Review: The Rest Falls Away & Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason

The Rest Falls Away, Book 1 of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles

Beneath the glitter of dazzling 19th-century London Society lurks a bloodthirsty evil…

In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy of hunting vampires, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake.

Rises the Night, Book 2 of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles

The glorious nineteenth-century city of Rome gives rise to a new threat from the Immortal Undead…

Victoria Gardella has been a vampire slayer for just over a year, balancing her life as a peer of Society with the dangerous role that takes her out on moonlit streets, stake in hand.

These books have languished on my shelf since they were published last year. After I bought them I wasn’t sure I wanted to read them since they are marketed as paranormal romances. I haven’t found many paranormals particularly compelling. I like science fiction and fantasy better.

After finally reading the first two books in this series (and liking them very much) I wouldn’t classify these as paranormal romances. They read more like historical urban fantasy to me! The series takes place in Europe in the 19th century which is certainly a setting for many romances and they have some romantic elements, but these first two are not romances–there is no happy ending. Maybe by the time the series ends there will be a happy ending. For now I am enjoying the harder edged fantasy!

I saw the books described as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Pride & Prejudice.” The comparison to a 19th century Buffy is certainly apt. Colleen Gleason uses the strictures of 19th century European society to create situations for Victoria Gardella Grantworth, her vampire hunter, to solve. For example, how does she carry a wooden stake to a society ball? How does she excuse her absences from a ball to kill a vampire? I liked the way Victoria learns to adapt to her new position as a vampire hunter. She doesn’t turn into a serious hunter overnight. She still enjoys society balls, she dances, has friends, falls in love. She also learns hard lessons. She finally learns can no longer be the fun-loving society belle after what she must see and do. Along with the hard lessons she finds she has freedoms as a vampire hunter other females of her class never dream of.

The characters are well-rounded–not all good, not all bad. The reader discovers bits and pieces as the books unfold. Sebastian Vioget, for example, is a mystery, but by the end of the second book we know more about him and his motives–though certainly not all his motivations or secrets.

Eustacia Gardella, Victoria’s aunt and mentor, introduces her into the world of vampire hunting. She is wise and still strong though crippled with arthritis. She seems much more a mother figure to Victoria than Victoria’s own mother.

Since most of the books are written from Victoria’s point-of-view–though in third person–we know more about Victoria’s feelings, fears and motivations. At the beginning of the first book she is unsure of herself and some of her actions are foolhardy. For example, she hunts vampires by herself and doesn’t tell her aunt or Max (an experienced vampire hunter) important things she learns, such as the location of the Book of Antwartha (which they are searching for in the first book). She wants to show them she is capable of handling serious problems. There are consquences to her actions and that’s not sugarcoated. She learns, grieves and grows because of what happens in her life. I like that about these books. By the end of the second book she is older, wiser, sadder, but she has percevered.

I like that the series is hard edged and not always comfortable to read. It is not predictable. The plot twists keep the books interesting. I am definitely looking forward to the third book (published earlier this year) and the fourth book which is scheduled for publication in August 2008!