Thursday, March 31, 2011

Review: VAMPIRE VOSS by Colleen Gleason


Vampires in Regency England…what’s not to love? 

Like many women of the time, Angelica Woodmore’s sole responsibility is to find a suitable husband.  But she is far more interesting than the insipid and silly society girls.  Angelica lives with a dark knowledge. She has a psychic ability to see people’s deaths.  This ability is both a gift and a curse, for she has to live with the knowledge.  When her brother and guardian goes missing, she and her sisters are placed under the guardianship of her brother’s business associate, the mysterious Earl of Covindale.

Enter Voss Arden, Viscount Dewhurst.  Voss is a 148 year old vampire who is, in typical vamp fashion, only out for himself.   Learning of Chas Woodmore’s disappearance and of his sister’s rare talent, Voss seeks to employ her services.  Voss is a wonderfully brilliant character!  He is conceited, selfish and a prankster.  He aligns himself with no one and deals out information to the highest bidder, regardless of what side they are on.  He wants to use Angelica’s ability to learn information that he will be able to sell.  What he doesn’t count on is how lovely she is and how badly, he wants to possess her. 

Angelica soon learns that her brother Chas has run off with the sister of a nasty vampire, Cezar Moldovi.  When a group of his henchmen begin tearing up the town to find Angelica in order to punish her brother, Voss’s long buried protective instincts kick in.  He finds himself battling his urge to drain and bed her. 

This book has plenty of action and romance and fun characters.  The chemistry between Angelica and Voss is hot, but at the same time, it is not the typical “bad boy in need of the love of a good woman.”  Voss is a servant of Lucifer.  As such, he is completely self-absorbed, a literal slave to his desires.  His inner battle and it’s outcome are probably my favorite elements of the story. 

Angelica is also a wonderful character.  She’s a proper young woman of her time, but also incredibly tough.  She doesn’t allow Voss to push her around.  Her journey as a character revolves around discovering her inner strength.  There is a fabulous image of her barefoot and bleeding on the floor of a room destroyed by murderous vampires clutching a makeshift stake to her chest, ready to fight for her life.  My description can’t come close to how beautiful this image was. 

The reviews of it on Amazon are mixed, but I enjoyed it.  The sister Maia irritated me, but I think she was supposed to.  There are two more in this series coming out this spring, and I plan to read them. 

Overall, I give Vampire Voss

Plot – 4 bookmarks
Character Development – 4 ½ bookmarks
Love Story – 4 bookmarks
Interpretation of Vampire Lore – 4 bookmarks
Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Shannon Woodward (Angelica), Charlie Hunnam (Voss)

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