The Rest Falls Away - Colleen Gleason - 3*

The Rest Falls Away

Colleen Gleason

***

No Spoilers

Beneath the glitter of dazzling nineteenth century London Society lurks a bloodthirsty evil…

Vampires 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 control of 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 dark, dangerous duty.

And when she comes face-to-face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make a choice between duty and love.

A dark, mysterious backdrop of the beautiful Victorian age, mixed with the glamour of High-Society in London and the gritty underbelly full of vampires and vampire hunters. 

A great concept. Two things I enjoy a lot of. Victorian age books and Vampires. Normally a concoction that goes quite well, runs smooth. This however seemed clunky at times and a little unpolished. 

Enter Victoria, a teenager coming of age to not only look for a suitable husband but also pick up the stake for her Venator training. That’s Vampire Hunting for those who have yet to read. Boasting a unique history for the Vampires and their lore, using a lot of old Christian history with Lilith and others. Colleen Gleason outdid herself there. But she threw it all at you in one go that you just felt so overwhelmed and then so underwhelmed by Victoria as the main protagonist, it just didn’t flow together like it should have.

The love interests... yes, interests, alas we have two. which means the dreaded love triangle for many readers. This story has the two sides of the coin for Victoria. the very human, Marquis of Rockley (It is Marquis, not Marquess, I am almost certain Marquess is the female counterpart...) and the Venator, Sebastian Vioget. Both have their good points and their bad. But don’t get me started on their cliches. They are full of them. Sebastian himself is a walking cliche.

Tall. Dark. Handsome. Foreboding. Arrogant. Mysterious. 

Need I go on?

Now, there is nothing wrong with that. Cliches are great. Cliches can be good, if done well. After all, cliches have been working well for years, but sometimes they need a little re-dressing is all.

The middle of the book is where it started to get a little more interesting. I did struggle through the first hundred or so pages. But the ending... Hmm. I felt very underwhelmed with the whole thing, if not slightly disappointed. I was truly looking forward to this book, but unfortunately it just left me feeling rather... empty.