Review:
This is such a great series! And this book was especially exciting for a certain reason that I can’t talk about because spoilers! I feel like these books are almost a guilty pleasure at this point. I mean, they’re good in all the conventional ways a book should be good (characters, plot, etc.), but they also fulfill some sort of juicy, angsty, soap-opera-y romance need I didn’t even know I had.
For one thing, I love Victoria’s love life. She always has all these different guys interested in her, and so she flirts, dates, kisses, has sex, etc., and I swear reading about it is this feeling like she’s my best friend and I just can’t wait to hear all the juicy new details.
Victoria is also sarcastic and snarky, but I swear she has the classiest snark ever. It cracks me up, and I just love this girl. But all the characters are so good at making biting remarks at each other, and I feel like I should just keep a cooler full of ice with me to hand out to them for all the burns they’re continually getting. I’m constantly oooh-ing and cringing and feeling bad for them but also secretly loving it.
Then there’s all those conventional things I mentioned, like the three-dimensional characters who have all been through and done terrible things that no one should ever have to experience or do. And the amazing, tension-filled, historical-esque writing. And the Victorian London setting, which, to a girl who lives in present day America, is like being transported to a whole ‘nother world.
And to top it all off, I LOVE the emotion laced throughout these books, especially the oftentimes heart-tugging romance. This time there was even a love triangle, which only made me happier since it was a good one. *SPOILER* And Sebastian, who I pretty much haven’t liked since the beginning (I mean, he’s great as a character, but as a person he made a terrible first impression on me) even managed to gain major points with me, making the triangle even better for me because I started to almost kind of get torn between the two guys… Almost. I still knew who I really wanted 😉 *END SPOILER*
So overall, this has been a consistently great series so far with tortured characters, lots of twists and secrets, and juicy, complicated romance, and I’m loving it!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1-3 in Colleen Gleason's Gardella Vampire Hunters series. Anyone who likes historical fantasy with complex characters, complicated relationships, lots of sexual tension, and a kickass female protagonist.
More Books in the Series:
Book Review: The Rest Falls Away (The Gardella Vampire Hunters Book 1) by Colleen Gleason
Book Review: Rises the Night (The Gardella Vampire Hunters Book 2) by Colleen Gleason
Book Review: The Bleeding Dusk (The Gardella Vampire Hunters Book 3) by Colleen Gleason
Book Review: When Twilight Burns (The Gardella Vampire Hunters Book 4) by Colleen Gleason
Book Review: As Shadows Fade (The Gardella Vampire Hunters Book 5) by Colleen Gleason
Ooh more Gleason. I never did finish her Stoker & Holmes series. LOL about cooler of ice- I remember her being a pretty good writer of snark. 🙂 Combine that with Victoriana and vampire hunting (always a concept I like) and this sounds like something I might like. Probably more than Stoker & Holmes since that was more YA.
Nice cover.
I seriously love how much they sass and jab at each other lol.
Love the cover and the review! Victoria sounds like a great character, so I’m totally interested in this series now. ~Aleen
She’s one of my absolute favorite characters! You should definitely try the series!
She sounds like such a fun heroine!
She’s one of my absolute favorite female characters!
Those soap opera-y romances can be fun to read once in awhile. I read some books this year that also have a lot of drama and almost soap opera feel, but they are so good!
Snark can be fun depending on how it’s done, it also can get a bit annoying sometimes. So i am glad to hear this character’s snark was funny.
And a well done love triangle can be great as it can add a lot of emotion. It does sound like a great series!
I’ve never read another series quite like this with the kinda soap-opera feel, but I loved it, haha.
The snark definitely works in this series!
I do like well-done love triangles 😀
This sounds SO up my alley! Strong urban fantasy plus juicy gossip and an over the top love life? Sign me up! I’ve heard some really good things about Colleen Gleason but I have yet to actually read one of her books. I’ve gotta get my hands on book one!
If you like those things, I think you’ll LOVE this series!