The Rest Falls Away by C. Gleason

Regency books aren’t really my thing, so going into The Rest Falls Away, the first novel in Colleen Gleason’s Gardella Vampire Chronicles, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or not.  I found myself pleasantly surprised, as I not only liked it but plan on getting the second book in the series as well!

In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy of vampire slaying, 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 enigmatic ally, Sebastian Vioget. And when she comes face to face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make the choice between duty and love.

I don’t much care for the *nineteenth century London society* atmosphere and as such is why I do not read these sort of books. (I used to, mind you, I think I just got tired of them), but I think the combination of the paranormal mixed with this atmosphere was a nice mixture that really didn’t make the book drag out for me.

Parts of The Rest Falls Away dragged on and was a little boring, but that was the whole regency thing that was ever so present, and I had to skim some of those parts to get by – the parts where basically when her mother and friends get together for tea or whatnot to discuss Victoria’s future.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book, well aside from the mother and her friends.  Victoria, in spite of being brought up in the whole nineteenth century atmosphere with fancy get-togethers and balls left and right, is a strong woman who wants more out of her life and who doesn’t want to be married off without the choice being hers and hers alone – which made me really like her.  So here she is having to sneak around and find excuses to leave the ball early to go stake some vamps, which made it was a tad comical as well in light of everything going on.

I also enjoyed Sebastian. Oh he is a mysterious one and considering he up and disappeared near the end of The Rest Falls Away, it makes you wonder if he is really gone. I hope not! I hope to see more of him in the future books.  Max was a character that at first I really didn’t like, but he grew on me toward the end with his compassion for Victoria in what had happened to her. It was a little bit heart wrenching and I was glad that Max wasn’t a complete ass.

Rockley, he is everything a young woman hopes to marry. Good looks, riches and he is a true romantic. I really adored this character as she made him truly lovable, in fact it’s one of the reasons I can’t wait to read the next in the series!

Colleen Gleason has built a wonderful world that will suck you in and keep you turning the pages.

Read Order:
The Rest Falls Away – excerpt
Rises the Night – excerpt
The Bleeding Dusk – excerpt
When Twilight Burns – excerpt
As Shadows Fade – excerpt

Also reviewed by:
Jackie’s review on Literary Escapism
Sarah’s Book Reviews
Stainless Steel Droppings
Stephenie’s Written Word

1 Comment

  1. I read this whole series about a year ago and I throughly loved it. As I had the opportunity to read the books back to back, I truly got sucked into this amazing world. I loved the characters. Gleason did an amazing job at keeping the tempo fast and keeping you guessing right to the end, who gets the girl.

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