BOOK REVIEW: The Vampire Voss By Colleen Gleason

Mira Paranormal  Mar 22 2011

384 pages  by Colleen Gleason


BLURB ON BACK OF BOOK:

Voss, also known as Viscount Dewhurst, relishes the sensual pleasures immortality affords. A member of the Dracule—a cabal of powerful, secretive noblemen marked with a talisman that reveals their bartered souls—the mercenary Voss has remained carefully neutral…until Angelica.Angelica Woodmore possesses the Sight, an ability invaluable to both sides of a looming war among the Dracule. Her very scent envelops Voss in a scarlet fog of hunger—for her body and her blood. But he is utterly unprepared for the new desire that overcomes him—to protect her.
Now Voss must battle his very nature to be with Angelica…but this vampire never backs down from a fight.

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I have often lamented about the lack of paranormal/historicals to read, so I was eager to dive into this Regency vampire saga. Colleen Gleason does not disappoint. The men are part of a secret society called the Dracule, men who have bartered their souls to Lucifer for an immortal life. They all bare a mark, a talisman, to show their alliance with Lucifer.

Voss, who has taken on the persona of Viscount Dewhurst, is a stunning specimen of dangerous regency sensuality, he lives the life of a dissipated rake to the fullest, gaming, women, drinking (and not just spirits) for as the title says, Voss is a vampire. Gleason sets up her mythology wonderfully, and populates her tale with some stunning secondary characters and plots.You are thrown right into this world and right into the action.

One secondary character which caught my attention (and will be features in her April release, The Vampire Dimitri) was Lord Covingdale, a cold and controlled man who is utterly fascinating. He is given the inauspicious deed of acting as guardian to the Woodmore sisters, sisters of the Vampire hunter Chas Woodmore. Chas it seems, has run off and eloped with the vampire sister of their enemy Cezar Moldavi.

The heroine of this tale is Angelica Woodmore, who has a 'gift' of being able to tell how someone's death will occur. For Voss, the wheels start turning, he can use this young lady to gain some information he can sell to the highest bidder. Perhaps because of her gift, his vampire enthralling technique does not work, so he will have to go about seducing her the old fashioned way. He almost succeeds, as he is handsome and charming to the extreme, and Angelica is certainly attracted to him.

Voss is certainly tortured as all good paranormal heroes are, he finds it hard to control himself around Angelica, he wants her blood as much as he wants her body. Plus this protective instinct she is bringing out in him is most disturbing. An exciting attack by Moldavi and his minions causes Voss to kidnap Angelica for her own protection. Now alone, he cannot fight his need, and he bites her. Ouch.
To say that puts a crimp in their burgeoning relationship is an understatement. 

Angelica pushes Voss away, she is frightened by him and attracted to him all at the same time. She holds up well during all these attacks, and threats and being bitten fairly well. A strong lady. I felt her gift was not fully explored, but it is not essential to me as part of her character. Her sister Maia spends most of this book being a thorn in Covingdale's side. Interesting to see how this all plays out in the next book.

Voss for his part, after having a taste, he wants more, oh so much more. He finds it hard to stay away. There is a surprising lack of sex scenes in this book, it is more of a sensual read, and it works. One of the best scenes in the book is Voss climbing through Angelica's bedroom window.
There is a lot more to Voss than the debauched rake he outwardly projects, in fact, most of the book focuses on his POV or Dimitri/Covingdale, and I liked that, personally.

A few jarring moments, like an abrupt shift to Chas and his runaway vampire bride, but, in the end, the interlude was fascinating.The book is well written, steeped in the era. And was interesting to me enough to forgo a few bumps in the narrative.

Lots of action, richly drawn characters, because this is a trilogy, nothing is really resolved with the enemy Moldavi. The fact Voss and Angelica can overcome the chasm between them makes this a very satisfying Regency romance with enough paranormal action and elements to flesh it out nicely.


3.5 stars out of 4 for the book