The Bleeding Dusk

Ah, what to say, what to say? It's always the books that I enjoy the most that give me the fits when it comes time to sit down and express my feelings about them.

The Bleeding Dusk picks up where Rises the Night. ended. Victoria has become the leader of the vampire slayers, or venators. She is dealing with not only finding her way as leader, but also attempting to stop the vampires who have aligned themselves with the demons from unlocking the secrets of the legendary alchemist.

While Victoria has her hands full slaying vampires and demons, she is also doing her best to ward off the attentions of Beauregard Vioget, Sebastian's vampire grandfather. Not to mention that she is dealing with Max, who has returned as a venator but still has show more ties to Lilith, the Vampire Queen. There's also Sebastian, who reenters the picture when Victoria realizes needs something from him.

What I liked about this installment was that we were able to see all three of the main characters, Victoria, Sebastian and Max, share page space.

I enjoyed getting to know Max better, even though I'm still not a fan. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a brooding male character but Max is just a stick in the mud (to me).

Side note: I'm also having a hard time softening up to Max due to something that happened in a previous book. I'm not over it, and will probably never be.

As always, I loved Sebastian. I did find myself very surprised by what is revealed about him in this book. While I didn't see it coming, it did not feel wrong or like it came out of left field. It also put my questions about why his shirt never came off into perspective. I was glad to get his point of view in this book, I had been hoping for that.

I have to say that I spent more time annoyed with Victoria in this book than I would have liked. She does a few questionable things that made me go, huh? Yeah, I had a couple of head scratches with her this go round. But I'm letting it go, chucking it up to the fact that she is young and holds a huge responsibility to mankind on her shoulders. I did like seeing her figure her way through her new responsibilities, she is one tough cookie. I'm loving seeing her grow with each book.

And, like always, Colleen leaves us with an edge of your seat ending, that makes you crazy with anticipation for the next release. show less

I loved this book! This is the third book in The Gardella Vampire Hunters series and my favorite installment so far. This is a series that does need to be read in order since so much of the story builds on events from previous books. I have had this book sitting on my Kindle for several years and I do have to say that I am a little mad at myself for neglecting for so long because it was excellent. I didn't want to put it down for a single moment and was kind of mad that I had to do responsible things, like go to work, instead of read once I started with the book. I had a fantastic time with this story.

This book picks up right after the events of the previous book. Victoria has had a lot to deal with since becoming a vampire hunter. She show more is now Summa Gardella which means she is now the leader of the group of vampire hunters. Rome is very busy with Carnivale not to mention vampires and demons. Dead bodies are piling up and Victoria and the other vampire hunters are doing their best to keep the city safe.

I have really had a great time watching the characters in this series grow over the course of the series. Victoria is so much stronger than she was at the start of the series. She has been through a lot that has changed her outlook on the world. She cares less about what society thinks of her and feels responsible for the safety of others. When her mother and her mother's friends show up in Rome, she does conform to society's standards but only to make them happy. Max is not in a good place at this point and there are some pretty pivotal changes for him in this installment. Sebastian plays a very important role in this book and some pretty surprising developments with his character that I did not expect.

This was a very exciting book. There were a lot of different things going on and plenty of action to keep things interesting. I was really nervous for the characters several times and I wasn't quite sure how things would work out. I thought that there was a perfect balance between action filled scenes and scenes more focused on the characters.

I would highly recommend this series to others. I love that the series is set in the Victorian period and believe that adds an interesting element to the story. Everything seemed to come together in this book and some really important developments were revealed. I had such a good time with this book that I bought the next book in the series right away because I couldn't wait to find out what would happen to Victoria and the other characters next!

I received a review copy of this book from Avid Press via Edelweiss. show less

Colleen Gleason continues to prove to her editors and readers that she is a cut above other mass-market romance fiction novelists. In her latest installment of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Gleason has once again shown that she can lay a complex buffet for her readers to feast on. Who else could have come up with the premise of a Regency heroine vampire slayer that is originally and legitimately well done?

The Bleeding Dusk takes us to Rome this time, where Victoria must find a way beyond the trauma and chaos of the past year, and delve into her strength to become the new Illa Gardella. Armed with two vis bullae, she, Max, Sebastian and her Venators must prevent the combined dark forces of demons and vampires from opening La Porta show more Alchemica or the Door of Alchemy. It is path fraught with sacrifice. Gleason is not into pacification. She is not going to give us an easy read where we have the end game in our sights.

Gleason deliberately toys with us with regard to Victoria's love interests and more, stops on a dime, and reverses in another direction. In many ways it works.

Throughout this entire series, I was strongly reminded of Ken Russell's movie "Gothic" intermeshed with Buffy. And I haven't seen such painstaking attention to detail since Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

Gleason tamps down the romantic element-this series reads stronger as sci-fi/fantasy, not romance (even though its marketed as romance), though there are elements of it-but that won't detract readers by any means. This is how the genre is evolving. Romance seems to be an area of growth for Gleason, and I eagerly anticipate seeing it flourish. Particularly in balancing the romance aspects with suspense. The current conundrum of Sebastian and Max is a bittersweet torment-especially with the sacrifice that Max has to make. The finale...well... it's quite a finale. Grossly enrapturing.

Those watching should bear careful consideration: Gleason can only go up from here.

Unbelievable that this is a Signet Eclipse...which is a gentle warning to her editors....at this skill level you might not have her for long...Copyright(c)Nicola Mattos show less

Ed ecco che anche questo terz volume è termina. Sono veramente entusiasta di questa saga che mi prende sempre di più ad ogni nuovo volume. Non c'è nulla da fare! Victoria è finalmente scesa a patti con se stessa e con la sua missione. E' sicura, ribelle ma 'umana' dato che, una volta tanto, non abbiamo davanti una superwomen che ad ogni capitolo sembra munirsi di sempre maggiori superpoteri potenti s pericolosissimi. Decisamente un personaggio ben riuscito! Poi c'è ovviamente Max che adoro con tutta me stessa anche se lo trovo un po' troppo votato al martirio. ma credo che sia questa sua aria da duro a renderlo così affasciante. Vioget non lo sopporto, sono gusti personali ovviamente dato che è un personaggio costruito ad arte e show more dobbiamo riconoscergli i suoi meriti, ma proprio non riesco a soffrirlo in tutto questo suo balletto da una parte all'altra. I tradimenti le bugie... nono non farebbe per me ^^' Perfino Lilith che all'inizio mi era sembrava una cattiva messa là tanto per fare... diciamo che con le poche battute finali mi sono riscoperta a comprenderla molto più che in tre libri. Questa Vampira non è una mascherina come avevo temuto, semplicemente era 'troppo' per immischiarsi con gli affari e le guerre del 'figlio' o dei demoni con i Cacciatori. Lei manovrava i fili dalla sua torre dorata soddisfatta e pigna come un gatto che ha intrappolato il topo ma non lo divora per il gusto di poter osservare la sua paura. Ora, con il tradimento di Max... beh, sono certa che nel 4° volume vedremo qualcosa in più di questa 'cattiva' . Ne sono certa.
Quattro stelline perchè è una libro coinvolgente, originale e scritto/tradotto molto bene! Lo consiglio a tutti gli amanti del genere e non solo. show less

From the Publisher: To gain access to the secrets of a legendary alchemist, Rome's vampires have allied themselves with creatures as evil and bloodthirsty as they are. The new leader of the city's vampire hunters-Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy-reluctantly turns to the enigmatic Sebastian Vioget for help, just as Maximilian Pesaro arrives to aid his fellow slayers, no matter what the sacrifice. Desire puts her at the mercy of Sebastian, while loyalty binds her to Max, but she does not know if she can trust either. Especially when a seductive vampire begins luring her into the shadows...

Comments: The Bleeding Dusk, the fourth book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, is probably my favorite in the series so far. It is dark and show more thrilling. Victoria continues to grow as a character, coming into her own. With each book, the reader learns more about Maximillion Pesaro and Sebastian Vioget, two complicated and very different men whose histories are somehow intertwined.

It was good to see the return of a few favorites from the first novel, The Rest Falls Away, characters I had not realized I had missed until running into them again in The Bleeding Dusk. Melly, Victoria’s mother, and her two friends provide a bit of comic relief in an otherwise dark and suspense filled novel that literally kept me all night as I raced to the end to find out what would happen next.

The only downside is that I do not yet have my copy of the final book in the series, When Twilight Burns. Oh, how I wish I did! And yet, in a way, I am glad I don’t. I am not sure I am ready to see this series come to an end. show less

This is the third book in the five book Gardella Vampire series. In this book Victoria really starts to step into her role as the head of the Gardella. I enjoyed it a lot and thought it was the best book in this series so far.

Victoria has dealt with a lot of heartbreak over the last two books. Still she is trying to pick up the pieces and assume her role as head of the Gardella. When strange piles of animal carcasses are found in Rome, Victoria is forced to investigate. She finds that someone is trying to open an ancient and mysterious door that holds something of value. Fortunately it needs three keys to be opened, unfortunately one of the keys was with Victoria’s Aunt Eustacia when she died and has gone missing. It becomes a race to show more see who can find the missing key.

This series still very much reminds me of a Victorian Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Victoria goes through a lot of heartbreak but is still soldiering on and trying to fill the large role she is thrust into. She does an excellent job and has grown a lot from the woman we meet in the first book in this series.

This is a very solid plot here involving demons, secrets doors, Beauregard, and Lilith. There is also a heavy element of romance as well. Victoria is constantly torn between Max, a fellow Venator who she trusts but who seems to despise her, and Sebastian, who she does not trust but is drawn to.

All the characters are complex and interesting. We learn a lot more about both Max and Sebastian and why they are how they are. There are some surprising and heartbreaking twists and turns. The story really starts to take on more depth and become much more engrossing than the last two books. Things are more serious and less fluffy in this book. There is quite a bit more action than in previous books and the book is fast-paced.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. All of the characters grow a lot and the plot broadens quite a bit. Victoria is stepping into her new leadership role well. The scenes between her and Sebastian and her and Max are full of wonderful tension. The plot is solid and takes a number of engaging and unexpected twists and turns. This series is recommended to those who enjoy Victorian vampire paranormal reads with some romance in them. show less

Victoria struggles to recover from her losses along with trying to lead the Venators in this third installment in the series. Still in Rome, she must battle a new evil as well as her conflicting desires with regards to Sebastian and Max. Who can she really trust? And she has to do all of this whilst trying to keep her mother and friends, who arrive unexpectedly from London, in the dark and out of the vampires' clutches. Will Victoria lose her life, or, even worse, her humanity?