THE BLEEDING DUSK

Author: Colleen Gleason ISBN: 9780451223265 2/2008 PARANORMAL Publisher: BERKLEY

To gain access to the secrets of a legendary alchemist, Rome's vampires have allied themselves with creatures as evil and bloodthirsty as they are. The new leader of the city's vampire hunters—Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy—reluctantly turns to the enigmatic Sebastian Vioget for help, just as Maximilian Pesaro arrives to aid his fellow slayers, no matter what the sacrifice. Desire puts her at the mercy of Sebastian, while loyalty binds her to Max, but she does not know if she can trust either. Especially when a seductive vampire begins luring her into the shadows...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The Gardella Vampire Chronicles just keep getting better and better!  I was so excited to get a chance to review this book because I think that this series is just awesome!

Victoria is one tough chick, and that is one of the things that I like about her.  She has that "leader of the pack/I can kick your butt" vibe that all vamps should have—especially when she is being drawn into a web of deceit and the only people who can help her are the two men in the world who drive her crazy.

This is where it gets sticky for me.  I found myself LOVING Max and Victoria—their chemistry, their charisma, their spice.  Max is flat out sexy and so very capable, confident and arrogant, that I couldn't help but fall in love—I'm a sucker for the bad boy persona.  I found myself wanting him to be with Victoria, even though my feelings didn't stay that way for long.

Sebastian... Yowza! I suppose that can't be all I say about him, but it should give you a good idea of where I'm going with this.  He is S-E-X-Y and, again, I loved him for different reasons—the way he seemed (to me, anyway) to wear his heart on his sleeve for Victoria and the sacrifices he was willing to make, and did make, spoke volumes of how he feels for Victoria, and I loved him for it. 

THE BLEEDING DUSK is very deep, absolutely gothic at times, with vamps, venators, demons... and Beuaregard and Akvan.  But, I loved every minute of it, these three awesome beings teaming up to overcome this dark evil and in the process becoming so close... and yet so far away from one another.  I can't say enough about how much I love this book, and I hope sincerely that I am making sense!

I couldn't decide who I wanted Victoria to end up with, even though I knew who was the better man for her, but it sure was fun watching her figure it out.  In case you can't already tell, THE BLEEDING DUSK is a fantastic read that had my heart pounding and my blood pumping from start to finish! 

Kristal Gorman