Monday, December 13, 2010

Review: Kiss Of The Rose by Kate Pearce

Series:  The Tudor Vampire Chronicles, Book #1

Genre:  Historical Paranormal Romance, Vampires

Release Date:  August 2010

Publisher:   Signet Eclipse

Author Website:  http://www.katepearce.com

Format I Read:  Paperback

Pages:  312

Source:  Won on Goodreads

Read an excerpt
Book Blurb
Desperate to defeat King Richard III and gain the English crown, Henry Tudor made a pact with the Druids that bound him and his heirs to the Druid’s deadly struggle against the Vampires. Ever since, the Llewellyns, an ancient Vampire slaying family, have been in the permanent employ of the monarchy.

Now Henry VIII is on the throne, and his father’s bargain has almost been forgotten. Until corpses drained of blood start turning up in the most inappropriate of places, including the king’s bedchamber. But are these people the victims of the Vampires-or of the Druids?

To save the king from a nameless assassin, Rosalind Llewellyn, Vampire hunter extraordinaire, must form an uneasy alliance with a known Druid slayer. Sir Christopher Ellis hails from a family that has protected the Vampires for centuries, yet Rosalind has no choice but to rely on his help. And with her life threatened and her loyalty tested, Rosalind may even have to acknowledge the unthinkable. This sworn enemy may be her soul mate.

Awesomeness:
He cursed as the sharp blade caressed his skin and knocked her hand away.  “God help the man who marries you, Rosalind.  He had better guard his prick with his life.”

She glanced down at the shadows of his groin.  “You are right, sir.  Should I be displeased with a man, there apt to be a terrible accident.”


My Thoughts
First of all, I was super excited to win this book from Goodreads.  I had never read anything by Kate Pearce but I loved the cover and the book blurb, and reading this book has made me a fan.  

I’m still on a historical romance high so I’m reading any and everything in the genre so I thought the vampire slaying and the Tudor era would be an interesting read.

The story opens with vampires running amuck in King Henry’s court.  Thinking that vampires are a myth, King Henry is reluctant to believe in their existence until bodies start turning up in his personal space.    He also can’t believe that a female has been sent to protect him.

Rosalind and Christopher are both sent to court to find out who the rogue vampire is and must work together to eliminate the threat to the Kind and Queen.

Rosalind comes from a long line of vampire slayers, so to keep her family’s favor with the King, she must eliminate the threat, oh and find a husband in her spare time.  Christopher, on the other hand, is a vampire protector and Rosalind’s sworn enemy.   But of course, they fall in love and can’t be together.  Working side by side with someone you love, but can’t have proves to be a bitch, but that’s where the story starts getting really good.

I love a good vampire story, but the book focused more on the finding and the slaying of the vampire.  I didn’t get a lot of vamp interaction, but just enough to know that Rosalind was no Buffy and Christopher was no Angel or Spike, and there was no epic love-yet.  Despite that,  I did find myself being wrapped up in their adventure and unable to put Kiss Of The Rose down. 

This is the first book in the series and even though it didn’t wow me like I wanted it to, I still have a good feeling for future books in the series.

Rating
I give Kiss Of The Rose four flowers of love and can’t wait until the next book.


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Other Books In This Series:
Blood Of The Rose coming February 2011

Other Reviews Of This Book:

2 Talk to me!:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the review :) It was hard to pack all that world building a plot and a love story into that little book so I hope you'll enjoy book #2, which is out in Feb, so not too long and features Anne Boleyn-as a Vampire.

Yvonne said...

@Kate
I want more Rosalind and Christopher so I can't wait for Blood Of The Rose. I did read the excerpt so I know there's so much more to come. Thanks so much for signing my copy!