The Rest Falls Away by Collen Gleason

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.

First of all I want to say, I read TWO books this weekend. Aren't you all proud. This being one of the books I read.

I heard about this book over at Zeek's blog. I almost read it in one sitting. The reason why I didn't cause my house needed cleaning. Damn chores. There are some things that reminded me of Buffy. Victoria wanting a normal life and trying to balance that with slaying. The final scene with her and Phillip. Sigh. The "poofing" once the vampires were staked.

But it's not totally like Buffy. For instance the origin of vampires. I thought it was original. Never heard that theory before. It's a historical and there's not just one slayer at one time. Oh no, there are others out there. And if you choose not to be a venator (slayer), your memory will be wiped clean and you can continue with you merry life.

The plot is Victoria and Max (another venator) must get the Book of Anwarth (sp? I'm too lazy to go upstairs and get the book) before Lilith, the most power vampire on Earth, gets it. If she gets a hold of the book, she can raise a vampire army. Between attending balls and falling in love, Victoria is out hunting vampires and foiling Lilith's plan. And proving she is worth of the Gardella Legacy.

I liked Victoria. She was willing to learn all she could. She wanted to be out there patroling and helping. Sure she had her doubts, but she knew she was fulfilling her destiny. I liked how she wanted to prove she could do the job. Especially to Max. He thinks Victoria is all about shopping, balls and catching a husband. These two have a lot of tension between them. Will something happen between them?

Sebastian. I'm up in the air about him. He owns a pub that vampires and humans can hang out at. Kind of like the bar in the Dark Hunter's book. It's neutral territory. You don't know if Sebastian is a good guy or bad guy. You want to trust him, but he has that bad boy thing going on.

Then Phillip. The man Victoria met when she was 12. The man that waited for her to come out to society to see what kind of woman she became. The man she falls in love with. I liked Philip. And that's all I have to say about that. You have to read it. Again the final scene with him and Victoria.. sigh.

The second book in the series, Rises the Night comes out on June 2, 2007. I'm defiantly picking that up. Thanks Zeek for the book pimp.

Grade: B+