It is a rare thing for an author to completely surprise me, but I have to confess that Colleen Gleason has done it with each outing in her Gardella Vampire Chronicles, including the upcoming The Bleeding Dusk (Feb. 5, 2008), which I had the privilege of reading to kick off the New Year.
The Bleeding Dusk, which picks up around a year after events in Rises the Night, with Victoria taking on the mantle of “The Gardella,” is a true delight and adventure that will have you holding your breath in more than a few places, as it takes you on journey fraught with danger, heartbreak, betrayal, anger and passion, all building to a stunning conclusion.
This is a book I would love to describe at length here, but I find myself reluctant to do so for fear, in my post-reading excitement, I will reveal too much and possibly spoil the read for others. The Bleeding Dusk and its predecessors — The Rest Falls Away and Rises The Night — are simply too good for me to risk that happening, and I respect the author and what she’s accomplished with this series too much to chance it. Truly, books of this caliber are rare and reading them is an “experience,” a journey best experienced firsthand over any summarizing I might do — and I seriously doubt any summary I would write would do the book justice.
Ms. Gleason’s writing is brilliant and powerful, without even a whiff of the cliche, and her storytelling skills are as sharp as the points on the stakes her heroine wields. She consistently delivers an intense (and intensely satisfying) read with plot twists and turns aplenty, and revelations and discoveries that will make your heart pound in both fear and exhilaration. And talk about cliffhanger endings… Colleen, I love ya, but you’re killing me here!
Seriously, vampire romance fans, if you like books that have dynamic, flawed and fallible characters that embody boldness, bravery, passion and a sense of duty, that have intricately woven plots and surprises around almost every corner, and a writer who breathes to life a story with startling originality, authenticity and believability, then The Gardella Vampire Chronicles should be on your reading list. This is arguably one of the best written series out there; each book has certainly left me wanting — okay, begging for — more.
Hint-hint, Colleen. I’m ready for the next one!
Have you read The Bleeding Dusk? If so, please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you think.
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(16 votes, average: 4.06 out of 5)
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