Previously on Antiques Roadshow: Vampire Edition: Victoria goes to Italy to inspect some vampire happenings, Max is acting squirrelly, there’s some shit about some vampires trying to get a hold of A MAGICAL ITEM that will enable them to rule the world, Victoria and Sebastian argue and make out a lot, and Max does something really, really bad.

And now: Victoria acquires more responsibility and drama than she could ever handle, Max comes out of his funk still brooding and growly, Victoria’s mom and her cronies descend upon Italy to provide hilarity and shenanigans, Victoria and Sebastian argue and make out a lot, those damn vampires are still trying to get a hold of A MAGICAL ITEM that will enable them to rule the world, Victoria starts looking at Max in a totally different light (tramp!), we find out something about Sebastian that I already totally called from Book 1, AND Max has to make A VERY BIG DECISION that will change his life forevah. Oh, and Victoria is still crying and moaning about Philip even though she now has a stable of mens to worry about. Jesus, girl, shake the dwelling and get over it!

Do I gotta warn you people about spoilers?

Plot: [Wait, didn’t I just do this up there? ↑] Ever since the Very Bad Thing that Max Did in the last book, Victoria has become Illa Gardella (Illa, by the by, means “that” in Latin— feminine, singular, nominative), the leader of the Venators. She’s not exactly five-by-five, but she’s dealing with things pretty well. Things have been quiet on the vampire front, but since vampires are evol and therefore always plotting and scheming, Vixtress has been vigilantly watching for signs of vamp shenanigans with the help of Weyren, her librarian/healer mentor type figure, an assorted cast of Venator folks we’ve heard zero or little about before, and Xander (Xavier? shit, I’m no bueno with names. I’ll go with Xavier), a gruff, but lovable Scottish lout (and we know he’s Scot because he says things like “dinna” and “ken”) who adores Victoria and wants to be her lover man. Vixtress, however, has no time for love, Dr. Jones, because she’s almost certain the suckheads are planning SOMETHING NEFARIOUS and it seems to involve some alchemist named Tuscadero (I’m pretty sure that’s not his name— that’s what’s-her-face from Happy Days. But I’m in class right now and don’t have a copy of Bleeding Dusk with me, so DEAL.) who invented something that the vampires really, really want. Vixtress finds out that the fortress this SUPER SPECIAL MAGIC THING is hidden can only be opened by three keys. Her aunt had one, which she kept in an armband she never took off, but Vix is not quite sure where the armband is (though she’s convinced Sebastian has something to do with it) and the other two keys are god-knows-where. Anyway, it’s a race for blah-blah-blah-magic-objects TAKE OVER THE WORLD… zzzzz.

Speaking of Sebastian, he pops up now and again to be “helpful,” harass/molest Vicky, play the morally ambiguous schtick, and disappear, only to appear at a more (in)convenient time. His grampa Beauregard, who is totally an evol vampire, has a hard-on for the Vixtress and totally wants to get with her. Max, on the other hand, is back from the Dark Side and wants to redeem himself, only Lilith (the evol bitch vamp vixen who is obsessed with him) has made it totally, like, challenging for him and that’s why he’s walking around all pissed and stuff.

Meanwhile, Vicky’s mother and her cronies have come to Venice to bring some much needed hilarity and shenanigans to this rather grim installment to the series.

The Heroine: Vicky is definitely evolving as a character as this series progresses. In the beginning of the Gardella Chronicles, we saw how she really struggled with the two aspects of her life: the society girl who only cares about the next ball she’s going to be attending and the kickass vampire hunter she’s destined to be. In this book, Vicky is definitely more focused about being a Venator— sure, she is still torn and tends to wax melodramatic over the choices she had made in the past that caused the deaths of people she loved— but she is determined to become the great leader of the Venators, even at the cost of any possibility of her ever having a “normal” life, i.e. having a husband and kids. It was an interesting tactic on Ms. Gleason’s part to bring on Vicky’s mom and her friends because it only served to remind us about the two worlds Vicky has to juggle. The Venice Vicky is definitely a different character from the London Vicky, so I really enjoyed reading about Vicky rushing to shed her Venator vampire-hunting gear and slip on a frilly pink gown so she can make nice with the Aristocrats, some of whom are evol vampires, because it only served to emphasize how different the two worlds really are. Another thing I really liked was Vicky’s interplay with her mother— a woman who was once poised to take over the Venators, but chose instead to have a “normal” life and turned her back on that world.

The Hero(es): Max is a whiny, conflicted baby who has to make BIG DECISIONS that could profoundly change not only his life, but that of the Venators. He broods, he seethes, he gnashes his teeth and wails at the sky. Sexy. The one thing I really like about Max is his unwavering loyalty to DUTY. This guy will do anything to GET THINGS DONE for the sake of duty. It’s rather impressive to watch, especially since he is offered the opportunity to be able to walk away from this world and live the life for a normal man. He is torn, of course. Could he leave Vicky alone to deal with the bloodsucking populace just so he can have the chance to forget all the pain he’s experienced as a Venator and get married and have babies with a nice girl who’s never even uttered the word “vampire”? Or should he stay and be all Angsty McGrowlyface and get even more pissed as he fights with the Vixtress every day and brood as he watches her make decisions he doesn’t necessarily agree with, i.e. sucking face with Sebastian? Hobbies: brooding, angsting, seething, making insinuations that Vicky will ruin the Venators with her total whoredom, and possibly, knitting.

Sebastian. I used to be like, “ooh, Sebastian, come to Mama,” but I gotta admit that I’ve been more fascinated by Max lately. It must be because Max is supposed to be like Angel and Sebastian is supposed to be the Spike character and I’ve always thought Spike was such a melodramatic, overhyped, Marty Sue-type character who bored me with his theatrics. And now a HUGE SECRET is revealed about Sebastian that only made me roll my eyes and yell, “HAH, I KNEW IT. I SO CALLED IT!” (but no one cared). I don’t know— I’m interested enough about this “new” aspect of his character to see where Gleason will take him next, but right now I’m rooting for Max. I’m old school that way. I’m a sucker for a guy who calls the object of his affection a whore before yanking her to him to give her a punishing kiss.

Max and Vicky are sooooooooo gonna end up together. Mark my words.

The Secondary Characters: Vicky’s mom and her friends are hilarious. It’s especially fun reading about Vicky’s mom considering she was once destined to be a Venator, but chose to turn her back on that world so she can worry about sticking her feathers in her hair or if her shoes are soooo Last Season. I really thought their bantering was very cute and I liked seeing them fuss over Vicky and treat her like a “normal” girl especially since everyone else is counting on her to be as great, if not greater, Illa Gardella than her aunt. It’s really nice contrast. The regular cast of characters are also here, like Verbena— Vicky’s much aggrieved made who has think up of clever ways to hide weapons in Vicky’s hair or gowns, and Weyren, who’s like the female version of Giles, what with the exposition and moving the story along with “tidbits” and what-not. We also get more of Sebastian’s grampa, Beauregard, who is just like the Sebastian but sleazier (”You’re at eleven right now, I need you to be at about… eight, maybe”) and kind of creepy. He also wants to take over the world (honestly, who doesnt).

Oh My Word: Plot-wise, it’s very same-o, same-o for me. Like in the previous books, it’s basically about Vicky trying to stop the vampires from getting to some object that will enable them to TAKE OVER THE WORLD (last book, it was a magic obellisk; this book, it’s a THECRET THOMETHING that will change VAMPIREKIND FOREVAH), wringing her hands over Sebastian and Max, Vicky wondering if she made a shitty decision and mentally kicking her ass for it, then Vicky overcoming her doubts and kicking ass. Then somebody dies. I was also kind of annoyed (though annoyed might be too strong a word) by the way Gleason ends her chapters in a way that forces someone to say something clever ala Horatio Caine. If the Vixtress had sunglasses, I’d expect her to whip them off before she says some clever quip. The effect was just kind of cheesebally and detracted from the narrative. Anyway, what kept me reading was the interactions between the characters. Gleason is especially good at exploring the tension and chemistry between her characters and I think this developing love triangle between Vicky and Max and Sebastian is quite well done. I dig it. Though it stumbles a bit here and there, the storytelling is smooth and the pacing is appropriately fast, but knows when to slow down so we can enjoy the quiet moments (case in point: Vicky and Max exploring an alcove that leads to Tuscadero’s villa and just… talking). I really also liked Gleason taking advantage of the wackiness of Venice’s Carnivale. The setting only served to enhance the tension of the plot and added color and atmosphere. Good job.

This is a very important installment to the series and does a great job in adding to the fascinating mythology that Gleason has woven for us. It’s addictive, the characters are multi-layered and damaged (in a beautiful way), and also quite suspenseful (and sometimes scary). I honestly think this is one of the best paranormal series out there; there’s all sorts of good stuff here for paranormal/fantasy fans AND romance fans. The next book of the series can’t come soon enough. This one gets an A- from me.

P.S. Isn’t the cover ab-fab?
P.P.S. This is probably not the best book to read to get started on the series. Read the 1st one. Otherwise, you’ll be totally lost.

Please buy this fabulous novel here.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 11:49 am and is filed under Books, Grade: A, Romance: Historical, Suspense/Horror. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.