Thursday, November 25, 2010

BOOK REVIEW: Night of the Vampires by Heather Graham


HQN Romance Nov 23 2010

352 pages by Heather Graham



BLURB ON BACK OF BOOK:

As a soldier, Cole Granger fights to restore peace to a world divided by war and evil. His extraordinary talents are enlisted to prevent the president's horrific premonition from becoming reality. Nothing—and no one—will stop him from fulfilling his duty. Especially the mysterious young woman who claims to be his comrade's sister. Enemy or ally, he can't yet determine. But one thing he knows for certain is that he must keep her close. Very close.

Megan Fox's quest to uncover a family secret leads her to the center of vampire riots in West Virginia. To find the answers she needs—and clear herself of suspicion—she must join forces with Cole. They work undercover to bring justice, but they can't disguise the potent attraction and need that draw them together. Yet trust doesn't come easily for Cole…and when Megan unearths the grim, dark truth, can she trust him to believe her?

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Can I possibly contain my glee at having this be a historical/paranormal? How I wish this was a sub-genre all on its own! I did read and did enjoy Heather's previous Historical/Paranormal, 'Night of the Wolves'.

Some mixed reviews for this book so far, but, I liked it.

Vampires it seems, thrive when their territory is in some sort of upheaval, to gorge, kill, and infect humans to become vampires themselves. And what better upheaval than a Civil War? Prisons full of potential meals. Blue or Gray, vampires do not discriminate. It is into this mess of newly turned vampires that the hero, Texas Sheriff Cole Granger, and his two compatriots, Cody Fox and Brendan Vincent arrive. While in the heat of battle at a Washington D.C. Prison with some of these vampires, Cole comes face to face with a beautiful woman. Just when he is about to stake her, she reveals she is Cody Fox's long lost sister.

Megan Fox, like her brother, is half-human, half-vampire. From Virginia, she also is fighting these 'attacks' of the 'plague' starting with the battle of Fredericksburg, the men are wary, especially, Cole, but Cody accepts her has his sister, and soon she is joining the band of 'hunters'.

While Cole and some of the others do not completely trust Megan, she is certainly handy in a fight. And soon, Cole finds an overwhelming need to protect Megan, not that she needs much protecting, she can certainly handle herself well. But Cole cannot deny he is entranced by her.

Is Cody and Megan's vampire father behind all these attacks and 'infections' and 'outbreaks'? Megan needs to know, it becomes a personal quest. Especially when she senses some shadowy figure is nearby, could the shadow be her father?

The group splits, and at the behest of Abraham Lincoln, Cole and Megan are off to Harper's Ferry. When they arrive, the place is eerily quiet. As they prepare for the battle ahead, Megan and Cole manage to find some deeply sensual moments between attacks. Trust is a big issue with Cole and Megan, and the more they fight along side, the more they open their hearts. I really enjoyed how the two of them seemed to fit in all ways.

There are some truly exciting moments, as Harper's Ferry is very much like Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot. The townspeople are being overrun with newly turned vampires, the attacks are gruesome and unrelenting. Fighting alongside Megan and Cole are a plucky priest and some Union soldiers.

An exciting fight at a nearby cemetery concludes the book, and the leader of these vampires is not who you would expect. Nor the shadow figure. Two shadow figures it turns out.

Heather Graham masterfully weaves real historic events and people into this dark, suspenseful vampire tale. When it was all said and done it really was more of a historical/suspense than a historical /paranormal, but there are enough gory vampire moments to satisfy the paranormal lover in you. A wonderful concoction.


3 1/4 stars out of four for the book

1 comment:

Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews said...

Hi Karyn,

Great review and I'm glad to hear you really enjoyed reading this one!

I have this in my TBR pile and I really enjoyed the first in the series!