The Vampire Narcise (Early Review)

The Vampire Narcise by Colleen Gleason

The Regency Draculia #3

Regency England stands defiant against Napoleon.

But battles among men mean little to those who live forever – especially when the Dracule are waging their own war.

Skilled in the seduction of men, both mortal and immortal, Narcise Moldavi is the greatest weapon in her twisted brother's war among the Dracule. Until she falls for Giordan Cale.

Her first searing encounter with Giordan brands them with a passionate love. But Giordan's vow to help Narcise escape her brother's rule is followed by a betrayal more agonizing than sunlight.

Wounded but determined, Narcise ensnares vampire hunter Chas Woodmore in her quest for revenge and to reclaim her life. He wants her, worships her, will kill for her. And the Dracule never forget a wrong – nor do they forgive.

Narcise has been captive since her brother tricked her into turning Dracule. She's been subjected to horrors and constantly has to win sword battles for the right to sleep free of the men who force themselves on her. She's kept her heart in an impenetrable fortress, but all that changes when Giordan Cale wins her over. He vows to save her from her fate, but complications ensue causing a heart breaking betrayal that leaves Narcise in shambles. When Chas Woodmore falls into her lap, she knows she must convince him to help as he is her only hope at escape. He falls quickly for Narcise, but her heart has turned black and she'll never be able to let anyone in again. Or so she thinks.

I'll be honest that I wasn't sure about how I felt about Narcise in the last books. From the outside perspective, she just seemed to be using Chas rather than actually caring for him. However, even if that were the case, I couldn't really fault her for it when I took her past into account. I probably would have used anyone I could in that situation just to escape. Her inner strength is amazing, simply due to the fact that she kept her sanity all those years. The things she lived through were nothing short of horrific and it just proved how twisted her brother actually was. I couldn't wait for that slime ball to finally get his, even if I knew that may just never happen.

Like The Vampire Dimitri, this book is also set back in past events, with this one starting back well before Chas first went "missing." However, The Vampire Narcise was a completely different perspective, so there was a lot of things going on that we didn't know about. I was completely surprised to learn what the horrible betrayal was that Giordan had committed. The whole thing was one giant misunderstanding that caused things to go wrong. This instantly changed my opinion of Giordan, taking him from a man I thought was uncaring to someone willing to sacrifice a whole lot, yet still ended up with the short end of the stick.

The Vampire Narcise really wasn't what I was expecting. I had thought it would be mostly about Narcise and Chas and how they fell in love as well as their happy ever after. Instead, it was just as much about her history (and present) with Giordan as it was her relationship with Chas. It wasn't a love triangle in the strictest sense, but there definitely was some tension between the three. This book was also much steamier than the first two books, but in no way was it overdone. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. There was a happy ever after, but it was much different than the ones that Dimitri and Voss had. I guess I'm just a little confused as to what the "change" means, as it wasn't really clear cut what the future would hold. Regardless of that fact, it did leave me satisfied with a smile on my face. The Vampire Narcise was another impressive installment in The Regency Draculia series that is sure not to disappoint.

(Received from Netgalley)

Rating:

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The Vampire Narcise (Book of the Regency Draculia)

Challenge Categories:
Outdo Yourself
Paranormal Romance
Vampire