4.5/5 After the intense ride of The Tale Of The Vampire Bride, it was a welcome relief to relax (a little) as Lady Glynis embraces her role as Countess4.5/5 After the intense ride of The Tale Of The Vampire Bride, it was a welcome relief to relax (a little) as Lady Glynis embraces her role as Countess Dracula and begins to unfurl her plans to exact revenge on all those that made her life, um, HELL in the first book. And even though this second book in the Vampire Bride series is a tad bit lighter, I could not walk away from this one for longer than maybe a pee-break or two. I was seriously camped out on the couch with snacks and drink surrounding me for the duration.
Where the first book focused on Glynis, Vlad and the brides, Vengeance takes off and adds some really fantastic characters. I’m actually amazed that Ms. Frater could add so many characters to a story and not one of them got lost in the story nor made the story feel overwhelmed and without plot. Each and every character had a role in the story. Some I wanted to see more than others (Ahem, Ignatius!) Some less than others (oh, Katya, what are we going to do with you?) And some just left me wondering what they’re going to do next and why are they there (Percy?). My favorites? It would have to be Adem and Magda, with Laura coming up a close third.
Next, I absolutely love where Frater has taken her Vampire Bride world in this sequel. Instead of having to spend her time introducing her world to the reader, Ms. Frater takes the opportunity to use all her characters to build up a new “supernatural” world for Glynis to assimilate into.
While we learn about this new world with Glynis, Glynis struggles with her identity and figuring out who she can trust. If that wasn’t enough, she still has to enact her plans for revenge and get her love, Ignatius, back into her life. And because Glynis knows very little about vampire law or protocol, she’s going to make mistakes along the way, which only ups the excitement. Add in the cranky fallen angel Astir and the brother/sister House of Gavril and Frater works her writing magic up to the astonishing ending that had me gasping (seriously, I was gasping!) for more!
Notice I’ve said nothing about the plot? No spoilers here, sorry!
You’re probably wondering why I only gave Vengeance a 4.5 instead of 5. Well, there was a bit of a lull (for me anyways) about a quarter of the way in that lasted for maybe a chapter that, frankly, surprised me that it was even there. Frater is such a succinct, well worded, fluent writer that I didn’t expect to have a point in the story where I actually thought, “Hey, Glynis! Get off your butt, stop over thinking and do something!!”.
Yes, I do talk to characters regularly. But only if the book wraps me up and takes me away to the world inside. Obviously, Ms. Frater was able to transport me back to Buda in 1820. Rhiannon Frater is that talented of an author and I suggest you read anything of hers you can get your hands on, including the Vampire Bride series.
As for the next book in the Vampire Bride series, you’re going to have to wait until 2013 for The Lament of the Vampire Bride (Vampire Bride #3)....more
If you like your vampires classically wicked, nasty and powerful, you'll love this nightmare of a tale from Rhiannon Frater!
Frater has become known aIf you like your vampires classically wicked, nasty and powerful, you'll love this nightmare of a tale from Rhiannon Frater!
Frater has become known as of late for her zombie trilogy, As The World Dies, and the hugely popular The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel. But before zombies, I think she loved her vampires a bit more. Case in point, the classic and sophisticated nightmare-ish tale of The Vampire Bride.
Told in the first person through diary entries, Lady Glynis Wright is a nineteen year old English aristocrat whose parents are bound and determined to marry her off despite her protests. Glynis refuses to play nice while meeting potential suitors. On a last ditch effort to find her a husband, the family heads to Hungary to meet Count Vlad Dracula. Dracula, a name of prestige and wealth in society, soon becomes the true meaning of evil to Glynis.
I had been hearing about author Rhiannon Frater all over the blogs and how terrific her books were. Not having read a lot of zombie books, I decided to start with her Vampire Bride series, a genre I know and love. I started reading urban fantasy with Anita Blake so my first love is Jean-Claude and I will always love him most. He might have some competition, though. We'll have to see...
I absolutely loved getting into this vampire tale fraught with evil, true love and ultimately tortured souls that had me feeling empathy for the bad guy at moments. Truly, sometimes even I wasn't sure who the bad guys were. Ms. Frater convincingly had my emotions shredded back and forth consistently throughout the entire length of the book. If the rest of the book sucked, I would have given this book 5 stars on the ending alone!
The pace of the book was timed perfectly. There were absolutely no lulls in the story where I felt comfortable putting the book down. And I connected with each and every character, even peripheral characters whose motivations I quickly understood even as briefly as they were "on the scene".
Ms. Frater doesn't hold anything back in the horror, torture and evil departments. This is NOT a light, breezy read. I think I like that most about the story. There is no dancing around the subject here! Hold on!
It IS a great, classic vampire tale for the mature audience; for those of us who can appreciate a dark tale of despair, love and hope. I think all vampire fans MUST read this book, if not for the sheer pleasure of reading a good book, but to read an example of what a classic vampire, in my opinion, truly is in literature. ...more
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