Diva's Bookcase: Tudor Vampire Chronicles

Monday, March 14, 2011

Review: Blood Of The Rose by Kate Pearce

Series: Tudor Vampire Chronicles, Book #2

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance

Release Date: February 2011

Publisher: Signet Eclipse

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

Format I Read: Paperback

Pages: 307

Source: Purchased

Reading Challenge: Historical Romance Reading Challenge, Kick Ass Heroine Reading Challenge

Read an excerpt

Book Blurb

When Rosalind Llewellyn had to join forces with her enemy, Christopher Ellis to defeat a rogue Vampire threatening Henry VIII, their alliance led to a surprising passion. Reunited after a years separation, they face a new threat that could destroy their last chance at happiness.

Christopher is delighted by the spectacular rise at court of his friends George and Anne Boleyn. But Rosalind suspects Lady Anne is up to no good-she may even be a Vampire who’s bewitched the king. Now Rosalind must fight to keep Christopher from falling under the woman’s mysterious spell. It isn’t until Anne reveals a dark secret that Christopher awakens to where the true danger lies-and he begins to play a desperate game in order to save the woman he loves…

Awesomeness:

Somewhere in his mind, fear lingered. She might desert him like a malicious fey from a fairy story, leave him forever bereft and unable to exist without her. He returned to the bed and grasped one of her wrists. "Must I tie you to the bed, my lady, so that I can take my pleasure without fear of being stabbed, or bitten, or scratched?"

My Thoughts

I was very excited to pick up the second book in this series. Blood Of The Rose is full of romance, suspense and Tudor scandal. Kate Pearce does a good job of mixing historical fiction with paranormal romance.

The story picks up a year later with the Druids continuing to protect King Henry VIII from the threat of vampires. Rosalind and Rhys have returned to court. Once again they must call a truce with enemies Christopher and Elias in order to keep the infamous Anne Boleyn from turning the king into a vampire and taking over England.

The first book left Rosalind and Christopher’s relationship up in the air. I was happy that their romance continued despite the dangers of being on opposite sides. The harder they tried to stay away from each other, the more their feelings seemed to pull them together. The relationship remained rocky thorough the story, but I was very pleased with the way the ending was handled.

The introduction of the Boleyn family kept me in suspense. From history, I knew what would happen, but I was anxious to see how the story would twist to include them. Anne was always thought to be very ambitious and into dark magic, so making her a vampire was a stroke of genius.

I love this series and can’t wait to see what happens in the next book.

Rating

Four flowers of love. I really liked this book and would recommend reading the series.

Other Books In This Series:

Kiss Of The Rose, Book #1 (August 2010)

Mark Of The Rose, Book #3 (will release August 2011)

Other Reviews Of This Book:

Goodreads

Shelfari

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.