Review: Rises the Night, Colleen Gleason

Title: Rises the Night
Author: Colleen Gleason
Begun: July 31, 2007
Completed: August 3, 2007

Rises the Night is the second book in the highly enjoyable Gardella Vampire Chronicles. Unusually for a second book in a trilogy (especially a fantasy trilogy), Rises the Night is better than the first novel, The Rest Falls Away. Gleason wisely takes Victoria out of her London society comfort zone and ships her off to Italy to deal with a new vampiric threat. The book is sprinkled with historical characters (and personally, I'm hoping for a run-in with Beau Brummell in the next one). I imagine Byron is quite miffed about his portrayal, but Byron is pretty much guaranteed hilarity. (My notes contain the phrase: "HAHA, BYRON" several times.)

At the core of Rises the Night is still Victoria, now widowed, her great-aunt and the two men who comprise the love triangle that qualifies this book as romance. The good news is that Sebastian Vioget (of course he's French) is much more appealing a love interest in this book - but Max Pesaro falls from focus. I like this approach, because it muddies the romantic waters considerably. During the first book I would have back Max as the winner in the race for Victoria's hand, their oft-professed reluctance for each other aside. But Sebastian really emerges in Rises the Night, becoming more interesting, charasmatic, attractive and, yes, sexier. He's a bit of a rake, and that's not unwelcome.

One of the things I truly appreciated was Victoria's new status. So often romance is about a young woman's sexual awakening. She may not actually be a virgin, but she is close enough. The novel is supposed to follow the first time she has ever falled in love. Victoria is a widow, but rather than the chaste and innocent widow that is as much a stereotype as the sexually unhinged hero, she is one fully aware of her sexual power. I enjoyed that angle very much. Victoria is far from innocent. Gleason acknolwedges that and incorporates it very well into the story.

Rises the Night is a well-plotted, suspensful mix of historical fiction, fantasy and romance. Victoria is as engaging a heroine as she was in the first book, and her continuing adventures will certainly be interesting. I do hope, for her sake, she gets some girl friends her own age sometime soon though.

Rises the Night at Amazon.com