Title: The Rest Falls Away (Gardella Vampire Chronicles #1)
Author: Colleen Gleason
Publisher: Allison and Busby
Publication Date: 2008 (2007)
Pages: 445
Format: Paperback
Genre: Paranormal / Historical
Source: Bought Copy
In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy of vampire slaying, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake. But as she moves between the crush of ballrooms and dangerous, moonlit streets, Victoria's heart is torn between London's most eligible bachelor, the Marquess of Rockley, and her enigmatic ally, Sebastian Vioget. And when she comes face to face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make the choice between duty and love. (Goodreads Synopsis)
I picked up this book after having loved the Regency Draculia trilogy by the same author. This story was okay, but it failed to catch my attention the way Regency Draculia did.
The opening was very slow and rather clichéd and a few times I had to convince myself to keep reading. Unlike the Regency Draculia series, which was fresh and interesting, I read this feeling that I'd seen it all before in Buffy. Victoria's character never grew on me, the men were insipid and the plot was fairly predictable.
That said, the pace did pick up by the mid-way point and that kept me going to the end as by that point I did want to see how it would all play out.
I probably will still read the other books in this series, but unlike the Regency Draculia stories that I feel I could read again and still enjoy, the Gardella books will be ones I only want to read once.
In conclusion: This is not a bad story, but it was just lacking that spark of originality to make it stand out from the crowd. For those new to Gleason's work, I would recommend the Regency Draculia trilogy over this one.
That's a little disappointing, but the premise sounds good, so I'll probably pick this up if I happen to see it.
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