Saturday, June 22, 2013

The Bleeding Dusk, by Colleen Gleason

Rating: 3.5/5
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
346 pages
2008
Source: My collection

Description: As Rome prepares for its Carnival, the new leader of the city's vampire hunters must prove herself as never before. For, in order to gain access to the secrets of a legendary alchemist, Rome's vampires have allied themselves with creatures as evil and blood thirsty as they are.

Reluctantly, Victoria must turn to the enigmatic Sebastian Vioget for help, just as Maximilian Pesaro arrives to help his fellow slayers, whatever the sacrifice. Desire puts her at the mercy of Sebastian, while loyalty binds her to Max, but can she trust either man? Especially when a seductive vampire begins luring her into the shadows... (From the back cover)

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Rises the Night, by Colleen Gleason

Rating: 4/5
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
334 pages
2007
Source: My collection

Description: Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy has been a vampire slayer for just over a year, balancing her life as a peer of Society with the dangerous role that takes her out on moonlit streets, stake in hand. She has learned brutal and heartbreaking lessons about the sacrifices that must be made in order to save humanity from the evil that secretly preys upon it, but she has not wavered in her vow to fight on.

Now in Italy, a powerful vampire is amassing the power to control the souls of the dead. As Victoria races across Europe to stop what could be the most deadly army the Gardellas have ever faced, her unlikely companion is Sebastian Vioget, a man as tempting as he is untrustworthy. But when Victoria discovers that she has been betrayed by one of her most trusted allies, the truth will challenge her powers as a Ventor and as a woman... (From the back cover)

The Rest Falls Away, by Colleen Gleason

Rating: 4/5
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
347 pages
2007
Source: My collection

Description: Vampire have always lived among them, quietly attacking unsuspecting debutantes and dandified lords as well as hackney drivers and Bond Street milliners. If not for the vampire slayers of the Gardella family, these immortal creatures would have long ago taken over  the world.

In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy, 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 duty. And when she comes face to face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make a choice between obligation and love... (From the back cover)

Sunday, June 9, 2013

The Wasp Factory, by Iain Banks

Rating: 3.5/5
Publisher: Scribner
184 pages
1984
Source: Border's Books and Music

Description: Meet Frank Cauldhame. Just sixteen, and unconventional to say the least:

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more of less on a whim.

That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again.

It was just a stage I was going through. (From the back cover)

Saturday, June 8, 2013

The Vampire Tapestry, by Suzy McKee Charnas

Rating: 3.5/5
Publisher: Pocket Books
294 pages
1980
Source: Borrowed from family

Description: The Vampire Tapestry examines the classic monster as a biological, rather than supernatural, predator who awakens from hibernation every few decades needing to relearn human culture. After years of secret effort, the self-styled Edward Weyland has become a respected anthropology professor and director of a sleep research lab. With reliable access to unsuspecting blood donors, he grows complacent and makes a near-fatal error. First critically wounded by a strong and canny woman, then imprisoned and humiliated by a power-mad Satanist, he is forced on a journey toward an empathy with his prey that threatens the foundations of his survival. (copied from Goodreads)

Howliday Inn & The Celery Stalks At Midnight, by James Howe

Rating: 2.5/5 & 3/5
Publisher: The Listening Library
About 4 discs (Howliday Inn) and 1.5 discs (The Celery Stalks At Midnight)
Narrator: Victor Garber
1982 & 1983
Source: Library book

Description: Howliday Inn
Harold and Chester could hardly believe it. The Monroe family was going on vacation without them. Bunnicula, the family rabbit, would be boarded with a neighbor. But they, the family's loyal dog and cat, were to be sent away with strangers; to a place called Chateau Bow-Wow. Chateau Bow-Wow, observed Chester, soon after they arrived, could more properly be called Howliday Inn. Though what was howling, neither of them knew. Chester had his suspicions however; only a werewolf could make that chilling sound. 


The Celery Stalks at Midnight
Bunnicula is missing Chester the cat makes a chilling discovery--Bunnicula the vampire bunny has vanished from his cage in the Monroe household. Everyone knows that vampire victims become vampires themselves--and the neighborhood gardens reveal the ultimate horror: bloodless zombie vegetables Determined to save Bunnicula's victims and the unsuspecting Monroes, Chester leads the valiant friends on a wild bunny chase
. (From the back of the audiobook)

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Rating: 4.5/5
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics (My copy. Its in the public domain.)
444 pages
1897
Source: Barnes & Noble

Description: A young solicitor named Johnathan Harker goes to the Carpathians to finalize a real estate deal with Count Dracula. He soon realizes Dracula is a vampire and must help defeat him.