Colleen Gleason – The Bleeding Dusk – Read for #LLC2015

The third book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles series, published February 5, 2008.
Genre: historical urban fantasy
Cover: good



As Rome prepares for its Carnevale, vampire hunter Lady Victoria Gardella is in no mood for festivities. But her personal grief must be set aside for there is a sinister plot underway. In yet another play for power, vampires have formed an unholy alliance with the demon Akvan in order to gain access to an ancient alchemist’s secrets. Reluctantly, Victoria must turn to the enigmatic Sebastian Vioget for help, just as Maximilian Pesaro arrives to assist his fellow slayers – no matter what the sacrifice. As the bloodthirsty army ravages the city streets, Victoria races to solve the age-old mystery – if she fails, the world is lost forever.


Still grieving the loss of her aunt, Victoria is now Illa Gardella, the head of the clan of vampire hunters in Rome, like her aunt before her. Staying busy and slaying vampire is all she wants, but when she arrives home one day, she is in for an unpleasant surprise: her mother (Lady Melly) and her two best friends (Lady Winnie and Lady Nilly) have arrived, and they are all set to celebrate the Carnevale, and find Victoria another husband. They don’t know about her secret job, or the fact that vampires excist, though Lady Nilly certainly thinks so.

The vampires are devided into two faction, one with the ancient Beauregard as its leader (the great-great-great-grandfather of Sebastian Vioget), and the other with the recently turned Count Regalado. But the vampires are plotting again, with one faction aligning themselves with the demon Akvan. And if they gain access to the secrets hidden in the Villa Palombara, the world is in great danger. And so it is up to Victoria and her fellow Venators to thwart their plans and find those secrets first.
And that is not an easy thing to do, when Beauregard wants Victoria for himself, and she also has to keep her mother out of trouble.


Another captivating story in this amazing series. So much happened, and I saw nothing of it coming. And again, an ending that makes me crave the next book immediately. I want to know what happened and why. I like Victoria a lot, she has gone through so much already, loosing her husband and now her aunt, and she still does her duty as well as she can. She is torn between Sebastian and Max. And Max still keeps in the dark about his actions and motives, causing her so much trouble and pain. If only he would tell her things, they would be able to work together. Max’s scorned fiancée is up to no good either, and I want to know what she is planning. Cause hell hath no fury …
And I am most certain that Lilith won’t let him walk away from her either …
I was also stunned by the revelation about Sebastian, and I still don’t like him. He seems obsessed with Victoria, but does little to help her. A case of too little too late?

A great and original series, where the vampires are the bad guys instead of the ancient lovers of young girls. I like it a lot and am determined to read book 4 soon.

9 stars.







Read for #LLC2015
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© 2015 Reviews by Aurian