Review: Rises The Night by Colleen Gleason

Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy has been a vampire slayer for a year, balancing her life as a peer of Society with the dangerous role that takes her out on moonlit streets, stake in hand. She has learned brutal and heartbreaking lessons about the sacrifices that must be made in order to save humanity from the evil that preys upon it. Now, in Italy, a powerful vampire is amassing the power to control the souls of the dead. As Victoria races across Europe to stop what could be the most deadly army the Gardellas have ever faced, her unlikely companion is Sebastian Vioget, a man as tempting as he is untrustworthy. But when Victoria discovers that she has been betrayed by one of her most trusted allies, the truth will challenge all her powers as a vampire hunter - and as a woman.

This book was a bit of a step away from the first in the series ‘The Rest Falls Away’. I loved the first book because it was a combination of two of my favourite things – vampires with some regency romance thrown in. It was brilliantly written and very engaging with enough danger to make it really exciting.

I was expecting more of the same from ‘Rises the Night’ but it was a lot darker and scarier than the first.

It was a very sad note on to end the first book, so I wasn’t expecting high romance, balls and fabulous gowns. Ok I tell a lie, I was expecting a bit of that, but I didn’t really get it. I loved the entrance to high london society we had in book one, so in a way it was good to have a change of pace and setting, but I did find myself missing the relative safety of the ton.

Victoria fairly quickly finds herself in Italy, where EVERYONE seems to be up to no good. I kept trusting new characters and then wishing that I hadn’t. I mean seriously, was Italy just filled with people wanting to be vampires? Actually that wouldn’t surprise me…

So yeah, lots of bad people, even worse situations, and a few people I used to trust turned traitor.

I had kittens over a lot of what happened, and seemed to spend most of it in a state of high tension convinced no one was ever going to get out alive. I was wrong – mostly – but it did leave me wanting a break before I launched into the third book.

I love Victoria, and this continuation of her character growth, particularly her through her grief was brilliantly handled. She irritated me, but it didn’t make me dislike her, it was more a ‘silly girl what did you do that for? Here have a blanket and some tea’ irritation. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing how the events of the second book affect her through the third book, and how she handles the new problems she’ll face.

Ah Sebastian, I could spend hours shaking you just to see if you retaliate/get some sense knocked into your head.
I go from page to page genuinely unsure about his actions and motives. I just don’t trust him, even when he seems to be trying to help Victoria, it’s just all one twisted game. That does frustrate me, as whilst I like the uncertainty with him to a point, there does come a moment where it just feels like I won’t trust anything he does ever, because you can guarantee he won’t actually be being helpful in the way he’s meant to be. I’d like to see more character development with him, and a bit more consistency, otherwise no matter how yummy and seductive he is, I will just lose interest in him.

Overall I loved the book, it was darker, it was scarier, and there is never a moment where you feel that the outcome will be predictable. There are so many twists it’s untrue, and it’s all one big rollercoaster of a ride.
I miss London, and hope the books will take us back there soon, but in the meantime I love the development and set up and am looking forward to seeing what Victoria does next.