Customer Reviews

Waltz With A Vampire (Zebra Regency Romance)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book -- like most of MacKeever's -- is a very engaging and amusing read. Unlike the previous reviewer, I really enjoyed the details that gave me a strong sense of being in Edinburgh. As for Emily and Val, I thought they were great together, and was sorry for their story to end. I especially liked the Romanian proverbs that headed each chapter, and several of them made me laugh out loud. And then there was the ghost--

People unfamiliar with traditional Regencies might not understand the conventions, or that only so much 'sizzle' is allowed. (Emily and Val definitely pushed the envelope.) For those of us familiar with the genre, Maggie MacKeever has long a favorite. For her to add vampires to her repertoire is a real treat, and I hope she does many more 'paranormal' stories. I'd rate this a 'must read'.

Author seemed to have relied too heavily on detailing things that I found extremely distracting from the story. I just don't find it necessary to know every minute detail unless it has some bearing on what is happening; it tends to make me feel as though the author is just filling space. I enjoyed both characters (Emily and Val) seperately but didn't really get a sense of them together; they sort of fizzled instead of sizzled. The author spent so much time in describing things around them that she sort of left the main characters to develop on their own and as best they could. Although all the characters were quite colorful and indeed enjoyable, "Waltz With A Vampire" had all the elements to be a thoroughly funny romance novel but just missed the mark. A shame indeed.

I should have known by the title that this would be an historical novel, which is not my favorite type. But my main comlaint is with the vampire and the heroine who I did not like or enjoy reading about. He was too cavalier, distant, uptight and she was too annoying with her prudish, bookish, rather stilted attitude. I also disliked the tedious descriptions that went on and on. I really had trouble finishing this book, because none of the characters rang true or even fantastic, either would have worked for me. By the style of the cover you might think this book is humorous, but alas that angle doesn't work either. Some might find the characters funny, but I just found them ridiculous. Any humor was tasteless and at the expense of the characters. I could have cared less if Emily and Val got together. They seemed so disconnected and distant and their passions so weak and dimwitted, no pun intended.

As an obsessive reader of both the regency and paranormal genres, with a particular fondness for WIT, this is one of my all time favorites. The only thing I don't like about the book is the cover - a style which I normally like very much, but I think it does a grave disservice to the contents, implying a level of fun (correctly) and modernity (UNtrue) and in no way indicates that it's an exceptionally well done PERIOD piece.
Usually I'm not wild about dialect, but Maggie MacKeever has a deft and amusing touch with it that I really appreciate. And I can only imagine how much fun she had either creating and/or researching the 'Romanian proverbs' at the beginning of each chapter. Isidore is a HOOT!!
Her characters have a wonderful, down to earth realism to them which is refreshing in a shared genre book where such is often not the case in either genre. And I enjoyed every single one of the supporting characters and the dialogue. In fact, her facility and gently satirical touch reminds me of Jane Austen - a similarity I have rarely perceived in modern writers.
And MacKeever can WRITE!
I cannot recommend this piece of charm, fluff and quality strongly enough. And I sincerely hope that she will write in this genre again. Waiting for the next book impatiently -
- a real fan

I like the fast disappearing Regency genre and I suppose inserting a "vampire" theme is a way to draw in an audience wishing for more spice in their books. Whether it succeeds remains to be seen. I liked this book - the characters in it were very different. The lead woman, Emily, was a contrast to the norm. Left in charge of a strange society after the death (murder?) of her father, she enlists the help of a vampire to retrieve items stolen from this same society. Val (Ravensclaw aka Count Revey-Czobar) - after some time, fully admits to being "other-worldly". We are not inundated with a lot of information about the vampire life or Emily's society. I can't yet decide if I liked that or not. It seemed so much of the story missing, yet I get tired of books that have to spend a lot of time explaining their world. After all, a Regency novel has a limited number of pages to get the story done.

I enjoyed the secondary characters which are introduced. Emily's conflicted feelings about her ex-fiancé are an added benefit. Emily's overt desire of Val does add the needed spice. The seduction scenes - all thwarted for the most part - are well done. The story of retrieving the missing items is lost in all the other events but the story does come to a fairly predictable ending. Yet there is a little indecisiveness to the happily-ever-after. I am looking forward to other books like this by this author as I have already read some of her more traditional Regencies.

Like other reviewers I had a very hard time getting through this book. The Author gave both too much information and not enough. She would describe the placement of a lamp on a table but not the passage of time. Suddenly characters would be in a new locale, which was expounded upon, but gave little reason or lead up as to how they got there.
Also frustrating was the use of accented writing. A little bit of native speech is fine to flavor the writing but the Author went overboard. It got to the point where I had absolutely no idea what was being said.
I am glad to see more and more Paranormal Romances being written, but not in this sloppy fashion. Do not pay full price for this book!