Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Vampire Voss, by Susan Grant

Posted by Unknown at 1:32 PM

The Vampire Voss, by Colleen Gleason takes place in England during the year 1804. The author’s voice is true to the culture of an 1804 England when the country was close to war with France. This book is the first installment in a trilogy. So, there is a lot of information and background given by the author to acclimate the reader to the history of the characters. In addition, the point of view pivots back and forth between characters which sometimes makes it difficult to keep track of the events and who’s view point the story is relating.

The main conflict of the novel occurs because Angelica’s brother, Chas Woodmore - a vampire hunter, abducted Cezar Moldavi’s sister, Narcise. Because of Chas’ actions, he has placed his three sisters in danger. To ensure their safety, Chas procured Earl Cordinvale’s promise to take guardianship of Angelica, Maia, and Sonia. So, Dimitri and Voss, by association, spend a lot of time and energy attempting to keep the sisters safe from the faction of Dracule society led by Cezar who is retaliating Chas’ actions. As I have alluded to before, the narration of these events can become convoluted if the reader is not paying close attention.

The romance in this tale is between the handsome rake, Lord Dewhurst (Voss) and Angelica Woodmore. Voss is Dracule, a.k.a. vampire. The Dracule are marked by Lucifer himself and can be called upon any time to fight in his army. The mark lends itself to immortality and along with it the potential for debauchery. His character is depicted as an unforgiving rake who goes through women like he changes clothes. Angelica is a high-born mortal with the gift of Sight who is coming out in England’s high society to find a husband.

In the beginning, Voss’ interest in Angelica is simply to use her and her Sight as a tool to glean information he can manipulate to his own needs. As the story commences, his interest becomes more focused on her for other reasons than her usefulness. Through his association with Angelica, Voss changes and comes to care very much for the heroine.

Overall, the novel is a decent start to a trilogy. The author, Susan Grant, shows a lot of imagination and creativity in this novel which affords good potential for the next books. I think that the hectic pace of the story line detracted from the story for me because it kept me from completely engaging in the tale. I recommend reading this book before reading the next book - The Vampire Dimitri.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Happy Reading!!


2 comments:

Escape by Fiction on February 23, 2011 at 4:58 PM said...

Susan Grant of Colleen Gleason?

This book was ok for me. I didn't really like the inconsistencies - ex - Dimitri is spelled Demitri in the Voss book, but not the next one (weird). And I am SOOOOOO not a fan of regency london - ugh.

Good review, very insightful. And I agree, it is a good start for a trilogy - just not my cup of tea though.

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom on February 25, 2011 at 1:12 PM said...

Your review system is so helpful. I'll have to check out some of these I've never read. Great blog. I'm following from book blogs.

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