Review: The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason (Gardella Vampire Hunters #1)

The Rest Falls Away (The Gardella Vampire Hunters #1)
Colleen Gleason
Published: Jan. 2, 2007 (Signet)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Jill

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Victoria is equally nervous and excited about her upcoming debut into society in Victorian London. Unfortunately, her eccentric aunt has just revealed that her family has a long history of hunting vampires. Now, it’s Victoria’s turn to either accept her role to protect the people of London or reject her fate and remain within normal society. She is determined to have both, to be a perfect London housewife by day, and protect the people of London by night.

Her aunt begins training her to be the Venator, the vampire hunter. While training, her aunt and another vampire hunter, Max, try to convince her that being prominent in society is just going to bring problems, but she is determined to remain “normal.” The constant lying and secrecy take a humongous toll on her “proper” relationships, and the guilt eats away at Victoria’s confidence. There is no time to fix this though, as the Vampire Queen Lillith has come to London to get rid of the Venator, the only threat to her reign.

Usually I have no patience for books about “society,” but this book gives an impressively balanced amount of drama and kickass vampire scenes. The heroine has some really stupid moments though, which can be frustrating. It’s like watching the horror movie chick go down into the basement and you’re screaming at the TV, “Clearly the murderer is down there! Call the cops, idiot!”

There are a few romantic interests in this book. One seems to be the perfect man: rich, dashing, charming, understanding, and patient—so you know that can’t last. You would never guess what happens though, so interesting! Another interest is a totally shady character that’s suave, dark, and totally bad boy. Another has one of those lust/hate relationships going on. I won’t give too many details about this away, because I don’t want to ruin it for you.

The world is interesting, but not quiet developed yet. I didn’t really understand the whole Venator thing, or why Lillith is determined to track her down. I think that the book is designed so that as Victoria learns about this new preternatural world, we will also learn about it.

Heroine stupidity aside, The Rest Falls Away is packed with drama and suspense. You know that Victoria is going to be caught in her lies, and I was constantly wondering when the shoe will drop. It gets a little tedious in the middle, but the ending, oh the ending. You will be angry, sad, and happy, and so much action! It was worth all the boring spots. I’m very interested to see what happens to these characters in the next book.

Sexual content: sex