttons to push ... and undo ... so naughty) heroine wears ballgowns and frets about where to hide the wooden stakes so necessary to her job as a vampire hunter.

I really enjoyed The Rest Falls Away. I found it an engrossing read with compelling characters and a detailed and intriguing mythology that holds great promise. I am eager to see how things go for Victoria and her vampire slaying compatriots. Something tells me we've not heard the last from her archnemesis, the evil vampire queen Lilith. Victoria has, after all, a destiny to fulfill.

So, bring it on, Colleen! I'm ready for more!

Let me start this review by saying, I don't read historicals OR vampire books, but I got the opportunity to read this book and it blew me away! What a fantastic concept - a woman on the eve of her debut into society finds out she's part of a birthline of vampire slayers. In an era where women couldn't even wear pants or go out unescorted, Victoria's presented with quite a challenge in order to live her double life.

The author does a fabulous job of bringing this story to life on the page. The plot is full of action and the characters are fully developed and very interesting. I can't wait for the next in this series - and to see which man is the keeper for Victoria.

With two of my favorites genres combined I was excited to read this book and I really wanted to like it but halfway through I was skimming just to get through it. This can't be compared to Jane Austen or even a mediocre Regency novel. A lot of the history (which is mentioned to set the era I suppose) is wrong. Gas lamps in houses? Not quite. Piano works? Depending on the year maybe, I doubt it - probably a pianoforte. Almacks was mentioned as though the author thinks name dropping is enough to qualify this as a Regency. Also permission for a waltz could not be granted by the parent of the debutant but by the patronesses of Almacks. The clothing descriptons are off too. How old is the Marquess? The author writes him as if he is traditionally older say 30/32 yet if he was 16 when the heroine was 12 and she delayed her debut 2 years he can't be above 23. And as for the vampire aspect . . . there are three kinds apparently - you're garden variety average undead, the Guardians, and the dreaded Imperials - all of which seem to be dusted equally easily. The threat level even for the bad of the bad is minimal. If you're a horror fan looking for a good vamp story this is not it. It is almost as insulting comparing the Regency aspect of this to Jane Austen as it is comparing Victoria to Buffy. Buffy the series and even most of the books has pathos, emotion, and depth - none of that is here. The writing is very poor and the characters have no set voice. The author tells rather than shows and there is no depth the whole is very one dimensional. I've read better online fiction that this. There is a twist at then end which in the hands of a good story teller would have elevated this book but here barely registered any emotion from the characters involved or this reader. There is a good story in here but the execution is so poor the book should be staked.

The Rest Falls Away is a promising beginning to a new historical vampire series. I can't say that this first book was a fantastic debut to the series, but Ms. Gleason has certainly created an intriguing world with several interesting and even a couple fascinating characters as well as an entertaining story.

Victoria Gardella is the latest in her family of vampire hunters to be called to save the world from the evil undead. In The Rest Falls Away, Victoria is mentored and trained by her great-aunt, the only other female vampire slayer, and Maxmillian- the acerbic, rude and critical master vampire slayer. Victoria also meets the catch of the season- Phillip- and falls in love with him. Her feelings are complicated by her duty as a slayer and also her feelings for the seductive but untrustworthy Sebastian. Victoria is convinced she can be both a vampire hunter and a wife, and she very quickly learns the terrible sacrifices she must make if she is to continue the family legacy.

Unfortunately, I didn't love The Rest Falls Apart although I think it has potential. Most of the book felt like set up for the rest of the series. Too much needed to be explained, too many people were introduced and too many relationships had to start developing within the amount of pages written. The pace of the book was also rather meandering. Large portions of the book seemed a little slow and unnecessary while other parts like her relationship with Phillip and the vampire hunting either weren't large enough or developed enough. I liked Phillip at first, but after not getting enough page time with him and then learning more about Max and Sebastian, my interest in Phillip sort of disappeared. Also, the central conflict regarding the tome and Lilith could have been tighter. As it was, the pace just didn't have the sense of urgency that I wanted.

On a more positive note, Victoria is a great character who you sympathize with and root for. Max, I hope, has great potential as a future love interest and I can't wait to read more about him and his disagreements with Victoria. Sebastian is very intriguing- I was left wanting to know more about who this mysterious character is and what his motives are. Utimately, despite a slow start, I'm happy I decided to read The Rest Falls Away. The story, the characters and, of course, the author have a lot of potential.

In every generation, a (slayer) Venator is born... This generation happens to be in Regency England. In fact, the cover is impressively descriptive (except for that misleading "romance" on the spine). It's Regency Buffy. Or, as the book trailer says, "Buffy meets Pride and Prejudice."

The vampire slayers in this universe are called "Venators," and it's a hereditary trait that can be accepted or passed on to the next generation. Most Venators are male, but Victoria Gardella Grantworth's great aunt Eustacia is one, and her mother was called, but turned it down. Now it's Victoria's turn.

Unlike Eustacia, who sacrificed having a husband and children of her own for her duty, Victoria is determined to have it all, and accepts her childhood sweetheart's suit. Phillip, now a marquess, loves Victoria, but becomes increasingly concerned about her odd disappearances.

And those disappearances are becoming more frequent, as the vampire Lilith moves into town with her minions, looking for a mysterious book that will give her even greater powers.

In addition to Aunt Eustacia, Victoria is aided by the enigmatic Max, who's also a Venator, though not a hereditary one; and the even more mysterious Sebastian, who owns a vampire bar.

I love Buffy, I enjoy Regencies--it's a fabulous combination. It was so much fun watching Victoria try to merge her two lives, and grow in confidence even as her life becomes more complicated. The action is exciting and suspenseful, and there's just enough worldbuilding to keep me grounded and make things logical, but not so much that it gets overwhelming. The three men in her life: Phillip, Max, and Sebastian, are all interesting and hero-worthy in different ways, and there's plenty of sensuality between them.

But I wouldn't call it a romance, regardless of what's on the spine. The romantic scenes are not the focus of the book at all--the focus is on the paranormal action/adventure and on Victoria dealing with a dual life. Which is just fine, because otherwise, the ending would have been infuriating rather than painful and emotional. Er. Hope that wasn't too spoilery, but I think it's precisely because I wasn't expecting a romance that I enjoyed this book so much. As it turns out, the balance between the subplots worked perfectly--the lack of focus on the romance subplot kept me from expecting (and from being disappointed in the lack of) a romantic resolution, or HEA.

The Rest Falls Away, like its main character vampire hunting debutante Victoria, grows into something quite different in its final chapters from what it starting out as at the beginning. There was almost a light silly quality to most of the book with the chatty vampire discussions of the "aunts", the goofy chapter titles and all of the superficial regency romance trappings: descriptions of Victoria's ball gowns, accessories and hairstyles. But that is Victoria's world at the beginning of the book, when she is just playing at being a vampire hunter and enjoying the freedom it gives her from the role that society expects her to play. She believes she can balance these two wierdly different halfs of her life: the excitement of the hunt, in addition to love and a family. Unfortunately, Victoria eventually discovers that she can't really have it all and the discovery comes at great cost, transforms Victoria, gives the book a greater depth than I expected.

This is the start of a paranormal-historical-romance series, and I absolutely loved it. I am a huge vampire novel fan; this was a nice change from what I've been reading in that the vampires are not sexy good guys: they are evil. And I must disagree with another reviewer who stated that the characters were flat and the heroine unlikeable. I fell in love with all the characters: Victoria, Phillip, Sebastian, even Max. I raced through the book in record time and am eagerly awaiting the next installment, Rises the Night, due out in June.

Great read! Author captivates you and keeps you entranced till the very end. I laughed , cried and bit my nails all thru out the series.